Heath Ledger personally directed both videos the Joker sends to GCN. The first video, featuring the fake Batman, was shot under Christopher Nolan's supervision. Nolan trusted Ledger's work so much that he did not feel the need to be present while the scene of reporter Mike Engel reading the Joker's statement was filmed; he was also more than pleased with the result.
While a chase scene was being filmed on Lake Street, the Chicago Police Department was flooded with reports of officers pursuing an unidentified dark-colored vehicle.
The bus that backs into the bank in the opening scene was far more difficult than expected. The bus was dismantled and reassembled inside an unused post office building, hidden behind a large fake wall, and launched backward with an air cannon.
While the chase scene with the Joker and the S.W.A.T. vans was being filmed, one of only four IMAX cameras in the world at the time went missing.
Two-Face's disfigurement was created with computer graphics rather than prosthetic makeup. Christopher Nolan felt that no matter how good the makeup was, adding something to an actor's face for a look that requires part of the face to be burned was inherently wrong.
No film was shot during the first four days of the planned shoot. Instead, Nolan had the cast and crew watch two films a day: Heat (1995), Cat People (1942), Citizen Kane (1941), King Kong (1933), Batman Begins (2005), Black Sunday (1977), A Clockwork Orange (1971) and Stalag 17 (1953).
Bruce Wayne's reasons for needing a new Batman suit (to be faster and more agile) were in fact Nolan's real reasons for wanting to redesign the suit.
Christian Bale's famous growl was much harsher in this film than in Batman Begins and was frequently parodied. But contrary to popular belief, the voice is not entirely Bale's; it was softer during filming and was hardened in post-production on Nolan's decision.
The famous interrogation scene actually ended with Batman kicking the Joker quickly in the head after getting information out of him and dropping him to the floor, just before leaving to save Rachel. Nolan cut this move in editing because he found it 'a little too ornery for Batman'.
Bruce Wayne's penthouse apartment was shot on the ground floor of an office building in downtown Chicago. During the day, the same space was rearranged and used for Harvey Dent's press conference scenes.
Just as in Batman Begins, Nolan supervised every shot because there was no second unit (except for the Joker's home videos directed by Heath Ledger).
While filming in Chicago, Wanted (2008) was being shot nearby and Morgan Freeman was working on both films at the same time. At one point, Wanted comic book writer Mark Millar showed up on set uninvited and was caught sitting on the Batpod and escorted away.
Bruce Wayne wears a new Batman suit in this film. Made from two hundred unique pieces of rubber, fiberglass, metallic mesh and nylon, the suit allowed Bale to be more comfortable and agile. The blades in the gloves could be retracted and fired. The cowl was based on a motorcycle helmet and separated from the neck piece to allow head movement; it was also fitted with white lenses when the bat-sonar was activated.
Hans Zimmer used strange methods while developing his score: playing piano strings with a razor blade and playing guitar with metal pieces in the scenes with the Joker.
Just like Batman Begins, this film has no opening credits or title.
In the scene where the hospital is destroyed, the Joker activates the detonator, the explosion stops, the Joker turns around and waves his arms and plays with the detonator, then the explosion continues. It is an urban legend that this moment was unplanned; according to Nolan's explanation, special effects supervisor Chris Corbould designed this moment to get Heath Ledger out of the building and to demolish the building in a single take.
The hospital the Joker blows up was in fact an old, unused sugar factory in the Chicago suburbs. It was rearranged and blown up for the film.
In Lieutenant James Gordon's security camera photo, the date captured during the Joker's bank robbery reads '2008/07/18'; this was the film's US release date.
Christian Bale never got to ride the Batpod; he only managed to stay on it on a stunt double.
Blood appears on screen only four times: on the face of the fake Batman the Joker hangs, on Harvey's pillow in the hospital, on Batman's arm when a dog attacks him, and on Gordon's back in the funeral scene. Most of the violence takes place off screen or is hidden by camera angles.
The IMAX cameras challenged the crew because of their noise levels, which made dialogue almost unusable, and their weight; these devices, which required special mounts, also took five days to process their film negatives compared to traditional dailies.
Off-duty Chicago police officers appeared as Gotham police officer extras alongside their colleagues from Ohio, Indiana and Illinois.
Lower Wacker Drive in Chicago was closed to filming every night from 19:00 onward in the summer of 2007; on the street, which was open during the day, several Batmobiles and Tumblers could be seen behind barricades, covered only with sheets.
