I haven't seen it yet, but I will soon.
One thing about Christian Bale: At one point he seemed to be the best newcomer out there (See American Psycho), but he's ruined it for himself I think. Did you all know that he going to be in a new Terminator movie? That franchise died with Terminator 3 (HUGE letdown). He's also been in way too many shit movies IMO.
The best "new"-ish guy out there is Leo DiCaprio. No contest.

JumpingKentFlash



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-07-28 11:15 by JumpingKentFlash.

Saw The Dark Knight yesterday. Excellent movie. Fantastic. Makes the earlier round of Batman movies seem like demos.

Here is an interesting article on the success of the movie in the first week as well as bootlegging and how WB prevented it at first. I dunno about anyone else here but the idea of seeing a movie in a movie theatre is, to me, the whole idea - big screen and loud everything. I missed seeing Pirates 3 on the big screen and wish I would have. But NOT seeing it and choosing to see a bootleg? I dunno. I don't mind spending $5 or $7 on a movie. It's not a lot of money and it supports the fact that it was made and that more will be made. Kind of similar to buying records I guess. Although the movie industry has some catching up to do as far as screwing people over on the price of a movie compared to a record these days.

[www.latimes.com]


Secrecy cloaked 'Dark Knight'
Warner Bros. took painstaking care to thwart pirates ahead of the film's premier, and the effort paid off.
By Dawn C. Chmielewski, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
July 28, 2008
For Warner Bros., the mission was to keep "The Dark Knight" from seeing the light of day.

In an era of instantaneous digital copying and widely available high-speed Internet access, the premature and unauthorized release of a movie to the public -- especially a coveted summer blockbuster -- can spell disaster. If the movie's a stinker, the word will travel at the speed of a mouse click, ruining chances of making back money. And if the movie's popular, piracy can rob ticket sales and cut into revenue.

Executives at Warner Bros. knew they didn't have to worry about the first scenario: Buzz had been building for months about late actor Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker and director Christopher Nolan's dark rendition of the Batman legend. And marketing surveys pointed to a record-smashing opening weekend for "The Dark Knight" at the box office.

Instead, Warner Bros. was worried about what would happen if a copy of the movie slipped into public before the theatrical opening, which would result in it competing against pirated DVD copies. The ardent fan-boy appeal of "The Dark Knight" created opportunity and risk in equal measure for the studio.

The Batman sequel's core audience of superhero geeks is the same group of young men who gravitate to online file-sharing communities. Fear that pirated copies would pop up on the Internet during the film's crucial opening weekend prompted Warner to devote six months to an unprecedented anti-piracy strategy, painstakingly locking down the movie as it moved from production to post-production to movie theaters.

Warner created a "chain of custody" to track who had access to the film at any moment. It varied the shipping and delivery methods, staggering the delivery of film reels, so the entire movie wouldn't arrive at multiplexes in one shipment, in order to reduce risk of an entire copy being lost or stolen. It conducted spot checks of hundreds of theaters domestically and abroad, to ensure that illegal camcording wasn't taking place. It even handed out night-vision goggles to exhibitors in Australia, where the film opened two days before its U.S. launch, to scan the audience for the telltale infrared signal of a camcorder.

Warner Bros. executives said the extra vigilance paid off, helping to prevent camcorded copies of the reported $180-million film from reaching Internet file-sharing sites for about 38 hours. Although that doesn't sound like much progress, it was enough time to keep bootleg DVDs off the streets as the film racked up a record-breaking $158.4 million on opening weekend. The movie has now taken in more than $300 million.

The success of an anti-piracy campaign is measured in the number of hours it buys before the digital dam breaks.

"One of the reasons why it's so important to try to protect the first weekend is that it prevents the pirate supply chain from starting," said Darcy Antonellis, president of Warner's distribution and technical operations. "A day or two becomes really, really significant. You've delayed disc manufacturing that then delays distribution, which then delays those discs from ending up on street corners for sale."

Piracy experts say such tight security measures are now commonplace among studios seeking to protect big-budget summer blockbusters.

Studios fear a reprise of the "Hulk" piracy debacle. A rough, early version of Ang Lee's 2003 summer movie made its way to the Internet two weeks before the film's scheduled premiere, provoking negative reactions from the comic-book film's devoted fans, whose opinion carries far more weight in determining the success of this film genre than that of mainstream film critics.

"A lot of people decided not to go near it. Hollywood argued, correctly, that many more people would have gone to see it, had online buzz not been so critical of the movie," said Eric Garland, chief executive of BigChampagne Online Media Measurement, which monitors file-sharing networks and is a consultant to the entertainmentindustry.

"Hulk" still had an impressive opening, grossing $62 million in its first weekend. But by the second week, mediocre reviews and corrosive word of mouth pushed grosses down 70%. The studios aren't eager to give the audience advance -- and uncontrolled -- viewings of its tent-pole films.

"If the movie's a stiff, and word gets out too early that it's a stiff, it's devastating to the business model," Garland said.

