The Dark Knight Blu-ray Disc Set Review

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Title: The Dark Knight

Media: Blu-ray Disc

Region: A

Genre: Superhero Action Crime Thriller

Stars: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Morgan Freeman, Cillian Murphy, Nestor Carbonell, Eric Roberts, William Fichtner, Tom “Tiny” Lister, Jr., Michael Jai White, and Anthony Michael Hall.

Writers: Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan

Director: Christopher Nolan

Feature length: 153 minutes

Extras: Gotham Uncovered: Creation Of A Scene, Batman Tech, Batman Unmasked: The Psychology Of The Dark Knight, Gotham Tonight, The Joker Cards Gallery, Concept Art, Poster Art, Production Stills, Trailers and TV Spots. BD-Live Enabled, Bonus Digital Copy Disc Included

Languages: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround Sound and English, French (Dubbed In Quebec), and Spanish Language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound

Subtitles: English Subtitles For The Deaf And Hearing Impaired And French And Spanish Language Subtitles

Packaging: Three Disc Elite Blue BD Case Within A Glossy Cardboard Slip Cover

Chapter Stops: 39

Sound: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround Sound and Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound

Year of Theatrical Release: 2008/Blu-ray Disc Release: 2008

Theatrical Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures

Home Video Distributor: Warner Home Video

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera

Everything you have read and heard about The Dark Knight is true. It is a terrific sequel to 2005’s Batman Begins and while the film stands well on it’s own merit, one definitely benefits from having seen the first film. It is also a rare sequel that is truly better than the original in just about every way. The Dark Knight is so good in fact that I am at a loss at how Christopher Nolan will top himself in the next film. Leather Ledger did such a great job as The Joker that is so completely different from the Jack Nicholson personification in Tim Burton’s Batman that I think it will be at least another twenty years before anyone will be able to try the role again and have viewers willing to give it an open-minded chance. Professionally, the late Heath Ledger strikes me now as an Actor so good that his best work was ahead of him because his talents were still evolving. Whether or not his turn as The Joker is the high note to an all too brief career cannot be said, but I have a feeling Ledger as both an Actor and movie star will live on like the classic idols before him. He will always be a star.

The Dark Knight picks up one-year after the events of Batman Begins. Batman has finally caught up to capturing Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy in a cameo reprise of his role in the first film) and he has squeezed organized crime so much in Gotham that only three criminal enterprises remain. Seizing the opportunity to get their attention, Joker robs a mob bank and then shows up at one of their meetings with warnings of the future to come if they don’t get to the root of the problem, getting rid of Batman. He offers to do the job for half the money he has stolen. While the mob leaders balk and talk, Jokers predictions begin to come to pass and soon he is hired to do exactly what he said he would once District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) hauls in the remaining mob syndicates. Subsequently, the biggest wave of terror and mayhem Gotham City has ever known is unleashed as public figures are murdered and Joker’s demands become increasingly dangerous for there is no reasoning with him. The Joker is a brilliant criminal maniac the likes if the first film’s villain Ra’s Al Ghul might have told Bruce Wayne if he could, “I told you so…” The Dark Knight also features character roles by Nestor Carbonell, Eric Roberts, William Fichtner, Tom “Tiny” Lister, Jr., Michael Jai White, and Anthony Michael Hall. None of these appearances ever pull one’s attention out of the movie, but rather they enhance the film and help to turn it in some ways into an ensemble piece of sorts. The film also has an epic quality to it that transcends the genre of live action comic book and graphic novel adaptations and carries the film into the realm of crime drama and thriller reminiscent of classics like Heat and The French Connection to name just a few.

Warner Home Video’s Blue-ray Disc release is now at the time of this writing the bestselling high definition optical disc title available and easily one of the most eagerly anticipated home video releases of the year. The Blu-ray version presents the film in a variable aspect ratio, with the IMAX sequences framed in (1.78:1), while scenes filmed in 35 mm are framed in (2.40:1). During a BD-Live event Director Chrisopher Nolan stated the reason why the entire film was not shot in IMAX is because the cameras a bulky and difficult to set up as a result. He also stated that they make a lot of noise and thus required the actors to record their dialogue again on set. One would never know these shortcomings while watching The Dark Knight because the high resolution image quality of the Imax scenes mesermize the viewer to a point where it is difficult to notice the shift in aspect ratios sometimes because one gets so involved in the film. The 1080p resolution is magnificent throughout as is the English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround Soundtrack included on the BD. English, French (Dubbed In Quebec), and Spanish Language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtracks along with English Subtitles for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired and French and Spanish Language Subtitles are encoded onto the Blu-ray Disc as options too. In addition, there is also an English Language descriptive video service option for the visually impaired.

Extra value materials found in this home video set include a little more than an hour’s worth of high definition behind-the-scenes vignettes that are manually activated and not automatic. There are about 18 of them. The majority of the bonus materials are on the second Blu-ray Disc and these include high definition documentaries focusing on the gadgets Batman uses in the film and then there is a documentary that focuses on the psychology of the character from the point of view criminologists, psychologists and comic book historians. Both documentaries run for about 45 minutes.

Next are several Gotham Tonight segments that feature Anthony Michael Hall interviewing various Gotham personailities, including Aarom Eckhart and Eric Roberts in character. These vignettes appear to take place before the eventsof the film and are not the ones seen in the movie. They can be viewed individually or as one reel (46:00) In addition there are galleries of concept art, production photos, the Joker cards and the theatrical teaser plus two trailers and six TV spots are included in high definition. The TV spots feature Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound.

A bonus DVD containing a standard definition digital copy that can be viewed on PCs and iTunes. The Blu-ray Disc is BD-Live enabled for exclusive content, the ability with the proper asscessories to record one’s own commentary to share with others, live community screenings when scheduled and more.

All three discs are housed in a single sized Elite Blue BD Case with instructions related to BD-Live registration and digital copy installation instructions. The artwork cover has an image of Heath Ledger as The Joker from the film while the glossy cardboard cover has an image of Batman on top of the Batpod. The Dark Knight is a terrific film and an excellent value on Blu-ray Disc. The Dark Knight is available on Blu-ray Disc now at retailers on and offline courtesy of Warner Home Video.

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