fred79
Disgraceful
Undefeatable Hero
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posted September 19, 2020 11:41 AM |
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Joker
Throughout the years, since 1940, the Joker has become an icon of villainy. First appearing in DC comic books, then being portrayed throughout the years in various T.V. shows, movies, video games, cartoons, and even continuing in fan art.
On screen, he was originally portrayed by Cesar Romero(who refused to shave his mustache for the part, so he's not a favorite portrayal of mine), Jack Nicholson(a favorite as a kid), Heath Ledger(still the closest version, I feel, to what would be the real thing), a handful who shall remain unmentionable, and the latest to take up the task: Joaquin Phoenix(whom I think did a spectacular job, minus the gratuitous dancing). The Joker was even animated many times, and voiced in cartoons by none other than Luke Skywalker(Mark Hamill) himself(who does a SPECTACULAR job voicing the character).
But where did the Joker come from? The character's creators are credited as DC staff Bill Finger(writer), Bob Kane(artist), and Jerry Robinson(artist). Sources claim(and it certainly seems feasible that) Joker's face was heavily burrowed from "The Man Who Laughs", a black and white movie made in 1928, after a book of the same name. Originally written in 1869 by a one Victor Hugo, the character who portrayed The Man Who Laughs in the movie made in 1928(the movie had been made previously twice before) was Conrad Veidt:
From that character, came The Joker:
And from that original, came evolution:
To the Big Screen:
Now, before I continue and highlight Phoenix's brand of Joker, I'd like to take a moment for some things I had posted previously on Ledger's Joker from The Dark Knight. Before that movie even came out, a massive amount of hype was built around Ledger's Joker; the studio had even created a website designed to look as if the character itself had made a website. Complete with it's own Gotham newspaper dubbed "The Gotham Times"(or "The Ha-Ha Times", from the Joker's POV), the website had clues hidden within that led to actual places where fans could find Joker presents containing movie paraphernalia. The website I pulled these from all those years ago is no longer available, and these may no longer be available anywhere else online, so get them while they're hot:
Here are 3 first drafts of Nolan's Joker:
As for the Joker swag found using the website's riddles, I believe they were all TDK movie replica Joker cards, if memory serves(and even bankrobber clown mask replicas).
TDK Joker cards:
The aforementioned "Ha-Ha Times"(of which there were only two issues):
Issue #1:
Issue #2:
And now, on to Phoenix's Joker(portrayed in the first movie where the Joker is center-stage):
Phoenix's Joker was much more humanly vulnerable, and turned out to be much more insane than previous iterations. While Ledger's was certainly the most violent(his Joker was depicted as an actual terrorist, which is what the Joker is, essentially), he wasn't insane; his intricate planning proved that. Nicholson's Joker was more of a goofy-uncle type(it was a kid's movie, after all), so he didn't get to go full "The Shining" as he would have. Despite that, Nicholson's Joker, in my opinion, earned the right to be in the top three actor's iterations, out of sheer entertainment alone.
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