In Harvey Dent's courtroom scene (around the 15th minute), his removal of the magazine and holding it with his pinky finger is a detail consistent with emergency reload and malfunction clearance procedure.
Thirty-nine vehicles were damaged, shot, blown up or otherwise involved in violence in the film.
The famous pencil scene was completed in 2 days and 22 takes; Nolan decided to do a real stunt when the stunt double pulled the pencil away at the last moment, and there were 'three knockouts' during filming.
The fake title used during production, Rory's First Kiss, came from Christopher Nolan's son Rory; this code name was used to deter curious onlookers and trespassers when filming began in April 2007, and flyers bearing the 'RFK' logo were posted around Chicago.
The sky hook device is not fictional; its full name is the 'Fulton surface-to-air recovery system' and it was developed for the CIA in the 1950s. The first human pickup took place in 1958, and the experience is described as less violent than opening a parachute.
The final fight between the Joker and Batman was shot during the construction of Trump Tower in Chicago.
Nolan stated that for the Blu-ray he had to add 'a very small visual effects component' to the scene of Gotham General Hospital being blown up, which he shot in IMAX, because after the demolition permit was obtained, all the windows and metal frames on the top two floors had been stolen. The visual effects team matched the building's remaining window rows by adding subtle window reflections.
Christopher Nolan had the first full-size mock-up of the Batpod built in his own garage.
Batman jumps from the roof of Two IFC (over 400 meters), Hong Kong's tallest building (around the 35th minute); his actual target is One IFC, which is roughly half its height.
For the pencil trick effect, the man's head was struck against the table (with a rubber pad) 22 times; the only moment Heath Ledger broke character on set was the first of three occasions when the actor was knocked unconscious by the blow.
Eight hundred extras worked on the ferry scene, and the scene was shot in just one day; because of the crowding on the ships, a precise schedule was followed for putting on costumes.
Christian Bale really stood atop buildings as Batman (including the Sears Tower); in a CBS interview he said he enjoyed doing this stunt, partly because it made the producers nervous about his safety.
For the first time in cinema history, IMAX cameras were used on a feature film; Nolan had wanted to try this format for years, and six major action sequences and various high-altitude shots were filmed in the IMAX ratio (these sequences appear on the bonus disc of the 2-disc DVD).
In the hostage rescue scene, the lenses covering Batman's eyes create an effect close to his appearance in the comic book and animated adaptations.
While the bank and police department scenes were being shot at the post office, an unrelated fire broke out in a machine room on the upper floor; many onlookers thought the smoke and fire were part of the filming.
When the Joker confronts Harvey in the hospital, there is still white paint left on his fingers from touching up his makeup; this can also be seen briefly in other scenes throughout the film.
The scene with the Tumbler and the garbage truck on Lower Fifth was shot with 1/3-scale miniatures.
The film contains thirty-seven minutes of IMAX footage.
The Batpod weighed approximately 272 kilograms.
The illuminated ceiling in Batman's hideout consists of three hundred fixtures, each containing six 800-watt bulbs, consuming 1.44 megawatts in total.
In the Hong Kong scene, the time bombs Batman places on the glass explode exactly 2:22 minutes later; this timing indicates that the scene was edited in real time. However, this does not mean the operation would actually take that short a time; the scene was cut to give that impression.
The music used in the trailers is taken from the Batman Begins soundtrack.
Chinese actor Edison Chen can be seen accompanying Lucius Fox from the helicopter into the building and when the police raid Lau's office. In the Hong Kong scene there was a moment where Batman fell into the harbor, but this scene was cancelled when environmental authorities determined the water was polluted.
In the special features, Nolan showed the production process, including the logistics of the Batpod, with behind-the-scenes footage. The original plan was for Batman's cape to be pulled into the costume like a backpack, but during filming Nolan noticed that the cape immediately caught the wind and did not get caught in the rear wheel, and he was very pleased with this.
In the final fight at the tower, the Joker waves his arms and strikes the camera while delivering his monologue; at that moment the image shakes for an instant.
The IMAX camera technician and consultant makes a cameo, the only close-up in the film in the IMAX format: he sits on the loading dock and reacts to the Batpod's exit.
Prosthetic makeup supervisor Colin Sullivan made three different sculptures for the Joker's scars and created a silicone mold that combined them; for this technique he used a method he had learned on the film The Last Samurai.
