"The Dark Knight" - Too Far From Escapism
TM
on track to be the biggest box-office smash of the year and
maybe of all time, crosses a line that perhaps did not need
to be crossed, the fantasy-into-reality line..."
Wall Street Journal: http://atu.ca/9d001
calvin
So, who should accept the Academy Award for Ledger?
moviePig
Alric Knebel
An excellent article, for sure. I can't say really how much of what he says
is true, because I can only relate to how I myself took the film, and why.
My enjoyment of the film goes back to when I was just a kid reading Batman
comic books. As a child, the night itself had it's own personality. It had
mystique, because I was a child and was unable to roam at night. Batman
went out at night all the time, and the process of quietly reading was fused
with the images of the silence of night in those pictures, of stillness and
shadows and moonlight. The process totally enveloped me and the impression
was indelible. He had amazing physical prowess, and he was elusive, and
therefore existing in a state of absolute freedom. When I heard that a TV
show was forthcoming, I was thrilled because, at the time, Batman was my
favorite character. Of course, that stupid show turned out to be
ridiculous, and how they made the jump from what was in the comic books to
Adam West was a quantum leap into absurdity. It contained NOTHING of the
mystique of the comic. No noir, no anything. Just silliness marked with
splashy colors and a parodic pow, zap, wham. What the fuck was that all
about? For me, it was the intellectual equivalent of blue balls: I thought
I was going to the opera and was taken to play goofy golf instead. And as
hyperbolic as it might sound, I've been annoyed by that disappointment ever
since. I kept waiting for someone to do this right, to take comic book
characters and make a movie that took into account my current maturity while
making me feel like I did as a child reading the magazines. I wanted them
to make it believable again. The first Superman movie again set up an
expectation, and I tried to like it, but it, too, had levels of silliness
that just couldn't be accepted. The villains had the minds of children.
Again, it had no feeling in it. Just more bright colors and, in that case,
a humongous budget. Then Burton came along with BATMAN, and despite its now
obvious shortcomings, it set us on the right course. It had style. It had
AMBIENCE. And a lot of comic book adaptations have followed that raised
the bar even higher, each one closer toward finally fulfilling those
expectations.
To date, none of them have FULLY met them. Nolan came damned close in both
of his Batman movies, close enough to reconcile the hanging disappointment.
I feels as if an artistic impulse in MYSELF has been achieved, that Nolan's
movie accomplished what I myself wanted to see accomplished, what I would
have liked to do with the material had I had the same resources and skill.
--
______________________________________________
Alric Knebel
http://www.ironeyefortress.com/C-SPAN_loon.html
http://www.ironeyefortress.com
TBerk
Almost an exact 'meetoo' from what Alric said.
TBerk
TBerk
Phooey,
I went and read the article and again I say-
Phooey.
There are truths and threads in the article but it strays when someone
not aquainted withthe history, artform, genre tries to psycoanalize
the characters, the actors, the Director(s) and the movie going
public.
I could go on, but I'll leave it at this one last thought; it is the
SECOND film in the recent series. (Star Wars ring a bell?, trilogy
development wise. What happened it the Second film?)
TBerk
Tom
See, the WSJ really is owned by Fox, so to speak.
Tom
Benjamin Pavsner
"TM" <fr...@spamexpire-200807.rodent.frell.theremailer.net> wrote in message
news:210b2235db902957...@msgid.frell.theremailer.net...
1. The Nolan version of Batman isn't canon enough.
2. The movies are to dark. Parents are walking out with their children
because Dark Night was a lot darker and intense than they thought.
Actually, the tone of Batman Begins and Dark Knight are probably as close to
the current comic book version of Batman than anything. The Batman/Joker
relationship is as dead on as any other of the live action stuff and
Eckharts Dent/Two Face puts the Schumacher version to absolute shame. BB is
probably as close to "Batman: Year One" as anything.
Stapler
>
> 2. The movies are to dark. Parents are walking out with their children
> because Dark Night was a lot darker and intense than they thought.
>
Boohoo, little Johnny and Sally are so scared!!!! I hope the Joker appearse
in their nightmares!!!
Alric Knebel
I can't even imagine at this point any parent unaware of the dark tone of
the film. I mean, the last one was dark, too. However, when I saw TDK,
there was a woman who had a couple of children with her. They looked to be
about ten years old. She did not get up and walk out, and she seemed to be
enjoying herself.
Martin Phipps
> I can't even imagine at this point any parent unaware of the dark tone of
> the film. I mean, the last one was dark, too. However, when I saw TDK,
> there was a woman who had a couple of children with her. They looked to be
> about ten years old. She did not get up and walk out, and she seemed to be
> enjoying herself.
That's insane. It's a very intense movie. Then again, it's not as
intense as some video games I've played. Parents should be careful
what kids see. When I was a kid, I had nightmares about aliens after
watching a movie about Martians invading the Earth (mainly because it
was on late at night and my parents sent me to bed before I could see
the end so I didn't know how it ended). I also had nightmares after I
played Mortal Kombat for the first (and last) time.
Martin
Eminence
<pavs...@bellsouth.net> wrote:
>
>"TM" <fr...@spamexpire-200807.rodent.frell.theremailer.net> wrote in message
>news:210b2235db902957...@msgid.frell.theremailer.net...
>> "Director Christopher Nolan's 'The Dark Knight,' currently
>> on track to be the biggest box-office smash of the year and
>> maybe of all time, crosses a line that perhaps did not need
>> to be crossed, the fantasy-into-reality line..."
>>
>> Wall Street Journal: http://atu.ca/9d001
>>
>I'm hearing:
>
>1. The Nolan version of Batman isn't canon enough.
>
>2. The movies are to dark. Parents are walking out with their children
>because Dark Night was a lot darker and intense than they thought.
These seem to be contradictory statements... unless they were made by
a time-traveler from 1966.
Eminence
_______________
Usenet: Global Village of the Damned
Alric Knebel
I would have taken MY ten-year-old to see it, had I had one at this time.
While it was intense, it wasn't nightmare material. The Joker was intense
only if you can understand his twisted sense of irony. It was intense only
if you understood it. Otherwise, it was just plain crazy mugging.