By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 2/1/2016
Before Rocksteady’s Batman Arkham trilogy proved how top tier comic book properties could be perfectly adapted in the world of blockbuster video games; Electronic Arts was setting up to once again release a tie-in Batman game alongside Christopher Nolan’s second Bat film, The Dark Knight in 2008 . It would not have been their first Batman endeavor […]
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 7/21/2015
BBC Culture did something pretty fun today, as they released their list of the 100 Greatest American Films, as determined by a poll of 62 international film critics.
How did they define what made an “American film”? If it got its funding from an American source, it was eligible to be selected.
Here’s the full, very Billy Wilder-heavy, list:
100. Ace in the Hole (Billy Wilder, 1951)
99. 12 Years a Slave (Steve McQueen, 2013)
98. Heaven’s Gate (Michael Cimino, 1980)
97. Gone With the Wind (Victor Fleming, 1939)
96. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008)
95. Duck Soup (Leo McCarey, 1933)
94. 25th Hour (Spike Lee, 2002)
93. Mean Streets (Martin Scorsese, 1973)
92. The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, 1955)
91. ET: The Extra-Terrestrial (Steven Spielberg, 1982)
90. Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979)
89. In a Lonely Place (Nicholas Ray, 1950)
88. West Side Story (Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, 1961)
87. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004)
86. The Lion King (Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, 1994)
85. Night of the Living Dead (George A Romero, 1968)
84. Deliverance (John Boorman, 1972)
83. Bringing Up Baby (Howard Hawks, 1938)
82. Raiders of the Lost Ark (Steven Spielberg, 1981)
81. Thelma & Louise (Ridley Scott, 1991)
80. Meet Me in St Louis (Vincente Minnelli, 1944)
79. The Tree of Life (Terrence Malick, 2011)
78. Schindler’s List (Steven Spielberg, 1993)
77. Stagecoach (John Ford, 1939)
76. The Empire Strikes Back (Irvin Kershner, 1980)
75. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Steven Spielberg, 1977)
74. Forrest Gump (Robert Zemeckis, 1994)
73. Network (Sidney Lumet, 1976)
72. The Shanghai Gesture (Josef von Sternberg, 1941)
71. Groundhog Day (Harold Ramis, 1993)
70. The Band Wagon (Vincente Minnelli, 1953)
69. Koyaanisqatsi (Godfrey Reggio, 1982)
68. Notorious (Alfred Hitchcock, 1946)
67. Modern Times (Charlie Chaplin, 1936)
66. Red River (Howard Hawks, 1948)
65. The Right Stuff (Philip Kaufman, 1965)
64. Johnny Guitar (Nicholas Ray, 1954)
63. Love Streams (John Cassavetes, 1984)
62. The Shining (Stanley Kubrick, 1980)
61. Eyes Wide Shut (Stanley Kubrick, 1999)
60. Blue Velvet (David Lynch, 1986)
59. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Miloš Forman, 1975)
58. The Shop Around the Corner (Ernst Lubitsch, 1940)
57. Crimes and Misdemeanors (Woody Allen, 1989)
56. Back to the Future (Robert Zemeckis, 1985)
55. The Graduate (Mike Nichols, 1967)
54. Sunset Boulevard (Billy Wilder, 1950)
53. Grey Gardens (Albert and David Maysles, Ellen Hovde and Muffie Meyer, 1975)
52. The Wild Bunch (Sam Peckinpah, 1969)
51. Touch of Evil (Orson Welles, 1958)
50. His Girl Friday (Howard Hawks, 1940)
49. Days of Heaven (Terrence Malick, 1978)
48. A Place in the Sun (George Stevens, 1951)
47. Marnie (Alfred Hitchcock, 1964)
46. It’s a Wonderful Life (Frank Capra, 1946)
45. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (John Ford, 1962)
44. Sherlock Jr (Buster Keaton, 1924)
43. Letter from an Unknown Woman (Max Ophüls, 1948)
42. Dr Strangelove (Stanley Kubrick, 1964)
41. Rio Bravo (Howard Hawks, 1959)
40. Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren and Alexander Hammid, 1943)
39. The Birth of a Nation (DW Griffith, 1915)
38. Jaws (Steven Spielberg, 1975)
37. Imitation of Life (Douglas Sirk, 1959)
36. Star Wars (George Lucas, 1977)
35. Double Indemnity (Billy Wilder, 1944)
34. The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming, 1939)
33. The Conversation (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974)
32. The Lady Eve (Preston Sturges, 1941)
31. A Woman Under the Influence (John Cassavetes, 1974)
30. Some Like It Hot (Billy Wilder, 1959)
29. Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980)
28. Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, 1994)
27. Barry Lyndon (Stanley Kubrick, 1975)
26. Killer of Sheep (Charles Burnett, 1978)
25. Do the Right Thing (Spike Lee, 1989)
24. The Apartment (Billy Wilder, 1960)
23. Annie Hall (Woody Allen, 1977)
22. Greed (Erich von Stroheim, 1924)
