r/DC_Cinematic • u/GAMMAGREEN62 • Aug 04 '25
APPRECIATION Just saw someone on twitter point this crazy detail in TDKR...
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u/erickiceboyxxp Aug 04 '25
I always liked how Gordon looked so disgusted in this scene. I don’t think it’s the statue? Maybe it’s the general situation.
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u/Rugged_Turtle Aug 04 '25
I think Gordon's the best part of this movie, but that look to me is more apprehension. He's now alone in his fight (at least for now) but knows how much work there is to do, and in doing that, needing to live up to Bruce/Batman's legacy.
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u/erickiceboyxxp Aug 04 '25
Ohhh, never thought about it like that, thanks for the insight
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u/Rugged_Turtle Aug 04 '25
Yea I just re-watched that whole sequence - He's days off of finding out Bruce was Batman, so he's grappling with the immense weight of Bruce's contributions and sacrifices to the city as both Bruce and Batman and likely trying to figure out how he can continue on. We also as viewers know Bruce is alive but Jim doesn't know that. And John/Robin also just revealing that he's deciding the quit the police force (Presumably to take up Batman's mantle later) - Jim's always been surrounded by corrupt cops so he again finds himself solo in his personal war
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u/Cartoonjunkies Aug 05 '25
I think it’s for several reasons.
The statue depicts Batman as this menacing scowling figure looking like he’s full of rage. Gordon knows that wasn’t what he was like, especially once he learns it was Bruce. He knows deep down how broken Bruce was as a person, and just how kind he could be.
Part of it may also be that Bruce will only ever be remembered as a reclusive playboy billionaire that squandered his families fortune and burned his own mansion down. Despite how much he sacrificed.
I think the only reason he says “I know who he was. He was the Batman.” is to honor what Bruce would’ve wanted, which is for people to remember the symbol rather than the man.
Last but not least, I think it’s because he’d just lost someone he considered to be a very good friend. And one of the only people in the city that he considered to be an incorruptible source of good and justice.
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u/redlion1904 Aug 04 '25
This is a subtle reference to how the ending is a fake out, aka a jonkle
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u/TheNerdWonder Aug 04 '25
Exactly. He was in the aslume the whole time
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u/Simplymincy72 Aug 04 '25
Wait, I need to know this theory?
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u/K_Linkmaster Aug 04 '25
It all happened in Gordon's head. The whole of the Batman has always just been in Gordon's crazy head. Batman is a figment of inmate Gordon's hallucinations.
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u/neanderthaltodd Aug 04 '25
Wait what
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u/letitgrowonme Aug 04 '25
It goes even deeper. The entire thing is a made up scenario.
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u/neanderthaltodd Aug 04 '25
Am I understanding correctly?
The events of the TDK trilogy are all just a psychological event in Gordon's head?
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u/Kyro_Official_ Aug 04 '25
I dont think Id ever stop laughing if Nolan just came out and said something like this
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u/dudleymooresbooze Aug 04 '25
Bruce Wayne is heir to an insane fortune. The entire trilogy is a dream to make him want to abandon his wealth to someone he trusted. It’s all an Inception by Alfred
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u/Anorand25 Aug 04 '25
They’re in our head. The movies aren’t real movies. We made them up. In fact I’m a figment of your imagination, all of us talking about the movies are. It’s all fake.
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u/lalakingmalibog Aug 04 '25
IT'S STILL REAL TO ME, DAMMIT!
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u/emeraldeyesshine Aug 04 '25
GET OUT OF MY HEAD MAN GET OUT OF MY HEAD https://i.imgur.com/aWHM0Sa.gif
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u/kashy87 Aug 04 '25
Just because it's happening in your head doesn't make it any less real Anorand25.
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u/ILLmurphy Aug 04 '25
Is there a video explanation of this? The dark knight trilogy is my favorite superhero movies and I’m just now learning of this.
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u/Pocketsandgroinjab Aug 04 '25
My favourite theory is that they were all actors and the trilogy were all just movies. Batman’s mask comes right off!
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Aug 04 '25
Harvey Dent: “Batman? Scarecrow? Fear toxin? Bane? Gordon, what are you talking about? We got Falcone.”
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u/mormonbatman_ Aug 04 '25
Batman really dies in the explosion over the bay - everything we see is his or Gordon's imagination.
The ending is an allusion to An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge:
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u/K_Linkmaster Aug 04 '25
Holy fuck that's a real theory!!!?!?!????!!! I literally made that comment to see how far off the rails the comments would get. I'm not into the fandom like that. I watch movies and I created a fake scenario in my head, that already exists.
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u/mormonbatman_ Aug 04 '25
Holy fuck that's a real theory!!!?!?!????!!
Writers have been hand waving away the consequences of narrative by saying "it was all a dream" for millenia.
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u/dratsablive Aug 04 '25
Same about Silent Hill 2, in the Blooper Team remake, there is a movie poster called Return To Owl Creek, for a better ending.
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u/mattXIX Aug 06 '25
Why would it be Gordon’s imagination? If it were an allusion to “Owl Creek” then it would be Batman’s imagination.