Paul Kocher, president of Cryptography Research Inc., a San Francisco company that develops anti-piracy technology, said that unlike with music, one viewing of a film -- even in blurry, camcorded form -- often is enough.

"With rare exception, once you've seen the movie you're unlikely to watch it a second time," Kocher said. "You don't have the benefit the music guys have, that piracy can help build buzz. For the movie industry, it's purely a destructive force."

Studios use tracking methods to keep tabs on who handles a film and when, and mark the prints sent to theaters. That makes it possible to identify where a pirated copy was recorded, Kocher said.

The thorniest issue, when it comes to anti-piracy measures, is advance screenings. Studios balance the desire to perform the kind of rigorous bag checks that would make airport security blush against the fear of antagonizing critics.

"That's the one where there's the endless debate about what you do," Kocher said.

Big-budget summer popcorn flicks hold powerful lure for Internet bootleggers. Last year's Disney/Pixar Animation Studios animated film "Ratatouille" leaked out five days ahead of its cinematic premiere, and George Lucas' 2005 film, "Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith," similarly found its way to file-sharing networks days before it reached the big screen. The illicit Star Wars copy contained time codes indicating it slipped out of post-production. It nonetheless went on to gross $380 million domestically.

Michael Robinson, the Motion Picture Assn. of America's director of North American anti-piracy, said all the studios had improved security at post-production facilities. The trade group, in turn, uses a combination of gumshoe tactics and technology to crack down on piracy after the fact, going so far as to follow suspected pirates into theaters.

"At any given time, there are only a handful of truly professional camcorders out there who are recording," said Robinson, who spent 30 years in law enforcement, including a dozen years as head of the Michigan state police. But all it takes is one good-quality recording to generate thousands of Internet downloads and bootlegged DVDs sold at swap meets.

MPAA investigators used the lure of "The Dark Knight" to catch a suspected bootlegger in the act during a 9:40 a.m. showing in a theater in a southeast suburb of Kansas City, Mo.

A Lee's Summit Police Department spokesman said the MPAA investigators spotted the man in the back row of the theater, trying to cloak his video camera with black tarps as he allegedly made an illicit recording. A subsequent police search of the man's home turned up hundreds of DVDs that are believed to be pirated, the spokesman said. The case has been referred to the FBI.

"This wasn't necessarily one of our most covert operations," Robinson said. The investigators in the theater looked like G-men from central casting, wearing MPAA letters emblazoned on their shirts. "It was kind of brazen on this guy's part. Maybe he thought all the MPAA did was rate the movies."

It's hard to quantify how the broad availability of pirated online copies of films affects box-office receipts. But a study commissioned by the MPAA found that Hollywood's major studios lost $6.1 billion to film theft in 2005.

Warner Bros took no chances with "Dark Knight," a movie that opened in 12 overseas markets before it reached the U.S. It even maintained a swat team of sorts, composed of the piracy and production teams, which remained in constant contact as they continuously scanned the pirate networks throughout the weekend for illicit copies.

"As we have often said, we view piracy as a competitor," Warner distribution chief Antonellis said.

Still, the anti-piracy hurdles are enormous, and in the end success is determined by how long a studio can stave off the inevitable.

The first pirated copy of "The Dark Knight" was available on a top-level pirate site by Friday night, two days after its Australian premiere, said Mark Ishikawa, chief executive of BayTSP Inc., a Los Gatos firm that does online tracking of copyrighted works. By Sunday, it could be downloaded on BitTorrent file-sharing sites or viewed on YouTube, he said.

"Such a widely released film in such high demand, by virtue of its following, significantly increased chat and overall online interest in the title within pirate networks," Antonellis said. "Whenever those factors come together, it makes our challenges from an anti-piracy perspective much harder."

What bothers me about The Dark Knight is that we've taken entertainment designed for kids and made it too intense for children.

At the grocery store yesterday I noticed some specially marked packages in the cereal aisle that advertised Batman toys within. A lot of people have stated that The Dark Knight is too intense for children under 12, but that doesen't matter because many will ignore PG-13 ratings and drag their 4 year olds to movies they are not ready for.

Of the Batman films, I liked Tim Burton's Batman Returns, a film with such a striking vision that I'd call it a work of art. I also liked Batman Begins, because I could clearly see the influence of artist Neal Adams on that one.

Adams and writer Denny O'Neil basically reinvented Batman, turning him into "The Batman" and making him a much darker character starting in the 1969 story "Secrets of the Waiting Grave." This was only a year after the TV show ended, and for comic readers it was a more significant turnaround of the character than Frank Millers much ballyhooed interpretation in the 1980's.

My favorite Batman? Adam West. No kidding. I love that show. It's perfect entertainment--thrills for the kids, laughs for the adults. Great great theme song by Neal Hefti--which was covered by several rock bands including the Who and the Kinks I believe, maybe even Wings when they played Austrailia 10 years after the show and also by my favorite band NRBQ. And those villain themes by Nelson Riddle were fantastic. I think the people who look down on this show take this character way too seriously.

Right now you can only get the movie--I'm waiting for the DVD box set--if they ever get around to it.

