Speaking for me, and me only, and bearing in mind that I had something to do with THIS… hear me now!
Notes on TDK, in no particular order:
1 ) I am probably the only Rifftrax guy who is something of a superhero comic book geek. Though I am decades behind the times, which is probably good for a man in his 40s, I did heart them at one time.
2 ) THE DARK KNIGHT was an excellent superhero comic book movie.
3 ) Even the bestest, most excellent superhero comic book movie will be — speaking for me only! (see above!) — a mixture of the sublime and the ridiculous.
4 ) TDK had plenty of sublime, and plenty of ridiculous. The Bat-growly-voice, etc. And, as ever, he’s a guy wearing a pointy-eared hood.
5 ) The late Heath Ledger gave an awesome performance. And it’s truly horrible that he passed away so young, with so much talent and promise. BUT….
6 ) We are not monsters. (Except Kevin.) We do not make reference to Mr. Ledger’s untimely death. At all. (Even Kevin does not.) BUT…
7 ) If you still think that we’re being somehow disrespectful by riffing the movie, I must ask you, dear friend: disrespectful of what?
8 ) As for whether it’s “riffable” or not — ah, there’s the rub. People have quite different ideas of what that means, and all are entitled to formulate theories about what constitutes riffable material. Lawdy mama, I have seen treastises on the subject worthy of an immediate PhD, Ivy League tenure, and a gently-used Prius. BUT…
9 ) Our collective, very vague, not-at-all-worthy-of-a-PhD position at Rifftrax is that even good movies can be made funny by riffing. As can movies that are out-and-out terrible, as can movies that are a mixed bag. The fact that we riff on something is not us saying, collectively, “what a piece of dookie.”
10 ) And again, what one considers dookie is quite subjective. Disagree, shake your fist at us, photoshop us into even uglier creatures than our photoshop guy at Rifftrax does (not easy! — if you don’t believe me, check out me as Emma Thompson at the end of THIS THREAD). But that is how we, ahem, roll.
11) Anthony Michael Hall shone in TDK. LUMINOUS.
And because all that was so serious… here is my favorite comic book superhero from years past. Ladies and gentlemen, let’s have a big metallic burp for… MATTER-EATER LAD!:
86 responses so far ↓
1 Anthony on Dec 10, 2008 at 8:31 pm
I enjoyed all things involved. So, yay. Though my favorite superhero as a kid was probably Batman, and I enjoy mocking Batman so very much it makes this enjoyable.
2 Hannah on Dec 10, 2008 at 8:34 pm
High five!
3 Laura on Dec 10, 2008 at 8:39 pm
I’ve really only read the Bionicle comics that came with Lego magazine. I didn’t really get into comics. Well, the original ones. I read a lot of web-comics, though.
And I was also expecting so much from Dark Knight (my brother got a LEGAL copy of it while deployed) that it just destroyed the movie for me. Especially the ‘pencil’ scene. It got so much hype, and when it finally came, the scene was half a second long. Wtf?
Also, it may just be my immature mind, but the Matter-Eater Lad strip looks… suggestive?…
4 Bill Corbett on Dec 10, 2008 at 8:42 pm
“Also, it may just be my immature mind, but the Matter-Eater Lad strip looks… suggestive?…”
Laura dear, are you implying that THAT is the reason why I had that very panel enlarged, lovingly framed, and hung — dare I even say, mounted — upon my bedroom wall?
Well, ARE YOU?!
5 Anthony on Dec 10, 2008 at 8:44 pm
Mr. Corbett, you have officially creeped me out. You need a medal or prize of some kind. You rule.
6 Laura on Dec 10, 2008 at 8:46 pm
Hell yes I AM! Wanna fight?!.. What am I saying, I can’t fight you… your puns are just so masterful.
7 Laura on Dec 10, 2008 at 8:47 pm
“Mr. Corbett, you have officially creeped me out. You need a medal or prize of some kind. You rule.”
Does it creep you out even more that he’s saying this to a 15 year old?
8 Anthony on Dec 10, 2008 at 8:48 pm
If I were less drunk, probably. As it is, he just appears to be mad as a hatter and needs poked in the eye. Otherwise, everything is jam and aces.
