The Dark Knight Rises Case Study

The Dark Knight Rises Case Study

Stars; Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy and Anne Hathaway ( Christian Bale has been in the franchise for 3 films him and Tom Hardy will attract a female audience whereas Anne Hathaway will attract a strong male audience.

Genre; Action, Crime, Drama ( Action movies are well received, crime and drama show a strong antagonist in the movie.)

Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures, Legendary Pictures, DC Entertainment ( DC Entertainment- it's a obviously a comic book adaption, WB and Legendary Pictures are companies that have stayed with the franchise since the beginning.)

Certificate: 12A ( Attracts a wide audience, kids for the comic book side, men for the women in the movie and the action and women for Batman and the other men.)

Marketing: Trailer, Poster, Action Figures ( a big comic book adaption, has time to market toys, posters on buses for example this and sky fall were on the front of Harrods in London.)

Release Date: 20 July 2012 ( A summer blockbuster, everyone has time off in the summer holidays to go to the cinema with the family.)

Domestic Total gross: $448, 130, 642

Worldwide Total: $1, 081, 032, 830

Running Time: 165 Mins

Production Budget: $250, 000, 000

This is the main theatrical poster for the film. You can tell this as it reveals full information about the production personnel, main stars in the film and the distributors as well as the name of the film and a main image. The names of the stars of the film are placed in the centre of the top of the poster, mainly so it does not cover the main image and take away a lot of attention from the main image. As well as acting as a unique selling point for the film it attracts people who like these actors. The text is white and in block capitals and is once again insignificant to the main image. There are several narratives shown within the poster. It is obvious in the poster that Batman will encounter several problems in the film. The poster has a catch line which helps intrigue the audience as it give hints about the film and the narrative. The catch line 'A fire will rise', the fire is represented in the main image in which it looks as if a fire is rising out of the crumbling city which is in the shape of the Batman symbol. The genre is action as well as fiction.

Trailer Analysis 

The Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) we see as the trailer opens is without doubt a clear echo of the Bruce we were introduced to at the start of Batman Begins. Bearded, pained and haunted by the past, it’s a clear indication that the fall Batman took at the end of The Dark Knight has truly left its mark.

Also making a reappearance from the first movie is Wayne Manor. If TDK saw Bruce/Batman at the height of his power, living and working in the heart of the city, this seemingly broken incarnation has retreated to the fringes of his hometown, hiding away from the world inside his rebuilt family home.

Whereas the previous trailers seemed concerned with selling both the premise of the film and introducing the character of Bane, this time out the accent seems to be on introducing Catwoman (Anne Hathaway) to the wider audience.

From the way the trailer begins and ends on a Batman and Catwoman verbal exchange, it appears that this famously combustible relationship may well be the central spine of the story. On first glance, it appears that Catwoman will start off as an ally of Bane before morphing into Batman’s de-facto sidekick along the way. But will things really be that straightforward?

There’s certainly a precedent for Catwoman to team up with Batman in the comics, and in both of Frank Miller’s Dark Knight books, Batman’s sidekick is not only a girl, but one who matures into the role of Catwoman (well, Catgirl) as the story progresses. 

But what is the nature of their relationship? Antagonistic? Purely professional? Or is there romance in the air between the Bat and the Cat?

One of Nolan’s key influences right from the start of his time with the franchise has been a Denny O’Neil and Dick Giordano Batman short story entitled The Man Who Falls.

We’ve seen its influence at work in the image of the well in Begins and again during TDK’s conclusion after Batman saves Commissioner Gordon’s son from Two-Face’s clutches.

However, for this final installment, Nolan seems to have pushed that image even further with Wayne seemingly imprisoned (another echo to the opening of Batman Begins) inside an underground facility where the only point of access is a giant well that resembles the one he fell into as a child.

Serving as both a literal obstacle for Batman to overcome and as a more expressionistic representation of Wayne’s state of mind, it seems that Nolan is setting up Wayne to finally overcome both his recent and longer term demons.

Is this how the Dark Knight will rise?

Since the casting of Joseph Gordon Levitt as Detective John Blake we’ve learnt next to nothing about his character or his role in the movie. While this trailer doesn’t give us any definitive answers, it does give us a few hints.

From the way Blake is portrayed, it seems obvious that he’s being very much set-up as the ‘everyman’ of this story. However, there does appear to be more to Blake than meets the eye.

Firstly, if Blake’s exchange with Selina Kyle is any indication, then it would appear that Blake is key to Catwoman switching sides during the battle with Bane. How or why this happens we don’t yet know, but the interaction between these two characters looks intriguing.

Secondly, Blake’s conversation with the small child drawing the chalk bat symbol on the floor suggests that Blake has a long-standing sympathy for the Batman. While this is by no means a big moment, it does seem quite telling.

Does Blake have a pre-existing relationship with Batman? Is he a character we’ve met before? Maybe he’s the kid Batman saved in The Narrows during Batman Begins, now grown up and serving as part of Gotham’s finest?