I heard a guy say recently that the TV show was "too comic booky."

I think that's a good thing.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2008-07-28 16:50 by loog droog.

I believe this film was very well done and I recommend it. However, I would think twice about bringing very young children to see this. There are some disturbing scenes that would be upsetting to lots of young kids. It's a long and wild ride. The movie brought Batman to life out of the comics. Ledger's take on The Joker was terrific and it reminds the viewer what a good actor this guy was. His early passing was a tragedy as it is when anyone dies at such a young age. Such a waste in this case. This movie will win some awards.

The Dark Knight is the best Batman movie ever!
I thought Heath Ledger and Christain Bale were both magnificent! The plot was a much better one than Batman Begins. The idea that Batman is only human, struggles wiht a dark side and is will to be hated for the good of Gothatm keeps me wanting more.....plus that car is so cool!
I wouldn't bring children to it because it's violent. It's not the Adam West Batman.
The next one will have to have Chris Nolan producing and Johnny Depp as the Riddler in order to be just as good.....

Is Jaws a bad movie to let children watch?

Come on.

Kids love to get scared.

Let's not get crazy about these new Batman movies. I will give you the benefit of the doubt that this one is great although I haven't seen it but the first one of this series was a bore imo. Michael Caine was the only interesting thing in that movie.

In my opinion it's not cool to expose young children to viewing people doing cruel things to others, even if it is only a film. It sends the wrong idea, and perhaps takes the human element out of what pain and suffering really is. It dehumanizes cruelty. The movie Jaws for very young children I feel doesn't need to be on the "must see" list for kids under 10. Parents of course should use their discretion. Would you let your children watch a movie like Silence of the Lambs?

Quote
FrankM
Let's not get crazy about these new Batman movies. I will give you the benefit of the doubt that this one is great although I haven't seen it but the first one of this series was a bore imo. Michael Caine was the only interesting thing in that movie.

The Dark Knight is nothing like Batman Begins. Get back to us until you see it...if you do.

Quote
filstan
In my opinion it's not cool to expose young children to viewing people doing cruel things to others, even if it is only a film. It sends the wrong idea, and perhaps takes the human element out of what pain and suffering really is. It dehumanizes cruelty.

agreed.

Saw it yesterday. It's great. Better than the first one (Batman Begins). It's not perfect though. A Danish paper had written that this movie will do for the 00s, what Terminator 2 did for the 90s and what The Empire Strikes Back did for the 80s. It's not THAT good. It seemed a bit long too. Heath Ledger does a great Joker, but I think that Aaron Eckhart does a better job. Christian Bale is even better as Batman this time around too. Maggie Gyllenhaal is also way better at being Rachel than Katie Holmes ever was.
Kudos to Christopher Nolan.

In short: This is the best Batman movie ever, but I'm still waiting for a real masterpiece. The Dark Knight comes close. Very close. But it doesn't quite do it. It's a very, very good film, but it's not a masterpiece.

I shall be purchasing.

Why so serious?

JumpingKentFlash



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-08-03 14:03 by JumpingKentFlash.

When i saw Dark Knight, one week ago, i thought it was an excellent,
if flawed movie. I doubted i'd see a better film all year.

I was wrong.

Today, i saw 'Man On Wire', an astonishing documentary about
Philippe Petit, and his wire walk between the two towers of the WTC, in 1974.

Amazing movie.
I urge you to go see it.

[www.manonwire.com]





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-08-03 19:21 by Adrian-L.

Yes, but aren't all nights dark?

. . . unless you live around the arctic circle around the June Solstice?

My wife and I saw it yesterday and though I'm not a big fan of the Batman franchise this movie is one of the best I've seen all year. The elements at play, especially the dark look into human nature, made for a compelling story. All the cast were good but Ledger's performance was really quite amazing. He never ate the carpet by over acting, which a lesser actor might have done, and his Joker made for a portrait of evil that I have not seen on screen for some years now. (Laurence Oliver as Christian Zell in the Marathon Man, Rafe Fiennes as Amon Goeth in Schindler's List and Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs set the bar for me.) I would not have thought Ledger capable of such performance after having seen him in The Patriot but he really knocked me out. Even though there were some plot holes and the movie was perhaps overly long it held my attention from start to finish. Even if you are not a Batman fan the movie stands alone as an excellent drama. I know the hype generated is a bit off putting but see it anyway for Ledger's performance alone.

Quote
Adrian-L
When i saw Dark Knight, one week ago, i thought it was an excellent,
if flawed movie. I doubted i'd see a better film all year.

I was wrong.

Today, i saw 'Man On Wire', an astonishing documentary about
Philippe Petit, and his wire walk between the two towers of the WTC, in 1974.

Amazing movie.
I urge you to go see it.

[www.manonwire.com]

Saw it today. I agree. GREAT film.

I encourage everyone to see this.

great film. as was Batman Begins

Quote
andy js
great film. as was Batman Begins

It's hard to knock the new Batman franchise. One thing though: What's up with that HORRIBLE voice when Batman talks?

JumpingKentFlash