Nolan said that some special effects technicians were reluctant about the idea of flipping a truck, wanting the vehicle to be replaced with a van or the truck to tip onto its side, but that he was determined and described the effect as 'a beautiful thing to watch'.
The explosion filmed at Battersea Power Station in London caused local residents to panic and call in, thinking it was a terrorist attack. The power station is also known for appearing on the cover of Pink Floyd's Animals album.
The Gotham City license plates were designed based on Illinois plates.
Nolan designed Dent's injured appearance as one of the least disturbing options, noting that more extreme versions were too realistic and horrifying. Framestore created 120 computer-generated images of Dent's face. Nolan felt makeup would not look realistic because makeup adds to the face, unlike real burn victims. Framestore rearranged the positions of bones, muscles and joints to make the character look more dramatic. Three 720-pixel HD cameras were placed on set for each shot. Eckhart wore marks on his face and a prosthetic skullcap, which served as a lighting reference. Framestore also combined footage of Bale and Eckhart with shots of the exploding building.
The Blu-ray release includes the film's IMAX version. The IMAX scenes play at a 1.78:1 ratio, while the rest plays at 2.35:1. This film can only be viewed this way on Blu-ray; on DVD the IMAX scenes are presented as a special feature.
Each of the 70 mm IMAX prints consisted of forty-five reels and, when joined together, was about fifteen kilometres long and weighed two hundred and four kilograms.
The Joker says Rachel is at Avenue X and Cicero. Cicero is a major street in Chicago (where much of the film was shot), located at 4800 West.
As the police empty the Joker's pockets, among his knife collection they find a Lancashire vegetable peeler tied with bright orange string.
Bruce Wayne's mobile phone number is 735-185-7301; there is no 735 area code in the US, and the main part of phone numbers does not begin with '1'.
Composer James Newton Howard wrote an elegant and beautiful piece of music for Harvey Dent; this music stands in sharp contrast to Two-Face's personality.
Wayne Tower was given a different look from the one in Batman Begins. Christopher Nolan wanted his tower to be more modern. The Chicago Board of Trade Building, used as Wayne Tower in the previous film, is this time seen briefly during the street fight between Batman and the Joker.
The serrated edges on Batman's gauntlets were inspired by the pulp magazine character Tony Quinn (the Black Bat). This character's origin story (a district attorney who is the victim of an acid-throwing gangster) was adapted for Two-Face.
During the film's opening week, a cinema in Elgin, Illinois, parked a Gotham City police car in front of it for promotional purposes.
Wally Pfister personally shot most of the handheld camera footage.
35mm VistaVision cameras were used to provide additional coverage for the action scenes, because only a limited number of IMAX cameras were available. Although rarely used since the 1960s, this format offers a larger frame area than normal 35mm and, like 65mm IMAX, runs horizontally.
The fake obituary written for the mayor was penned by Joe Ondrejko, who worked in the film's art department. The obituary states that Father James MacAllister will officiate at the funeral; MacAllister worked as a location manager on the film.
The newspaper article about Bruce Wayne running off with the entire Russian ballet was written by assistant art director Phillis Lehmer.
In the original English version, the Joker asks the Chechen "Where's the Italian?" while Lau sits on the burning pile of money; in the Italian version he says "Where's Maroni?"
In the concept art, the pile of mob money the Joker stands on was much larger and more enormous, as in the graphic novel The Long Halloween.
The hospital was the administration building of the abandoned Bach chocolate factory in Chicago.
It set a weekend box office record in IMAX theatres: 6.2 million dollars. The previous record belonged to Spider-Man 3 (2007).
The Skyhook rescue method is a real technique developed by the CIA. It was used in the James Bond film Thunderball (1965). In this film too, the hero holds on to someone else when the plane catches him: Domino in Thunderball, Lau in this film.
This is one of two Batman films in which a sonar attachment is added to Batman's suit. The other is Batman Forever (1995).
While shooting in Hong Kong, cinematographer Wally Pfister said, "I had never seen so many people in the street to see movie stars before."
This is the only Batman film in which neither Wayne Manor nor the Batcave is shown.
Most of the actors in the scene where the Joker crashes Wayne's fundraiser were seeing Ledger in Joker makeup for the first time, and their tension in the film was real.
Nathan Crowley based the look of the Bat Bunker on 1960s buildings in Chicago.