9 Brian on Dec 10, 2008 at 9:01 pm
For real? Seriously? I don’t usually trawl message boards/forums, so I’m completely shocked that anyone is complaining that you guys are producing more of your fantastic matFor real? Seriously? I don’t usually trawl message boards/forums, so I’m completely shocked that anyone is complaining that you guys are producing more of your fantastic material, let alone on this movie. I’m a huge comic nerd and a big Batman fan in particular, but Bill is completely dead on when he points out there’s much to goof on in this and the crew is well within the boundaries of good taste. The Heath Ledger thing may, *may* be a gray area here, but I know you guys would never be distasteful (about the recently deceased, anyway). I suspect Bill, that this is a case of you guys possibly giving too much credence to your forums. You guys have nothing to apologize for, and I think it’s very gracious to even acknowledge this issue as a legit complaint.
Speaking of legit complaints, how can you reference Matter-Eater Lad without acknowledging the greatness of Arm-Fall-Off Floyd or Eyeful Ethel?erial, let alone on this movie. I’m a huge comic nerd and a big Batman fan in particular, but Bill is completely dead on when he points out there’s much to goof on in this and the crew is well within the boundaries of good taste. The Heath Ledger thing may, *may* be a gray area here, but I know you guys would never be distasteful (about the recently deceased, anyway). I suspect Bill, that this is a case of you guys possibly giving too much credence to your forums. You guys have nothing to apologize for, and I think it’s very gracious to even acknowledge this issue as a legit complaint.
Speaking of legit complaints, how can you reference Matter-Eater Lad without acknowledging the greatness of Arm-Fall-Off Floyd or Eyeful Ethel?
10 Brian on Dec 10, 2008 at 9:02 pm
My inability to post a comment: poetic justice or just plain idiocy? You make the call.
11 Walter on Dec 10, 2008 at 9:11 pm
Great. Can we move on now?
12 MikeP on Dec 10, 2008 at 9:16 pm
One of the things I love about Rifftrax is that it isn’t limited to crappy movies. Some of the the best Rifftrax, in my opinion, have been the big popcorn movies, some of which are pretty decent in their own right.
Riff on, riffclowns. Don’t let the haters harsh your mellow, or something.
13 jfruh on Dec 10, 2008 at 9:16 pm
You sound a little …nervous, Bill. Are the natives restless? Did you wake up with Aaron Eckhardt’s head in your bed this morning?
Somewhere out there, there is a respectful but still hilarious death-of-Heath-Ledger joke. Perhaps … I will be the man to make that joke. THIS I VOW!
14 Bill Corbett on Dec 10, 2008 at 9:19 pm
“Does it creep you out even more that he’s saying this to a 15 year old?”
It certainly creeps ME out. Yikes.
Go do your homework, kid.
15 Bill Corbett on Dec 10, 2008 at 9:19 pm
YES!
…Where are we going?
16 Bill Corbett on Dec 10, 2008 at 9:20 pm
“Did you wake up with Aaron Eckhardt’s head in your bed this morning?”
Just the chin-butt portion. Which was somehow worse.
17 Anthony on Dec 10, 2008 at 9:22 pm
Can we go to a furniture emporium? I want a new mattress. My current one is murder on the back.
18 secretidentitycrisis on Dec 10, 2008 at 9:37 pm
Anything and everything is riffable.
When we start holding silly things like movies so sacred, the lizard-people win.
19 Amy on Dec 10, 2008 at 9:39 pm
“Just the chin-butt portion”
…..bleh….
20 Del on Dec 10, 2008 at 9:55 pm
Were there some fanboys outside your house with pitchforks and torches today, Bill? Were you only able to dissuade them by doing your very british Alfred impression? steak and kidney pies and whatnot?
21 Enron Hubbard on Dec 10, 2008 at 9:56 pm
Perpetuating a meme:
Step 1. Alienate Fanbase
Step 2. ???
Step 3. PROFIT
Moving on,
When Mike did his commentary/riff on the Legend version of one of *my* favourite movies, “Night of the Living Dead”, it made me run to the video store to rent it on the day it came out.
