National Film RegistryLibrary of Congress · Inducted 2020
“Bob Kane and Bill Finger's dark, enduring creation first flew onto the screen in a 1943 B-movie serial and would return to theaters several times in treatments both camp and action-oriented.”
Warner Bros. Entertainment · Legendary Pictures · Syncopy Inc. · 153 min
Box office
$1.01B worldwide on a $185M budget
Honors
Academy Awards — 2 wins, 8 nominationsNational Board of Review — 1 winMTV Movie Award — 1 winKids' Choice Award — 1 nominationAll 4 wins · 9 nominations on record
Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actor
Academy Awards: Best Sound Editing
National Board of Review: National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
MTV Movie Award: Best Villain
Scholarship
Named in the title of 23 peer-reviewed works
Examples
The Dark Knight Rises, 2012
The Dark Knight, 2012
The Dark Knight — Journal of Religion & Film, 2008
Sources: Wikidata · Library of Congress · OpenAlex. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Warner Bros. released The Dark Knight in the summer of 2008, and it became a cultural landmark for the modern blockbuster. Directed by Christopher Nolan as the second chapter of his Batman trilogy, the film pushed superhero cinema into darker, more morally complex territory, pairing large scale action with a crime drama sensibility. It was a critical and commercial triumph, remembered as much for its themes of chaos and order as for its craft, and it remains a touchstone for how comic book adaptations could be treated with seriousness and ambition.
This 35mm cell preserves a frame of Batman himself, the character at the center of Gotham's struggle between vigilante justice and civic order. As the film's title anchor, this figure represents the moral weight the story carries, the cost of the mask, and the burden of protecting a city that does not always want saving. Collectors seek out cells like this one for their direct link to the character's presence on film, a physical fragment of the print that carried Batman through theaters worldwide during a defining moment in the genre's history.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of The Dark Knight (2008).
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on each edge, evenly spaced; punched edges appear clean with no visible tearing or distortion.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible on one edge, alongside what appears to be a Dolby Digital data-block strip between the perforations on the same edge; a blue-tinted SDDS-style band is also visible on the outer edge.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read any key numbers or manufacturer text.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight cyan-teal tint consistent with a modern polyester stock; dye image reads as neutral to slightly cool with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
No visible scratches, splice marks, or cue marks seen in this capture.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, consistent with a release print of The Dark Knight (2008).
Era check
The combination of polyester base, Dolby Digital data blocks between perforations, variable-area optical track, and SDDS outer band is consistent with a major studio release print from the mid-1990s onward, matching a 2008 theatrical release.
Read from the original intake capture shown below. Observations only — film is authenticated, not graded.
This original motion picture film element has been examined and authenticated by Crown Grading in partnership with National Film Vault, and encapsulated for archival preservation.
Why so little survivesRelease prints were leased to theaters, not sold. When the run ended they went back to the distributor to be destroyed, and most were. What collectors hold today came from the prints that escaped that order, and no new 35mm prints of these films are being struck.
CROWN SERIAL 000063056
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
