The Dark Knight to be re-released

[SymphonicX]

Obviously it's your opinion if you dislike the film, but branding it a sucess just because of Ledger's death is...well...pathetic, tbh. No doubt some morons saw it just because of Ledger and they had no interest in Batman, but you think those people alone account for the 900+(and counting) million that it's made? I think not. If they account for anything it would be a like...a million at most. So obviously it stands on it's own feet as a generally liked film regardless of the two deaths associated with it. Batman Begins and Chris Nolan were the biggest factors. Although BB didn't blow away the box office, it gained a great following over the years and everyone was waiting for the follow up. And I disagree with your opinion on The Crow. When I first saw it, I knew nothing of Lee's death and still thought it was a cool film. Still do. It was totally over hyped due to Ledger's death....no doubt about it. Turn on movies news for months and all you hear is "The Dark Knight, with the late heath ledger" I agree the Crow is good...could've been better, but obvious cicumstance has pretty much canned all of it's subplots...shame. I'm not saying people turned up to it just because of Ledger, but it's the one thing that's notable about the movie "ledger's performance blah blah"...my argument is that his performance, whilst very strong, wouldn't have gotten half the recognition without the words "the late..." before Ledger's name...You're also making up statistics about the movie that we both can never confirm, or deny...the truth is we don't know what people's motives for seeing the movie were, but I'm saying in terms of the industry, it's their way of literally beating a dead donkey. BB was not a *bad* movie...but it wasn't great. It was also long, drawn out, whilst I loved the characterisations, I just couldn't get over how slow and droning it was...but it was over all an enjoyable flick that reinvigorated the genre...but I still don't believe that Nolan is any good, sorry...if he was he'd learn how to pace his movie - and TDK is just testament to them including like almost every available piece of Heath Ledger footage just to "honour" him or something. It's hero worship and it actually detracts from the fact that Nolan has made two marginally enjoyable batman movies, with this latest offering I certainly don't believe it would be considered "oscar worthy". And I guarantee you - who'll win the oscar? If anyone, it'll be Ledger. It won't be Christian Bale...and it won't be Nolan for his direction...it'll be "posthumanously" awarded to Ledger - and aside from Jonny Depp's portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow, when has a mainstream hollywood action movie ever had a "best actor" even nominated for it? Look at wiki, you'll find there are very very few.

[Neil]

I actually thought Aaron Eckhart's performance was one of the best!

[SymphonicX]

I actually thought Aaron Eckhart's performance was one of the best! hmm, interesting....when this movie finally comes on Sky I'll give it another go and keep my eyes on him...

[bassman]

Well your opinion on BB, TDK, and Nolan is your own and you're entitled to it, but you would most likely be in the minority on that one. Go look up some reviews and audience reactions. I would say that most people like this film for it's own merits and not the death's that occured to the cast and crew. And Nolan in no way altered the film because of Ledger's death. He stated that shortly after the news of the death. He continued the film exactly the way he would have if nothing had happened to Heath. And you think he used too much Joker? I thought he used too little. If Ledger's death brought all that money, acclaim, and popularity to the film, what happened to Chris Farley and John Candy's posthumous films? Either way, I love it and in my mind it's without a doubt the best comic-to-film adaptation yet. It actually breaks free of the genre and becomes just a great crime drama in it's own right. Roll on with the DVD and re-release, I say!

[Neil]

Well your opinion on BB, TDK, and Nolan is your own and you're entitled to it, but you would most likely be in the minority on that one. Go look up some reviews and audience reactions. I would say that most people like this film for it's own merits and not the death's that occured to the cast and crew. And Nolan in no way altered the film because of Ledger's death. He stated that shortly after the news of the death. He continued the film exactly the way he would have if nothing had happened to Heath. And you think he used too much Joker? I thought he used too little. If Ledger's death brought all that money, acclaim, and popularity to the film, what happened to Chris Farley and John Candy's posthumous films? Either way, I love it and in my mind it's without a doubt the best comic-to-film adaptation yet. It actually breaks free of the genre and becomes just a great crime drama in it's own right. Roll on with the DVD and re-release, I say! It's a shame Katie Holmes' wasn't in the second one... Wonder what the deal was there!

[SymphonicX]

