NY Times on The Dark Knight

Christopher Nolan is one of the hottest directors out there right now. He broke onto the scene with Memento, the indie hit about the guy that was forced to piece together the last few days of his life in order to figure out where he was at currently. He was behind The Prestige, which took three mammoth actors (Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale and Michael Caine...four if you count Scarlett Johansson and her "mammothness") and successfully blended their styles together. Probably his biggest accomplishment was being responsible for Batman Begins, the much needed reboot of the franchise after Joel Schumacher ran it into the ground nearly a decade ago. Now, with The Dark Knight a mere few months away, NY Times has a superb piece on the man behind the camera on the man behind the bat. The article talks about Nolan's approach to the film in general, and how the caliber of actors really shone through in their actions. One thing of particular note is the likening of Gotham City to Baghdad, in terms of its lawlessness and "vigilante" justice: “As we looked through the comics, there was this fascinating idea that Batman’s presence in Gotham actually attracts criminals to Gotham, attracts lunacy,” he said. “When you’re dealing with questionable notions like people taking the law into their own hands, you have to really ask, where does that lead? That’s what makes the character so dark, because he expresses a vengeful desire.” And there's the inevitable mention of the tragic passing of Heath Ledger. According to Micheal Caine, Ledger was "exhausted, I mean he was really tired. I remember saying to him, ‘I’m too old to have the bloody energy to play that part.’ And I thought to myself, I didn’t have the energy when I was his age." Mr. Pfister, the cinematographer, said Mr. Ledger seemed “like he was busting blood vessels in his head,” he was so intense. “It was like a séance, where the medium takes on another person and then is so completely drained.” Early reports are that his portrayal of the Clown Prince of Crime is and will be iconic, and will be truly terrifying at the same time. I know that I'm one of many extremely excited to see this movie. But what Nolan is doing with this film and the franchise overall is nothing short of phenomenal. Its rare that a movie is made that really gets at you and makes you reevaluate something in life, and its even rarer that its a so-called "popcorn flick" that does it. That being said, I know that when I see The Dark Knight, two things will run through my mind: RIP Heath Ledger, one of the truly great actors of our time Hats off to Christopher Nolan, one of the truly great directors of our time NY TImes on Christopher Nolan and The Dark Knight

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