21. Mulholland Drive (David Lynch, 2001)
20. Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese, 1990)
19. Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1976)
18. City Lights (Charlie Chaplin, 1931)
17. The Gold Rush (Charlie Chaplin, 1925)
16. McCabe & Mrs Miller (Robert Altman, 1971)
15. The Best Years of Our Lives (William Wyler, 1946)
14. Nashville (Robert Altman, 1975)
13. North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock, 1959)
12. Chinatown (Roman Polanski, 1974)
11. The Magnificent Ambersons (Orson Welles, 1942)
10. The Godfather Part II (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974)
9. Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942)
8. Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)
7. Singin’ in the Rain (Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly, 1952)
6. Sunrise (FW Murnau, 1927)
5. The Searchers (John Ford, 1956)
4. 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968)
3. Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)
2. The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972)
1. Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941)
No Coen Bros? No Paul Thomas Anderson? No Wes Anderson? Egad! I will say that I applaud any list that tosses Citizen Kane back in its rightful spot at the top. Back when Sight and Sound did their poll a few years back, Vertigo had crept over Welles’ masterpiece. I love them both, but the greatness of Citizen Kane is indisputable, particularly when you compare it to other, stagier, classics of the same era.
But, to not bury the lede as it concerns the interests of The Beat, The Dark Knight is the only comics based film to make the cut. An interesting choice, and for my money it’s easily the best superhero film (any capes and tights offering that takes a visual page out of Michael Mann has a little more going for it than, say, your average X-Men movie), but is it one of the Top 100 American Films of All Time? I don’t even think it’s Christopher Nolan‘s best film, so probably not. But, it’s nice to see our favorite medium get a little bit of respect in this part of the critical community.
I’d have replaced it with American Splendor myself.
By: Marc Tyler,
on 8/3/2013
In Washington DC, a clever spin on the superhero film festival:
By: Marc Tyler,
on 7/8/2013
To my recollection, I’ve made only a small handful of edits to Wikipedia—a couple at least five years ago, and two this past summer. Not surprisingly, most (if not all) were related to Bill Finger.
The two more recent edits were to the entries for The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises, the second and final films in Christopher Nolan’s groundbreaking Batman trilogy.
I added that the first Batman story to include the phrase “the Dark Knight” was one written by Bill Finger (in Batman #1, 1940). The fact that neither film needed the word “Batman” in the title shows how iconic not only the character but this nickname are.
Note that I did not write “Bill Finger was the first to call Batman ‘the Dark Knight’” nor did I claim that Finger coined the phrase.” I think both were the case, but we may never know for sure. Therefore, to defend my objectivity, I inserted the info in a way that is indisputable.
I feel it is a travesty that Bill’s name is not in the credits of those (or any) Batman movies, but am somehow comforted by the fact that at least Wikipedia has the truth. More people have access to Wikipedia than to the movie…
By: Marc Tyler,
on 7/20/2012
Bill Finger main-created Batman and nicknamed him the Dark Knight. Today (perhaps you heard) The Dark Knight Rises opens, but Bill’s name will not be in the credits.
On 12/10/07, a bit more than six months before The Dark Knight opened, I e-mailed DC Comics; after introducing myself as the author of books including Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman (which also wasn’t out yet), I asked the following:
Could Bill’s name be included in the credits for The Dark Knight? Please don’t automatically delete! I know contractually DC can’t call him “co-creator” so I rather mean something along the lines of “Batman was first called ‘the Dark Knight’ in Batman #1, in 1940, in a story written by Bill Finger.” DC publications already regularly credit Bill for that story, so I see this as completely compatible, legally safe, and of course morally fair. After all, the movie’s title doesn’t even include the word “Batman”—it is wholly a phrase coined by Bill Finger. I look forward to your response.
Thanks for your passion for our creators and characters, but there are no plans to credit Bill on The Dark Knight.