OK without sounding like I'm totally ragging on this movie - here are the oscar winners for Best supporting actor from 1970s to present: 1970s 1970 John Mills - Ryan's Daughter as Michael 1971 Ben Johnson - The Last Picture Show as Sam the Lion 1972 Joel Grey - Cabaret as Master of Ceremonies 1973 John Houseman - The Paper Chase as Charles W. Kingsfield Jr. 1974 Robert De Niro - The Godfather Part II as Vito Corleone 1975 George Burns - The Sunshine Boys as Al Lewis 1976 Jason Robards - All the President's Men as Ben Bradlee 1977 Jason Robards - Julia as Dashiell Hammett 1978 Christopher Walken - The Deer Hunter as Nikonar 'Nick' Chevotarevich 1979 Melvyn Douglas - Being There as Benjamin Turnbull Rand 1980 Timothy Hutton - Ordinary People as Conrad Jarrett 1981 John Gielgud - Arthur as Hobson 1982 Louis Gossett, Jr. - An Officer and A Gentleman as Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley 1983 Jack Nicholson - Terms of Endearment as Garrett Breedlove 1984 Haing S. Ngor - The Killing Fields as Dith Pran 1985 Don Ameche - Cocoon as Arthur Selwyn 1986 Michael Caine - Hannah and Her Sisters as Elliot 1987 Sean Connery - The Untouchables as Jim Malone 1988 Kevin Kline - A Fish Called Wanda as Otto West 1989 Denzel Washington - Glory as Pvt. Trip 1990 Joe Pesci - Goodfellas as Tommy DeVito 1991 Jack Palance - City Slickers as Curly Washburn 1992 Gene Hackman - Unforgiven as Little Bill Daggett 1993 Tommy Lee Jones - The Fugitive as Marshall Samuel Gerard 1994 Martin Landau - Ed Wood as Bela Lugosi 1995 Kevin Spacey - The Usual Suspects as Roger 'Verbal' Kint 1996 Cuba Gooding, Jr. - Jerry Maguire as Rod Tidwell 1997 Robin Williams - Good Will Hunting as Sean Maguire 1998 James Coburn - Affliction as Glen Whitehouse 1999 Michael Caine - The Cider House Rules as Dr. Wilbur Larch 2000 Benicio del Toro - Traffic as Javier Rodriguez Rodriguez 2001 Jim Broadbent - Iris as John Bayley 2002 Chris Cooper - Adaptation. as John Laroche 2003 Tim Robbins - Mystic River as Dave Boyle 2004 Morgan Freeman - Million Dollar Baby as Eddie "Scrap-Iron" Dupris 2005 George Clooney - Syriana as Bob Barnes 2006 Alan Arkin - Little Miss Sunshine as Edwin Hoover 2007 Javier Bardem - No Country for Old Men as Anton Chigurh Here are the winners of best lead actor from 1970s to present: 1970 George C. Scott - Patton as Gen. George S. Patton Jr. (declined) 1971 Gene Hackman - The French Connection as Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle 1972 Marlon Brando - The Godfather as Don Vito Corleone (declined) 1973 Jack Lemmon - Save the Tiger as Harry Stoner 1974 Art Carney - Harry and Tonto as Harry Coombes 1975 Jack Nicholson - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest as R.P. McMurphy 1976 Peter Finch - Network as Howard Beale (posthumous win) 1977 Richard Dreyfuss - The Goodbye Girl as Elliot Garfield 1978 Jon Voight - Coming Home as Luke Martin 1979 Dustin Hoffman - Kramer vs. Kramer as Ted Kramer 1980 Robert De Niro - Raging Bull as Jake LaMotta 1981 Henry Fonda - On Golden Pond as Norman Thayer 1982 Ben Kingsley - Gandhi as Mahatma Gandhi 1983 Robert Duvall - Tender Mercies as Mac Sledge 1984 F. Murray Abraham - Amadeus as Antonio Salieri 1985 William Hurt - Kiss of the Spider Woman as Luis Molina 1986 Paul Newman - The Color of Money as Fast Eddie Felson 1986 Paul Newman - The Color of Money as Fast Eddie Felson 1988 Dustin Hoffman - Rain Man as Raymond Babbitt 1989 Daniel Day-Lewis - My Left Foot as Christy Brown 1990 Jeremy Irons - Reversal of Fortune as Claus von Bülow 1991 Anthony Hopkins - The Silence of the Lambs as Hannibal Lecter 1992 Al Pacino - Scent of a Woman as Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade 1993 Tom Hanks - Philadelphia as Andrew Beckett 1994 Tom Hanks - Forrest Gump as Forrest Gump 1995 Nicolas Cage - Leaving Las Vegas as Ben Sanderson 1996 Geoffrey Rush - Shine as David Helfgott 1997 Jack Nicholson - As Good as It Gets as Melvin Udall 1998 Roberto Benigni - Life Is Beautiful as Guido Orefice 1999 Kevin Spacey - American Beauty as Lester Burnham 2000 Russell Crowe - Gladiator as Maximus Decimus Meridius 2001 Denzel Washington - Training Day as Alonzo Harris 2002 Adrien Brody - The Pianist as Wladyslaw Szpilman 2003 Sean Penn - Mystic River as Jimmy Markum 2004 Jamie Foxx - Ray as Ray Charles 2005 Philip Seymour Hoffman - Capote as Truman Capote 2006 Forest Whitaker - The Last King of Scotland as Idi Amin 2007 Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood as Daniel Plainview NOTABLE: a *nomination* for Jonny depp in Pirates - not a win... 2003 Johnny Depp - Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl as Jack Sparrow See the decided lack of action/comic book movies there? Notice how most of these winners are indeed dramas? Now, are the special effects and soundtrack enough to propell this movie into Academy Award fame on their own, sans Ledger's performance? Probably not. So what award is the studio going for? Best Special Effects? Best Direction? Best overall movie of the year ever on the face of the universe? Do you honestly think that? I personally, don't. They're going for best supporting actor....and they're going for Heath Ledger....and he'll probably win...and if you marry up the past winners, to Ledger's character in Batman...well, I'm not saying it is TOTALLY outlandish...but it's a complete side step from what the Oscars usually promotes as an award ceremony...and why this huge sidestep, if he wins? Because he's dead....that's all I'm saying. It just doesn't make sense. If Ledger was alive...would this be happening?! I so, so seriously doubt it. That's all I'm saying, I'm not ragging on anyone here, I'm just doing basic mathematics, and using basic logic. Well your opinion on BB, TDK, and Nolan is your own and you're entitled to it, but you would most likely be in the minority on that one. Go look up some reviews and audience reactions. I would say that most people like this film for it's own merits and not the death's that occured to the cast and crew. And Nolan in no way altered the film because of Ledger's death. He stated that shortly after the news of the death. He continued the film exactly the way he would have if nothing had happened to Heath. And you think he used too much Joker? I thought he used too little. If Ledger's death brought all that money, acclaim, and popularity to the film, what happened to Chris Farley and John Candy's posthumous films? Either way, I love it and in my mind it's without a doubt the best comic-to-film adaptation yet. It actually breaks free of the genre and becomes just a great crime drama in it's own right. Roll on with the DVD and re-release, I say! I do agree with most of what you said, but I just don't believe, in any way, that any of TDK is Oscar worthy - look at my other post that I just made a second ago, look at past winners...and tell me you don't feel there's a fishy element....!!!

