How The Dark Knight’s makers tried in vain to court China by shooting scenes for Christopher Nolan’s superhero masterpiece in Hong Kong

The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan’s second Batman film, includes a number of scenes featuring the iconic Hong Kong skyline as a backdrop

Stars Christian Bale, Heath Ledger and Morgan Freeman were mobbed by fans during shooting in the city, but the film was never shown in Chinese cinemas

3-MIN READ3-MIN

Batman swoops over Hong Kong’s Central district in a scene from The Dark Knight, which failed to impress China despite its makers’ intentions. Photo: Warner Brothers

Published: 7:45am, 5 Aug 2022

Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight (2008), the second film in his Batman trilogy and his tour-de-force sequel to Batman Begins (2005), is a film of echoes and opposites.

As a superhero movie, it pits good against evil. But it’s also unafraid to blur the line between the two, mimicking the moral complexities of knotty 1970s cinema.

Gotham playboy Bruce Wayne (played by Christian Bale) leads a double life as the crime-fighting vigilante Batman, but his methods are highly questionable.

The heroic DA Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) becomes the villainous Two-Face after he is almost killed by The Joker (Oscar winner Heath Ledger). “You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain,” says Dent, acknowledging how closely the two are linked.

One of many subplots involves Lau (Chin Han), a corrupt Chinese businessman who makes Gotham’s criminal factions an offer they can’t – but should – refuse.