To be clear, I am asking if Bill can be credited only for the coining of a phrase, in unambiguous language. … Isn’t that just as permissible (it seems even more so) as your regular practice of crediting him in reprints for entire stories he wrote?
With all due respect, I’m not having this discussion.
By: Sevensheaven.nl,
on 8/6/2009
Stylized 3D illustration for an article about home cinema systems.
More at Sevensheaven.nl
By: Samuel Haruna,
on 9/10/2008
Hey everyone please check out my step by step video of my drawing of the dark knight HERE.
Thank you I hope you like it.
Sam
By: Samuel Haruna,
on 9/10/2008
Hey everyone please check out my step by step video of my drawing of the dark knight HERE.
Thank you I hope you like it.
Sam
By: Sevensheaven.nl,
on 9/1/2008
By: Sevensheaven.nl,
on 8/3/2008
A drawing I created as a tribute to the late Heath Ledger's magnificent Joker in The Dark Knight.
I've also written a review of The Dark Knight (no spoilers, don't worry).
By: Jason Boog,
on 7/25/2008
Is the new Batman movie a tribute to the Bush administration?
I was so excited, I saw The Dark Knight opening night. When it was over, I had mixed feelings. Buried in the convoluted plot were some queasy ideas about wire-tapping phones and how to deal with terrorism. Those ideas were counter-balanced by a smart, evocative critique of how terrorism has affected our imaginations.
Still, I left the movie very unsure of what the movie was saying about current affairs. Most people would argue that you shouldn't even worry about the politics of a summer blockbuster. Indeed, my friends told me I was crazy to even worry about it.
But then, today, The Wall Street Journal published an op-ed by mystery novelist Andrew Klavan, arguing that the newest installment of Batman celebrates the Bush administration. You can call me crazy, but now you have to admit that at least one person left the movie with this idea. Check it out:
"There seems to me no question that the Batman film "The Dark Knight," currently breaking every box office record in history, is at some level a paean of praise to the fortitude and moral courage that has been shown by George W. Bush in this time of terror and war. Like W, Batman is vilified and despised for confronting terrorists in the only terms they understand. Like W, Batman sometimes has to push the boundaries of civil rights to deal with an emergency, certain that he will re-establish those boundaries when the emergency is past."
What do you think? Should Christopher Nolan, a director I've admired for years, have to answer that reading (or misreading, I really don't know what they thought) of his new movie? Are writers responsible for the imaginary politics they create? Is Batman our President? Here's what TNR and HuffPo readers think.
By: Jason Boog,
on 7/8/2008
What if bombastic director Michael Bay wrote the next Batman movie?
Spill.com has a fake script that imagines how Bay would screw up the upcoming installment (The Dark Knight) of the comic book franchise, including this choice quote: "GENERAL: Okay, I like it. But which one of the internets do we hack? [BATMAN]: All of them."
Read it for two reasons. Number one, it's funny. Number two, a little bit of parody can go a long way in your novel. A couple weeks ago, Ed Park told us how he created fake self-help books that gave his satirical novel a new texture.
Check out his interview, and start mapping out your fake works of art today.
"I’ve always loved the vertiginous method of including fictional books within a work of fiction, whether the author provides tantalizing passages or just titles."
By: Kirsty,
on 10/4/2007
By Kirsty OUP-UK
Regular readers of the OUP blog will remember that back in July I told you about a personality survey that we were running in conjunction with the British Association for the Advancement of Science to tie in with the new book by Daniel Nettle called Personality: What Makes You The Way You Are. Well, the results are in and Daniel Nettle has kindly written the piece below, detailing his findings. Thanks to everyone who took part!
This summer I undertook a mass personality survey, with the cooperation of OUP and of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. (more…)
By: Rebecca,
on 9/25/2007
Philip Davis, our favorite new blogger is back with more commentary today. Davis is professor of English literature at Liverpool University, author of Bernard Malamud: A Writer’s Life, and editor of The Reader. This post originally appeared on Moreover.
Dear America,
This week someone from Education (it would be) said to me, ‘I am comfortable with my belief-systems.’ I blame you, collectively, for this. (more…)
I can’t speak for much, but I wrote the script for the Dark Knight game in 2008. I was brought out to Australia several times to work with Pandemic. The guys there were wonderful and were definitely working to make the best Batman game ever.
The only correction to your piece that I know about is the game did not hone to the Dark Knight movie script. By design we took place during it but we had a very different story. We did however, end up at the same place. I was extremely proud of the script and was told it was accepted without any changes called for by the movie folk. It’s a shame it never came out.