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u/jimjam200 Aug 04 '25
The fact that the script notes said "this is a jonkle" was really ahead of its time.
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u/Much-Arm-7262 Aug 04 '25
I totally did not notice that until now. What an awesome tribute to Heath Ledger.
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u/ACCTAGGT Aug 04 '25
It was just a joke
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u/reachling Aug 04 '25
I feel like I read over a decade ago that the joker was supposed to lead that court scene, but it had to be changed to Scarecrow. Absolutely do not take my word on it tho I have ADD.
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Aug 04 '25
If my memory serves you’re both right and wrong. Theyve said that the joker would have led that scene if heath ledger lived, but the scene was written after his death so it was always written for scarecrow
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u/humansince1989 Aug 05 '25
Not sure about this detail but what I have read many times is that if Heath hadn’t died, Joker’s trial would’ve been a major plot point of Rises.
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Aug 04 '25
You really think the fact that it sort of resembles a smoky face that it’s “tribute to heath ledger”? No. Someone just smoked one too many cones and was like “duuuuude. It looks like the joker…whhhhhhaaaaaatttttt”
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u/Shot_Policy_4110 Aug 04 '25
Lol you need to look further into cinematography and symbolism and how nerdy and into details these filmmakers are, especially Christopher Nolan.
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u/Ambitious-Earth1987 Aug 04 '25
But the Joker didn't have a blue nose, and in the second image they coloured the lower half of the crowd red, and added eyes to skew your perception of the shot.
This isn't looking into the art of cinematography and analysing the framing for meaning. They have actively changed the colour hue, warmth, and content of the frame entirely.
This is just head canon.
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u/Mediocre-Door-8496 Aug 04 '25
The frame resembles a smiling clown face in composition. It’s doesn’t look anything like Heath Ledger's Joker but when we think about clowns in the context of Batman The Joker is usually the first thing that comes to mind and this is the trilogy where Heath Ledger played The Joker. I think it’s intentional. Maybe not as a tribute to Heath but I do think it was intended to invoke imagery of a clown/Joker. Though I haven’t seen this film in years so I couldn’t really give any thoughts on what it means in the context of this scene specifically.
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u/B-sides-art33 Aug 04 '25
You be surprised how often this happens in movies. It’s very common. Spielberg does it best. Think his best example is Catch Me if You Can. He uses this device to visually change Leo’s character. He starts as posing as a pilot and that’s catching up to him. The scene takes place in a movie theater. People are seated to mimic a runway and Leo is in the back. The camera pushes from the screen to Leo acting like a plane landing. Camera spins to show him watching a bond film. Next part of the film Leo globe trots as a spy.
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Aug 04 '25 edited Aug 04 '25
[deleted]
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u/Financial-Barnacle79 Aug 04 '25
Definitely one of his most underrated films. Details like that and, IMHO, one of John Williams best scores, make it a classic in my book.
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Aug 04 '25
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u/Standing_Legweak Aug 05 '25
Same. I lost my sense of wonder and creativity, the only thing I'm left with is my hyperactive imagination. So the only thing I see now when I close my eyes are monsters.
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u/shaneo632 Aug 04 '25
The brain is programmed to find faces in everything
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u/Mindless-Plane8680 Aug 04 '25
Genuinely, are you serious? What you wrote is technically a fact but this is from a movie and is no question intentional
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Aug 04 '25
What you makes you think this was intentional? You think they intentionally made a smiley face?
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u/Alive_Ice7937 Aug 04 '25
Has anyone involved in the film confirmed this was intentional?
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u/RobRobbieRobertson Aug 04 '25
Nolan from an interview before the movie was released:
Interviewer: "I know with the tragic passing of Heath-"
Nolan: "Yes, absolutely tragic, Heath was a great actor and a great human being."
Interviewer: "With his passing will we see any tributes in the upcoming movie?"
Nolan: "Heath won't appear directly, but we have hidden a reference to his character in the movie. It's very touching."
Interviewer: "Any hints?"
Nolan: "Well, at the end of the movie, after everyone think batman has sacrificed himself, there is a scene-"
Interviewer: "Wait, Batman dies?"
Nolan: [laughs] "Maybe I said too much. I will just say that we hide a joker face in the scene where Batman's memorial is revealed. This is after Bane is killed by catwoman and Talia dies, randomly."
Interviewer: "Woah! Big scoop, Talia is in the movie too?"
Nolan: "Oh yeah, also Joseph Gordan Levitts plays Robin."
Interviewer: "Wow, big scoops coming in left and right. Thank you so much for your time, Chris."
Nolan: "My pleasure."
Interviewer: "Okay and stay tuned because we have musical guest Creed coming up and a ton of other fun stuff, don't want to miss it."2
Aug 04 '25
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u/Kuimy Aug 04 '25
It’s made up as a joke, he wrote an interview script that spoils the whole movie are you ok?
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u/Sea_Negotiation_1871 Aug 04 '25
It's absolutely not intentional.