Perhaps I will learn the virtue of empathy for the Batmaniacs should the Rifftrax Gang ever tackle my own Untouchable Masterpiece:
“Bring It On 3: All or Nothing”
Please, fellas. Let this one star shine and shed its light on us all.
22 Enron Hubbard on Dec 10, 2008 at 9:58 pm
It’s very William Burroughs. I like it.
23 Eddie the Colton on Dec 10, 2008 at 10:23 pm
I love how they showcase “escalation” as a theme carried over from the first movie, like it’s some fatalistic thing, or even a word commonly used. DAMN, Gordon, you were uncannily accurate in your prediction. If he was on 24, he’d turn out to be a mole.
What’s the best thing about it? The perpetrators would be called “escalators.” That’s a Fox News headline waiting to happen. I’m thinking “Escalators Rising,” maybe?
24 Chris on Dec 11, 2008 at 12:20 am
I thought TDK was an excellent film. But my feelings on it in no way shape or form will stop me from enjoying this Riff! Sometimes even the best of the best need a Good roast!
Now, if you guys ever riff Dunston Checks In… then..we gotta talk…
25 Ric on Dec 11, 2008 at 1:24 am
Does Kevin really think TDK is “a piece of crap”? If so, I’d like to hear his reasoning on that position.
26 chrismartindeed on Dec 11, 2008 at 4:19 am
A comic book geek? No, Mr. Corbett, you’re more of a comic book ingénue.
Your lack of graphic novel experience and pearl-white innocence made you susceptible to the dark magic of the Cape Crusader.
Speaking as someone who’s kept his hand in comic books for the past 20 years, I have read every conceivable variation of Batman as a Boogey-Man vigilante.
Batman has been portrayed as a near-psychotic, a total psychotic, a convalescing psychotic, a fugitive psychotic, a psychotic in deep mourning, a geriatric pyschotic and a semi-retired psychotic.
And, to keep the character from going stale, a psychotic who is profoundly disturbed.
Which is why any mention of TDK movie fills me with a sense of deja-vu. I’ve been around this neighborhood before.
So riff on. You’re not trampling on hallowed ground.
By the way, has Superman died lately? It’s been at least 15 years since he last kicked the bucket.
27 Kleenex on Dec 11, 2008 at 4:42 am
Good lord, people, it’s a MOVIE! I’ll never understand how people can tie up so much of their self-worth in something that they had no hand in creating. Unless you were actively involved in writing, directing, acting or producing The Dark Knight you really have nothing to get upset over. The movie was brilliant in some spots, in others not so much. (Mainly, that last 45 minutes or so where they tried to pile on a second movie about Two-Face when most of us were starting to look at our watches) I enjoyed it quite a bit, but it was not The Greatest Movie Ever Made. If you think it is, you haven’t seen enough movies yet. Riff away, good sir!
28 Ben on Dec 11, 2008 at 6:18 am
Ah, Matter Eating Lad from the Legion of Superheroes. I wouldn’t want to be around the bathroom when he moves all that matter. I hope he eats lots of roughage…beyond rocks, I mean.
I always liked Triplicate Girl (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triplicate_Girl) as my fave Legionaire…for reasons too unseemly to go into here…well, I can give one reason. Because, with her around I would need to buy any of those triplicate forms. ooo the savings…
29 awfulgoodmovies on Dec 11, 2008 at 6:40 am
Twas a Dark and Stormy Knight.
30 BoB3K on Dec 11, 2008 at 6:51 am
Yes, but is it the best move EVER to be made in the last year that had wide promotion and theater showings? Because, for a lot of people, that’s as far as their world view goes.
31 awfulgoodmovies on Dec 11, 2008 at 6:54 am
I prefer to keep on truckin’.
32 BEMaven on Dec 11, 2008 at 7:03 am
At last, I found another die-hard fan of Matter-Eater Lad.
Mr. Corbett, you’ve been known to have some pull with the moguls in La-La Land. Surely you can get this forgotten Legionnaire some big screen treatment.
If they need a theme song (something sorely missing from TDK movie), I’d be happy to suggest a few strains—
Matter-Eater Lad, Matter-Eater Lad.
His gastric habits are off just a tad.
Abandoned by his parents, forced to roam
When he truly ate them out of house and home.