[bassman]

dude...i'm not arguing with you about the oscars thing. You may be right on the ledger part, or they could be trying to go for best picture because of the film's success. I'm not saying it will happen because as you pointed out, it never has in the past, but times do change. I doubt it, but it could happen seeing as how comic/superhero films are a HUGE part of hollywood these days. If anything, I think ledger deserves the oscar because they stiffed him for Brokeback Mountain. He was nominated, but I definitely think he deserved the win. With the Joker he created something unique, but is it the best this year? I don't know. Probably not. As Neil pointed out earlier, if they think Ledger deserves an oscar nod, then Aaron Eckhart really deserves one for Harvey Two Face as well. He get's over looked alot for some reason(perhaps the Ledger hoopla you mentioned) but he was fantastic. A WELL rounded role. Not to mention the main character of the film....

[MinionZombie]

Don't worry mate, you can put your order in right now at play.com if you want... http://www.play.com/DVD/DVD/4-/65539...cid=1655075731 (for the 3 disc version!) Ooh you f*ckin' bitch...

[SymphonicX]

dude...i'm not arguing with you about the oscars thing. You may be right on the ledger part, or they could be trying to go for best picture because of the film's success. I'm not saying it will happen because as you pointed out, it never has in the past, but times do change. I doubt it, but it could happen seeing as how comic/superhero films are a HUGE part of hollywood these days. If anything, I think ledger deserves the oscar because they stiffed him for Brokeback Mountain. He was nominated, but I definitely think he deserved the win. With the Joker he created something unique, but is it the best this year? I don't know. Probably not. As Neil pointed out earlier, if they think Ledger deserves an oscar nod, then Aaron Eckhart really deserves one for Harvey Two Face as well. He get's over looked alot for some reason(perhaps the Ledger hoopla you mentioned) but he was fantastic. A WELL rounded role. Not to mention the main character of the film.... Some people have said it's a bit...erm....thin on the ground? I dunno...I kinda watched the movie a bit mashed and forgot most of it...so I know some of my comments aren't too well founded - but yeah....cool discussion anyway... I think our wires may be crossed between the points of me thinking that this oscar thing is about his death, and maybe you thinking I am attributing the film's success to his death - which I'm not...I think it was promoted by and large because of his death but I think it was successful simply because it's a dark action comic book movie with Batman in it!!

[Neil]

Ooh you f*ckin' bitch... LOL Sorry

[Danny]

I actually thought Aaron Eckhart's performance was one of the best! i agree, ledger played a good character, but it was just that, not the joker, just a great character, while eckhart played two face spot on like he had stepped off the comics. and the less said about batbale the better

[bassman]

i agree, ledger played a good character, but it was just that, not the joker, just a great character, What? Are you serious? Ledger is so far the ONLY actor to get the character right.

[Danny]

the guy ledger played was not the joker i've been reading in the comics for years. the acting was fantastic but he felt more like a bad guy from a marvel comic book than dc if you get what i mean.

[bassman]

If you're talking about recent comics, then no....he wasn't that guy. This Joker was based on his first appearences in Batman #1, Arkham Asylum, and The Killing Joke. Minus the origin, of course. Ledger's joker is the closest anyones ever come and probably ever will come to getting the character right.

[DjfunkmasterG]

It's a shame Katie Holmes' wasn't in the second one... Wonder what the deal was there! My Guess... Mr. Katie Holmes had something to do with it.