Trivia for
The Dark Knight (2008) More at IMDbPro »

• After seeing his performance in Thank You for Smoking (2005), Christopher Nolan thought that Aaron Eckhart would be perfect for the role of District Attorney Harvey Dent. Nolan and Eckhart had almost worked together on Memento (2000) years before.
  
  
• This is the first Batman feature film that doesn't incorporate the word "Batman" in its title.
  
  
• The false title given to the film during production, Rory's First Kiss, was named after Christopher Nolan's son, Rory. When filming began in April 2007, the production was code-named to thwart onlookers and trespassers. All over downtown Chicago, fliers were posted with this pseudonym (alongside an "RFK" logo) and also listed the address for the film's production offices.
  
  
• Despite endless speculation on which actor had been chosen to portray The Joker, Heath Ledger had always been Christopher Nolan's one and only choice for the role.
  
  
• When asked why he unexpectedly cast Heath Ledger as The Joker, Christopher Nolan simply replied, "Because he's fearless."
  
  
• Actor/musician Dwight Yoakam turned down two different roles in this film. One was for the part of Det. Wuertz (later played by Ron Dean), as well as the small part of the Gotham National Bank manager (portrayed by William Fichtner) featured at the very beginning.
  
  
• Even though Christopher Nolan offered her the part, Katie Holmes decided not to reprise her role as Rachel Dawes. Instead, she opted to co-star with Diane Keaton and Queen Latifah in Mad Money (2008) that same year.
  
  
• Before Maggie Gyllenhaal officially stepped in for Katie Holmes, there was widespread, fan-based gossip that Emily Blunt, Rachel McAdams, or Sarah Michelle Gellar would take over the role of Rachel Dawes. It was also rumored that Sarah Michelle Gellar could have played the Joker's minion Harley Quinn.
  
  
• One of the featured extra's military uniforms bears the name Philo. This is a nod to Joan Philo, the Illinois-based casting director for extras.
  
  
• On Thanksgiving weekend, 2007, fake four-page tabloid-size Gotham Times newspapers were distributed at various public events. Headlined City at War - Batman Saves Entire Family, every article teased events in the film, and everything in the handout was geared toward the film, including the weather ("Gloomy and overcast...") and advertisements for Gotham National Bank, the Gotham Girl Guides and recruitment for the Gotham Police Department.
  
  
• In preparation for his role as The Joker, Heath Ledger hid away in a motel room for about six weeks. During this extended stay of seclusion, Ledger delved deep into the psychology of the character. He devoted himself to developing The Joker's every tic, namely the voice and that sadistic-sounding laugh. Ledger's interpretation of The Joker's appearance was primarily based off of the chaotic, disheveled look of punk rocker Sid Vicious combined with the psychotic mannerisms of Malcolm McDowell's character, Alex De Large, from A Clockwork Orange (1971).
  
  
• Christopher Nolan and his co-writers, Jonathan Nolan and David S. Goyer, made the decision very early on not to explore The Joker's origins. This was so the character could be presented as an "absolute".
  
  
• A similar scene in Michael Mann's crime saga, Heat (1995), inspired this film's introductory bank robbery sequence. As a matter of fact, William Fichtner, who had a notable appearance in this scene, was also in Heat (1995).
  
  
• For the first time in feature filmmaking, IMAX cameras were utilized. Christopher Nolan had wanted to shoot in the IMAX format for years, thus using this film as his opportunity to do so. Six major action-heavy sequences, along with various high-altitude shots, were filmed on the IMAX ratio. (These sequences are available on the Bonus Disc of the 2-Disc DVD Edition.)
  
  
• Off-duty Chicago police officers along with officers from Elyria OH; Hammond IN; Buffalo Grove, IL and Joliet, IL played Gotham police officer extras.
  
