It’s crazy to think that it has already been 15 years since I waited in line for two hours (this was before the days of assigned seating) to sit in a theater for another three hours to see a midnight screening of The Dark Knight. I’ll never forget the rush of emotions that overcame me as I exited the cineplex into the wee hours of a muggy Louisiana morning, nor will I forget the feeling of trying to get some sleep before I had to be at work a few hours later.
The scope and scale of Christopher Nolan’s sequel to Batman Begins, one that remains the best live-action Batman movie to this day, and all those iconic scenes, are all still things I think about a decade-and-a-half later. And chances are, they’ll continue to live rent-free in my brain for 15 more years and then some. In celebration of the film’s 15th anniversary, here are 10 scenes from one of the best movies of the 2000s I still can’t stop thinking about…
The Bank Robbery
Earlier this year, I helped my wife photograph a wedding in downtown Chicago (where much of The Dark Knight was filmed). After walking around the venue (the old post office) for a couple of hours, I couldn’t help but feel like I’d been there before or at least seen the building someplace. Then about halfway through the ceremony, it hit me like a bus – this was the bank from the movie’s opening prologue.
In between shots of the bride and groom and their families, I retraced the Joker’s (Heath Ledger) steps through what was made to look like the bank, stood where he stood, and kept thinking about this iconic scene and how it still has an impact on me all these years later.
Batman, Jim Gordon, And Harvey Dent On The Rooftop
One of my favorite scenes in The Dark Knight is also one of the best Easter Eggs in Christopher Nolan’s trilogy – Batman (Christian Bale), Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), and Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) meeting on the rooftop to figure out how to arrest Lau (Chin Han) after he fled the country.
It’s short, but incredibly pivotal, as it puts plans in motion that will have significant ramifications later on in the movie. But, it’s that swirling shot, and reference to Frank Miller’s Batman: The Long Halloween (which featured a similar meeting) that makes it all the more memorable.
The Pencil Scene
Though the Joker technically showed his face in The Dark Knight’s opening prologue, we don’t get a proper introduction to the character until a little later on when the “Clown Prince of Crime” interrupts the mob’s meeting and pulls off one hell of a magic trick involving a disappearing pencil.
The pencil scene is one of those hilarious, terrifying, and unforgettable scenes that I always look forward to watching on each revisit. It’s also one that never gets old, no matter how many times I’ve watched the movie.
Joker Crashes The Party
Another Joker moment that never really leaves my brain is the scene where he crashes Bruce Wayne’s fundraiser for Harvey Dent, and it’s also one where I notice something new with each rewatch. The botched assassination attempt (a judge and police commissioner were killed the same day) sees some of the best work by Batman’s nemesis, including a stroll that sees him eat shrimp cocktail, drink champagne from an empty glass, and expose a knife hidden in his shoe.
It’s tense, loud, and consequential, especially as the movie carries on.
The Funeral Scene
Commissioner Loeb’s (Colin McFarlane) funeral is another one of those massive set pieces featured in The Dark Knight, and one that never gets old. I mean, so much happens in such a short period of time. I could talk about all the small details that make this sequence so memorable until I’m blue in the face, but I’ll just focus on the “death” of Jim Gordon.
The next in line for the commissioner position takes a bullet in the back trying to protect Gotham’s mayor and essentially fakes his death to protect his family from the Joker. Plus, this leads to his incredible return later on in the movie.
The Truck Flip
The “truck flip” is one of those moments that’s more than likely remembered by anyone who has seen the movie once, twice, or a dozen or more times over the years, but it just never gets old. The shot of the Joker’s 18-wheeler flipping end over end on South LaSalle Street is one of those classic moments that is pretty much burnt into my psyche at this point.
When I went up to Chicago a year after the film’s release, I was stoked to find out my hostel was a couple of streets over. In case you are wondering – yes, I did walk down a near-empty street (this is the financial district) one night acting while like the Joker.
The Interrogation Room Scene
The interrogation room scene immediately following the truck flip is one of those sequences that is great in the moment, but even more extraordinary upon each subsequent rewatch. Knowing what becomes of Harvey Dent and Rachel Dawes in the minutes following the heated confrontation between the Joker and Batman adds a sense of tragedy to it all, and turns a great scene into an all-timer.
Plus, seeing one of the only physical interactions between the two figures in this moment is something to behold after all these years.
Seeing Harvey Dent's Burns For The First Time
One could argue that Dent’s transformation into Two-Face was one of the biggest arcs in The Dark Knight, as the man who was once a sign of hope for the city of Gotham becomes one of its biggest monsters after everything is taken from him. His mental and emotional scars are noticeable right after his fiancee dies in an explosion, but we don’t see the physical impact until later on.
When the burnt side of Dent’s face is finally shown in the hospital, it’s a moment that I will never forget, no matter how hard I try.
The Hospital Explosion
Next up is a scene that’s just so much fun to watch: the Joker destroying Gotham General Hospital.
Is there anything more hilarious than the Joker walking out of an exploding building only to be disappointed and underwhelmed by the destruction? After such a heavy scene where we see what’s left of Dent’s humanity vanish, we’re treated to this great sequence of events that eventually leads to one of the greatest explosions in the history of movies.
Harvey Dent Takes Gordon's Family Hostage
And then there’s the scene at the end of The Dark Knight where a fully-transformed Dent takes Jim Gordon’s family hostage and attempts to kill his son after losing his own family. Unlike the hospital scene, and several others, I don’t remember this because it’s funny or action-packed, but instead because of just how tragic it is.
It also takes me back to that first meeting between Dent, Gordon, and Batman. The main difference with this interaction is that the three men no longer see hope or second chances, but instead the consequences of their actions.
Though there are still plenty of unanswered questions about the movie, The Dark Knight remains one of the best superhero movies of all time 15 years after its initial release.
