Rewatching Dark Knight in 4K so we can see how it looks on my dad’s new TV and I think something a lot of Jokers forgot in the aftermath of wanting to outdo Ledger is that Ledger’s Joker is actually like… really funny
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It's so weird seeing really good Jokers in Injustice 2 and MK11, rather than the big screen. I don't mean to imply video games shouldn't have good characters/iterations, but just that movies (or at least primarily Leto) seemingly fucks it up.
I like my Jokers to be entertaining, for fuck sake.
A lot of people trying to chase the Dark Knight high forget that the Nolan trilogy has an actual sense of humor in general. Like a lot of scenes have this dry, quick humor that doesnt stop the plot or focus too hard to the joke, it just happens for a quick laugh and they move on.
A decent HDR TV will absolutely have better contrast than what you see in a theater. I recently seen Nosferatu at the cinema and couldn't wait to see it at home, properly. It's a #Dolby Vision movie, and toggling it on/off is pretty mind blowing.
I’ll be honest: I was a millennial who crushed on Heath Ledger and grew up with the Jack Nicholson Joker. I did not see how it could work. But Heath pulled it off and did a fantastic job
Agreed. Joker has always been a source of comedy, and they've been trying to make him too dark following Ledger. We shouldn't overlook @markhamillofficial.bsky.social Joker either. "If it's a whoopin' you're a wantin'!" Hands down, best laugh.
Ledger’s Joker is a nihilistic symbol of chaos, grounded in psychological terror, while Nicholson’s Joker is a campy, theatrical villain, embodying a classic comic-book antagonist.
I loved them both but wouldn’t want to see each in the other’s film.
Yes! His depiction of the Joker is so nuanced and he so expertly crafted all of the layers of the Joker and exhibited those layers without being clownish, soulless, or myopic.
The joker isn't really supposed to be funny, though. He was a failed comic who was suckered by a gang to take the rap for a robbery. Integral to his character is that he's not actually funny, but rather a terrifying sociopath bent on chaos.
The killing joke is a defining joker story. If any in continuity story can be considered canon, it's this. Whether you want to go with his psychopath origins or his prankster persona from the 50s-70s, he's still not meant to be funny. The laughing is a tool to scare, threaten, and intimidate.
Yes, but it's the closest we have to an actual origin story. And if you look at what the creators have said, he's not funny "haha" ala Deadpool. He's supposed to be psychotic and scary. He forces people to laugh by threat and poisoning. Basically, he's not here to amuse us.
That's the thing, Ledger's comedy wasn't in funny-haha jokes. It was in absurdity, strange yet effective timing. He wasn't playing a character who was trying to be funny, he simply *was* comedy.
Upopular opinion : Ledger is responsible for all the love Nolan gets. Without the success of The Dark Knight he would just be considered a decent genre director.
Respectfully disagree. Since TDK he's been over hyped and his work does not stand up to finer scrutiny. He needs to stop writing the films he makes, he's a visual director, not a writer. He's been lucky to have worked with the quality of actors that he has. I dont believe his work would've stood up.
For me, Inception, Interstellar, Tenet and Oppenheimer surpass his Dark Knight trilogy. He’s one of the few filmmakers who’s unafraid to take risks on original stories.
And he has no trouble attracting actors to form his ensemble casts. “The Christopher Nolan Players”, I call them.
Did two people just have a respectful discussion, politely exchanged different opinions and then both walked away enriched? On the internet? Damn. I salute you.
Ledger managed to almost perfectly capture the whole "innately terrifying presence" and "somehow also actually funny" aspects of Comics!Joker.
The sincere, deadpan laugh walking in on the mob dudes, combined with effortlessly killing one while making a joke? Wonderful. I loved this version so much
He's really the only one out of the whole lot that's actually been terrifying and funny. Which is kind of weird when you think about the source material.
The Jokers since have tried to be edgier and edgier all the while forgetting the Joker was always written as a sociopath who still tells jokes and tries be entertaining.
Kinda crazy Arthur Fleck is supposed to be a comedian but is never funny even in an “he’s a bad comedian so he’s funny because of how unfunny he is” way. I mean, yeah, the implication is he’s bad at being a comedian, but that shouldn’t mean he’s unfunny to watch.
Heck, him becoming funny when he’s in the Joker persona should be one of those obvious ways to do a character arc for him. Like he’s trying too hard when on stage but is actually charismaticly funny when he’s focused on causing mayhem. That even feels true to the Killing Joke.
The Joker would be really funny if you lived in, like, a quiet small town. You’d just see news headlines about a clown crime spree in Gotham, probably on the other side of the country. There are probably “Gotham Man” jokes whenever Batman or his rogue’s gallery does anything.