  
• Elaborate, interactive marketing campaigns were launched in the months leading up to the release of this film. One of these was an event at the 2007 San Diego Comic-con called Why So Serious, which involved fans following clues hidden around the city. The legions of Joker-painted fans ended up congregating in the street across from the convention center, where one of their numbers was welcomed into a black Escalade (with Gotham license plates) that had just pulled up. After a moment the fan started screaming and the SUV sped away. Later that day, a Gotham City newspaper was circulated reporting that a man believed to be the Joker was found beaten to death. Included were crime scene photos of the fan who had gotten into the Escalade, and a mention that he was found with a playing card in his hand, on which was scribbled "See you in December."
  
  
• The Gotham City license plates were directly modeled off of Illinois license plates.
  
  
• Heath Ledger's sudden death on January 22, 2008 prompted immediate speculation over the film's state. Soon after Ledger's tragic passing was announced, Warner Bros. Pictures issued a statement that verified that Ledger had finished all of his scenes in principal photography, as well as post-production fulfillments (i.e., looping), thus making The Joker his final, completed film role.
  
  
• It's Sir Michael Caine's opinion that Heath Ledger beat the odds and topped Jack Nicholson's Joker from Batman (1989): "Jack was like a clown figure, benign but wicked, maybe a killer old uncle. He could be funny and make you laugh. Heath's gone in a completely different direction to Jack, he's like a really scary psychopath. He's a lovely guy and his Joker is going to be a hell of a revelation in this picture." Caine bases this belief on a scene where the Joker pays a visit to Bruce Wayne's penthouse. He'd never met Ledger before, so when Ledger arrived and performed he gave Caine such a fright he forgot his lines.
  
  
• Aaron Eckhart described his portrayal of Harvey Dent as simultaneously coming from and being apart from the same world as Batman (Dent is the white knight of Gotham, as opposed to the Dark Knight). His challenge was "looking for the similarities and the tension between the two; to find what's similar to Batman and then what's opposite to him." Eckhart prepared for his role by studying split personalities.
  
  
• 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, fibreglass, metallic mesh, and nylon (producing an impression of sophisticated technology), with elastic banding added for tightening the costume to fit Bale. The gauntlets had their razors made retractable and able to be fired. 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/down, and comes equipped with white eye lenses for when Batman turns on Bat-sonar.
  
  
• The Joker make-up was composed of three pieces of stamped silicone, which took less than an hour to apply to Heath Ledger on each day of shooting. Ledger described it as "new technology which is much quicker to apply than regular prosthetics"; he felt he was not wearing any make-up at all.
  
  
• Once she knew Heath Ledger had been cast as The Joker, costume designer Lindy Hemming based the character's attire off of an eclectic line-up of clothing styles, ranging from Vivienne Westwood to John Lydon to Iggy Pop to Pete Doherty to Alexander McQueen. Hemming's aim was to modify The Joker's familiar appearance with "a younger, trendier look", in order to represent Ledger's generation.
  
  
• An explosion was filmed at the Battersea Power Station in London. The fireball created calls from panic-stricken local residents, who assumed a terrorist attack had occurred at the out-of-use station.
  
  
• Nestor Carbonell who plays the mayor coincidentally also played "Bat Manuel", a parody of Batman, in the comic-based live action "The Tick" (2001) TV series. And Michael Jai White who played the Batman-inspired character Spawn in Spawn (1997) plays a gangster.
  
  
• Jerry Robinson, one of the original creators of the Joker back in 1940, was hired as a consultant on the film (the Joker is to be portrayed according to his first two appearances in the comics, which Robinson was involved in). His "Batman" co-creator Bob Kane had earlier been hired as a consultant for Batman (1989).
  
  
• David S. Goyer and Christopher Nolan collaborated on the story of the film. The script itself was written by Nolan and his brother Jonathan. After watching The Dark Knight, Goyer stated "I can't believe my name is on a movie this good".
  
  
• Aaron Eckhart enjoyed wearing the Two-Face makeup and warned: "When you look at him, you should get sick to your stomach. It's like you would feel if you met someone whose face had pretty much been ripped off or burned off with acid. There are fans on the Internet who have drawn versions of what they think it looks like, and I can tell you this: They're thinking small. Chris has gone way farther than people think."
  
  
• The Batman theme is heard only twice in the film, as Composers Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard decided that a heroic theme that a viewer could hum would ignore the complexity and darkness of the character. Hearing the tune only twice would create what Zimmer calls "a musical foreshadowing."
  