The tool that cuts through the bank vault in the opening scene is a real device called an electromagnetic drill press. This tool and similar ones have legitimate uses, such as drilling holes in vertical surfaces, and are ideal for drilling into vaults. Note: The high-security bank vault shown has a tempered glass relocker protecting the locking mechanism to prevent this kind of drill attack. This significantly increases the time required to drill into the vault.
Gotham City's official coat of arms combines the municipal emblems of New York and Chicago. Examples: Gotham licence plates (based on Illinois plates) and garbage trucks (the emblem on their doors bears New York's old Department of Sanitation logo: a large red letter S over a medical caduceus, inside a circle with lettering).
In the trilogy, the only film whose scene transitions cut directly to black rather than being covered by something. (In Batman Begins the curtain closes with Batman's wing, and in The Dark Knight Rises with a rising floor in the Batcave.)
The Molinari-class Staten Island Ferry models used in the ferry scenes were made with CGI. The real ferry is operated by the New York City Department of Transportation and offers a free 25-minute ride from Staten Island to Manhattan.
Costume designer Lindy Hemming said the Joker's appearance reflected his personality, that he "doesn't care about himself at all." She avoided designing him as a tramp but still made him look "messy, dirty." Christopher Nolan said, "We gave his face a Francis Bacon-style touch. It's in the decay, the deterioration, the texture of the image. It's dirty. You can almost imagine what he looks like." For the Joker's "anarchic" look, Hemming drew inspiration from counterculture artists such as Pete Doherty, Iggy Pop and Johnny Rotten. Ledger described the "clown" mask, made of three pieces of stamped silicone, as "new technology" and said it took makeup artists less than an hour to apply, far faster than traditional prosthetics. Ledger also noted that he felt he wore almost no makeup. Hemming and Ledger's Joker design had an impact on popular and political culture in the form of the Barack Obama "Joker" poster and became a meme in its own right.
When the Joker fires the RPG from the trailer, both side doors are open. If they weren't, everyone inside would be injured by the backblast.
The identities of the Joker's clowns in the robbery can only be known from the script or by watching with subtitles. The robbers: Dopey: the alarm guy (one of the two robbers who descends on a rope from the empty office across the way). He is shot with a silenced pistol by Happy. Happy: the one who shoots Dopey, then runs down and drills into the vault. He is shot by Grumpy as soon as the vault opens. Grumpy: the driver of the station wagon, who enters the lobby with Chuckles and Bozo. Chuckles: the one who, along with Grumpy, picks up the Joker (as Bozo) at the corner. When they enter, he announces their arrival by firing at the ceiling, then subdues a guard. He is shot by the bank manager. Joker (disguised as Bozo): maintains crowd control, gives grenades to the hostages. Wounds the bank manager. After the bus arrives, he kills the driver and loads the money. Just as he is leaving, the manager asks him what he believes in. The Joker turns back, shoves a gas grenade into the manager's mouth and walks away, revealing his makeup.
Concept art shows the fake Batman, after being captured and killed by the Joker, hanged from a lamppost rather than outside the mayor's window, depicted in a more horrific and gothic way than the film's realistic style.
Batman asks Alfred to find the names of police officers who have family in the hospital. Alfred sends Gordon two names: "Ramirez, Berg." Charles Ramirez-Berg is a respected professor of radio-television-film at the University of Texas at Austin and was named in Robert Rodriguez's autobiography as his favorite professor.
When Bruce and Lucius go to Applied Sciences to discuss how to extract Lau from Hong Kong, Lucius slides a bookcase to open a secret entrance, similar to the bookcase that opens the Batpoles and the entrance to the Batcave in the 1966 Batman film. Next to the shelf is a small bust that resembles Bob Kane, not Shakespeare.
According to his autobiography, this was one of the most enjoyable shooting experiences of Eric Roberts's life. The entire crew and cast got along well, and contrary to popular belief, Heath Ledger did not stay in character as the Joker. Even during the filming of the RICO trial, if anyone left the set, they would ask everyone, "Do you want anything?" Just once, Roberts and Nolan joked around during rehearsals for the scene in which Maroni says to his mistress, "What makes you think I want to talk?" Nolan said, "Eric Roberts, stop being so funny!"
Batman's sonar closely resembles "Detective Mode" in the Arkham video games. Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009) was produced after the tie-in game for this film was cancelled.
