Dark Knight - a few thoughts
Last Saturday saw the release of Dark Knight over here in Japan. For those of you who have not had contact with civilization over the past month or so, that is the name of the new Batman film. So much has been said about this film, and in particular, about Heath Ledger’s performance as The Joker. Would he surpass Jack Nicholson’s performance in the same role 19 years ago… did his involvement in this particular character help to push him over the edge and have a part to play in his untimely death by overdosing on medication… these were just 2 of the many questions people have been asking about this film. From last Saturday, Japanese cinema-goers had a chance to find out.
First of all, so much has been said about The Joker that we should probably start there. Times have changed, and for those of you with a long enough memory, you will recall that Jack Nicholson was not the first person to play The Joker on the screen. 1966 brought about not only a World Cup win for England, but also the late Cesar Romero as The Joker (see below), fighting against Adam West’s Batman. The Batman TV series was a family show, where punches were not shown on screen in favour of cartoon-like explosions with “POW!”, “BAM!” or “KAPOW!” written over them. It was essentially a show that everyone could watch. While The Joker was the villain, he was a humourous villain and was likeable in the role.