  
• Composer James Newton Howard composed an elegant and beautiful score for Harvey Dent, which would serve as a jarring contrast to Two-Face's persona.
  
  
• The actor who plays the older gentleman that confronts the Joker at the party thrown by Bruce Wayne for Harvey Dent is Vermont senior senator Patrick Leahy. Mr. Leahy is a huge Batman fan and arranged an early showing of the movie on July 12th as a fund-raiser for the children's section of the Kellogg-Hubbard Library in Montpelier, Vermont, the state's capital. He has also appeared in Batman & Robin (1997) and on an episode of "Batman" (1992).
  
  
• This film currently holds the box-office record for the largest opening weekend of all time. It made $158,411,483 in its first weekend of release. Another superhero sequel, Spider-Man 3 (2007), formerly held that record the previous summer.
  
  
• Along with Spider-Man 3 (2007) and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006), this film reached the $100 million mark the fastest, in only two days. Since it had a larger opening day than those two blockbusters, it reached the milestone even sooner.
  
  
• With 4,366 locations, this film also holds the record for opening in the most venues on its release date. (Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007) opened in 4,362 movie houses the previous summer.)
  
  
• Set a weekend box-office record for IMAX venues with $6.2 mil. Former record holder was Spider-Man 3 (2007).
  
  
• When it was released on July 18, 2008, this film made $67.2 million in a single day, the most lucrative opening for any film. Because of its pent-up demand, midnight showings all over the country were sold out, resulting in $18.5 million in late-night showings alone.
  
  
• This film reached the $400 million mark after 43 days of release, which is less than half the time it took Shrek 2 (2004), the former record-holder, to reach.
  
  
• This film reached the $200 million mark in only 5 days, quickly achieving another box-office record.
  
  
• This film reached the $300 million mark in only 10 days, setting yet another record.
  
  
• The film was delivered to some theaters under the name Oliver's Army.
  
  
• While filming both the bank and police department scenes at the post office, an unrelated fire broke out in a top floor mechanical room and many onlookers believed that the smoke and fire was related to the filming.
  
  
• Just as it was when filming Batman Begins (2005), director Christopher Nolan oversaw every shot himself as there was no second unit.
  
  
• Made more money than Batman Begins (2005) entire domestic run in only 6 days of release.
  
  
• Cameo: [Stuntman Buster Reeves] Christian Bale's main stunt double plays one of The Joker's thugs. He appears in the trailer of the Joker's semi-truck, as he hands The Joker his weapons as he fires them at the police transport. He then rides in the passenger seat of the cab of the truck as The Joker drives.
  
  
• The nine-minute suite composed for the Joker is based around two notes, D and C. Interestingly enough, Batman's comic book company (who also produces the film) is DC Comics.
  
  
• The first film to be ranked #1 on the IMDb within two days of its theatrical release.
  
  
• While other actors were rumored to have been considered for the part of The Joker, director Chris Nolan claims that Heath Ledger entered his mind as a candidate for the role very early on during production, citing that the two had met up to discuss it before there was even a script for the film.
  
  
• The serrated edges on the side of the Batman's gauntlets were inspired by the pulp character Tony Quinn, the Black Bat, whose origin (he was a district attorney victim of an acid flinging gangster) was borrowed for Two-Face.
  
  
• Christian Bale got to keep the Batman mask from the movie, after filming. He wanted to keep the entire uniform but he did not have enough room for it.
  
  
• Batman asks Alfred to find the names of any police officers who have family members staying in the hospital. Alfred texts Gordon with "Ramirez-Berg". Charles Ramirez-Berg is an acclaimed professor of radio-television-film at the University of Texas at Austin who, among other honors, was mentioned in Robert Rodriguez 's autobiography as his favorite professor.
  
  
• The Joker's face paint was reportedly designed by Heath Ledger himself, who used white clown makeup and cosmetics from a drugstore. Once his design was approved, the makeup team was responsible for replicating the look each day for filming.
  
