Dark Knight DVD Review

Originally released this year on July 18, The Dark Knight quickly rose thru the record books dominating at the box office as the undisputed biggest movie event and top grossing film of 2008. Breaking at least two dozen box-office records it eventually settled into a comfortable spot as second-highest grossing movie (at least domestically) of all time. Now set to be re-released on January 23, 2009 the film will set-out to earn more than 1 billion dollars worldwide and gather some well deserved Oscar season buzz. But before all of that, the Bat-signal has shined upon all of us this holiday with a highly anticipated shopping season DVD release.

Let me just say, all of the hype listed above is just window dressing to me. My personal reasons for looking forward to owning this film on DVD is because it is the best Batman movie ever, the best comic book movie ever, and the best movie of any kind I saw in 2008. I don’t think I am alone with those feelings as Apple has recently announced that on the presales alone, The Dark Knight is the biggest selling movie for 2008 on I-Tunes. But enough about how awesome the actually film is (and how we can never be friends if you didn’t really enjoy it) and let’s take a look at what the DVD release is going to have to offer consumers.

Just like Iron Man before it, The Dark Knight and the stores carrying it are set to push multiple versions of the DVD packaging in an attempt to get your bat-dollars. Once you choose if you want the widescreen or full screen viewing experience, you’ll really only have 4 basic choices for the actual DVD. You can just get the movie with no frills or extras; you can get the special edition with the extra disc of features including a digital copy and then either of these selections on Blu-Ray. Again, as far as the contents of the DVDs go, I have seen no difference between any store’s “special edition” offerings. The only real difference is between the standard DVD release and Blu-Ray and not just in terms of watching it in high def either.

Let’s breakdown the different features offered for the Blu-Ray and standard DVD special editions:

• Movie with Focus Points (picture in picture) – Blu-Ray only

• Explore your favorite movies through BD-Live™, an interactive gateway to exclusive content – obviously Blu-Ray only

• Gotham Uncovered: Creation of a Scene: Director Christopher Nolan and creative collaborators unmask the incredible detail and planning behind the film, including stunt staging, filming in IMAX®, and the new Bat-suit and Bat-pod - listed for both standard and Blu-Ray editions but more is on the Blu-Ray version

• Batman Tech: The incredible gadgets and tools (in HD) – Blu-Ray only

• Batman Unmasked: The Psychology of The Dark Knight: Delve into the psyche of Bruce Wayne and the world of Batman through real-world psychotherapy (in HD) – Blu-Ray only

• Gotham Tonight: 6 episodes of Gotham Cable’s premier news program –available on both standard and Blu-Ray editions

• The Galleries: The Joker cards, concept art, poster art, production stills, trailers and TV spots – some but not all of this is available on standard but the full package is just for Blu-Ray

• Digital Copy of the feature film – available for both formats as labeled

Not listed above but probably the biggest feature the various editions this DVD has to offer is indeed a limited one. First, you have to be purchasing this on Blu-Ray (which I sadly am not). Then you will need to be among the first 100,000 people to sign-up. If you overcome those 2 hurdles you’ll have the opportunity to take part in what could be a pretty cool online event. On December 18th, there will be an online screening of the film and live chat with its director Christopher Nolan.

Speaking of Nolan, one of the things I think this DVD really lacks in either platform is a feature commentary from the director or anyone else involved in the project. Not that I have any interest in one of those producer filled film commentaries but I would be interested in one featuring Nolan and perhaps even stars Christian Bale or Aaron Eckhart. But, given the scheduled re-release in theatres and the hopes for multiple major award nominations if not wins, I’m sure it’ll be considered for future DVD releases.

Let’s take a look at a few of the more notable offerings:

Wal-Mart is offering a “collectable comic” and a Two Face replica coin.

Wal-mart Dark Knight DVD Collector’s Edition

Amazon, Wal-Mart and perhaps Best Buy are all offering these snazzy sadly Blu-Ray only Bat-Pod editions.

Dark Knight Batpod Two-Disc Bluray Limited Edition

Best Buy is also offering these Joker or Batman mask displays with their special editions. Having seen these in the store they were not worth and extra 10 bucks from me.

Batman and Joker Mask Special Editions

There are some other trinkets and ornaments available but those are really the only that stood out for me and were widely available. Not as many variations as I expected but I highly doubt that will hurt sales or that we also won’t see future releases. Personally, I just stuck with the trinket free 2 disc special edition. Sadly it is not nearly as special as the Blu-Ray version but since I have neither a high def TV nor a Blu-Ray DVD player I’ll just have to miss out for now. Which is a shame since I would like to have seen all of the features offered on that format. But this is not a shock as I am sure we will see more and more of this from future DVD releases especially from Warner Brothers.

All available editions, trinkets and special features aside, I highly recommend this product but of course not for any of what I just mentioned. Even if I am disappointed in the lack of store exclusives to choose from or the favoritism towards one format over the other in the feature department, it’s worth your money on the film alone. And in the end that is the most important thing right?

Dark Knight 2

For more information on The Dark Knight: http://thedarkknight.warnerbros.com/dvdsite/