‘Dark Knight’ to the Rescue

By Michael Machosky, The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Jul. 17–Saving Gotham City, that’s nothing. Batman might have to save the summer.

Sure, it’s only mid-July, but the usual summer blockbusters seem to have worn out their welcome exceedingly early this year. Other than the sublime “WALL-E,” it’s been a scorching, deserted wasteland populated by dust bunnies, dead-on-arrival sequels and the bones of miscast comedies. Even “Indiana Jones” felt strangely empty — although, with that legacy to live up to, how could it not?

“The Dark Knight,” which opens Friday, also swoops in on a gale-force gust of hype, and the shockingly unexpected death of co-star Heath Ledger gives it an extra measure of interest, even to non-Bat-fans. If he gets posthumous Oscar nods, as some of the early chatter indicates, this might have the makings of a major cultural landmark, where critical and commercial acclaim overlap.

As Batman’s nemesis The Joker, Ledger reprises a role made immortal by Jack Nicholson, striking just the right notes of humor, menace and wild-eyed madness. That’s a tall order for any actor.

But British director Christopher Nolan transformed the franchise with “Batman Begins” (2005), a return to the dark vision of comics legend Frank Miller, whose book “Batman: The Dark Knight Returns” shook the character free of the campy image leftover from the ’60s TV show. Tim Burton’s “Batman” (1989) and “Batman Returns” (1992), starring Michael Keaton in the title role, started the franchise down that path, but the next Bat-director, Joel Schumacher, decided to make Batman (Val Kilmer and George Clooney-era) campy and cartoonish again.

To hardcore Batman fans, the ever-changing nature of his costume was emblematic of Schumacher’s irreverent, heretical approach — thus, the infamous uproar over the “Batsuit with nipples” that Clooney wore in “Batman & Robin.”

Typical comments about the Schumacher-directed movies (“Batman Forever” and “Batman & Robin”) on Internet Movie Database include “Uncalled for, overrated and idiotic” and “I hate you, Joel Schumacher.”

In the interviews and audio commentary for the “Batman & Robin” two-disc Special Edition DVD released in 2005, Schumacher contends that he was under pressure from Warner Bros. and toy companies to make a more family-friendly film. He also says he probably went too far in that direction and, at one point, apologizes to disappointed fans.

For “Batman Begins,” Nolan — best known for the mind-bending “Memento” (2000) — brought his visual stylishness and knack for tightly twisted plotting to the franchise, and Christian Bale gave the best Batman performance of the bunch.

This is the team behind “The Dark Knight,” so it seems to be in good hands. We shall see …

‘The Dark Knight’ trivia

–Christopher Nolan shot part of the film in the IMAX format. Included are four major action sequences and quiet dramatic scenes that he thought would be visually fascinating.

–Matt Damon was director Christopher Nolan’s first choice for the role of (Gotham District Attorney) Harvey Dent, but turned it down. Before Aaron Eckhart was cast in the part, other actors considered included Hugh Jackman, Ryan Phillippe, Liev Schreiber and Josh Lucas.

–As a joke, one Batsuit was made with nipples. It was presented to Christian Bale as the real Batsuit, but he knew instantly it was a joke, having seen a few design pictures during preproduction. He did pose for some publicity photos in the “nipple” suit.

–Bruce Wayne develops and wears a new Batsuit in the film. This Batsuit was an improvement on the outfit from “Batman Begins” (2005), and made Christian Bale more comfortable and agile in his performance. It was constructed from 200 unique pieces of rubber, fiberglass, metallic mesh and nylon (producing an impression of sophisticated technology), with elastic banding added for tightening the costume to fit Bale. The suit’s cowl was based on a motorcycle helmet and separated from the neck piece, allowing Bale to move his head left, right, up and down, and comes equipped with white eye lenses for when Batman turns on his Bat-sonar.

–At the time when the Penguin was rumored to be in the movie, Bob Hoskins appeared as a fan favorite. He stated that he would have loved to portray the role and work with Christopher Nolan, calling him a fantastic director. Nolan then stated he had no intention of using the Penguin, calling him a too-far-fetched character.

–For the character of the Joker, costume designer Lindy Hemming was inspired by countercultural pop-culture artists such as Pete Doherty (of the bands The Libertines and Babyshambles), Iggy Pop and Sid Vicious (of punk band the Sex Pistols).

–Robin Williams, Lachy Hulme, Paul Bettany and Adrien Brody all expressed interest in the role of the Joker before Heath Ledger was cast.

–To prepare for his role as the Joker, Heath Ledger lived alone in a hotel room for a month, formulating the character’s psychology, posture and voice (the last one he found most difficult). He started a diary, in which he wrote the Joker’s thoughts and feelings to guide himself during his performance. He also was given Alan Moore’s comic “Batman: The Killing Joke” and “Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth” to read. Ledger also took inspiration from “A Clockwork Orange” (1971) and Sid Vicious.

Source: Internet Movie Database

Batman incarnations

Several versions of the Batman story have been made, from serialized movies of the ’40s to a variety of animated films and TV series. Here are the most well-known actors to portray the Caped Crusader.

Adam West — “Batman” TV series (1966-68); “The New Adventures of Batman” TV series (1977)

Michael Keaton — “Batman” (1989); “Batman Returns” (1992)

Val Kilmer — “Batman Forever” (1995)

George Clooney — “Batman & Robin” (1997)

Christian Bale — “Batman Begins” (2005); “The Dark Knight” (2008)

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