  
• Gotham City's civic heraldry combines elements of New York City's and Chicago's municipal emblems. Examples include Gotham-area license plates (based on Illinois tags found throughout Chicago) and Gotham's garbage trucks (whose door emblems directly quote New York City's old Sanitation Department logo: a large red sans-serif capital letter S atop a medical caduceus, all within a circle with a text border).
  
  
• Takes place six months after Batman Begins (2005) ended.
  
  
• Holds the record for reaching the $500 million mark the fastest, after 45 days. The former record holder was Titanic (1997) (98 days).
  
  
• Despite the PG-13 rating, blood is only ever seen three times on-screen (on the face of the civilian Batman that the Joker hangs), Harvey's pillow in the hospital, and on Batman's arm due to the dog attacking him; most of the violence either occur off-screen or is obscured by camera angles.
  
  
• The Joker's distinctive tongue flip grew out of Heath Ledger's own habit of doing that.
  
  
• The 70mm IMAX prints of the film each consisted of 45 reels, which once assembled, were roughly 9.5 miles long and weighed 450 pounds.
  
  
• One of five films released in 2008 (and the only one still running in theaters when the voting took place) to be on Empire's 500 Greatest Movies Of All Time (September 2008). The other four are Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), Iron Man (2008), Cloverfield (2008) and WALL·E (2008).
  
  
• During Jim Gordon's meeting with Harvey Dent, a box is visibly labeled with the name Keyser Söze. This is a reference to a character in The Usual Suspects (1995), another villain defined by multiple identities.
  
  
• Voted #15 on Empire magazine's 500 Greatest Movies Of All Time (September 2008).
  
  
• The Joker's mask during the initial bank robbery is almost exactly the same as the mask worn by Cesar Romero when hijacking a performance of Pagliacci in the TV series episode "Batman: The Joker Is Wild (#1.5)" (1966).
  
  
• Shortly before the film's DVD debut, Warner Brothers were under legal action by the city of Batman, Turkey (pronounced "bot-min") in November 2008. Even though it wasn't used in the title, the character name of Batman was considered an infringement.
  
  
• Other actors under consideration for the coveted role of Harvey Dent - pending Aaron Eckhart's availability - were Mark Ruffalo, Liev Schreiber, and Josh Lucas.
  
  
• During the hospital scene, when The Joker is dressed as a nurse, his name tag on the outfit reads Matilda. This is after Heath Ledger's daughter by the same name.
  
  
• The console for the Bat Sonar resembles "The Listening Post", Mark Hasen and Ben Rubin's dynamic portrait of online communication, especially when Lucius Fox and Batman switch it off. The installation is currently on display at the Science Museum in London.
  
  
• "The Dark Knight" on Blu-ray disc features the IMAX version of the film. Any sequence filmed with the IMAX cameras fills up a widescreen TV at a 1:78:1 ratio, thus giving a grander view from the top to bottom. The rest of the film plays at a 2:35:1 scope ratio which delivers a panoramic view. It is only on Blu-ray that the film can be watched this way as on a 4:3 TV the transition would be too jarring, however the IMAX sequences can be viewed as a special feature on the DVD version.
  
  
• Lower Wacker Drive in Chicago was closed every night starting at 7 PM during the summer of 2007 to accommodate filming. The street was open during the day, however, and the several Batmobiles and tumblers were visible just on the other side of the barricades covered only with sheets.
  
  
• As of its release, the longest film Christopher Nolan has directed.
  
  
• First Batman film with no live-action or CGI bats.
  
  
• The date seen on Gordon's security camera photo of The Joker taken during the bank heist reads "2008/07/18", which was the U.S. theatrical release date of the film.
  
  
• During the chase scene, when the Joker takes over driving the semi after his driver is killed, you can clearly see the bullet holes on the windshield form a smiley face.
  
  
• In the scene where the older gentleman (Sen. Patrick Leahy) confronts the Joker at the party thrown by Bruce Wayne for Harvey Dent, the Joker tells the gentleman, "You remind of me of my father. I HATE my father". This same line was was used in the movie Ruthless People (1986). The Bedroom Killer says this to Ken Kessler (Judge Reinhold) after breaking into his house.
  
