In comparison to the 1989 story of Batman, 2008 saw a modern reimagining to bring the Dark Knight and The Joker back together again.
The Dark Knight sees the story of Batman fighting the introduction of The Joker to modern day Gotham. Taking a different approach to the 1989 film, we do not see the origins of The Joker and instead meet him in as reestablished character ready to take on Gotham City.
The difference between the 1989 Gotham setting and 2008 one is huge. Whereas the Tim Burton version is set up to be very Gothic, the modern version focuses more creating a more identifiable setting.
The 1989 version was very detailed and intricately designed to create an atmosphere unique to the idea of Burton's creation. However, the Dark Knight aimed to create a modern adaptation of Batman and did so through filming the majority of the film in Chicago. By doing this, Christopher Nolan was able to focus on forging a relatable setting full of modern architecture.
The 1989 version was very detailed and intricately designed to create an atmosphere unique to the idea of Burton's creation. However, the Dark Knight aimed to create a modern adaptation of Batman and did so through filming the majority of the film in Chicago. By doing this, Christopher Nolan was able to focus on forging a relatable setting full of modern architecture.
Although the use of architecture is not necessarily as powerfully used in The Dark Knight as it is in Batman 1989, it still helps to establish a setting which is appropriate to the film and which ultimately forms the basis of the story. It creates a playground for the Joker to wreck and show that even a modern city can be terrorised and made vulnerable
In this respect the architecture is used to strong effect, but it is more due to the idea that this creates as opposed to being a direct influence of the architecture itself. The problem with The Dark Knight's Gotham is that it could be considered as too generic. There isn't really much personality to it to make it a unique and investable setting. It would have been good to see something echo back to Tim Burtons Gothic imagining of the city. The clue is in the name after all. Gotham.
In this respect the architecture is used to strong effect, but it is more due to the idea that this creates as opposed to being a direct influence of the architecture itself. The problem with The Dark Knight's Gotham is that it could be considered as too generic. There isn't really much personality to it to make it a unique and investable setting. It would have been good to see something echo back to Tim Burtons Gothic imagining of the city. The clue is in the name after all. Gotham.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXeTwQWrcwY
www.imdb.com/title/tt0468569/
www.imdb.com/title/tt0468569/