This Is The Right Way To Introduce The Joker

I'm gonna make this pencil disappear it's a likelihood that you clicked on this video and also have never seen this moment play out before is I would guess as likely as you also trying this trick out for yourself and living to tell that story but a recent viewing of the Dark Knight that be thinking about this moment a bit more than I had in the past it's a moment that is surrounded by one of the greatest scenes in one of the most important movies of the past two decades and how this moment was accomplished the strange story of how it was filmed and what makes this scene so special are still to this day I think worth talking about how do you introduce the Joker how do you set the pace of a character and how do you make a pencil disappear our first introduction to the Joker in the Dark Knight is the opening bank sequence we don't learn much other than the fact that he's calculated and brutal it's this scene where we get a true introduction introducing a character it's important especially if that character is an adversary or a villain to establish power to establish their Menace I think the first thing this scene does spectacularly well is that power display and it's kind of literal the scene opens with these guys in control they're the gangsters of Gotham they're physically imposing some are greasy but they're all stereotypical Batman founder they hold control quickly the TV is placed out and we meet now and this happens no one can know but being if the police were to gain leverage over one of you everyone's money would be at stake this is the first transition of power now undresses the room not only tells these men who can keep their money safe but lets them know that without their permission he's already taken him he's calm and collected about it this is important because we now have a clear dominant force we see where the control over the moment lies and then we get this moment this shot is equally important we walk in with the Joker the camera right behind him setting the stage for his arrival we see just how out number two years how packed full of criminals the room is we get perspective on the situation for the first time through his eyes which makes it all the more remarkable when he not only takes control of this engagement but here I know the squealers when I see them takes that power out of Laos hands and into his to get what he wants the very man that just a few moments before drogas arrival shut this whole room up this sequence shows us the viewers Joker's capacity for control we see these transfers of power and we see him walk out of this room this room that looks like a death sentence pulling the strings establishing dominance establishing control it's excellent writing and even better acting from Heath Ledger but this only works because of a meeting between a very lucky pencil and a very unlucky head this moment is maybe one of the more iconic moments in modern film history but it was also a unique challenge for a film that placed a lot of obstacles in front of itself let's start with what this moment accomplishes it does two things the first is it sets the tone for not only this particular scene but for the Joker himself the enjoyment he derives from the violence the chaos the pomp and circumstance the pencil trick not only gets the attention of every hardened criminal in the room but it also marks the beginning of that final power shift and the transfer of pace of the scene to Heath without the pencil trick the film doesn't give us a reason to believe that anyone in this room would respect Joker's Menace give him a chance to speak and without it we the audience may not either in the bank for example Joker killed with purpose he eliminated what he viewed as waste here though Joker pulls this trick out at the drop of a hat on a moment's notice and kills without thought it isn't premeditated it feels natural it's terrifying but it's the nuance the tiny almost unnoticeable details that give this moment its impact clearly you can't shove a pencil through an actor's head so how do you make this look real and better yet how do you make it feel visceral physical how do you nail a first moment of villainy turns out that's tough see Dark Knight was shot on IMAX meaning that digitally placing things into the film was difficult it would be nearly impossible according to Christopher Nolan's and make that object look real so this scene was shot over the course of two days 22 takes some shot with the pencil in place the others shot without it in post a shot with the pencil in a shot without it's were digitally composited together to create the final shot it's part of the reason that when you slow it down you don't actually see the head hit the table but there's another reason for that this moment only works if we feel it physicality that feeling of impact the moment will we the audience believe that this happened because it follows the physical laws that exist around us things move like we know them to move for that this his head slammed against this table with a one-inch rubber surface atop it for all 22 takes he described it as slamming your head into a brick wall with a towel over it he blacked out a total of three times to add these 22 takes in fact the one time Heath broke character onset as the Joker was the first time in which the actor was knocked unconscious after hitting his head and if you slow it down again you can actually see his hand tossing him backwards by his forehead after the impact this makes it seem as though his head bounced violently off the surface that small trick combined with a commitment to physical and practical effects and a little bit of damage to this guy's head makes this moment believable and it drives right through your eye and it's that part of your brain that tells you something awful just happened a lesser film would have tried to digitally recreate the shot in its entirety a lesser film wouldn't have committed to making its violence seem like reality the pencil trick is a moment when you realize almost immediately that the dark night is not a lesser film but it's what comes next that I think does a better job of setting the tone for the rest of the movie little group therapy sessions in broad daylight I know why you're afraid to go out at night the Batman it's impossible to talk about what makes this scene special without talking about how dialogue is delivered Nolan and Ledger do a great job of crafting and delivering dialogue here that introduces us properly to the Joker but also I think more importantly humanizes in the most important element of the scene as Batman universe isn't filled with superpowers in the supernatural it's a relatively grounded and ready if not a bit fantastical version of Gotham City and that means it's villains like the Joker are real human beings this sequence gives Joker control demonstrates his menace but also paints that human portrait throughout the scene no one attempts to undress the Joker like he's a guy like me moments where Joker loses control of the conversation the pace and even shows what can be interpreted as a bit of insecurity with not just his message but his self he's clearly tired of being called a freak or crazy he's even more tired of being dismissed and to out this scene as in control as the Joker wants to seem through small vocal inflections and facial expressions Heath Ledger is able to get across that bit of madness a bit of uncertainty that comes from chaos it would have been very easy to write a scene or even act out a scene as a villain that commands a room with pure unfettered competence and feel to create a monster that we inherently want gone but in a room filled with much more menacing physical beings how absorber to look if he of all people did that if he was just like these guys we don't particularly care about if the Joker this guy year out gangster the gangsters what a disservice that would be to a villain the film doesn't want us to quite understand it's exactly how the Joker was written in this film and that didn't work out too well this scene sets a clear tone for the rest of the film we don't understand this character what he wants who he is in that uncertainty is played with throughout the rest of the film as the changing stories of his scholars pile drive home and his brand of misdirection unfolds [Music] so serious I discussed a second scene from The Dark Knight at length in my Joker video before the Oscars but while I think that scene might be a better display of Heath's performance as a Joker I think that this scene may be the finest moment in the film from a writing acting and directing perspective it is nearly perfect it gets almost everything right and it remains as iconic a scene that the genre has ever produced it's hard to introduce a villain it's even harder to establish the villainy the dog and I didn't just do it well I did it in a way we hadn't seen before super your movies are fun some are great some not so much but from this scene on the Dark Knight said his standard that still has not been met again in one magic trick this clown marked a shift in power in an industry that to this day still hasn't figured out how to take it back from him well guys that is it for this episode of nerds logic if you enjoyed the video press the like button down below if you haven't yet done so also hit subscribe that I'll make sure you don't miss anything I put out on this channel also next to subscribe button is a little bell just a notification bell if you hit that you'll actually be notified when I upload helps me out a lot so hit subscribe in the little bell and as always on your screen right now are two more episodes of logic you can see what I talked about recently and hopefully I will see you guys in the next video

