Nicholson Joker Appreciation Thread

[The Joker]

[The Joker]

[The Dark Knight]

After all these years I would seriously still say Nicholson is my number one guy as the Joker. He provides a package that resembles my type of comics while retaining the required darkness. An aspect of B89 I like is how we get a glimpse into Jack's psyche after the transformation. He speaks about the trauma of falling into the chemicals and crying inside. His former self is still buried under there, providing depth, but it's not dwelt on. He's a brand new person who knows who he was and what happened, but moved on and embraced insanity. He's in character too much now for it to hurt him. For a one movie performance they packed a lot in there and a lot of it's right.

[thecolorsblend]

Because of Hamill (to whatever degree), Ledger, Phoenix and Leto (to whatever degree), something that These Dang Kids today seem to be forgetting is how big a deal Nicholson playing the Joker was back in the day.

But a tremendous part of B89's success owes back to the casting announcement of Nicholson playing the Joker. That single element alone gave the film a LOT of mystique and interest.

It's safe to say that the hype around B89 would've been greatly diminished (or maybe even completely eliminated) if Nicholson hadn't been involved in the film.

For as good as Ledger might've been, he still had to prove himself in the role. In the early days, he had skeptics and doubters.

But literally nobody questioned Nicholson's ability to play the character. Which says something, I think.

[The Joker]

After all these years I would seriously still say Nicholson is my number one guy as the Joker. He provides a package that resembles my type of comics while retaining the required darkness. An aspect of B89 I like is how we get a glimpse into Jack's psyche after the transformation. He speaks about the trauma of falling into the chemicals and crying inside. His former self is still buried under there, providing depth, but it's not dwelt on. He's a brand new person who knows who he was and what happened, but moved on and embraced insanity. He's in character too much now for it to hurt him. For a one movie performance they packed a lot in there and a lot of it's right.

Oh, for sure! Jack is pretty much the perfect merging of the Golden Age, and Bronze Age Joker. Comedic, and openly partaking in tomfoolery, but very lethal at a moments notice. Also, Nicholson's Joker is still the only live action Joker that has used the villain's signature weapon; Joker Venom (renamed Smylex for B89). Which is wild. I also like how Jack himself has described the Joker as; "A hateful occurrence of a man who survived nuclear immersion".

Because of Hamill (to whatever degree), Ledger, Phoenix and Leto (to whatever degree), something that These Dang Kids today seem to be forgetting is how big a deal Nicholson playing the Joker was back in the day.

But a tremendous part of B89's success owes back to the casting announcement of Nicholson playing the Joker. That single element alone gave the film a LOT of mystique and interest.

It's safe to say that the hype around B89 would've been greatly diminished (or maybe even completely eliminated) if Nicholson hadn't been involved in the film.

For as good as Ledger might've been, he still had to prove himself in the role. In the early days, he had skeptics and doubters.

But literally nobody questioned Nicholson's ability to play the character. Which says something, I think.

Exactly. Jack Nicholson as the Joker was one of those casting decisions where it just fit like a glove. Not unlike the notion of Patrick Stewart being chosen to portray Professor X about 10 years later. Sometimes the best choice is simply the obvious choice.