The Dark Knight (Batman Begins 2) Discussion - Part 2
07-20-08, 02:00 PM
#1352
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I caught TDK again, this time on IMAX. Wow.
The film plays just as great amongst repeated viewings as it did after the first. It felt like a more tight story. I'm just in awe. Give Nolan a few projects on his choice then throw a large sum of cash at him, say one more film, and walk away and let Team Nolan do it.
The film plays just as great amongst repeated viewings as it did after the first. It felt like a more tight story. I'm just in awe. Give Nolan a few projects on his choice then throw a large sum of cash at him, say one more film, and walk away and let Team Nolan do it.
07-20-08, 02:02 PM
#1353
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Am I the only one who has no clue what Chicago looks like and had no problems with the way Gotham looked? I don't think I could pick out Chicago from a lineup of 5 downtown cities 
07-20-08, 02:07 PM
#1354
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I completely agree fumanstan. I've never been there though. I especially loved all the scenes of dialogue and you could see the bustling Gotham City in the background. I wonder if they blocked off those parts while they were filming....
07-20-08, 02:27 PM
#1355
Originally Posted by runnersdialzero
***SPOILER***
I would have liked to have seen a shot of The Joker at the end of the movie where he is in Arkham Asylum. That way, we know what's happened to him and that he is still alive but we will never see him again in any of the others movies. Him dangling leaves it open for too much interpretation since Ledger is dead, we know we will never see the Joker again.
I would have liked to have seen a shot of The Joker at the end of the movie where he is in Arkham Asylum. That way, we know what's happened to him and that he is still alive but we will never see him again in any of the others movies. Him dangling leaves it open for too much interpretation since Ledger is dead, we know we will never see the Joker again.
I would think that after all the cops and innocents the Joker killed, a few policemen would end up killing him while he was hanging there.
07-20-08, 02:52 PM
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Originally Posted by Cornelius1047
Fifty percent of Michael Caine's performance, including that last shot.
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07-20-08, 03:21 PM
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Holy box office! 'Dark Knight' sets new record
Batman sequel rakes in record $155 million; beats ‘Spider-Man 3’
The Associated Press
updated 1:19 p.m. ET, Sun., July. 20, 2008
Batman has sent Spidey packing as king of Hollywood’s box-office superheroes.
“The Dark Knight” took in a record $155.34 million in its first weekend, topping the previous best of $151.1 million for “Spider-Man 3” in May 2007 and pacing Hollywood to its biggest weekend ever, according to studio estimates Sunday.
“We knew it would be big, but we never expected to dominate the marketplace like we did,” said Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner Bros., which released “The Dark Knight.” The movie should shoot past the $200 million mark by the end of the week, he said.
Hollywood set an overall revenue record of $253 million for a three-day weekend, beating the $218.4 million haul over the weekend of July 7, 2006, according to box-office tracker Media By Numbers.
“This weekend is such a juggernaut,” said Nikki Rocco, head of distribution for Universal, whose musical “Mamma Mia!” debuted at No. 2 with $27.6 million.
Factoring in higher admission prices, “Spider-Man 3” may have sold slightly more tickets than “The Dark Knight.”
At 2007’s average price of $6.88, “Spider-Man 3” sold 21.96 million tickets over opening weekend. Media By Numbers estimates today’s average movie prices at $7.08, which means “The Dark Knight” would have sold 21.94 million tickets.
Revenue totals for “The Dark Knight” could change when final numbers are released Monday.
The movie’s release was preceded by months of buzz and speculation over the performance of the late Heath Ledger as the Joker, Batman’s nemesis. Ledger, who died in January from an accidental prescription-drug overdose, played the Joker as a demonic presence, his performance prompting predictions that the role might earn him a posthumous Academy Award nomination.
“The average opening gross of the last five ‘Batman’ movies is $47 million. This tripled that, and for a reason,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers. “A big part of that was the Heath Ledger mystique and a phenomenal performance that absolutely deserves the excitement surrounding it.”
“The Dark Knight” reunites director Christopher Nolan with his “Batman Begins” star Christian Bale, whose vigilante crime-fighter is taunted and tested by Ledger’s Joker as the villain unleashes violence and chaos on the city of Gotham.
Overseas, “The Dark Knight” added $40 million in 20 countries where it began opening Wednesday, including Australia, Mexico and Brazil. The film opens in Great Britain this weekend and rolls out to most of the rest of the world over the next few weeks.
“The Dark Knight,” which cost $185 million to make, also broke the “Spider-Man 3” record for best debut in IMAX large-screen theaters with $6.2 million. “Spider-Man 3” opened with $4.7 million in IMAX cinemas.
“Every single show is sold out,” said Greg Foster, IMAX chairman and president. “We’re adding shows as much as we can, but we’re at 100 percent capacity.”
On opening day Friday, “The Dark Knight” also took in more money than previously counted, Fellman said. The film pulled in a record $67.85 million, up nearly $1.5 million from the studio’s estimates a day earlier.
