Product Description
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Dark Knight: 2-disc Special Edition (DVD)
The follow-up to Batman Begins, THE DARK KNIGHT reunites director
Christopher Nolan and star Christian Bale, who reprises the role
of BATMAN /BRUCE WAYNE in his continuing war on crime. With the
help of LT. JIM GORDON and District Attorney HARVEY DENT,BATMAN
sets out to destroy organized crime in Gotham for good. The
triumvirate proves effective, but soon find themselves prey to a
rising criminal mastermind known as THE JOKER, who thrusts Gotham
into anarchy and forces BATMAN closer to crossing the fine line
between hero and vigilante. Heath Ledger stars as archvillain THE
JOKER, and Aaron Eckhart plays Dent. Maggie Gyllenhaal joins the
cast as RACHEL DAWES. Returning from Batman Begins are Gary
Oldman as Gordon, Michael Caine as Alfred and Morgan Freeman as
LUCIUS FOX.
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The Dark Knight arrives with tremendous hype (best superhero
movie ever? posthumous O for Heath Ledger?), and incredibly,
it lives up to all of it. But calling it the best superhero movie
ever seems like faint praise, since part of what makes the movie
great--in addition to pitch-perfect casting, outstanding writing,
and a compelling vision--is that it bypasses the normal fantasy
element of the superhero genre and makes it all terrifyingly
real. Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) is Gotham City's new district
attorney, charged with cleaning up the crime rings that have
paralyzed the city. He enters an uneasy alliance with the young
lieutenant, Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman), and Batman
(Christian Bale), the caped vigilante who seems to trust only
Gordon--and whom only Gordon seems to trust. They make progress
until a psychotic and deadly new player enters the game: the
Joker (Heath Ledger), who offers the crime bosses a
solution--kill the Batman. Further complicating matters is that
Dent is now dating Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal, after Katie
Holmes turned down the chance to reprise her role), the longtime
love of Batman's alter ego, Bruce Wayne.
In his last completed role before his tragic death, Ledger is
fantastic as the Joker, a volcanic, truly frightening force of
evil. And he sets the tone of the movie: the world is a dark,
dangerous place where there are no easy choices. Eckhart and
Oldman also shine, but as good as Bale is, his character turns
out rather bland in comparison (not uncommon for heroes facing
more colorful villains). Director-cowriter Christopher Nolan
(Memento) follows his critically accled Batman Begins with an
even better sequel that sets itself apart from notable superhero
movies like Spider-Man 2 and Iron Man because of its sheer
emotional impact and striking sense of realism--there are no
suspension-of-disbelief superpowers here. At 152 minutes, it's a
shade too long, and it's much too intense for kids. But for most
movie fans--and not just superhero fans--The Dark Knight is a
film for the ages. --David Horiuchi
On the DVD
Unlike the Blu-ray disc, The Dark Knight on DVD is completely in
2.40:1 aspect ratio. You can, however, watch the six IMAX scenes
separately. Also on disc 2 are "Gotham Uncovered: The Creation of
a Scene," which is behind-the-scenes footage about the Bat suit,
the Bat pod, and the music; eight-minute segments of Gotham
Central, a faux-news program that gives some background to events
in the movie; plus a variety of trailers, art, and more.
Last, there's a digital copy of the film compatible with iTunes
and Windows Media (download code expires 12/9/09). --David
Horiuchi