33 awfulgoodmovies on Dec 11, 2008 at 7:14 am
Matter-Eater Lad is a big MEH……if he wants to impress me….Let him try a Taco Bell Value Meal.
34 euphoriafish on Dec 11, 2008 at 7:41 am
Oh wow, he dropped the K bomb. Are you going to take that lying down, Laura?
35 euphoriafish on Dec 11, 2008 at 7:45 am
Forget Superman. Has Batman died yet? I heard Grant Morrison is killing him off.
36 Michael Hoskin on Dec 11, 2008 at 8:03 am
I’m not offended by the guys riffing on Dark Knight – but on the other hand, I’m not interested in hearing them riff films I genuinely like. Which is also why I’ll never buy the Raiders, Star Trek 6 or Casino Royale riffs.
37 Jason on Dec 11, 2008 at 8:25 am
As in all things, it comes down to personal preference. I have no problem hearing movies I genuinely enjoyed riffed, skewered, and barbecued.
38 ready4sumfootball on Dec 11, 2008 at 8:30 am
Yes! Slug fest! It’ll be the battle of the century!
39 michael on Dec 11, 2008 at 8:31 am
Well said, Chris.
Did anyone say anything like this when they did Iron Man? Or is there a heirarchy of superhero movies?
40 Rob T Firefly on Dec 11, 2008 at 8:36 am
I’m glad my upcoming commentary tack wherein I just shout “HEATH LEDGER IS THE WORST JOKER EVER AND HE’S ALSO DEAD!” into the mic over and over for the duration of the film won’t be directly competing with you guys.
41 Queen Shadowrama on Dec 11, 2008 at 9:27 am
Bill, you don’t need to try and placate the people who think you’re desecrating the film. Like a toddler, just ignore them, let them have their tantrum, and they’ll eventually get over it. They’ll come crawling back, they always do.
42 Zandrax on Dec 11, 2008 at 9:32 am
Anything is riffable. Literally. It just depends on your sense of humor. I loved Dark Knight, but absolutely it’s riffable. Gone With The Wind is riffable with the right minds…
43 Auntie Maim on Dec 11, 2008 at 9:35 am
What I don’t understand is why folks get turfed up by something they don’t have to have any form of contact with. I mean, I find it personally disturbing than anyone ever cast that Hilton child in anything likely to be seen by human eyes, but do I go onto blog.hobagsforhire.com and whine about it? Well, except for this one…NO! No, I do not!
Here’s an idea…don’t like them Riff-Traxxing your favorite movie masterpiece? Read this carefully, now. Ready? D-O-N’T B-U-Y T-H-E R-I-F-F-T-R-A-X.
I know, it’s a difficult concept, but I credit most RT fans with above-average intelligence. Am I wrong?
44 Enron Hubbard on Dec 11, 2008 at 10:03 am
Why not ask “does Kevin really think First Knight is great”?
45 michael on Dec 11, 2008 at 10:22 am
Huh. That’s a good point. That makes me wonder, however, what the Green Mile or Schindler’s List rifftrax would be like.
Bill: “Wow. This is sad.”
Kevin: “Unthinkable.”
Mike: *weeps*
46 norgavue on Dec 11, 2008 at 10:40 am
I love that movie. I love the Rifftrax for the movie. If you don’t think you can take it then as others have said don’t whine about it. It’s not as if everyone is forced to listen to it. That being said this is my favorite Rifftrax as of now for one of my favorite movies.
47 Jewels on Dec 11, 2008 at 10:57 am
Wow. So Matter Eater Guy eats rocks? Does he poop rocks?
Does Yellow Shirt have to scoop the poop-rocks?
Could Poop-Rocks be marketed as a delicious candy treat?
48 Scott Zee on Dec 11, 2008 at 10:57 am
I loved both Batman Begins and Dark Knight. I’m more than pleased there are creative forces out there willing to give Bat’s his due with some truly compelling tales.
On the other hand, my New Yorker combo from Domino’s had Bale on the XL box all decked out in his S&M themed wetsuit, stern and determined looking, whilst Aaron Eckhart looked-on in foiled anguish from my carton of chicken-kickers.
