Joker

WhileJoker(directed by Todd Phillips and starring Joaquin Phoenix)is definitely its own picture , even someone who is n’t implausibly intimate with previous , classical cinema will instantly notice that it has a chip of an older feel , even though it hail out in 2019 . This is on purpose , as Phillips has mentioned in multiple interview .

Phillips wears his inspirations on his sleeve , as seen in the style of the cinematography to the fact thatJokeruses title card and a gravid " The last " aright before the screen door fades to black . But what specific movies was Phillips drawing from ? Here ’s a expression at some movies that had a paw in makingJokerwhat it is ( hint , there ’s a plenty of Scorcese ) .

The King Of Comedy (1982)

The King Of Comedyis perhaps the biggest influence onJoker , and Phillips can be quoted as saying so . Directed by Martin Scorcese andstarring Robert DeNiroas Rupert Pupkin , their fifth collaboration is a dark drollery   just likeJoker(in some ways ) , but the existent similarities amount with the patch .

Both film are about wannabe comedian who will do anything to get what they see as their 15 minutes of fame . InThe King Of Comedy , this work out fairly well … but only after Rupert abduct the host of his favorite talk of the town show . Rupert even   has delusion about the renown , suppose him to be a good acquaintance of his . DeNiro actually revisited this moving-picture show in an ironic reversal forJoker , where he now play the celebrity host who finds himself on the receiving end of a maniac ’s choler .

Taxi Driver (1976)

Taxi Driveris yet another Scorcese photographic film , starring Robert DeNiro . It followsa man mention Travis Bickle , who drives a cab , going about his days one after the other , until he begins to become obsessed with a girl he sees while driving , more so telling her they ’re go on a date than asking her .   He decides he ’s going to assassinate the presidential candidate she turn for , and also kill the procurer of a immature girl that he encounter .

Travis sees the earthly concern in what he ’d describe as a state of moral decay and consider himself as doing something dear , even though he becomes wild and meddles in matter he should n’t , only to be held up as a hero by guild in the end . Sound conversant ?

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Parts 1 & 2 (2012 & 2013)

Batman : The Dark Knight Returnsis a film adjustment ofFrank Miller’sThe Dark Knight Returns , a saturnine and gritty streak onBatmanthat number out in 1986 . This landmark graphic novel was one of the first times we saw a despoil - down   and maturate Batman , but what ’s more important here is the characterization of the Joker .

This was an influence onJoker , but   it ’s more obvious than just the director mentioning the comedian by name . Notably , The Dark Knight Returns , marks another clock time we ’ve examine Joker kill a television night show master of ceremonies . He manages to convince his orderly to let him out of Arkham and come out on the show , only to kill everyone on the Seth with gas and escape .

Serpico (1973)

This one makes sense mostly when you consider it in a stylistic Light Within since the plots are n’t immediately as similar as one might assume they should be . Serpicois a rich fibre field about a specific part of its subject ’s liveliness , Frank Serpico . Frank is based on a real person , and as such , the story can be much more grounded than something pulled out of thin air .

Phillips stated that when he went to go pitchJoker , he tell apart the execs that he ’d be doing a ' seventy part subject likeSerpico . essentially , Phillips anticipate to deliver aSerpicodressed up in laughable Quran clothes , and that ’s reasonably much what we ended up getting .

The Man Who Laughs (1928)

The human being Who Laughsisn’t just the inspiration for Joaquin Phoenix ’s Joker , but actually for the Joker as a character in ecumenical . This movie was the inspiration for both the figure and his personality , although there were other things tossed in the blender to get the character we have now .

It ’s a beautiful picture show , read a decidedly expressionistic visual style so much so that some have even classified it as horror , although it ’s usually bill as a romantic dramatic play ( yes , really ) . Conrad Veidt portray Gwynplaine , who could easily be mistaken   for a rather ghoulish live - action version of the DC Comics supervillain and not someone who in reality raven him .

Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

Some would reason that Phillips simply become for the comic book character so that he could have more resourcefulness   to make   his own ' 70s - styled fictional character field of study he longed for .   Even if that ’s true , that means we ’ve gotten one of the good live - activity depictions of the Joker as a result .

Dog Day Afternoonis yet another one of those character - drivencrime movies from the ' 70s , but this one contain a levelheaded dose of social commentary as well . This Al Pacino film provides   a expert guide for the economic issue facing tons of people around the world both then and now , in addition to a genial health crisis and the government ’s apathy towards it being linked to vehemence in the United States .

Modern Times (1936)

Modern Timesmight not seem like an obvious influence , but it most emphatically is . Phillips made certain to cite this Charlie Chaplin classic in a mass of audience regardingJokerbecause he felt like there was a healthy dose of Chaplin in his version of the character . Those intimate with both case will get that when liken the two .

Modern Timesmakes sense as an divine guidance since it explores theme like economic inequality and fiscal rigour , starringChaplin ’s Little Tramp role , doing his upright to exist the Great Depression of the ' thirty . Economic equivalence is also a aim force inJoker’sGotham City , where Arthur ’s   trauma inadvertently direct to a violent class uprising .

One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)

Arthur Fleck is pretty much what you get if Randle McMurphy fromOne Flew Over The twat ’s Nestwas allowed to ramble the streets rather than just being locked up in an asylum for most of his adult aliveness .

Arthur is n’t even in reality trying to create all of the political pandemonium around him ; he ’s just drift through lifetime in his own slight world , a humanity that would be much sound for him and people like him if mental wellness services were destigmatized and received adequate funding . This is another film that Phillips used while he was pitching his film to Warner Brothers .

The Dark Knight (2008)

This lean would n’t be complete withoutChristopher Nolan’sThe Dark Knight , where Heath Ledger pretty much set the gold monetary standard for anyone who would dare attempt following up his functioning of The Joker . There ’s been a lot of talk about how Joaquin might have done it well than Heath , but you really ca n’t compare the approaches since they ’re so exclusively dissimilar .

That being pronounce , one could imagine aBatmanuniverse whereJokeris a prequel to the depiction of the character inThe Dark Knight , given the nihilistic view of club that both psychotic clown contribution .

Fight Club (1999)

Fight Club –based on the book   by Chuck Palahniuk , directed by David Fincher , and starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton – is every problematical guy wire ’s favorite movie , despite it condemning the very toxic masculinity it place in the glare .

It tell the report of a valet with a mental disorderliness ( specifically Disassociative Identity Disorder ) and Tyler Durden , his genuine virile top executive fantasy . He ’s finally driven by Tyler to take control of his own life and really do something rather of putting up with everything . Of naturally , this means blowing up credit rating poster party ' offices . He ends up starting an anti - embodied anarchist trend without even knowing it , just like Arthur Fleck does .

NEXT : Batman : 10 Major Things That Make Jack Nicholson ’s Joker Unique

Joker Movie Poster

Joker Inspirations

Robert DeNiro in The King Of Comedy, on stage receiving praise.

Travis Bickle sitting in his Taxi.

The Joker on the set of a late-night talk show.

Al Pacino as Serpico

Conrad Veidt, the biggest inspiration for The Joker’s character

Al Pacino in the precinct with people behind him.

Charlie Chaplin laying across the gears of a clock

A room at an asylum full of mental patients.

Heath Ledger as The Joker leaning out of a car window.

A headshot of Brad Pitt as Tyler Durden in a red suit.

Movies

Joker