Immediately after the scene where the truck flips over, as the Joker gets out of the truck, the words "Sweet Home Chicago" are visible on a building in the background.
One of the extras has "Philo" written on his military uniform. This is a nod to Illinois-based extras casting director Joan Philo.
The Joker's main pistol is a two-tone Glock 17 with a stainless slide, converted to full automatic with the thirty-three-round magazine of a Glock 18. Since the weapon does not have the fire selector switch of a Glock 18, a part called a "giggle switch" was used for its full-automatic modification. Although the film's armorer referred to this weapon as a "Glock 18," it is actually easier to say that than "a Glock 17 converted to full automatic to resemble a Glock 18." He may also have assumed no one would notice the difference. The armorer stated that three Glocks were used: two converted Glock 17s and a flashpaper model used in close-up scenes. To make the sound of the Joker's Glock more impressive, sound editors mixed in the sound of a GE M134 Minigun. Despite the extreme difference in rate of fire (roughly 1,300 rpm versus 4,000 rpm), the sound matched quite well. This pistol had previously been used in Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005).
The first film in which Batman uses a motorcycle (or a motorcycle-like vehicle).
Michael Mann, whose earlier crime films heavily influenced this film, directed Christian Bale the following year in Public Enemies (2009), which also featured Marion Cotillard, who would later appear in The Dark Knight Rises (2012).
Composer Hans Zimmer wanted music for the Joker that the audience would absolutely hate. In his search for music suited to the psychopathic character, he discovered two notes that did the job. He produced this note with a cello. Christopher Nolan shared that Zimmer came up with the idea of "razor blades on the strings." The music legend's idea was to heighten the tension with this unsettling note whenever the Joker appeared on screen. Zimmer said that after the cello note he also mixed in guitar sounds that enter slowly. The director shared that Zimmer's defining idea for the Joker emerged after thousands of small experiments. Nolan had to listen to thousands of bars of recordings, which he described as "sheer madness." Zimmer said his aim was to create an atmosphere of chaos whenever the Joker appeared on screen. Nolan shared the following: "Hans would tell me about an idea like razor blades on the strings. An extraordinary tension gradually building... Hans did every kind of experiment, recorded every kind of extraordinary sound, and gave me 9000 bars of recordings that were truly sheer madness."
The shotgun the Joker initially takes from the bank manager is a short-barreled Remington 870.
The Joker's main knife is a Smith & Wesson Extractor 1600 automatic opening knife.
The Joker gives Two-Face a stainless steel Smith & Wesson Model 64 (3-inch heavy barrel) to kill the "enemies" he perceives.
This is the first Batman production to use 65 mm film.
In the opening scene, the Joker and his men all wear clown masks as they drive a truck to rob a bank, just like the classic circus routine in which several clowns emerge from a vehicle.
The Joker uses a black Microtech Combat Troodon automatic knife while threatening and killing Gambol.
The Joker's screen time is 33 minutes, making up 22% of the film's total running time.
The Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Grande Taille on Bruce Wayne's wrist, with its reversible case designed for polo players in the 1930s, reflects his billionaire vigilante dual identity.
The long fillet knife the Joker uses in promotional images is most likely a Rapala model.
Bruce Wayne's other motorcycle, the MV Agusta F4 1078, is a newer model from the same series as the 1999 F4 750 Serie Oro that Angelina Jolie rode in Gone in 60 Seconds (2000).
The film's first six minutes were shown in IMAX screenings before I Am Legend (2007).
The film makes many references to Heat (1995), one of which is the casting of William Fichtner. Nolan states that he wanted to use him as a familiar face in the first six minutes.
It is the second Batman film in which the Batmobile (the Tumbler) is destroyed; the first was Batman Forever (1995).
In the scene where the Joker burns the money, there was a wide shot in which Lau's body burns on top, but it was cut. Lau's death is not shown in the final cut, which is consistent with the character of the Joker, who does not confront his victims directly.
The sound of the Smith & Wesson M76 was dubbed with the sound of the GE M134 Minigun.
Nolan says that when choosing IMAX scenes he began with the big action moments, but also wanted to try quieter moments: "It's the most extraordinary image in cinema; it's addictive."
In the scene where the Joker blows up the hospital, there was a shot from inside the bus, but Nolan cut it to focus on the destruction of the building. Although he shot other angles as well, he used only the wide shot and the helicopter shot: "Less is more."