Probably. But man in town? The local police do not fuck with the guy. Honestly you want "boots on the ground" civilian look at Gotham listen to Batman the Audio Adventures.
When he made the pencil "disappear" I was laughing hysterically in the theater. Unfortunately, i was the only person doing so OUT LOUD and I think I came off like Deniro in Cape Fear...
Minus the accident I made chipotle chicken bowls for my family and let’s just say no more chipotle for us! Hands down one of my favorite meals now 🙌🏽 made everything from scratch 🥰
You see that with Mark Hamill’s Joker a lot too. Like, for something like his abuse of Harley in Mad Love to really hit, you also need him talking about the IRS in his previous appearance. You need some fun Joker stuff for the darker stories to really hit
It feels like all imitators focus on is the "why so serious" bit, but forget that Ledger is still playing the Joker and he's meant to be darkly funny, not just a generic criminal with clown makeup, aesthetic rather than character
everyone remembers the pencil scene but nobody remembers how funny it is when he's waving his hands over the spot on the table where pencil was going "and it's... it's gone!"
Nicholson was funny as hell.
...
"Why didn't someone tell me he had one of those... things?"
...
"You wouldn't hit as guy with glasses would you?" *Whap!*
...
Or when he says that Batman missed him, then his truck flips and he stumbles out like Wile E. Coyote after another harebrained scheme to catch the roadrunner goes awry.
Frankly, they could have left Batman out of the movie completely. I'd have cheerfully watched 90 minutes of Heath Ledger just wandering about, committing assorted mayhem.
The dark knight's joker has to be one of the worst things to ever happen to the joker and superhero villains in general. Hes the most generic terrorist and in no way a super villain
I also just love the fact that Joker is no slouch at all as a fighter and in fact KNOWS he's better than any of the cops in the room outside of maybe Gordon.
The most chilling thing about the Joker is that he is pretty funny. He worked as a stand up comedian. He just murders people and laughs at his own jokes.
Fair, ment the newest one from Phoenix is only sad, the previous one to that in the series that the name escapes me now, was only vicious.
No class no humor.
everyone appreciates him being the "first darker film take on Joker", but nobody appreciates that he pulled that off while STILL being a good clown and not just an edgelord
Seriously. Bale played the movie way darker than Ledger did. Bale was in a gritty action flick. Ledger was in a dark comedy. Oldman was in whatever movie he wanted to be in and I have no idea what Ghyllenhall was doing. Also Caine was the best Alfred ever.
I know it's said ad nauseum to the point where people are like, "YoU kNoW thErE ARe oThEr BaTmaN mOvIes rIght??" But every time the topic comes up, I stand 10 toes down with this: [clears throat] Heath Ledger's Joker is the standard. Either meet it or don't. The latter means they're just not as good
I've always kind of found humor incidental on most of the great jokers. Like, they try to use it, but i don't find them funny, just irritating (in a way that a mark of a good character).
His origins as a former mob fixer are heavily alluded to in the Nolan film and even the animated series stuff, and I would have liked a backstory about that rather than some tale of him purely as a psychopath who was unloved.
I think this would detract from the effect of him being a pure agent of chaos, which is the story of himself that he sees in his head and which he portrays outwards.
Exactly, i'm seeing recently a lot of people talking about how Jack Nicholson was the last funny joker, i am always like, "what the fuck are you talking"
I love how he seems surprised when Batman tells him to let Rachel go, like it's SO obviously a set up for literally letting her go, and he walks right into it. "Bad choice of words."
Yes! I loved that about his portrayal. Menacing as hell but also funny. The way he says “yea” when the gangsters ask him if he thinks he’s just going to walk out of there gets me every time.
They're scripty to the point where some things just don't make sense. Like when some random goons hand the judge a package for her to open - she gets in her car, opens the package, a piece of paper says "up", and she looks up at the camera as the care blows up.
all best portrayals of joker are funny. he can be menacing, terrifying, despicable, but he's also supposed to be funny, it's kind of the point of his character, this contrast. this is why he's such a perfect antithesis to batman. batman is scary and intimidating, but deeply caring and compassionate.
Yes! And the way he flips his hair away (with the back of his hand) from his face after taking off the wig… there’s something about that particular movement that gets me every time.
"let's not *BLOW* this out of proportion" got a legitimate laugh out of me when i saw it in theaters. it's very true, ledger's joker was actually the funniest while still being menacing
Exactly! And it’s subtle humor in some cases. Just that little… ‘uhhuh’… in the middle of someone, giving a big dramatic speech about how they’re going to kill him, like he’s listening to someone recite their fucking grocery list.
