Trailer Analysis: Batman Begins: The Dark Knight

It is clear from the film trailer and film poster that this is a very dark film of the action genre. The ‘Bat’ symbol is present throughout the trailer, this is because and fans and even non-fans recognise this symbol as a signifier or the ‘superhero’ Batman. The trailer starts off with Batman stood on top of a building alone, there is a blue tint over the scene, this colour connotes sadness and misery perhaps foreshadowing what is to come.

There is then a shot of Batman looking over Gotham again as if he is “watching over Gotham” reinforcing the expected hero persona. There are then many explosions again with a blue tint, the explosions are obviously a symbol of destruction, they all show the companies that has invested in the film such as Warner Bros and Legendary pictures which are well known companies and have brought out many good films. There is also DC Comics which is well known for creating The Incredible Hulk, Superman and Spiderman. These have all been massive successes and therefore make DC Comics a reliable company.

The Joker then says “Where do we begin?” and shows a birds eye view of Gotham which sets the scene. He then speaks about “Cops and Lawyers” and shows a clip of Gordon, a police officer and Harvey Dent, a lawyer. This shows that these two people are obviously main characters and are probably going to be targeted by the Joker.

The Joker then says “What happened?” and there is a flash of Bruce Wayne, both as Himself and Batman. This gives the impression that it is Batman who is preventing the criminals from committing crime which would be correct, but the Joker wants to change this.

There are then many explosions and a scene of the Joker laughing; this is then broken up by a clip of Harvey Dent saying “Rachel’s told me everything about you” to Bruce Wayne which is followed by “I certainly hope not”. This offers comic relief for the audience which breaks up the seriousness and darkness of the trailer. It’s also dramatic irony because the audience knows that he is Batman but the other characters don’t.

There is then more explosions and destruction, which again is broken up by a scene with medium close up shots of Bruce and Rachel in which Bruce says “When you said we’d be together did you mean it”, this shows the audience that there will be a bit of romance in the film which makes it a little more interesting and more appealing to a female audience.

There is another comedy line in which Harvey asks Albert the butler “Any psychotic boyfriends I should know about?” to which the audience knows that Batman is the answer. This is then confirmed by a shot of Batman jumping on top of a car. The diegetic sound of the glass is very sharp and stands out; this is obviously enhanced by sound effects.

There is then a long blackout in which the Joker’s voice can be heard. The Joker is the main focus of the trailer, and is used as a narrator throughout to comment on the action and what happens, i.e. “Gotham needs a better class of criminal and I’m going to give it to them”.

The line “The night is darkest before the dawn, but I promise, the dawn is coming” spoken by Harvey Dent is a signature line in the trailer. Not only does it refer to The Dark Knight but it also says that Batman will, perhaps, be at his lowest point in this movie but he will get through it because “the dawn is coming”.

There is a small clip of the police force smashing the Batman projector light giving the impression that they have lost all hope.

The Title is capital which stands out to the audience with a black background and the faint outline of the Batman symbol. This is what is left in the heads of the viewer. There is then the words ‘coming soon’ and the website if the viewer wishes to get further information.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UBP2nXtRRo- Trailer
http://thedarkknight.warnerbros.com/dvdsite/- Official Website