This Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe winning action thriller saw the return to the screen of the superhero, Batman following the success of Batman Begins, which also filmed in the East of England. Directed and co-written by Christopher Nolan, the plot had Batman (Christian Bale) joining forces with Lieutenant Gordon (Gary Oldman) and Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) to dismantle the criminal organisations at work in Gotham City. Criminal mastermind, The Joker (Heath Ledger) however had other plans in mind and began rising to power. Michael Caine returned as Bruce Wayne’s (Batman) butler with Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox. Soon after the film wrapped Heath Ledger tragically passed away forcing Warner Bros. to revisit their promotional campaign. Nolan had been interested in Ledger’s initial psychopathic interpretation of the character of The Joker hence he was keen to cast him in the role. All the scenes with Ledger appeared as they were originally filmed with no digital effects to alter his performance earning Ledger a posthumous academy award along with many other acknowledgements for his performance. With a budget of $185 million, The Dark Knight was a huge worldwide success grossing in excess of $1 billion and received critical acclaim.

Release / Airing: 25/07/2008