Monday, February 8, 2010

#35 The Dark Knight: The Joker

Director: Christopher Nolan
Genre: Action/Crime/Superhero
Key Players: Heath Ledger

It's pretty acknowledged by critic's and public alike, that Heath Ledger's performance as The Joker were an astounding one, worthy of the many accolades and awards he won post death. But for the right person, The Joker as a character is gold: extravagant and psychopathic. However, if not handled right, it could also crumble and collapse. Like it did way back when Tim Burton and Jack Nicholson tried to breathe life into the masked vigilante (I never did like those movies). Christopher Nolan were just incredibly lucky to bag an actor worthy of the task, someone who saw him through the same lens as Nolan. And out of that vision, a blazing psychopath was born. From Nicholson's clownish buffoon to Heath's ice cold killer. The transformation were immense. For me, no image speak of The Jokers insanity and raving mad personality than the one below. He's just broken out of prison, leaning out of the window of a police car, like a mad dog let free into the world to bring chaos and havoc. It's beautifully shot and put together, with the Jokers distressing theme music (a single note, growing in strength) in the background. Wonderful.

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