  
• The first film shot with IMAX to be nominated for an Academy Award for best cinematography and an American Society of Cinematographers Award.
  
  
• The first Batman movie (both live action and animated) not to feature Bruce Wayne in a tuxedo.
  
  
• Two-Face's disfigurement was created through computer graphics rather than prosthetic make-up, as director Christopher Nolan felt that, no matter how good the make-up was, it is still inherently adding something onto an actor's face, when Two-Face's appearance requires part of his face to be burned away.
  
  
• The first Batman movie that does not feature Bruce Wayne's mansion.
  
  
• 39 vehicles are crashed, shot, blown up, bumped, or otherwise involved in some sort of violence in this film.
  
  
• Whilst filming in Chicago, Wanted (2008) was the neighboring production, and Morgan Freeman worked concurrently on both films. At one point, Wanted comic book writer Mark Millar visited the set but without permission. The security and Lauren Shuler Donner (who also visited the set at that time) caught Millar sitting on the Batpod. Millar was escorted away from the set.
  
  
• Hong Kong actor Edison Chen can be seen escorting Lucius Fox from the helicopter into the building, and later when the police goes in for the raid at Lau's office. The Hong Kong scene contains a scripted set piece where Batman drops into the river harbor. However it was scrapped because environmental officials found out that the river was still polluted.
  
  
• The IMAX cameras used in filming proved to be problematic for the crew. Dialog that was recorded on film is very noisy so it had to be replaced during post-production. An IMAX camera is very heavy and it cannot be used hand held. Instead, special mounts had to be created to support the weight. Finally, they had to get the shots right as it takes 5 days to process the negative instead of the conventional negative.
  
  
• When Harvey Dent's face is on fire, the first frame reveals the Batman logo on his close-up.
  
  
• The Joker says that Harvey is located at Avenue X and Cicero. Cicero is a prominent street in Chicago (where a lot of the movie was filmed) located at 4800 West (48 blocks from State Street).
  
  
• This is the fourth time a film based on a comic has been nominated for a best supporting actor Academy Award. The first was Al Pacino for Dick Tracy (1990), but he didn't win. The second was Paul Newman, who was nominated for his role in Road to Perdition (2002), which was based on a graphic novel by Max Allan Collins and Richard Piers Rayner. The third was William Hurt, who was nominated for A History of Violence (2005), based on a graphic novel written by John Wagner and illustrated by Vince Locke.
  
  
• Heath Ledger's posthumous Oscar nomination for best supporting actor as The Joker was coincidentally announced on the first anniversary of his death.
  
  
• In the Italian version Batman (1989), Jack Nicholson's voice was dubbed by actor Giancarlo Giannini. In "The Dark Knight" Heath Ledger is dubbed by Giannini's son Adriano Giannini, with the result that Italian audience felt a connection between the two Jokers since the voices are very similar.
  
  
• The comic book film with the most Academy Award nominations (8).
  
  
• After the tumbler becomes disabled and prior to its self destruction there is a warning sound during the tumbler's "system diagnosis". This warning alarm sound is the same sound used for an incoming call to the red Bat-phone in the "Batman" (1966) TV series.
  
  
• Heath Ledger directed both homemade videos that the Joker sends to GCN himself. The first video involving the fake Batman was done under Nolan's supervision. Nolan thought Ledger had done so well with that sequence, he felt there was no need for him to be there when it came time to film the scene where reporter Mike Engel reads the Joker's statement. He put his trust in Ledger and let him do whatever he wanted, ultimately pleased with the result after he'd seen the outcome.
  
  
• Like its predecessor, the film has no opening credits or titles.
  
  
• While filming the chase scene with the Joker and the SWAT vans, one of only four IMAX cameras in the world at that time was destroyed.
  
  
• Wally Pfister personally filmed most of the film's hand held shots.
  
  
• On 20th February 2009, the movie became the 4th movie to have made more than US$1billion worldwide.
  
