Was The Dark Knight inspired by The Hitcher?

[BatmanFurst]

Does anybody else see the similarities between John Ryder and Heath Ledger's Joker?
SPOILERS FOR THE HITCHER
1. You never know their real name
2. You never know who they were, or what their motivations are
3. They each have a weird relationship with the protagonists
5. They both kill the protagonists love interest.
6.They randomly pop up in their respective films, and the police can't contain them.
Idk, I think Nolan was hugely inspired by this film. I've also read that he does enjoy the film.

"As a teenager I never questioned the logic of this Eighties chiller, but now it seems mind-bendingly arbitrary plot-wise.  However, it does feature the criminally underappreciated Rutger Hauer in his finest and most influential Euro-psycho performance this side of Blade Runner." - Christopher Nolan

[Silver Nemesis]

I adore The Hitcher. It's a superb Hitchcockian thriller and one of the most consistently underrated and misunderstood films of the eighties. I'm tempted to write a lengthy review extolling the qualities critics too often overlook in it, but for now I'll stick to the topic of The Dark Knight.

I agree, it was almost certainly an influence on Nolan. For the reasons you've already stated. The central concept of a mysterious, highly efficient killer who appears out of nowhere and becomes fixated on provoking one particular person is strikingly similar. The scene in the diner, where Howell's character asks Ryder why he's tormenting him, foreshadows the "Why do you want to kill me?" scene from TDK; as does the scene in the interrogation room. Both films have an antagonist seeking death at the hands of the hero for reasons that are never fully explained. Both contain a scene where the villain massacres the occupants of a police station. But above all, it's the dynamic between hero and villain that offers the most obvious similarity – the forced intimacy arising from the villain's desire to corrupt the hero by turning him into a killer.

I imagine The Hitcher was one of the movies that inspired Nolan to cast Hauer in Batman Begins.

Another film which I suspect may have influenced The Dark Knight is Takashi Miike's Ichi the Killer (2001). The plot concerns a homicidal costumed vigilante known as Ichi who is terrorising Tokyo's criminal underworld. Ichi's activities attract the attention of a psychopathic member of the yakuza named Kakihara. Kakihara is basically a Japanese version of the Joker, right down to the purple coat and Glasgow smile.

Initially Kakihara wants to kill Ichi to avenge his murdered mob boss. To this end he tortures and kills several people in an attempt to draw Ichi into a confrontation. But as Kakihara sees more of Ichi's sadistic handiwork he changes his mind about killing him. Kakihara is a self-mutilating masochist, and he believes Ichi is the only person sadistic enough to inflict the desired level of pain he wishes to experience. They do eventually confront one another on a rooftop and the showdown concludes with Kakihara laughing manically as he plummets to his death.

Even if Nolan wasn't consciously influenced by Miike's film, the similarities between the two movies are strong.

[BatmanFurst]

I adore The Hitcher. It's a superb Hitchcockian thriller and one of the most consistently underrated and misunderstood films of the eighties. I'm tempted to write a lengthy review extolling the qualities critics too often overlook in it, but for now I'll stick to the topic of The Dark Knight.

I agree, it was almost certainly an influence on Nolan. For the reasons you've already stated. The central concept of a mysterious, highly efficient killer who appears out of nowhere and becomes fixated on provoking one particular person is strikingly similar. The scene in the diner, where Howell's character asks Ryder why he's tormenting him, foreshadows the "Why do you want to kill me?" scene from TDK; as does the scene in the interrogation room. Both films have an antagonist seeking death at the hands of the hero for reasons that are never fully explained. Both contain a scene where the villain massacres the occupants of a police station. But above all, it's the dynamic between hero and villain that offers the most obvious similarity – the forced intimacy arising from the villain's desire to corrupt the hero by turning him into a killer.

I imagine The Hitcher was one of the movies that inspired Nolan to cast Hauer in Batman Begins.

Another film which I suspect may have influenced The Dark Knight is Takashi Miike's Ichi the Killer (2001). The plot concerns a homicidal costumed vigilante known as Ichi who is terrorising Tokyo's criminal underworld. Ichi's activities attract the attention of a psychopathic member of the yakuza named Kakihara. Kakihara is basically a Japanese version of the Joker, right down to the purple coat and Glasgow smile.

Initially Kakihara wants to kill Ichi to avenge his murdered mob boss. To this end he tortures and kills several people in an attempt to draw Ichi into a confrontation. But as Kakihara sees more of Ichi's sadistic handiwork he changes his mind about killing him. Kakihara is a self-mutilating masochist, and he believes Ichi is the only person sadistic enough to inflict the desired level of pain he wishes to experience. They do eventually confront one another on a rooftop and the showdown concludes with Kakihara laughing manically as he plummets to his death.

Even if Nolan wasn't consciously influenced by Miike's film, the similarities between the two movies are strong.

Good pull. I've heard of Ichi the Killer, but I've never seen it. Unfortunately Miike's been a bit of a blind spot for me. Your description of its antagonist does seem to parallel the Joker's change of mind half way through The Dark Knight.

I'm also a fan of The Hitcher. Been waiting for a good release of it, my DVD looks like garbage. Still can't believe how harsh Siskel and Ebert were against it.