Oooh, I wish I'd been in a theater with y'all. Then again, a group of people decided to move to another part of the theater after my reaction to "I shot Marvin in the face!" in Pulp Fiction.
Yup! You’re supposed to gasp in shock and then laugh at the reaction from the characters. Especially with the Joker, who is doing horrendous things while being very funny. Joker is supposed to do something awful, make us laugh, and then leave us horrified.
I still think one the best moments is when he introduces himself to move with comically bad fake laughing and the magic trick. Ledger's Joker had his own warped sense of humour that gets a few chuckles then reminds you he's a dangerous dude
The whole point to a great Joker is getting just under your skin enough with actually funny lines and deliveries so that you end up questioning yourself over it.
It's like the situation where a stand up comedian has noticed you and is armed with every disarming joke imaginable to get the audience on his side, but you're entirely alone with this guy
Right? Kinda this subtle bite to the character. He's funny in a twisted way, not just twisted in a twisted way.
The scene where the explosion goes off at the wrong time and he turns back to look at it like "REALLY?" is fantastic.
That was one of my problems with the Jared Leto Joker. Joker can have tattoos, but those tattoos should be clever. His were literally just a list of the first things you think of when you think of the Joker - a smile, playing cards, “damaged”, etc.
Two that I came up with when his pictures were first released were a dead robin and the quote “He who is not the master of his own thoughts is not accountable for his own deeds” from The Man Who Laughs.
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I like my Jokers to be entertaining, for fuck sake.
“It was a dog.”
“What?”
“It was a BIG dog.”
*turns around for a quick second
*turns back and she's silently vanished
"...so that's what that feels like"
Underrated humor
“…yeah.”
at this point sometimes we gotta just have a little faith. except you, jared leto. sit the fuck down
"Me? I was right here." [shows handcuffs]
Might have been a different movie, but I'm pretty sure.
[points]
the joker is a character older than most people. there are countless angles to tackle him from, try something else! ledger is seriously just too good
I loved them both but wouldn’t want to see each in the other’s film.
One thing that's consistent with most of his portrayals is that he's a talented showman, and he at least thinks of himself as funny.
“Yeah.”
My top 3 Jokers:
Caesar Romero
Mark Hamill
Heath Ledger
His body of work stands for itself and would be just as impressive without The Dark Knight.
Totally showed the world how to make a superhero movie for grown ups though.
For me, Inception, Interstellar, Tenet and Oppenheimer surpass his Dark Knight trilogy. He’s one of the few filmmakers who’s unafraid to take risks on original stories.
And he has no trouble attracting actors to form his ensemble casts. “The Christopher Nolan Players”, I call them.
The sincere, deadpan laugh walking in on the mob dudes, combined with effortlessly killing one while making a joke? Wonderful. I loved this version so much
they all want to do 'their take' on him, cause it worked for Ledger
difference is, his take didn't... fucking suck lmao
like, just play the damn joker. no, not a gangster. no, not a spooky serial killer. the Joker. Stop fucking around. You ain't him
Y’know as a gag gift. Because it’s funny?
...
"Why didn't someone tell me he had one of those... things?"
...
"You wouldn't hit as guy with glasses would you?" *Whap!*
...
I also just love the fact that Joker is no slouch at all as a fighter and in fact KNOWS he's better than any of the cops in the room outside of maybe Gordon.
Somehow, it is very much like the comicbook one but in real life.
The newer one is just sad and depressing.
There are just different interpretations from different writers/actors
No class no humor.
https://youtu.be/5Nx_akevaUc
That's interesting.
I've always kind of found humor incidental on most of the great jokers. Like, they try to use it, but i don't find them funny, just irritating (in a way that a mark of a good character).
"Yeah..."
JOKER: Very poor choice of words! 🤣
Love that delivery.
"Yeah."
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sPpWzS3nCwM&pp=ygUSaSdtIHRoZSBqb2tlciBiYWJ5
Joker: Could you give me just one second?
😆
The Nolan Batman movies really fall into that Scorsese category where huge swathes of their fans like them for the "wrong" reasons
Having just replayed the Arkham games I think the joker there fits this too, though not as well
“Yep”
**wham!!**
TA-DA!!! It's... gone.
Everyone else gasped. Him and I? “HA!”
Hey, that shit was funny, what can I say?
For example, Hamill.
“Ya…”
Is one of my favourite line deliveries maybe ever. Makes me laugh every time
😡:"You think you can steal from us and just walk away?"
🤡: "Yea"
The scene where the explosion goes off at the wrong time and he turns back to look at it like "REALLY?" is fantastic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jeHB_gIFEs
Scripted: outstanding acting
That’s all we need.
Not something I'd directly compare to what your saying, just the first thing I thought of