  
• The first comic book movie to ever win an Oscar for achievement in acting, specifically to Heath Ledger (posthumously) for his supporting role as The Joker.
  
  
• Heath Ledger posthumously won a total of 32 Best Supporting Actor awards for his work on this film, including the Oscar, Golden Globe, BAFTA, SAG and Critic's Choice award. The only awards he was nominated for but didn't win were the Satellite Award (which went to Michael Shannon for Revolutionary Road (2008)) and the London Film Critic's Circle Award for actor of the year (which went to Mickey Rourke for The Wrestler (2008)).
  
  
• IMAX camera technician/consultant Wayne Baker has a cameo that is the only close up actually shot in the IMAX format in the film. He sits on the loading dock and reacts to the Batpod emerging from the wreckage of the Batmobile.
  
  
• In their face to face confrontations, neither Batman nor Joker refer to one another by name.
  
  
• Christopher Nolan has cited Michael Mann's Heat (1995) as an influence. The opening bank scene and the shot of Batman standing against a blue dusk sky are similar in style to Heat.
  
  
• When Batman tests the fingerprint on the bullet lodged in the wall, the name given is Melvin White. This name is perhaps a reference to Mel Blanc, who voiced nearly all of the classic Warner Bros. cartoon characters (Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, etc.) The word "blanc" means "white" in French.
  
  
• The first four days of scheduled shooting resulted in no film being rolled. Instead, Christopher Nolan screened two films for the cast and crew with a break in between. The eight films were (in order): Heat (1995), Cat People (1942), Citizen Kane (1941), King Kong (1933), Batman Begins (2005), Black Sunday (1977), A Clockwork Orange (1971), and Stalag 17 (1953).
  
  
• In one draft of the script, a reference to Robin being related to Rachel Dawes was considered. The character of Dick Grayson was not explicitly mentioned, however Rachel Dawes is revealed as being a relative of the Grayson family. Christopher Nolan had it removed because he didn't want to build hopes up about the Robin character appearing in a future film.
  
  
• The Scarecrow's brief appearance in this film makes him the first Batman villain (played by the same actor) to appear in more than one film.
  
  
• Aaron Eckhart appeared in The Missing (2003/I), opposite previous Two-Face Tommy Lee Jones and previous Batman Val Kilmer.
  
  
• The Joker having a blade in his shoe is a reference to Rosa Klebb, the antagonist in From Russia with Love (1963), who uses an identical weapon.
  
  
• Harvey Dent's line about Batman looking for someone to take up his mantle and the Joker demanding Batman's surrender in exchange for Gotham City are possible references to "Batman Beyond" (1999), an animated television series which takes place in the year 2039, when Bruce Wayne has done exactly that, in favor of Terry McGinnis, and which features an episode entitled "Batman Beyond: Babel (#2.12)" (2000), in which the villain, Shriek, demands that Batman surrender himself in exchange for the city's safety (and in both Batman Beyond and The Dark Knight, the public shows no gratitude whatsoever toward Batman and demand that he sacrifice himself for their safety).
  
  
• The Batman comic books The Long Halloween, The Killing Joke, The Man Who Laughs and the first two comics to feature the Joker character served as an influence on the film's storyline.
  
  
• The ferries used for the ferry scene in which a boat of convicts and citizens are forced to detonate a bomb in the other boat, the ferries depicted are CGI models of the Molinary-class of Staten Island Ferry. The Staten Island Ferry, which is run by the New York Department of Transportation, offers a free 25-minute ride across New York harbor from St. George in Staten Island to South Ferry in Manhattan.
  
  
• Both of the Batman sequels Batman Returns (1992) and The Dark Knight feature scenes where a villain pushes a woman off the ledge of a building and Batman tries to save her. In Batman Returns, The Penguin throws an umbrella with bats making the ice princess fall off the building to her death with Batman not rescuing her in time; in The Dark Knight however, The Joker throws Rachel off the ledge of Bruce Wayne's penthouse window and Batman saves her from death.
  
  
• Both this film and its predecessor have one-word themes which are driving forces in the stories: Batman Begins (2005) centers around Fear, while the focus of The Dark Knight (2008) is Chaos.
  
