do we all agree that this joker is something else? It's almost like he has a higher purpose. This whole thing with his philosophy and the idea of society's hypocrisy and rules, and how anarchy is the only true way to live life. These are grand concepts that are not part of his make up in the comics

The scary thing about TDK Joker is that all other villains that come after him in the film - the corrupt cops, Two Face, what's left of the mob - have become totally influenced and manipulated by him, even if they don't think it. We don't see what The Joker has done to Gotham through him detonating the boats, we see it through just how dark and twisted those around him have become - but even then, the horror of the fact that Dent's mind is warped as hell, Gordon, the good cop, is left unable to do anything for his son or the city as a whole, and that levels of corruption within Gotham expand throughout the film (like the way we realise that Dent and Rachel are missing), are nothing compared to the simple laughter of The Joker. That's just brilliant storytelling of a brilliant character to me.

I also like the fact that The Joker here is a sort of take on the zero empathy villains you get in some police films, like the guy with the sniper in The French Connection - in that Joker is always picking up collateral damage if you will and doesn't seem to care, but he could not be any less one dimensional. He's a complicated character, but he's even more than just complicated. You can't just draw out the complexities of his characteristics easily, and compare and contrast his different beliefs - to really understand TDK's Joker, you'd have to simply list every single thing he does in the film. To put it simply, the less you know about the Joker in TDK, the better. But we do get glimpses of who he really is, only slight gestures as to what kind of a person he is - which makes him all the more scary.

Great performance, well written character, but what I love most is the way in which the narrative of the film plays around him. From when he's captured to the interrogation, the way the audience pieces together the catch of catching the Joker (sorry about that) is genius. Solidifies Nolan as the new Mann to me. Of course I could write even more about Ledger, but I feel that there's nothing to say about him that hasn't already been said - it's one of the best performances of the decade, simple as.

christophmac wrote:The scary thing about TDK Joker is that all other villains that come after him in the film - the corrupt cops, Two Face, what's left of the mob - have become totally influenced and manipulated by him, even if they don't think it. We don't see what The Joker has done to Gotham through him detonating the boats, we see it through just how dark and twisted those around him have become - but even then, the horror of the fact that Dent's mind is warped as hell, Gordon, the good cop, is left unable to do anything for his son or the city as a whole, and that levels of corruption within Gotham expand throughout the film (like the way we realise that Dent and Rachel are missing), are nothing compared to the simple laughter of The Joker. That's just brilliant storytelling of a brilliant character to me.

I also like the fact that The Joker here is a sort of take on the zero empathy villains you get in some police films, like the guy with the sniper in The French Connection - in that Joker is always picking up collateral damage if you will and doesn't seem to care, but he could not be any less one dimensional. He's a complicated character, but he's even more than just complicated. You can't just draw out the complexities of his characteristics easily, and compare and contrast his different beliefs - to really understand TDK's Joker, you'd have to simply list every single thing he does in the film. To put it simply, the less you know about the Joker in TDK, the better. But we do get glimpses of who he really is, only slight gestures as to what kind of a person he is - which makes him all the more scary.

Great performance, well written character, but what I love most is the way in which the narrative of the film plays around him. From when he's captured to the interrogation, the way the audience pieces together the catch of catching the Joker (sorry about that) is genius. Solidifies Nolan as the new Mann to me. Of course I could write even more about Ledger, but I feel that there's nothing to say about him that hasn't already been said - it's one of the best performances of the decade, simple as.

uhhhh, so do you agree that the joker in tdk is a bigger thing than he is in the comics?

mchekhov wrote:

christophmac wrote:The scary thing about TDK Joker is that all other villains that come after him in the film - the corrupt cops, Two Face, what's left of the mob - have become totally influenced and manipulated by him, even if they don't think it. We don't see what The Joker has done to Gotham through him detonating the boats, we see it through just how dark and twisted those around him have become - but even then, the horror of the fact that Dent's mind is warped as hell, Gordon, the good cop, is left unable to do anything for his son or the city as a whole, and that levels of corruption within Gotham expand throughout the film (like the way we realise that Dent and Rachel are missing), are nothing compared to the simple laughter of The Joker. That's just brilliant storytelling of a brilliant character to me.

I also like the fact that The Joker here is a sort of take on the zero empathy villains you get in some police films, like the guy with the sniper in The French Connection - in that Joker is always picking up collateral damage if you will and doesn't seem to care, but he could not be any less one dimensional. He's a complicated character, but he's even more than just complicated. You can't just draw out the complexities of his characteristics easily, and compare and contrast his different beliefs - to really understand TDK's Joker, you'd have to simply list every single thing he does in the film. To put it simply, the less you know about the Joker in TDK, the better. But we do get glimpses of who he really is, only slight gestures as to what kind of a person he is - which makes him all the more scary.

Great performance, well written character, but what I love most is the way in which the narrative of the film plays around him. From when he's captured to the interrogation, the way the audience pieces together the catch of catching the Joker (sorry about that) is genius. Solidifies Nolan as the new Mann to me. Of course I could write even more about Ledger, but I feel that there's nothing to say about him that hasn't already been said - it's one of the best performances of the decade, simple as.

uhhhh, so do you agree that the joker in tdk is a bigger thing than he is in the comics?

Oh. Yeah.

Joker in the The Dark Knight crushes any version from the comics. I've read most of the major graphic novels and the only one that comes close is the one from Arkham Asylum. Heath's Joker was so keen in predicting everyones behavior that you would think he was some kind of social scientist before he went mad

What about The Joker from "Joker" by Azzurello/Bermejo...That one is a big deal

We all agree.

natalie wrote:What about The Joker from "Joker" by Azzurello/Bermejo...That one is a big deal

That Joker was a hedonistic homo who looked vulnerable the one time Batman appeared in the graphic novel.The only redeemable quality was his appearance which is what Nolan ended up using in The Dark Knight.

He has varying levels of depth, I suppose.
Not entirely related- but I somewhat prefer Comics Joker, depending on the story being told.

natalie wrote:What about The Joker from "Joker" by Azzurello/Bermejo...That one is a big deal

i dont think there exists a comics joker that is a huge as the film version in terms of ideology and purpose.....this joker is like possessed with a higher purpose which makes him so dangerous...the joker in the comics is somebody who is a criminal with theatricality....Nolan's joker is somebody who is trying to shake the world.