Christopher Nolan Explains the Genres of His 'Dark Knight Trilogy'

Director Christopher Nolan is a guest at the Cannes Film Festival this weekend and he took some [...]

Director Christopher Nolan is a guest at the Cannes Film Festival this weekend and he took some time to further illuminated his acclaimed Batman films of The Dark Knight Trilogy.

According to Total Film, Nolan explained the genres of the three Dark Knight Trilogy movies. 2005's Batman Begins is a "hero's journey." The sequel, 2008's The Dark Knight, is a "crime movie." The final installment of the series, 2012's The Dark Knight Rises, is a "war film."

Nolan went on to say that the genres are defined by each film's villain. In Batman Begins, it is the hero's "mentor," Ra's al Ghul (Liam Neeson) who is the villain. In The Dark Knight, it is the terrorist Joker (Heath Ledger). In The Dark Knight Rises, it is the "militaristic Bane" (Tom Hardy).

Batman Begins told the origin story of Nolan's version of Batman, played by Christian Bane. The film followed Bruce Wayne's life from his childhood through the death of his parents, his troubled adolescence, his decision to travel the world and to gain the skills needed to fight crime, and eventually to his return to Gotham as its dark protector.

The Dark Knight brought some new complexity to Bruce Wayne by having him actually consider life after Batman. The film sees Batman ally himself with district attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) to eliminate Gotham's crime families, but the anarchic Joker throws all of their plans into chaos.

The Dark Knight Rises catches up with Bruce Wayne after he retired the Batman mantle following the events of The Dark Knight. New laws seem to be curbing Gotham's crime, but then Bane arrives to wage war on Gotham.

Nolan isn't the only one still thinking about The Dark Knight Trilogy. Comedian and actor Patton Oswalt recently offered his own theory about The Dark Knight's Joker, that the villain was a former military intelligence agent.

"He seems to be very good at the kind of mind-f***ery that sustained, professional interrogation requires. His boast about how 'I know the squealers' when he sees one," Oswalt said in a Facebook post. "The way he adjusts his personality and methods depending on who he's talking to, and knowing EXACTLY the reaction he'll get: mocking Gamble's manhood; invoking terror to Brian, the "false" Batman; teasing the policeman's sense of loyalty to his fallen, fellow cops; digging into Gordon's isolation; appealing to Harvey Dent's hunger for "fairness." He even conducts a 'reverse interrogation' with Batman when he's in the box at the police station — wanting to see how 'far' Batman will go, trying to make him break his 'one rule.'"

If you want to revisit The Dark Knight Trilogy for yourself, they are all available on home media, including on 4k Ultra HD.

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