The Art and Making of The Dark Knight Trilogy

As a big fan of what Mr. Nolan has done with the Batman character in his "Dark Knight Trilogy", this book is 300+ pages of pure joy! Every aspect of the filmmaking process is detailed in the book, accompanied by hundreds of photos (many of which I have never seen published before). Here are the Chapters contained in the book: 1. Screenplay - how the concept of the films was born with Nolan & David Goyer, writing the scripts, and taking inspiration from the comics when crafting the story. 2. Production Design - building the sets, scouting & dressing locations, designing Batman's vehicles. Includes some concept art. 3. Cast - casting the characters, insight into the actors' process. One of the best aspects of the films is that Nolan assembles a very strong cast, even in smaller supporting roles. Obviously, much of the focus is placed on selecting Christian Bale to play Bruce Wayne. 4. Costumes & Makeup - discussion about the costumes of the film, including plenty of costume sketches. Includes detail about the evolution of Batman's suit, the Joker's makeup, Bane's mask, etc. 5. The Shoot: Batman Begins - a chronicle of the 129-day shoot, Nolan's directing style, filming on location, shooting the Tumbler chase, etc, 6. The Shoot: The Dark Knight - filming in Chicago, IMAX cameras, the hospital explosion, etc. 7. The Shoot: The Dark Knight Rises - filming in Pittsburgh and India, shooting the opening plane sequence practically, destroying a football stadium, etc. 8. Special Effects & Stunts - insight into the stunt work with effects coordinator Chris Corbould. This covers most of the big fight sequences and stunts in the three films and how they were achieved. 9. Editing, Music, and Sound - Lee Smith on editing the films, and specifically how be cut effectively between parallel story lines and action. Scoring the film, including quotes from composers Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard. Designing the film's sounds and mixing them effectively with the music (they discuss the clarity issue of Bane's voice). 10. Visual Effects - It seems like these films used every method of visual effects available, from models and miniatures to computer-generated effects. Specific topics include creating digital bats and the monorail crash in Batman Begins, the ferry boat sequence from The Dark Knight, and the stadium explosions in The Dark Knight Rises. 11. Marketing - A discussion about the promotion of the films. This includes traditional methods like posters (with over a dozen poster images in the book) to the unique "viral marketing" that emphasized social media to get the audience to participate in the marketing. Other topics include screening the IMAX prologues and San Diego Comic-Con. The book also includes a foreword by Christopher Nolan and an introduction by Michael Caine. Also, printed at the end of the book is a tribute that Nolan wrote about Heath Ledger, titled "Charisma as Natural as Gravity" (originally published in Newsweek in 2008). This is the best book about the Batman films I have ever seen, and it is one of the best "making of" movie books in general. The detail in both the text and the photographs is very impressive, and I am so excited to be able to have this wonderful book in my collection. To see photos from inside the book, visit my blog at MovieArtBook(dot)com If you're particularly interested in the design and technology aspects of the films, I'd also recommend this book: The Dark Knight Manual: Tools, Weapons, Vehicles and Documents from the Batcave

This is the making-of rather than an art-and-making-of book. So you're not going to see a lot of art. The only other artbook for the Dark Knight trilogy was The Art of Batman Begins and that wasn't very good in terms of art and content. Having said all that, this is a great movie companion book. It covers in detail all the three films and the complete production process. You get to read about the screenplay, production design, casting, use of visual and special effects, music and marketing. The book is packed with nice photos of the set, actors, props and vehicles, and some art illustrations. There are chapters for the shooting of each film which I thought was short considering the length of the movies. Still, it provides great insight into how the movie was shot, and the little clues were put into each film to tie them together. You get a sense of Christopher Nolan's film making philosophy, and understand how the film was directed. He has done an incredible job portraying on big screen one of the most recognisable comic characters. There are lots of interesting information throughout the book. Like how Anne Hathaway dressed up as Harley Quinn during a casting meeting because she misread the script, or why Nolan even considered using actual bats but ultimately turned to animated ones. Of all the books relating to the Dark Knight trilogy, this is probably the best. Highly recommended for fans of the movies. It's a terrific deal for a 304-page hardcover.