Channel: Nerdstalgic

Views: 2,450,874

Keywords: the dark knight, dark knight joker, joker, batman joker, joker movie, dark knight movie, joker pencil, best joker, nerdstalgic, joker magic trick

Id: iONCoVu1R_4

Length: 9min 59sec (599 seconds)

Published: Mon Apr 06 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/GitEmSteveDave]

I heard he killed 22 other stuntmen, that's how method he is. It explains why you see so many other holes in the table, from previous attempts.

[u/Browlon]

Getting knocked out means you got a concussion. Getting 3 concussions in this short amount of time will kill you. This story is bullshit.

[u/InnovativeFarmer]

So that actor probably got a concussion. Getting knocked out is no joke.

[u/assmilk99]

Ugghhhh this shit is so dumb.

Even if this story is true (which I highly doubt from a high-end, professional film company), none of these ‘facts’ would make the film ‘better’. All it would make it is unprofessional and dangerous. A good film can do all of this without endangering the actors unnecessarily.

The Dark Knight is a very good movie. But do not make the mistake of thinking that putting yourself or others in danger means you’re more committed or impassioned. It means you’re unprofessional, impulsive, and don’t know how to separate self from work. You wouldn’t praise a fucking waiter for knocking over another waiter to get food to a table faster 🙄

[u/SlightWhite]

Other people on set of Dark Knight said that Heath did not stay in character all the time between takes.

I think maybe the pencil slamming scene was the only time he broke character on camera.

[u/Cpl_Hicks76]

BS FFS. This is called ‘taking the piss’ and the OP knows it or is a dumb kid.

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[u/SolipsisticSaint]

Just brought up this scene last week because of the "Tada" moment. It was amazing that when I saw this in theaters there was a mixture of laughter and screams in from audience.

[u/[deleted]]

Imagine if theres footage out there of the Joker showing Empathy lol