I'm sorry but when I first saw this movie I really was scared of the joker, I was like "Dude, that is intense". If I had to choose which one not to be caught in a dark alley with, it'd be this one. All though being caught in a dark alley with either of them would be pretty bad.
shareI agree with you here even though Heath did a Awesome Job his Joker the way he portrayed it along with Goyer and Nolan's writing missed the point of the character that yes he is still dark and gritty but can be humorous and clown around and snap and kill someone in a switch.
And the Uncut version of this movie proves it. Joker has a balance of Gleeful Fun but can revert to his dark gritty side with a switch and kill then go back and laugh at what he did the only reason why TDK Joker gets so much praise and I know everyone will flame me for this is due to Heath's passing and yes I am a fan of Heath Ledger.
I am the HNIC!
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Well he did get it cause he died and it is the truth and He got alot of Hype and praise for his performance due to his death and I am not saying he was spectacular cause he was but its like Why did Jackie Earl Haley not get a oscar nomination and his performance as Rorschach was spectacular as well and in all honesty he transformed himself into the character of Walter Kovacs more than Heath Did as the Joker but saying stuff like that is Blasphemous cause the crazy TDK fanboys will start to Riot and such
Hey I respect your Opion and its cool but the truth is the truth and it is what it is and Yes I am a huge fan of Mr Ledger and his movies but it is fact and truth about his Joker performance.. Kudows to Heath but Mark is The Ultimate Joker and yes that is my opion
I am the HNIC!
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There is some truth to what you say. While this board is more about an animated Batman film, there is always room for debate on character performances by various actors.
Mark Hamill is the quintessential Joker hands down, Heath Ledger brought this character to life on the silver screen in much the same way that Jack Nicholson did with Tim Burton's Batman film. While Nicholson was flambuoyant and outrageous, Ledger was dark and sinister in portraying the same character.
The main reason Heath Ledger won for Best Supporting Actor was simply this: he died before the film was released. Had he lived, Robert Downey, Jr. would've won for his role in Tropic Thunder.
That's the fact, Jack!
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"Heath won the Oscar because he deserved it."
This 100%. I may not be a huge fan of some of the choices the Academy makes, but you don't get an Oscar for any performance if your character wasn't engrossing. The fact that Ledger died from an overdose is tragic, but he really came off as a psychopath. Sure, it's not the traditional Joker, but I had a hard time believing that this was the same guy who once played an emotionally-confused knight in A Knight's Tale. He really pored his heart into that role, and it shows. I like Jack Nicholson, but this level of genuine believability was solely-lacking from his performance in Batman.
As for Hamill? He's good for other reasons. I don't believe that there is such a thing as "best Joker," as each version has brought something unique to the role. Also, Hamill's a voice actor more than a real actor when it comes to The Joker. He had a brief stint in Birds of Prey when he shoots Barbara in the chest, but unless he actually works with the character in the same way as Ledger did I don't think it's fair to make the comparison. (By the way, DiMaggio was also pretty creepy with his take on The Joker, so saying that Hamill really does the best job at making you wince doesn't cut it for me; in fact, the only time I really thought he was downright chilling was the scene where he brainwashed Tim Brake in Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker.)
That being said, I do still love Hamill's work...I just don't think it's fair to call him THE Joker and discredit other attempts because of it. The Joker is a very flexible character, so he can be interpreted in various ways depending on what you think he represents. Also, considering that Hamill's retiring after Batman: Arkham City from the role, people need to be open to alternative takes on the character if he's to ever remain a timeless villain...
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Here's an interesting thing to note: Mark Hamill's version of the Joker has been done all through voice acting. This isn't to discount the animation, which completes the picture, but I think a lot of credit has to be given to Hamill for using his voice to create a character that so fully embodies the Joker that it's difficult to not want Hamill's Joker to always be the Joker.
Any time I read a comic or graphic novel with the Joker, I read the Joker's lines in the voice and inflection from the TV series and this film as for me, that is how the Joker sounds.
I did like Heath Ledger's take and Heath was a wonderful actor, but Heath's Joker made a mistake for the character when he says in the film that he's like a dog just chasing a car, he wouldn't know what to do with one if he actually caught one. That degree of randomness is almost a form of uncertainty while Mark Hamill's Joker, I think, always had a purpose, always did things with the utmost certainty. Hamill's Joker also retained a degree of mystery while Heath's Joker seemed almost too transparent. We knew too much and with Hamill's Joker, we know too little and that's why we continue to love him. Hamill's Joker leaves us wanting more.