On that note I say,..
please by all means..riff-on
49 Darth Chimay on Dec 11, 2008 at 11:12 am
Honestly, I’d say Anthony Michael Hall was more tumescent.
I remember watching this in the theater as the Joker’s plot to get into jail unfold and thinking, “You know… this *might* be a bit silly.” I still loved the movie though.
50 Darth Chimay on Dec 11, 2008 at 11:14 am
I don’t know if that’s true. I can’t imagine riffing an Altman movie. Not because they’re all so good or anything; just because of the rhythm and chaos. It’d be hard to find a place to riff. Also, I don’t know if talking head documentaries can be riffed, though I am pondering doing an iRiff of Expelled, if I can bring myself to watch it again.
51 BoB3K on Dec 11, 2008 at 11:38 am
The biggest problem in riffing Expelled would be the pacing and variety, what with all the constant shouts of “LIAR!” and “MORON!”
52 Ben on Dec 11, 2008 at 12:19 pm
Or those awful garbage bowls of food that companies like KFC started offering. KFC must have been listening to my grandmother about mixing several different kinds of food into one mushy lump: “Honey, it all comes out the same hole.” (Not if you can’t keep it down, it doesn’t)
53 The Dark Knight on Dec 11, 2008 at 1:45 pm
All you degenerates at Rifftrax can jump up my butt!!
………..Okay, that’s a bit harsh……..sorry….been a rough year….Batmobile is having starting problems(again)…..just a bunch of stuff……….Again, Sorry.
54 euphoriafish on Dec 11, 2008 at 2:11 pm
Poop-Rocks are all well and good, but I’d rather see some Poop Corn like in the FBI Warning of Doom episode of Invader ZiM.
55 Ralph C. on Dec 11, 2008 at 2:13 pm
I didn’t like “The Dark Knight” movie. So much hype and, really, for all the money spent and the hours upon hours of writing and editing and shooting the film and editing that…. I thought it was pretty bad, and it was way too big of a film. If you are going to make this big of a film, please give me a good story and good characterization. “Superman Returns” falls in this category, too. “Spider-Man” was a big film and they found a way to get a good story and characterizations into it– and the sequel was just as good, if not better, to me.
I’m sure I am one of the few people on the planet who didn’t like this film. It can get lonely out here, in the cold… is that a vulture I see above me…. hello… is there anybody out there?
56 RemmieBarrow on Dec 11, 2008 at 2:49 pm
(let’s have a big metallic burp for… MATTER-EATER LAD!:)
I have always wondered something about Matter-Eater Lad…Is there any type of matter he will not eat?
57 William Benton on Dec 11, 2008 at 3:33 pm
The emporer has no clothes. “The Dark Knight” was not a good movie.
I can’t even read too much of what has been said here about this movie because…well, mainly, I can’t believe some simpletons would get so bent out of shape over the riffing of TDK.
C’MON! I bet most of you are adults, even. Amazing.
Anyways, I say with every bit of sincerity that can/could possibly be mustered that I think this movie sucked. It was bad. It was typical. It was fast and, mostly, thoughtless- it was vaguely entertaining on a very simplistic, two-dimensional level that is pretty much the standard for most commercial films and especially comic book movies.
This was typical fodder for an increasingly ADD culture.
Has the world of film changed at all because of this film?
No. Of course not. Aside from the monstrous amount of revenue that it generated and the inevitable cookie-cutter clones that will follow to tap into that market, this was not a monumental contribution to film as an artistic medium. It’s just a movie, based on characters that we already know, which made it a canned deal to begin with as there was/is little to no time spent on character development.
Heath Ledger WAS good in it. (OK, let’s not confuse “good” and “entertaining”…but I’d go as far as to say “good”.) So good that when he wasn’t on-screen there seemed to be a mad rush to get his ass back on the screen.
Caine and Oldman are great actors that are completely unremarkable in TDK. I don’t know if there is even room in a film like this to BE great.
But oh well. Ya’ gotta’ make the Jaguar payments somehow, eh?
