Discuss: 'The Dark Knight' Snubs and Gets Snubbed

The DVD is decent although I too would've liked more character extras and a director's commentary (one that I didn't have to provide myself - so self-indulgent). I agree with the Deluxe Edition prediction - that's a given. I haven't seen Benjamin Button, but it seems all the serious-minded critics have begun to gravitate towards it and that a vote for TDK would in essence be a vote for child's play. Of course, I couldn't disagree more. This film deserves so much better - definitely a Best Director for Nolan. Hopefully, the Academy doesn't make the same mistakes.

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I think its pathetic that the foreign press has chosen not to throw more golden globe nods at the Dark Knight. Even if you ignore the publics near universal acceptance of the movie, you can't deny the critical praise this movie has recieved. If the fact that this is a 'comic book' movie has anything to do with it, I think thats a rediculous excuse; its a genre like anything else. You may as well label The Godfather as just a gangster movie. If its a matter of the source matterial, then The Dark Knight should recieve that much more consideration since Christopher Nolan delivered an amazing film that is on par with any past Oscar winner let alone Golden Globe nominee.

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I was supremely disappointed in the DVD features. In the past, I've found Nolan commentaries to be fairly dry, but informative (which is good enough for me), but this had no commentary at all. AT ALL. There was a featurette on the sound and score and a 15-minute (seriously) featurette on... everything. It had some comments from Nolan and various crew members, but no sit-down interviews, nothing from cast members, and it all played out over production stills, film footage, and test footage. It had very little mention of Ledger's Joker and no mention of Two-Face at all.

What do we get--we get the IMAX scenes by themselves (unlike Blu-Ray, DVD owners don't get the opportunity to watch them integrated into the film--but you know, I'm fine with that), trailers and then six episodes of Gotham Tonight.

Oh, we also get a digital copy--thanks but no thanks. I have a home theater system with surround sound, I'm not watching The Dark Knight on my iPod.

The other things that bugs me is that disc 1 has quite a few trailers. This is really the adding-insult-to-injury moment for me. This isn't some $5 bargain bin DVD--I paid $20 for what turned out to be a nearly featureless 2-disc Special Edition, and I'm STILL going to be subjected to trailers every time I load the film?

Grrrr...

Left me feeling sour, I don't mind saying. At least the film kicks major ass.

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"despite the fact that the film has broken records at the box office and is about to smash some more on DVD"

what does sales/box office have to do with quality? I'm not saying Dark Knight wasn't worthy (I loved it), but you can't really use that as an arguing point (Spiderman 3 *cough cough*)

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I am pretty tired of all the web hype for The Dark Knight. It was a good comic book movie. It was not a great movie and cribbed off of a lot of better movies. Ledger is fantastic in the movie... the rest was lacking. I'd take Iron Man any day of the week.

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This was an outstanding crime drama/psychological thriller; very far from a "comic book movie" as some people label it.

It should have gotten some more recognition, but I am more interested in what will happen during the Academy Awards noms.

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I agree with the comments written in this article that Warner Bros will just end-up double dipping us for future "Dark Knight" DVDs. I'm sick and tired of the studios doing this and I'll predict that WB's will not wait until next year's holidays to hit us again. I will not buy it whenever it's released!!

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Warners must not have thrown enough money at the Hollywood Foreign Press. It's no secret the Golden Globes can be easily bought.

I just hope the Academy has more sense. I'm not pleading for a Dark Knight sweep here, but it deserved more than one nod.

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sorry, meant to write gangster...

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I don't know.. I enjoy special features as much as the next Cat, I'll pop on any commentary offered on any DVD I purchase... It's all great stuff.

But... I bought the movie for the movie. It's big, bold and rocked the hell out of my Home Theater.

I'm happy.

The trailer thing irks me though. I suppose it could just be a stigma I've attached to DVD's but I always think of it as something they do to less succesful films as a way to offset the cost... If your flick didn't do so hot in the Box Office, toss some trailers up and maybe the public will buy those, boosting you overall profit... But if a film does fantastic, if it, say, breaks all kinds of records and makes you all very wealthy... Then let that movie stand on it's own. Let the DVD be it's own little universe devoted to that IP and leave it at that. Personally I find the trailers attached to films like this to be a little tacky. To say nothing of the obvious Double Dipping they are setting up here.

Though like I said, I dropped my 20 bucks down to see Dark Knight and I got to... So chalk me up as a more or less happy customer.

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Come Oscar time I feel THe Dark Knight should get nominated for Best Picture, Best director, best supporting actor( Ledger) and score. After watching on DVD yesterday (I saw it twice in a theater) there is no doubt its a great achievment that deserves to be acknowledged. Depite the fact that things peak ( a very high peak indeed) at the two hr mark its a stunning watch on many different levels. Personally I wish Nolan could have taken out the social experiment boat scene. It slows down the film amazing momentum, and for me its the only sequence that feels comic bookish in the whole movie. Overall though its a groundbreaking genre film and something very special!


Chuck
http://blog.entertainmenttodayandbeyond.com/

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The Dark Knight was a good popcorn-flick. A good comic book movie. But that's it.

It's not the most perfect movie ever made. And it's SURELY not worthy of a Best Picture nod.

You people need some perspective.....

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I didn't get the Special Edition because it had crap special features. I'm sure a better version will come out some time.

In the meantime, I got the one which came with a comic book and metal "Twoface coin" for just 20 bucks.

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I agree with many here that this movie wasn't all that great in the first place. Sure, it was good summer action/adventure, comic book kind of thing, but worthy of Oscar-level accolades, I think not.

Other than Heath's memorable portrayal of The Joker, I found little about this film to be memorable. It felt like it was trying too hard to be BIG and LOUD, and that's all it was, while lacking in substance.

And the hyped hype it got before release from many fanboy movie sites helped it to fall short of the unrealistic expectations that were created by all that hype.

It just goes to show that you can get people to the theater with a well-known franchise (and millions in marketing), and get all kinds of franchise-loyal fans screaming praises for it, without it having to be a very good movie at all.

Some movies earn their praise. Others, like this one, were given it before anyone had even seen it, and it fell short.

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This is a joke (no pun intended). The Dark Knight, at least in my book, is the best picture this year. Many people will agree, many others will disagree. Either way, how can it not be considered ONE of the FIVE best movies this year? Even if it didn't win, to say it wasn't one of the five top films of 2008 is a joke. And I'm not laughing. Same for Christopher Nolan, who has twice now turned a comic book superhero story into an intelligent, complex crime saga that is looked at as a serious movie, not just popcorn fluff. Shame on the Hollywood Foreign Press. The Academy will get it right.

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