  
• The bus crashing backwards into the bank in the opening sequence was much harder to pull off than was anticipated. The bus had to be taken apart and reassembled inside the building (a disused post office), concealed behind a large false wall, and then propelled backwards with an air cannon.
  
  
• Cillian Murphy reprises his role as Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow from Batman Begins (2005) in this film. This makes him the first actor to reprise the role of a Batman villain in the whole film series.
  
  
• Many cast members in this film have worked with the siblings of other cast members. Heath Ledger had previously worked with Jake Gyllenhaal in Brokeback Mountain (2005). Maggie Gyllenhaal had worked with Julia Roberts in Mona Lisa Smile (2003), as had Aaron Eckhart in Erin Brockovich (2000).
  
  
• Received more Academy Award nominations than any other film based on a comic book, comic strip, or graphic novel. First film based on a comic book, comic strip, or graphic novel to win an Academy Award for acting (Best Supporting Actor).
  
  

• SPOILER: The film uses numerous elements of the Joker's first appearance in Batman #1, published in 1940. In both The Dark Knight and Batman #1, the Joker publicly announces his crimes before committing them, removes his make-up and disguises himself as a police officer to gain access to a person he threatened to kill, uses a powerful bomb smuggled into jail to escape, steals and kills not for personal gain but simply to create chaos and disorder, and infringes upon the city's old-fashioned mobsters.
  
  
• SPOILER: There are many elements from various Batman graphic novels, either verbatim or slightly recast. In The Long Halloween, Batman, Gordon, and Dent fake Dent's death. In The Dark Knight, Gordon's death is faked. Also in The Long Halloween, Batman poses as a SWAT officer. In the movie, Gordon does. The Joker's reference at the end of the film to "pushing Dent over the edge" mirrors his social experiment with Gordon in The Killing Joke, in which The Joker attempts to drive Gordon insane by making him have a really bad day. A lot of the interaction between Batman and The Joker is taken from The Long Halloween, specifically the interrogation scene in the film. It's reminiscent of the end of The Long Halloween and also is similar to elements of The Dark Knight Returns. Finally, the copycat Batmen are clearly inspired by The Sons of The Batman from The Dark Knight Returns. In addition, in The Killing Joke the Joker explains if he "had a past, it would be multiple choice." This is referenced when the Joker tells two different stories about the origin of his scars.
  
  
• SPOILER: Heath Ledger improvised when he started clapping inside his jail cell in a mocking and sardonic capacity as Gordon is promoted. The clapping was not scripted but Christopher Nolan immediately encouraged the crew to continue filming and the sequence was included in the film.
  
  
• SPOILER: Body count: 36
  
  
• SPOILER: Early in the film, a witness on stand pulls a gun out on Harvey Dent (Two-Face) during the trial and tries to shoot him. This is a nod towards Two-Face's original origin story in the comics where in a similar trial scenario, crime boss Sal Maroni is on stand and throws sulfuric acid in Dent's face resulting in his scarring.
  
  
• SPOILER: Christian Bale stated in an interview that during the interrogation scene, Heath Ledger wanted him to beat him as hard as he could to get the real feeling of what was required from the scene.
  
  
• SPOILER: After his transformation, Two-Face flips his coin eight times. It comes up on the good side five times for the Joker, Sal Maroni, Detective Ramirez, Dent himself, Gordon's son (though Two-Face didn't catch that one) and the bad side three times, for Detective Wuertz, Maroni's driver and Batman.
  