I also find that any movie that has crucial scenes that revolve around or largely depend on cell phones/text messaging is LAME LAME LAME. (See also: “The Departed”)
I wonder how many of my good friends that enjoyed this movie (a great many) will sit down with their child one day and say “My dear son Slappy- I am going to show you a film that changed my life. It moved me in ways that I cannot explain. It opened up the sealed corridors of my mind that had previously been unexplored. It caused me to confront my own demons, to love humanity in a new and enlightened way that I believe could save the world if we all just stop and feel it together. Slappy, my dear boy, it is a proud and honorable day in my life that I can present to you, my firstborn, the cinematic masterpiece, ‘The Dark Knight Returns’….”
You’d be hard-pressed to tell your child that it even made you think. You could be brain dead and enjoy this film on the exact same level.
Of course I am being a bit harsh and exaggerating there but, the point is, can one honestly say that he/she will feel the same intense feelings about this movie in five years that are felt right now? I’m betting otherwise.
And you know what? All of that’s OK. I wasn’t expecting “Citizen Kane”; or “Citizens on Patrol”, for that matter.
I don’t wish to burn silly, overrated movies in Nazi fashion. I just don’t care.
What I DO care about is when thought-provoking, moving, and revolutionary films are bypassed as “elitist” or “pretentious” (”pretentious” is a word that, more and more, is the battle cry for morons).
I like some dumb shit, don’t get me wrong. I can watch “Road House” every day of my life probably (with or without Rifftrax) and be endlessly entertained. But I am not going to pretend for a minute that it is a great film. It’s bad. I still can’t believe grown men and women were involved in writing, performing, and filming in a collective to bring it into my home where other full-grown human beings would be able to associate them with it.
But I love it. It makes me laugh.
And TDK could do the same for a great many others. But, if someone was to ask me to show them a great movie that would genuinely move them; something that is a testament to the greatness of film, I’d reach far past “Road House” and likely try to turn them on to Cassavetes, “Taxi Driver”, “Citizen Kane”, or a great many others.
AND- I can make fun of all of those movies, too.
A’ight. I got all worked up there. Happy viewing and stop being such pansies.
Much love and respect to Rifftrax.
58 RemmieBarrow on Dec 11, 2008 at 4:10 pm
And for your info…I did enjoy this movie…eight times….but I will not dispute anyone’s right to riff any movie they want…it is a free country, after all.
59 ready4sumfootball on Dec 11, 2008 at 4:48 pm
“Poop-Rocks are all well and good, but I’d rather see some Poop Corn like in the FBI Warning of Doom episode of Invader ZiM.”
One of the few sentences where you can say both “poop” and “corn” together and I won’t be absolutely disgusted.
Even using “poop” and “rocks” together is pushing it a bit.
60 Melman on Dec 11, 2008 at 4:50 pm
Umm, I don’t know if you actually read any of the posts, but I didn’t see a single one saying it was a bad idea to riff the movie. So, um…yeah.
61 Ian on Dec 11, 2008 at 5:08 pm
Too bad you guys have to resort to these kinds of tracks to make any money. It seems the majority of RiffTrax users will only buy tracks to films they already own. The Happening was a fantastic riff with lots of great stuff but was apparently the worst seller in the last five. I do wish people were a little more willing to grab tracks for movies they don’t plan on owning once in a while.
62 ShutterBun on Dec 11, 2008 at 5:57 pm
“Don’t buy it” is a perfectly sensible way for an unhappy consumer to express their dislike of a particular product, and in the past was just about all anyone could do, short of a grass-roots letter writing campaign. But given that we now have this new-fangled series of tubes called The Internets, with not only a direct line of communication to the creators, but a (seemingly) genuine interest on their part in keeping their fans happy and swimming in bacon, shouldn’t we at least avail ourselves to its benefits?
Granted, there’s a difference between saying “meh…you guys should focus on more truly cheesy fare like Transformers, Road House, and Shoah” and getting all uppity and outraged, but still.
Something tells me Oliver Reed’s death wouldn’t have prevented “Gladiator” from being Riffed on, had the format existed back then.
63 ShutterBun on Dec 11, 2008 at 6:06 pm
Errr, isn’t the main mission statement of Rifftrax to riff on movies that are “likely to be in someone’s collection, or at least easily accessible”?
