The hype around Friday’s release of the “The Dark Knight” has reached a fever pitch, with Heath Ledger’s dark turn as the Joker generating an avalanche of posthumous Oscar buzz.
Peter Travers of Rolling Stone has called Ledger’s performance “mad-crazy-blazing brilliant,” while the sequel’s director Christopher Nolan has raved in the New York Times that Ledger’s portrayal of the sadistic makeup-caked villain is “stunning” and “iconic”.
The big-ticket Academy Award categories have typically been bereft of summer blockbuster nominees.
But is Ledger’s performance so bone-chillingly remarkable that it can survive the hype and the action-movie stigma?
As the 2006 best-picture shunning of “Dreamgirls” demonstrated, presumptive hype can lead to a snub when the Academy Award nominations are announced.
The Internet Oscar buzz alone for the Australian actor - lead by a gallery of fans likely still reeling from the shock of his untimely death in January - has eclipsed the praise of traditional critics, elevating the risk that Ledger will become a target for backlash.
The film is likely to surge above the $100-million mark during its opening weekend, placing the film in the same mega-earning category as “Iron Man” and “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”.
Writing Ledger’s name on a ballot will perhaps become more palatable for Academy voters given the length of time between opening weekend and when Oscar nomination polls close on Jan.12, 2009.
This may be one time when fading memories are deemed an advantage amongst the fickle Hollywood elite - cementing Ledger’s legacy as an Oscar-worthy talent.
For full coverage of “The Dark Knight”, click here.
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Reading some of the other posts here makes me cringe. Yes I would be thinking he deserves an Oscar if he was still alive. As a huge comic book fan, I can tell you that this is by far a much better portrayal of the joker than Ceasar Romero (come on, campy Batman?) and even Jack Nicholson. Jack’s performance was good, but he played a laughing madman. No, “madman” is not a hard role to pull off, however, NAILING the role of The Joker is different. This is not a generic madman or some proprietary villain of some random movie… this is an established, well known character being played far better than anyone has ever done. And how could anyone go into the Dark Knight thinking it would suck. Did you SEE Batman Begins?
- Posted by TayIf Heath is not given an Oscar for the most accurate portrayal of a character in American “literature” ever, it will be the biggest travesty in the history of the Academy Awards.
- Posted by Taydusty, are you and idiot? seriously? that movie was hyped up before he died. and i remember thinking to myself when i first saw the preview that this was the perfect role for him. they aired same previews, since before he died but now i guess cause he did die you find it your personal crusade to disagree? get a life. wow. now i will agree that some people will only go see it cause he died, and will decide before even seeing the movie that they’re gonna love it just cause he did die but that doesn’t take away from the sheer genius of his acting skills. i never imagined that someone could ever do the joker character accurately.. not even jack nicholson did it right because he’s crazy.. bottom line.. and because he is just a bit cuckoo he couldn’t grasp the serious psychotic element of this character.. he was not only out of his mind but also sophisticated and calm in his own scary way and only a true amazing performer could grasp that. btw, i just saw the movie today and it exceeded every expectation that i had. rip heath.
- Posted by ChristineHis brilliant performance as Joker somewhat complete the loop of dark roles he’d assumed in his movies. Remember him in roles like the Young Sheriff in Monster Ball; son of general in The Patriot; the drug abuser in Candy; and lead in Brokeback mountain? It’s like all the dark performances peaked with the Joker. I can help but relate his death to Brandon Lee who died whilst filming the Crow: face make-up too.. The title The Dark Knight ironically can be used to describe H Ledger short but brilliant movie career.
- Posted by Fatcat“The Dark Night” was one of the best movies I’ve seen. I went into the theater thinking, well, this will suck, but I was so wrong. Ledger byfar was the best joker I have seen. He makes all the others kind of, um, not so great. It breaks my heart knowing that was Heath’s final performance. Everyone played so well in the movie. Heath Ledger most def. deserves that Oscar. All though I do agree there have been other Oscar worthy performances this year, but his was one that stood out even more in my eyes.
- Posted by tiffanyI agree with Dusty and a whole bevy of other posters. I think that this movie and ultimately talks of Heath winning any awards, is because he’s dead. I DID see the movie and I DO think he did an amazing job, but would this even be a published article if he WAS alive? We all think of him in this role in a different way. What about Christian Bale? He did a fantastic job himself. At least half of this movie’s hype was because Heath Ledger had passed. RIP.