I don't think we really knew too much about Heath's Joker. All we really knew about him was his actions in The Dark Knight.
I personally do not find the need to compare them because they both serve their respective Universe perfectly.
Yes, Heath Ledger is the least humorous Joker of all the Jokers I have known. I have never laughed once when the Joker was on the screen in The Dark Knight.
Now Jack Nicholson's Joker was one that we knew too much about and he was funny.
TA DAH!!! its magic (pencil through the eye).... that didnt make you laugh?
share"I did like Heath Ledger's take and Heath was a wonderful actor, but Heath's Joker made a mistake for the character when he says in the film that he's like a dog just chasing a car, he wouldn't know what to do with one if he actually caught one. That degree of randomness is almost a form of uncertainty "
if i remember correctly heath´s joker said that to convince Dent he´s just some crazy guy, heath´s joker always seemed to have a plan, he kinda reminded me of jigsaw, cause he thought things way far ahead
Personally i think Hamil's Joker blows all other reincarnations of the Joker out of the water he will always be the Joker I compare others to, however I still really enjoyed Heath's portrayal and Hamil will never take away from the fact that Heath's performance was amazing, whether he deserved the oscar or not is debatable as it certainly was an oscar winning performance, but compared to Jackie Earl Harley's performance the same year i don't think so, then again does it really matter the oscars never give the correct award to the correct film and I completely lost faith in them when hurt locker won best picture and also lets be honest if an unknown actor had been playing the joker and given the exact same performance he wouldn't have been given a second look by the academy however because heath was an already accomplished actor they looked at it, also is it me or can his role even be considered supporting actor, he is the main character of the film or at the very least both him and batman are. Also one reason why I think Heath's performance couldn't match Hamil's is that the Joker needs Harley Quin those two work of eachother perfectly and i never get why Harley Quinn is never in the films
sharebro i agree wit ya 100% to me forever and always hamil is the joker, the real one
shareNope I disagree as Batman said from (TAS) " Normal criminals have logical motives but the Joker's insane schemes make sense to him alone".
shareMy favorite Joker so far is from Injustice: Gods Among Us.
He's the best one I've "heard" so far in any animation.
@Whitly 12:
"Hamill's a voice actor more than a real actor"
First off the fact that you would say that is hilarious do you know that a 'real actor" cannot survive without a great script full of lines created by the person who wrote the script, you can get the best actors in the world together for a movie but unless the lines are great the actors will bomb. In such light a voice actor is just as real as a screen actor they have to play a variety of characters and they do often times spend hours upon hours developing their characters and it is even more skillful to make your voice known for a particular character that people keep coming back to you to do it over and over and over.
I'm sure you probably didn't mean it in that light and in no means am I trying to bash you I'm just saying if you did actually think voice actors aren't real actors you should know that it's simply not true, voice acting is a hard profession sometimes even more demanding than screen acting
u r kidding...right?
Why couldn't you put the bunny back in the box?
It wasn't "Heath Ledger's Joker". If anything, it was Nolan's joker. Heath didn't create it, Mr. Sherlock.
You found it intense, because of the way these two were written.
As far as the acting comparison goes, well, this one's animated and that's a dude. Apples and oranges.
It's asinine to compare Heath's and Hamill's Jokers.
Heath ACTED the part, all Hamill had to do was provide the voice, and the animation team did the rest. I'd like to see Mr. Skywalker act the part.
Mark DID act the part, look for footage of him in the recording studio! It's as if he becomes the Joker when he's recording, the animators even said that when they were animating that they took inspiration from Mark's actions in the studio.
shareI think Heath's Joker was perfect for the Nolanverse and Hamill's Joker was perfect for the Timmverse. So I love both equally.
I just cant' see the cartoon version of this Joker go well with tone of the Nolan's batman movies.
"The shadows betray you, because they belong to me"
I agree with the OP.
- Gothamite #4
I've learned that it's OK to be flawed - Winona Ryder
Both Heath and Mark's Joker are infinitely better than Jack Nicholson or Cesar Romero. Those two were campy compared to these guys.
Heath is still the best though.
Nicholson set the ground work for Hamills Joker. As a matter of fact the whole animated series was largely based on the comics and the Tim Burton movies.
No Number is best. 3 builds better than 2. 2 loves better than 1 and 1 mind is better than 3.