And yeah, while it does seem both intuitive (more popular movie= more people already own it) and counter-intuitive (didn’t this whole thing start with riffing on cheesy movies?) that lesser known movie riffs won’t sell as well, but honestly, what *would* make them sell better? And if not “The Happening,” what *should* have been the lowest seller of the last five riffs?
Obviously, fewer people are going to be willing to take a chance and buy a riff for a movie they haven’t yet seen.
64 ShutterBun on Dec 11, 2008 at 6:11 pm
To Melman: I think what Mr. Benton meant when he said “what’s been posted here” was more of a reference to the forums, or whatever the source of Bill’s original response was. Bill clearly indicated that there’s lots of outraged peeps out there who didn’t think this movie was appropriate riffing material, and Mr. Benton is simply saying that not only is it riffable, it doesn’t deserve the mountains of praise being heaped onto it by fans.
In short, if there weren’t plenty of people saying it was a bad idea to riff on the movie, Bill never woulda made this post in the first place.
65 Conor Lastowka on Dec 11, 2008 at 7:31 pm
One of my main questions about the movie was:
Harvey Dent – Gotham’s white knight. The one hope the city had to stand up to corruption. The public face of decency and hope. That guy. How did he earn his nickname of Two-Face at Internal Affairs? That moniker is only ever applied to someone who is backstabbing, can’t be trusted, says one thing and then does another. How are those two things reconciled? Did Harvey go to AA or Anger Management or get born again between Internal Affairs and the DAs office?
66 Enron Hubbard on Dec 11, 2008 at 7:58 pm
IA polices the police. How comfortable would you be around a coworker who you knew reported every little thing you said or did to your superior? How much would you feel that that person was “one of the guys”, even though he acted as if he were.
Even innocent people don’t like to be judged.
It takes real moral fibre to impartially weigh the actions of one’s fellow officers and not “cover up” their mistakes made in the service of justice. It is a job for the best of the best.
Post Script: All this hyeah controversy is merely karmic justice for Mike getting that stupid “Bing Bang” song stuck in the heads of grown men!
67 NanoRiffite on Dec 11, 2008 at 8:03 pm
In a completely different computer-chatting universe, one of my friends noted:
“3 million copies of _The Dark Knight_ were sold in the first day. “25-30 percent” were Blu-ray, so that’s around 750,000 or more. The previous one-day Blu-ray record was _Iron Man_, at 260,000 copies”
(Obviously that universe is much more interested in blu-ray sales than in taking movies too seriously)
In any case, let us imagine that just 1 out of every 1000 people thinks this movie would be more enjoyable if it was occasionally played along with a track of well-timed jokes. Seems to me that could be a big win for Rifftrax.
And the other 999 people can enjoy their DVD in peace, as no one is breaking into the factory and remastering the DVD’s to force you to listen to the riff track. Now it may be that you’re so infatuated with the movie that YOU are forcing someone to watch the movie who does not like the movie. And maybe they will respond by forcing you to listen to a riff track for it. Pardon me if I don’t feel sorry for anyone in that situation.
68 NanoRiffite on Dec 11, 2008 at 8:07 pm
Also note that we now have plenty of fine groups who are iRiff-ing a wide variety of movies. If you don’t like the latest official Rifftrax, you have plenty of other people you could support with the MASSIVE $4 you will save by not buying this rifftrax.
And they will love you for it. Birds will be singing. Cats and dogs will be living together in harmony. Isn’t that worth your $4?
69 MonkeyCheezPants on Dec 11, 2008 at 8:08 pm
Agreed. My favorite RiffTrax to date is for Raiders of the Lost Ark, which is a great movie. And I loved the Matrix Trilogy, and can’t wait for the RT on Revolutions.
70 NanoRiffite on Dec 11, 2008 at 8:09 pm
Was “The Happening” really the lowest seller? I thought that was a riot. Both the official Rifftrax and the QuipTracks version for it. Very enjoyable. A very high ratio of laughs per dollar spent.
