The Dark Knight Watched 6 Ways

I am an idiot for having missed The Dark Knight during its first run in IMAX. Luckily, Batman returned (get it?) to the really big screen this past weekend and I finally got to enjoy the best movie of last year (you heard me, Academy) the way it was meant to be experienced. But, as I sat there, ignoring the Monsters Vs. Aliens trailer, I realized that I had already seen TDK in five other formats. Deciding which was the best and which was the worst was easy. The ones in the middle were a little trickier.

1. IMAX (The best)

As soon as I laid eyes on the bank robbery scene in all of its full-screen glory, I was sold. Sure, seeing it in IMAX cost me $14 for a single viewing, but 12,000 watts of audio oomph really do make a huge difference. Even when the floor wasn't shaking, the audience was stone quiet, something slightly out of the ordinary for a packed theater on a Friday night. While it might sound a little corny, it almost made me feel like it helped me better appreciate Heath Ledger as the Joker. The only way I would've enjoyed it more is if I hadn't already seen it eight or nine times before hand. Oh, and if they had somehow gotten rid of the growly Batman voice.

2. Blu-ray
Not only is he a hero to Gotham city, but the Bat Man should also be getting a muffin basket or two from the folks selling Blu-ray players. For many people TDK was the reason to make the jump to an HD format. It sold more copies than any other Blu-ray in history and it did it in a hurry. Plus, they actually filled it with some interesting content, going so far as to do an interactive commentary with director, Christopher Nolan over BD Live. The sound is great. The picture is great. And when it first came out, stores were using it as bait to get you into the stores meaning you could pick it up for a song....and $20.

3. Regular theater
My first encounter with TDK was in a traditional, non-IMAX setting. At the time, I was more than satisfied, but I'm spoiled now and, looking back, it couldn't quite do justice to the truly operatic nature of the film. In IMAX and on Blu-ray the gunshots almost hurt in a really good way, of course. In the theater they were just loud. Plus, at $10.25 for a single viewing, the extra $3 IMAX upgrade seems like a no-brainer even in a tough economy.

4. DVD
I visited a friend who had never seen the movie before, so we rented the DVD and watched it on his regular old CRT. After it was over, he told me that he thought it was good, but didn't live up to all the hype and I could tell why. The sound was lame and the picture was letterboxed down to a size that made the finer details impossible to enjoy. While it's still easy to tell that it's a great movie, it was just that, a movie and not an experience. It did only cost him $2, though.

5. iPod
It might make David Lynch think I'm an idiot, since he has been very vocal about his distaste for people who watch movies on their iPhones, but until they install a 7.1 audio system and a 1080p projector on the N train, my fellow commuters and I will be making due. I got the official Dark Knight release from the iTunes store and watched it on my iPod touch, like I have done with countless others. Watching on the train, I found myself skipping around and getting distracted by various sounds...and smells. Maybe David Lynch has a point.

6. On an airplane TV screen (The worst)
The flight from JFK to Japan is a long one, so I was actually pretty excited when I saw that TDK was going to be playing along the way. It hadn't been released on DVD or Blu-ray yet and I was eager to see it again. Unfortunately, I made all of the movie watching mistakes you'd expect a passenger on a 14 hour trip to make. I dozed off, I channel-surfed. I even made a series of bad decisions that led to me watching little pieces of Get Smart and 88 Minutes. Once I was on the ground, I kind of wished I had just left Batman alone and read my book. I felt like he deserved a little better than that tiny, dim screen. And so did I.

Check back in three years and I'll add in my thoughts on watching it on TBS with the violent bits taken out and a bunch of commercials for Dinner and a Makeover sprinkled in every fifteen minutes. I have a feeling it's going to find itself in a tough battle for the number six spot.

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