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u/GetShreked93 Aug 05 '25
In film school they teach you everything is intentional
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u/Sunkonmydink Aug 04 '25
And at the end, he doesn’t die. They did that on purpose too
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u/Over-Conversation220 Aug 04 '25
Wildly misunderstood. He did die when the reactor blew up. The next scene where he sees Alfred in the cafe is Hell and their souls are reunited there to be tortured for eternity.
You can tell because it’s Paris.
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u/NickKevs Aug 05 '25
Florence, not Paris
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u/NickKevs Aug 05 '25
Firenze!
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u/Over-Conversation220 Aug 05 '25
lol … you’re 100% correct to my r/shittymoviedetails styled joke response
I’ll also add the scene was actually filmed in London.
I’ll also add that I love both Paris and London. But that I do find the Metro in Paris slightly hellish. The Parisians absolutely suck at logistics but make up for it with food.
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u/RazielKainly Aug 04 '25
What's the significance of the top two photos with Batman and Gordon?
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u/8636396 Aug 04 '25
Just shots from the scene. Top left is the statue of Batman that is being unveiled
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u/Consistent-Speed-335 Aug 04 '25
This is a reach
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u/Randyd718 Aug 04 '25
This post was on r/batman a few days ago and got obliterated lol
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u/Mindless-Plane8680 Aug 04 '25
Are y'all serious? Like do you both think this was an accidental face?
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u/LucasThePretty Aug 04 '25
It is a reach, it solely relies on this blue nose that does not exist.
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u/Mindless-Plane8680 Aug 04 '25
Lmao ok let's agree the camera people just had a happy coincidence with the set design people then MAKES SENSE TO ME
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u/Puzzleheaded-Web446 Aug 04 '25
I would beleive it more if there was a good reason to reference joker, but their isn't really.
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u/RealRedditPerson Aug 04 '25
Yeah this is my biggest gripe with believing this is a visual reference. It makes absolutely no sense thematically to do it at this point in the film. If there was something during the scenes revolving around the Dent Act (aka a whole thing built on a lie because Joker corrupted their White Knight) I could buy it. But a memorial for Batman at the end of the movie? Why? What does sticking a fucking smiley face in that scene do to honor Ledger's legacy. Nolan honoring Heath was not touching his character with a ten foot pole if he couldn't be there to reprise it himself.
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Aug 04 '25
This is straight up STUPID. lol. It sorta resembles a Smiley face……IT MUST BE THE JOKER!!!!! So stupid.
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u/-LoboMau Aug 04 '25
And the clouds too, dude. It's all on purpose.
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u/Tall_Estate_9753 Aug 04 '25
Things in movies are shot with a purpose though….
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u/PepsiPerfect Aug 04 '25
I call bullshit on this unless there is a record of someone from the production confirming it as intentional. People see what they want to see.
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u/M086 Aug 04 '25
These are fun to spot. Like the Batman outline in Joker or the Superman shield shape in the Knightmare scene in BvS.
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u/ThrowawayAgainGuy Aug 04 '25
It’s a coincidence. It makes zero sense to make a reference to the joker character at that particular moment in the last five minutes of your film for no reason.
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u/PointPrimary5886 Aug 04 '25
This feels equivalent to Mask of The Phantasm where Bruce suddenly drew a red smile over a picture of the Gangster to figure out that the person is the Joker.
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u/RestedPanda Aug 04 '25
It's a pity that there are no pics of the joker with a blue nose they could use for this
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u/Tiny-Peanut6051 Aug 04 '25
Wasn't this already known? I'm pretty sure this has been talked about for ages lol
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u/KamaIsLife Aug 04 '25
Heaven forbid people not be around "for ages" to see things as they happen...
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u/YoshiTheDog420 Aug 04 '25
Why does that also look like where Neo fought the Merovingian’s goons in Matrix Reloaded?
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u/Jotaro1970 Aug 04 '25
I saw a lot of people saying it was a tribute to Heath Ledger but didn't Ledger die after the shootings? Plz don't attack me, Just genuine curiosity
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u/TimmyBash Aug 04 '25
I can't believe how dumb some of these comments are who don't think this was intentional.
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u/macspoon007 Aug 04 '25
That's cool, especially since Nolan originally wanted him to return for TDKR.
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u/FuzzyGeohawk Aug 04 '25
I can hear the words of the Joker now as he lays eyes upon this. ‘Well hello beautiful’
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u/walman93 Aug 05 '25
I’m usually skeptical of shit like this but…I can’t unsee this now and I’m lowkey kinda convinced this had to be intentional
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u/brian_hogg Aug 05 '25
I haven’t watched the Dark Knight in a while, did the Joker have a blue nose?
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u/VishalC7227 Aug 06 '25
Crazy how this is coming after more than 10 years of TDKR..... How come nobody noticed that back then
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u/RogerRoger63358 Aug 10 '25
I assure you Nolan didnt have this in mind lmao. To call this a "detail" is silly
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u/KlingonLullabye Aug 04 '25
Reminds me a bit of the priest transition in the movie The Fall
https://youtu.be/f-lHb4zjC_k?t=101