  
• SPOILER: There are at least two references to the fall of the Roman republic in the movie. The first is when Bruce meets Harvey at the restaurant and Harvey mentions how the Romans would offer unlimited power to a single citizen to guide them through a crisis. Rachel's character incorrectly states that the last person to get this mantle was Caesar - in actuality, Caesar coerced the Roman senate to give him this power. The second reference is when the Joker mentions the location of Harvey and Rachel. He says that Harvey was at 250 W 52st. The other address was Avenue X and Cicero. We know later that he was lying and that Harvey was located at Avenue X and Cicero as the final scene takes place where Harvey lost his loved one, namely, 250 W. 52 St. Cicero was the Rome's most famous orator and statesman, and was a vocal opponent against Caesar and tyranny. Furthermore, in ancient times Caesar represented chaos (as evidenced by Lucan's civil war - where Caesar invokes fortune or chance before he goes crosses the Rubicon and goes to war against Rome) much like the Joker or Harvey later on in this movie. The analogy then is that Harvey, the gifted statesman and orator, is put against chaos and chance and ultimately fails, only to become the villain. A third reference to the fall of the Roman republic is the fact that Jim Gordon, Harvey Dent and Batman form an agreement. In modern times the agreement to control the senate by Caesar, Pompey the Great, and Crassus (the financier of the venture) was known as the first triumvirate. Batman, Gordon, and Harvey are similarly trying to control Gotham. As mentioned above Harvey represents Cicero at first (the model citizen) and then Caesar when he becomes a villain. Gordon is Pompey, the aging general who is trying to do good, and thinks this is the only way how. Batman is Crassus, as he brings together and finances the venture.
  
  
• SPOILER: A similarity to the film Heat (1995) gives a hint as to the presence of the Joker in the opening sequence. In the opening sequence of the former, a character named Waingro is shown being picked up in preparation for the armored car robbery. Waingro turns out to be a homicidal maniac that enjoys killing and is always looking for action. He is the anarchist of the group. Similarly, the Joker is picked up on a street corner in preparation for the bank heist. His identity is later revealed, and he is a homicidal maniac looking to create anarchy. The two characters do not share many similarities, but their introductions are similar and quite possibly intentional considering the fact that the former had some influence on this movie.
  
  
• SPOILER: Both of the first Batman film sequels (Batman Returns (1992) and The Dark Knight (2008) ) destroy the first movie's Batmobile. BR's Penguin reprograms and controls it before Batman has to shed it, while TDK's Batman takes takes Joker's RPG for Dent and it then self-destructs. Both even turn into a smaller vehicle (Batmissile and Batpod) which he then uses to escape the police. Also, both BR and TDK feature a scene where Batman is shot by a villain, and uses body armor to play dead and protect himself (Two-Face in TDK, and Max Shreck in BR).
  
  
• SPOILER: The situation with the two ferries is a classic example from game theory, also known as the prisoner's dilemma. In the prisoner's dilemma, two suspects are arrested by the police. The police visit each of them to offer the same deal. If one testifies (defects) for the prosecution against the other and the other remains silent, the betrayer goes free and the silent accomplice receives the full 10-year sentence. If both remain silent, both prisoners are sentenced to only six months in jail for a minor charge. If each betrays the other, each receives a five-year sentence. Each prisoner must choose to betray the other or to remain silent. Each one is assured that the other would not know about the betrayal before the end of the investigation. The unique equilibrium for this game is a Pareto-suboptimal solution-that is, rational choice leads the two players to both play defect even though each player's individual reward would be greater if they both played cooperatively. The same goes for the people on the two ferries. If one group decides to blow up the other, they go free (cooperation, so to speak, with the Joker) and vice versa. Otherwise, they'll run the risk of being blown up themselves. If neither group does anything, they'll both be blown up. The fact that neither group decides to blow up the other would be, according to game theory an irrational decision given the stated terms. The only reason it ends well is that the Joker doesn't succeed in detonating the device to blow up both ferries.
  
  
• SPOILER: The address of the building where Rachel Dawes is killed and where the final confrontation between Gordon, Batman and Two-Face occurs is 250 52nd Street. Sounded out, this address contains "Fifty-Fifty", a major thematic element in the film.
  
  
• SPOILER: Both this film and Batman (1989) contain a scene in which the Joker kills someone with a writing utensil.
  
  
• SPOILER: When the Joker tells Batman where Harvey and Rachel are being held, both addresses have hidden meaning. 250 52nd Street sounds like 50/50, an allusion to Harvey's coin flipping. Avenue X and Cicero alludes to the fact that the Joker figured out that Rachel and "Batman" used to be an item (Avenue X (ex)).
  
  

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