Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight 2008

The Dark Knight is the new instalment of the superhero films based on the fictional DC Comics character Batman. The film is a sequel to 2005's Batman Begins. Christopher Nolan returns as the director, with Christian Bale reprising the lead role as Batman.

Batman's main conflicts in the film come from his arch enemy the Joker (Heath Ledger) and his struggling friendship with district attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart). The Dark Knight, will become the first feature film to be partly shot in the IMAX format, an expensive and long process that is usually used on documentaries and short films.

Nolan will shoot four action sequences — including the introduction of the Joker, played by Heath Ledger with extremely high resolution IMAX cameras. Director Nolan said he wanted the Joker to have the grandest entrance possible. The new Batman movie was filmed mainly in Chicago, the same location used for Batman Begins, as well as other locations both inside and outside the United States.

The Dark Knight's Batman has a new suit . His new head gear has been modelled on a motorcycle helmet and is separate from his neck, making Christian Bale only able to swivel his head from side to side or up and down. The cape has new abilities that are "top secret" at the moment. Razors on Batman’s forearms are now attached to the suit which are retractable and shoot weapons. The suit is made up out of 200 individual pieces of rubber, nylon, fibreglass and metallic mesh.

In The Dark Knight Batman movie Heath Ledger plays a deep and disturbing Joker, who Ledger describes as a "psychopathic, mass murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy". Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight, The joker, Batman movie

Director Christopher Nolan had wanted to work with Ledger for a long time bit other projects have stopped this happening in the past. When Ledger saw the sequel movie Batman Begins, he realized a way to make the character work in the film's tone, Christopher Nolan agreed with his interpretation.

Preparing for his role as the Joker, Ledger lived alone in a hotel room for a month, while he at first found it difficult to formulate the character's voice and posture, he eventually was able to generate a voice that did not match Jack Nicholson's take on the character (Joker ) in Tim Burton's 1989 Batman film.

Ledger also used inspirations from Sid Vicious Ultimately and the movie A Clockwork Orange , "there’s nothing that is consistent", as his main objective was to frighten the audience. Bringing back the Joker to the big screen led to a wave of speculation over his depiction. Before Ledger's role was confirmed in July 2006, Robin Williams, Steve Carell, Lachy Hulme, Adrien Brody, and Paul Bettany had all expressed interest in the role. Jack Nicholson was said to be disappointed that he had not been asked.

Since Ledger’s death, over seven million fans have gone on to YouTube to watch trailers of "The Dark Knight." Over one million have watched Heath Ledger Joker clips and interviews. Even before Ledger's untimely death, hype had been building about the 28-year-old actor's performance in his awesome potrail of the caped crusader's arch-foe.

Early trailers and promotional posters for the film show a gruesomely made-up Ledger drawing a clown's smile on a mirror with lipstick and the words, "Why So Serious?"suggesting the star has taken the character of the comic-book villain in a groundbreaking new direction. Warner Bros., the studio distributing "The Dark Knight," has yet to indicate any change in rescheduling the movie, at the moment planned for a blockbuster summer release on July 18th in the US.

"Certainly ‘The Dark Knight’ is one of the most anticipated films of the year," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box office tracker Media By Numbers. "I think Warner's is just going to stay the course and keep marketing the film."

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"Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight 2008"
Website dedicated to the late Heath Ledger.