This publication is very comprehensive reading for film novices and Batman fans. Despite what the few haters say, Christopher Nolan is one of the best directors today. His films are character driven and well thought out. If I was going to strive to make movies, he definitely would be one reference to imitate. Anyone that denies the fact he's a brilliant mind in the business is truly lost. And being a Batman fan from childhood to now, Nolan's Batman films are, to me, the best live action interpretations you'll see. They're unabashedly not silly. I also love how they aren't vulgar, graphically violent or raunchy. They're intelligent, exciting and engaging. I'm not here to make people that don't like these movies like them. Do you. But no one has an argument to me that they aren't as good as they are. Period. This publication breaks down nicely how Nolan and his crew approached these characters in a practical and respectable way. I further have been given an appreciation for this trilogy. I love how this book held nothing back. It spoke about every bit and piece of the hard work put into these films. The photos are plenty and well taken. The art gives insight too. Also, for those claiming Nolan ignores the comicbooks, this book proves otherwise. Those are haters just hating. These movies take many key things from the comics and graphic novels while making the movies still yet original. Not an easy task. This publication feels complete. I recommend any film or Batman fan to buy this.

I'm giving this product 5 stars and the rating is based on the book itself. Amazing book with some cool in-depth photographs and information within it. It's definitely a must for Batman fans, especially those that are fans of the universe Christopher Nolan created. Now to the seller I bought this from, greatbookdeals. They had one of the cheaper prices, however, the book came in damaged and the box completely torn open on one corner, as in from top to bottom with packing peanuts coming out. I observed the size of the box that the book was shipped in and it was the exact size of the book, which means the book was frayed and torn on a couple of corners. I'd figure with a book like this, they would put it in a box bigger and pack it with more sufficient material like what Amazon does with the air packs for products they sell themselves. Also, they didn't post to my account that it had shipped at all so a week later I'm still thinking that they didn't ship it and provided zero tracking information. Once again, awesome book and a must for any fans but I want to warn potential customers that the seller I chose was definitely the wrong one. Go with someone else!

I pre-ordered this book 2 weeks ago and was waiting for the date it will release July 20. I got it the next day July 21st . And I didn't pay for fast shipping I paid 3 bucks, I guess they wanted people to get it for the weekend the movie came out, now for the book, it's beautiful from front to back. Janine pourroy help out in this book and it pain off well, Jody Duncan great also, they go over all the movie very well, the photots are nice I love the off camera ones, of them just going over things, If I had to say one thing is that I would have likes to see more on Anne as catwoman and I think if they would have cut the book into 4 parts , 1st 3 parts would be the movies in order, and 4th part would be a sum up of the book, what they have here is just all the movies mix into the book , one page may have photos maybe have pics from all 3 parts or just part 2 then later on part 1 ull see, I would have liked to just see all about part one 1st then 2 and 3 for me ,,, But if your a batman fan it's a must !!

First I'll admit to just loving all the insights on behind-the-scenes found on DVDs, so this was just a fantastic amount of information. The book follows a great logical flow from beginning to end; starting with initial conception of Batman Begins to the final sound editing of the Dark Knight Rises. Great pictures and captions. The best thing about the book is: you will learn about the approach that Christopher Nolan takes to his films. Soon you'll understand why not just TDK trilogy, but all his films have an incredible feel to them, a uniqueness that other films lack. This book should also serve as a guide on "how to make movies the right way." Nolan does thing unorthodox in the movie industry and it shows in the final product. I dare you to read this book and NOT want to watch Batman Begins, the Dark Knight and the Dark Knight Rises back-to-back-to-back.

As a fan of Chris Nolan films, this book is a wonderful addition to the Batman franchise. A comprehensive guide to all 3 films, it is a good behind the scenes look at the process of film making. Many many wonderful photos of the 3 films and a good read of the thoughts of the cast and crews. Especially interested in the Pittsburgh photos at Heinz Field. I sat in the hot sun for 12 hrs. Loved every minute of it.

I think that Christopher Nolan's vision of Batman is pure genius. It has been thrilling to learn the back story of these three wonderful movies. In these days of CGI and shortcuts, the creativity, vision, hard work and the pursuit of excellence that went into all the production phases of the Dark Knight franchise have been wonderful to share with my teenage son. The photography is breathtaking. I cannot recommend this book enough.