“The Dark Knight” saw the second-best total domestic gross
of all times and, obviously, made its way to DVD shelves stirring a lot of
well-deserved buzz. However, the two-disc special edition DVD makes the
blockbuster no justice because the featured extras are either too few or too
insignificant.
Helmer Christopher Nolan may have raised the stakes with
“The Dark Knight” and set new standards for comicbook-inspired productions, but
the Caped Crusader definitely needs the best home video release there is. I bet
the Joker would be laughing at the playing cards, Two-Face coins and Batman
masks, which can be purchased at several retail outlets.
Perhaps the most fascinating special feature is represented
by a six-episode “Gotham Tonight,” a series of so-called news reports hosted by
Mike Engel (Anthony Michael Hall) and Lydia Filangeri (Lauren Sanchez) that
bridges the two Christopher Nolan-directed Batman movies, 2005’s “Batman
Begins” and its outstandingly popular sequel, “The Dark Knight.”
Each part concentrates on a certain character or topic that
may be of interest to the ordinary viewer and in spite of the fact that the
episodes are a bit too long, they prove to be very important for the thorough
understanding of the fictional Gotham City.
The installment that focuses on Bruce Wayne offers enlightening
elucidation of the hero’s early days and personal life, such as the slayings of
his parents, as well as the tight bond between him and caretaker Alfred and
childhood friend Rachel Dawes.
“Gotham Tonight” concludes with an interview with freshly
elected District Attorney Harvey Dent, who claims that he is one of the city
advocates, thus rejecting accusations of being a hype hunter. When breaking
news regarding the Joker’s bank heist emerge, the episode makes room for the
opening of “The Dark Knight.”
While the DVD also includes poster art, several production
stills and trailers, the Blu-ray disc brings a lot more elements into play,
such as a replication of the film’s originally intended Imax framing.
The dearly-loved confrontations between Batman, who is far
from being the untroubled kind of superhero, and the villainous Joker, who
stirs chaos only to revive pandemonium, have helped “The Dark Knight” reach a
status no other superhero film managed to attain before.
The film provoked an entire craze, as it won rave reviews
from critics and fans alike and registered the second-best total gross of all
times, behind only “Titanic.”
Heath Ledger’s performance was described as the late actor’s
best act ever and is likely to draw a posthumous Academy Award nomination for
the artist, who died in January this year. He was posthumously awarded with a
best-actor prize at the 50th Australian Film Institute Awards on
December 6 and if he wins an Oscar, Heath Ledger will become the only actor
besides Peter Finch to receive an Academy Award after his death.