71 MonkeyCheezPants on Dec 11, 2008 at 8:11 pm
What’s this? “Gladiator” is going to be riffed? A leather battle skirt must have something under it…
72 Scarlett on Dec 11, 2008 at 8:35 pm
Honestly, I think it would have been more of an insult had Rifftrax not riffed TDK. One of the reasons I’ve always enjoyed Rifftrax is that the jokes are based on the Riffers being observant, maybe too much at times, while the characters on the screen seem oblivious. To me, no riffing on TDK means that someone isn’t paying attention or doesn’t want to pay attention because they are too caught up in the notion of making the movie a shrine instead of just enjoying it for the sake of it.
It seems like the best kind of tribute is the one that keeps fans coming back to the actual film, finding the “good” even in the worst of scenes/plots by finding the humor. I just wanted to say thanks to Rifftrax for giving a new and hilarious life to a lot of the movies that had become more background noise than actual entertainment.
73 Kris on Dec 11, 2008 at 11:56 pm
I think you folks at Rifftrax are looking at it the wrong way. Create as much controversy as possible! It works for Burger King.
Next do a riff on Passion of the Christ.
74 Gracie on Dec 12, 2008 at 4:45 am
I totally agree with your views on whether or not a movie is “good” or “bad” and whether it deserves riffing or not. A friend of mine was disappointed that Rifftrax did Iron Man (she’s a total geek) and refused to purchase it…but when I showed her the clip, she laughed so hard I thought she was going to pee herself (”Can’t hear you…smiting!”) I think she assumed that Rifftrax was going to totally shoot it down to the ground and run it over with a car – when really you guys just made the obvious jokes, the ones that everyone notices while watching a good movie but afraid to say, known! Kudos for riffing great movies!
75 Fifty "Percent" Kreiger on Dec 12, 2008 at 6:08 am
Note: The Joker doesn’t brush his teeth because he is an agent of chaos.
76 Auntie Maim on Dec 12, 2008 at 8:32 am
Hey, DK, this is the bank. You’re still behind 2 payments and we’re coming up on your Dec. 20th payment. We need $1,385.48 to prevent this going out for repo. Please call Ms. Anderson to set up a check by phone ASAP.
77 Ric on Dec 12, 2008 at 10:01 am
Passion of the Christ sucked.
78 NanoRiffite on Dec 12, 2008 at 7:56 pm
We’ll need somebody SMART to fight his evil plans.
79 Enron Hubbard on Dec 12, 2008 at 8:09 pm
“Whoa, dude, you totally went there!”
80 R.A. Roth on Dec 13, 2008 at 1:19 pm
Please riff all the MST3Ks, Film Crews and Cinematic Titanics on DVD. I’m into meta, and metal, and metallurgy, but not Metallica after 1989.
Randy
81 MonkeyCheezPants on Dec 14, 2008 at 10:54 pm
A thought: A bad movie is an easy target. A good movie – that’s a challenge. A challenge requires creativity.
Which may be why some of my favorite RiffTraxes are for movies that I consider to be good movies.
82 Ric on Dec 17, 2008 at 1:31 pm
A bad movie may be an “easy target” but ask any one of the writers on staff when MST3k riffed Manos or Red Zone Cuba or Monster A-Go-Go or Fu Manchu and he or she will likely say that writing jokes for such bombs is quite difficult.
But I agree that good movies are harder to riff for. Which is one good reason the Dark Knight rifftrax was so terrible.
83 robin on Dec 18, 2008 at 5:33 pm
Hence the reason they made the Rifftrax….not for quality of riffs, but the money they could generate.
84 robin on Dec 22, 2008 at 3:37 am
Amen,
Not everything the guys put on MP3 is gold……most of it is, but not this one. TDK was as unfunny of a track as they have ever done. As far as the disrespectful part goes….yes it wass. This was Ledger’s last full length movie part of his life, which very well could land him an Oscar. I listen to the track and real felt you guys might as well have pissed on his grave.
85 Natureboy (Ken) on Feb 9, 2009 at 11:46 am
You are trying to find reason were there isn’t any. This trax was two and a half hours of really unfunny cracks. don’t get me wrong, I love almost all of the riffs these guys do (except X-Men), but this one was really bad. If I ever see Mike, Kevin or Bill, I want my 4.00 back for this one….I can’t promise that I will not be listening to this one again….I half time wasn’t even positive the actually watched the movie, just really off their game on this one.
86 フィンペシア on Oct 15, 2011 at 8:25 am
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