The Dark Knight First Five Minutes
On July 2, 2008, allegedly the first five minutes of the upcoming Batman film The Dark Knight were leaked on iKlipz, a video sharing site. The video was later removed due to a request by the holder of the copyright.1 Another version has also surfaced, called the six-minute prologue to the film, and appears on various websites.
Fast Facts
- The Dark Knight release date: July 18, 2008
- Studio: Warner Bros.
- Director: Christopher Nolan
- Written by: Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan
- Produced by: Christopher Nolan, Charles Roven and Emma Thomas
- Villains: The Joker, Two-Face
- MPAA rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Clip Summary
The clip starts with a shot of the Gotham City skyline, and zooms in on a skyscraper in which clown-masked hoodlums are shooting zip lines onto the top of adjacent building. Other masked thugs are discussing the Joker while waiting in a car. They begin to invade a bank. William Fichtner, playing a bank employee, begins to fight back and shoot some of the masked robbers. One by one, the robbers are killed by other members of the gang, until the remaining robber is revealed to be the Joker, who makes his escape in a yellow school bus. Shots of Batman are seen before the video cuts out.
Previously Leaked
In December 2007, the same footage was leaked on YouTube, then disappeared from circulation. There was speculation that the first five minutes of the film would appear before such films as I Am Legend as a trailer, but the footage available online appears to be recorded on a handheld video recorder and is not officially sanctioned.2
