Synopsis:

A chronological re-order of the entire film for a fresh new ride.

Intentions:

With a Rotten Tomatoes meter of 95% freshness no question THE DARK KNIGHT is the best Batman movie ever, the best superhero movie ever and the best movie of 2008. But there are some opportunities for a fanedit. Initially, the story unwinds with poise keeping up with the “A” elements, however, at about midway, new plots are introduced diluting some otherwise well-earned momentum. It’s a long movie anyway, but after that midpoint, it just begins to feel relentless and a little tedious. The action sequences are a tad incoherent. Specially the one in the building with the Doctors and Hostages and Sonar and Lucious Fox. The same with the Armoured truck chase scene. My attention went also to Harvey Dent whose story doesn’t get rolling until well into Act 3. Often the comment is that Harvey’s story should have been saved for another movie, mainly because by the time it is revealed the audience is exhausted. But THE DARK KNIGHT is really Harvey’s movie. Neither Batman nor the Joker are changed by the end of the movie to the extent that Harvey is transformed. This is THE DARK KNIGHT and a simple trim job as mentioned in the “Cut/Added” would not suffice. And since this is Christopher Nolan, I decide that for a NEW ride and to address the Two-Face issue I would completely eschew the linear storytelling and replace it with Nolan’s own style from MEMENTO. The film is now structured backwards and forwards, so that Harvey’s past and future appear to be interconnected from both ends, directly affecting his present. This nonlinear narrative structure challenges the conventional rules of plot construction and defies the standard notion that a film’s scenes must advance chronologically. It makes the audiences understand the film in a new way by making new cause-and-effect connections between the scenes. Each beat of information must relate to what comes before and after, even if a scene transcends the chronological order of time. In nonlinear films, relationships created between the various time segments form a specific meaning when taken all together. The film’s events unfold in two separate, alternating narratives. One in color, and the other in black and white. The black and white sections are told in Forward Chronological order. The color sequences are in Reverse Chronological order. The result is hopefully a new ride with some wonderful fresh thrills along the way.

Change List:

trimmed restaurant scene deleted kidnapping moscow ballet deleted ferries and the prisoner’s dilemma deleted most sonarvision deleted the Mayor as next victim deleted Parade and Gordon’s death deleted Harvey’s russian roulette deleted bullet on wall deleted tumbler female voice added 3 scenes from BATMAN BEGINS added 3 Gotham City shots from BATMAN BEGINS trimmed armored truck sequence many more trims to mention.

Additional Notes:

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Other Sources:

Special Thanks: