The Dark Knight (2008)

Welcome to a world without rules.

Batman raises the stakes in his war on crime. With the help of Lt. Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to dismantle the remaining criminal organizations that plague the streets. The partnership proves to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a reign of chaos unleashed by a rising criminal mastermind known to the terrified citizens of Gotham as the Joker.

Directed by: Christopher Nolan

Written by: Jonathan Nolan, Christopher Nolan

Music by: Hans Zimmer, James Newton Howard

Starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Monique Gabriela Curnen, Ron Dean, Cillian Murphy

Genre: Action, Thriller, Crime

Released: 2008-07-16

Runtime: 152 minutes

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The Dark Knight (2008): trivia & fun facts

Fun facts

• Maggie Gyllenhaal replaced Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes, as Holmes chose to star in the crime comedy Mad Money (2008) instead.
• Principal photography began on April 18, 2007, in Chicago on a $185 million budget.
• The Dark Knight was expected to sell well based on high audience anticipation, positive pre-release reviews, and a record $3.5 million in IMAX pre-sales.
• Predictions placed its opening-weekend take above that of Iron Man's $102.1 million but below that of Spider-Man 3's (2007) record $151.1 million.
• In a November 2007 interview, Ledger said when committing himself to any role, he had difficulty sleeping because he could not relax his mind, and often slept only two hours a night during filming.
• During the interrogation scene, Ledger asked Bale to physically hit him and, although he declined, Ledger cracked and dented the walls by throwing himself around.
• From April to November 2007, filming took place with a $185 million budget in Chicago and Hong Kong, and on sets in England.
• There was also a perceived limit on financial success for Batman films; the 1989 installment remained the franchise's highest-grossing release.
• On July 18, 2008, The Dark Knight was widely released in the U.S. and Canada in a record 4,366 theaters on an estimated 9,200 screens.
• The Dark Knight appeared on several lists recognizing the best films of 2008, including those compiled by Ebert, The Hollywood Reporter, and the American Film Institute.
• Even so, Ledger was considered a favorite to earn the award based on praise from critic groups and his posthumous Golden Globe award.
• Based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, it is the sequel to Batman Begins (2005), and the second installment in The Dark Knight trilogy.
• The cast includes Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Morgan Freeman.
• Christopher Nolan and Batman Begins co-writer David S. Goyer developed the story elements, making Dent the central protagonist caught up in the battle between Batman and the Joker.
• The GCPD cast includes Colin McFarlane as commissioner Gillian B. Loeb, Keith Szarabajka and Ron Dean as detectives Stephens and Wuertz, Monique Gabriela Curnen as rookie detective Anna Ramirez and Philip Bulcock as Murphy.

Source: Wikipedia

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