The previous opening-day record also had been held by “Spider-Man 3” with $59.8 million.
Women accounted for most of the audience for “Mamma Mia!”, which Universal opened as counter-programming to the male-dominated audience for “The Dark Knight.”
“With the crowded summer, we knew we would have to find the right weekend, and this seemed like the perfect one considering three-quarters of our audience was female,” Rocco said.
Based on the stage musical set to the tunes of ABBA, “Mamma Mia!” features Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgard, Julie Walters and Christine Baranski.
The weekend’s other new wide release, 20th Century Fox’s animated family flick “Space Chimps,” opened at No. 7 with $7.4 million.
© 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Batman sequel rakes in record $155 million; beats ‘Spider-Man 3’
The Associated Press
updated 1:19 p.m. ET, Sun., July. 20, 2008
Batman has sent Spidey packing as king of Hollywood’s box-office superheroes.
“The Dark Knight” took in a record $155.34 million in its first weekend, topping the previous best of $151.1 million for “Spider-Man 3” in May 2007 and pacing Hollywood to its biggest weekend ever, according to studio estimates Sunday.
“We knew it would be big, but we never expected to dominate the marketplace like we did,” said Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner Bros., which released “The Dark Knight.” The movie should shoot past the $200 million mark by the end of the week, he said.
Hollywood set an overall revenue record of $253 million for a three-day weekend, beating the $218.4 million haul over the weekend of July 7, 2006, according to box-office tracker Media By Numbers.
“This weekend is such a juggernaut,” said Nikki Rocco, head of distribution for Universal, whose musical “Mamma Mia!” debuted at No. 2 with $27.6 million.
Factoring in higher admission prices, “Spider-Man 3” may have sold slightly more tickets than “The Dark Knight.”
At 2007’s average price of $6.88, “Spider-Man 3” sold 21.96 million tickets over opening weekend. Media By Numbers estimates today’s average movie prices at $7.08, which means “The Dark Knight” would have sold 21.94 million tickets.
Revenue totals for “The Dark Knight” could change when final numbers are released Monday.
The movie’s release was preceded by months of buzz and speculation over the performance of the late Heath Ledger as the Joker, Batman’s nemesis. Ledger, who died in January from an accidental prescription-drug overdose, played the Joker as a demonic presence, his performance prompting predictions that the role might earn him a posthumous Academy Award nomination.
“The average opening gross of the last five ‘Batman’ movies is $47 million. This tripled that, and for a reason,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers. “A big part of that was the Heath Ledger mystique and a phenomenal performance that absolutely deserves the excitement surrounding it.”
“The Dark Knight” reunites director Christopher Nolan with his “Batman Begins” star Christian Bale, whose vigilante crime-fighter is taunted and tested by Ledger’s Joker as the villain unleashes violence and chaos on the city of Gotham.
Overseas, “The Dark Knight” added $40 million in 20 countries where it began opening Wednesday, including Australia, Mexico and Brazil. The film opens in Great Britain this weekend and rolls out to most of the rest of the world over the next few weeks.
“The Dark Knight,” which cost $185 million to make, also broke the “Spider-Man 3” record for best debut in IMAX large-screen theaters with $6.2 million. “Spider-Man 3” opened with $4.7 million in IMAX cinemas.
“Every single show is sold out,” said Greg Foster, IMAX chairman and president. “We’re adding shows as much as we can, but we’re at 100 percent capacity.”
On opening day Friday, “The Dark Knight” also took in more money than previously counted, Fellman said. The film pulled in a record $67.85 million, up nearly $1.5 million from the studio’s estimates a day earlier.
The previous opening-day record also had been held by “Spider-Man 3” with $59.8 million.
Women accounted for most of the audience for “Mamma Mia!”, which Universal opened as counter-programming to the male-dominated audience for “The Dark Knight.”
“With the crowded summer, we knew we would have to find the right weekend, and this seemed like the perfect one considering three-quarters of our audience was female,” Rocco said.
Based on the stage musical set to the tunes of ABBA, “Mamma Mia!” features Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgard, Julie Walters and Christine Baranski.
The weekend’s other new wide release, 20th Century Fox’s animated family flick “Space Chimps,” opened at No. 7 with $7.4 million.
© 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
07-20-08, 03:51 PM
#1358
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Originally Posted by Dr Mabuse
was anyone else bothered by the cheap knives?...
for one thing they were props so we'd have no ieda their cost in batman universe
and two, he was a complete psycopath, he'd have all sort of scrounged up stuff. you really think he's going to walk into a high end knife store and have enay one sell to him?
07-20-08, 04:39 PM
#1359
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Originally Posted by Suprmallet
I died a little inside when they were emptying his pockets and one of the knives was a wooden handle with a sharpened piece of metal tied to it. 