- Posted by BenVery good movie. I must admit that I was skeptical about Ledger being cast as The Joker, but I’ll be the first to admit that in no way did he disappoint. I will go so far as to say that Caesar Romero and Jack didn’t play The Joker any better than Ledger. At the risk of sounding insensitive, I also believe that his unfortunate death added a bit of a “chill” and darkness to an already dark character that gave this movie additional edge and emotion. He definitely delivered and deserves a posthumous Oscar. I believe the film was a bit too long, but it is packed with tons of action, and moviegoers will not even notice. There are also great storylines within the plot that add to the charm of this movie. Two thumbs up!
- Posted by BIt is the BEST movie i have EVER seen (The Dark Knight) the JOKER is my FAVE character i LOVE HIS SOCKS !!!!!!!!!!!! they ROC!!!!!!!!!!!! I WANT THEM SO BAD !!!
- Posted by AmandaPerhaps it is a little of both. Lets say he totally nailed it. Great. But “mad man” is not nesessarily the hardest role to pull off. Yet let us say it is oscar worthy. But there are other movies out this year with oscar worthy performances. The difference is that this surge at the box office is led by a bunch of heart broken heart throb fans that would be calling for an oscar even if his only seen was of him deficating on a popcicle. I watched most of his movies and enjoyed his work, detication to the art and his style but, these people remind me of all the Nirvana “die hard fans” that showed up after KC’s death. Posers who need lives.
- Posted by JustGregheath ledger puts on the performance of a lifetime..he should most definetly win the oscar… no one, and i mean no one could have put on a better performance then heath ledger
- Posted by george stevensI just got back from seeing The Dark Knight. I had been waiting for a long long time just like everyone else. It went above and beyond all the hype. Seeing Heath Ledger as the Joker was the single greatest acting performance I have ever seen. Much respect to Jack Nicholson but Heath’s portrayl blows his out of the water. Give Heath the Oscar!!
- Posted by DerekI don’t care what anyone says; regardless of whether Heath Ledger is alive or not, his acting is phenomenal. His role as the Joker was amazing and blew my mind and personally I thought he was better than any other character in the movie (although everyone did in fact do an amazing job). His death certainly has nothing to with the simple fact that he has immense talent. Perhaps they’re putting a bit more focus on him than they would have had he still been alive but that doesn’t mean that his role doesn’t deserve an Oscar. Heath was entertaining and kept me interested… he was insane and witty and kept me waiting for more of his scenes. People are definitely making a huge deal out of this. The man has passed away, so let his work shine for those who love and appreciate it.
- Posted by KaraThis guy is one of the best actors i have ever seen. My personal favorite is “a knights Tale”. Seeing him play the joker was… amazing this guy captured the jokers personalty perfect this guy better get an Oscar on his grave
- Posted by JoeThese super-hero comic book epics are the epitomy of American cinematic art - why not give them their full due, they’re all we’ve got.
- Posted by Jose R. PardinasJust saw the movie and am speechless. Ledger’s performance was undoubtedly one of the best I have ever seen. oscar worthy? absolutely.
- Posted by HankyI just returned from seeing this movie, and I must say Heath Ledger was phenomenal. He gave an incredible performance which has nothing to do with his untimely death. A brilliant portrayal of a madman - a must see for sure!
- Posted by D.S.Just saw Dark Knight and am not a big Batman Fan. Heath Ledger was phenominal. If i didn;t know it was him I would have been shocked to hear it was. He played the Joker so well. Even though he has past, people should not critisize because he is gone. Very proud
- Posted by BetzI just got back from watching this movie…Although it was a downer I absolutely loved it…Heath Was amazing and in my opinion the better Joker.
- Posted by JohnTOO much hype, everyone is expecting a so-so performance from Ledger… Including myself… However, not only does his Joker live up to the hype, it far surpasses anything I could have hoped for. He’s worthy of a nomination at minimum… Have to wait and see what else arises…But if you have not seen the film, please don’t comment on it.
- Posted by Chrishi im sophia i think heath ledger was the best man in the world. i wish he had never died. I LOVE YOU HEATH LEDGER!!!
- Posted by Sophia