07-20-08, 05:33 PM
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Originally Posted by fumanstan
Am I the only one who has no clue what Chicago looks like and had no problems with the way Gotham looked? I don't think I could pick out Chicago from a lineup of 5 downtown cities
I gotta admit that the fact that they were in Chicago was in the back of my head the whole time. It didn't bother me in a negative way, but it did take me a bit out of the film. Even the cops marching in the Black Commish's funeral had me wondering if they used real Chicago PD as extras.
One of the things my Buddy didn't like about Batman Begins was, as he put it, "Gotham didn't look like well...Gotham". I can't wait to hear what he has to say about "Gotham" in The Dark Knight".
07-20-08, 05:36 PM
#1362
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Originally Posted by Dr Mabuse
was anyone else bothered by the cheap knives?...
Then...
Originally Posted by mikehunt
no
for one thing they were props so we'd have no ieda their cost in batman universe
and two, he was a complete psycopath, he'd have all sort of scrounged up stuff. you really think he's going to walk into a high end knife store and have enay one sell to him?
for one thing they were props so we'd have no ieda their cost in batman universe
and two, he was a complete psycopath, he'd have all sort of scrounged up stuff. you really think he's going to walk into a high end knife store and have enay one sell to him?
07-20-08, 06:19 PM
#1363
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Originally Posted by KillerCannibal
Currently sitting at #1 on the IMDb top 250. Incredible.
Originally Posted by fumanstan
Am I the only one who has no clue what Chicago looks like and had no problems with the way Gotham looked? I don't think I could pick out Chicago from a lineup of 5 downtown cities
Can't wait to see this movie again
07-20-08, 07:15 PM
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Originally Posted by Al Padrino
Was anyone else getting a Batman '89 vibe to the final confrontation between Joker and Batman? Right down the the Joker getting thrown and then hanging there.
K
07-20-08, 07:16 PM
#1366
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Originally Posted by fumanstan
Am I the only one who has no clue what Chicago looks like and had no problems with the way Gotham looked? I don't think I could pick out Chicago from a lineup of 5 downtown cities
It's less dressed up then in Begins - but its still a city with tall building. I dunno, it seems like people's consciousness creeping up on them.
07-20-08, 07:29 PM
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Originally Posted by Cornelius1047
Yeah, definitely. Especially the part where Batman's like, "I'm going to kill you" and The Joker is all, "You IDIOT! You made me. Remember? You dropped me into that vat of chemicals. That wasn't easy to get over, and don't think that I didn't try." I mean, come Nolan brothers, at least try to be original.
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07-20-08, 08:36 PM
#1369
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There's definitely a bit of the previous Batman films in TDK. Heath has some very "Jack" moments (after Batman has crashed the batpod, and his goon tries to take off the mask, and it shocks him [didn't something similar happen in Batman '89 as well? I can't remember], and The Joker runs up and starts kicking him and going "booga booga booga" or something to that effect), also, when he says to Rachel, "Now I see the funny side. Now I'm always smiling," it gave me a very Jack Nicholson vibe.
The Bat sonar reminded me of the well, the Bat sonar in Batman Forever. There's probably one or two other things that caught my eye, but I'm not recalling them right now.
Also, I don't know where these sound issues are coming from. I heard the dialog just fine in both IMAX and 35mm.
The Bat sonar reminded me of the well, the Bat sonar in Batman Forever. There's probably one or two other things that caught my eye, but I'm not recalling them right now.
Also, I don't know where these sound issues are coming from. I heard the dialog just fine in both IMAX and 35mm.
07-20-08, 09:05 PM
#1372
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Originally Posted by Suprmallet
More likely that the theaters themselves haven't calibrated their sound systems in quite a while.
07-20-08, 09:16 PM
#1373
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^I've seen movies all summer in the same Auditorium that I saw The Dark Knight in, and it was definitely a case of the music track being cranked in the sound mix (ie. low dialogue levels) but it's only most noticeable in the first 15 minutes and last sequence... every other movie I've seen has sounded fine.
07-20-08, 09:29 PM
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So I'm not the only one who had problems with the dialogue being too soft at times? The last 30 minutes or so, I got lost b/c I was having problems hearing what was being said.
Anyways, anyone still giggle at the 'I wanna be able to turn my head.' reason Bruce gives to Fox for a new suit? Such an awesome inside joke, and I think I might have been the only one in the theater that giggled after he said it.
Anyways, anyone still giggle at the 'I wanna be able to turn my head.' reason Bruce gives to Fox for a new suit? Such an awesome inside joke, and I think I might have been the only one in the theater that giggled after he said it.
07-20-08, 09:39 PM
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Originally Posted by Suprmallet
There's definitely a bit of the previous Batman films in TDK. Heath has some very "Jack" moments (after Batman has crashed the batpod, and his goon tries to take off the mask, and it shocks him [didn't something similar happen in Batman '89 as well? I can't remember], and The Joker runs up and starts kicking him and going "booga booga booga" or something to that effect), also, when he says to Rachel, "Now I see the funny side. Now I'm always smiling," it gave me a very Jack Nicholson vibe.
