Comparison of Heath's two roles: Brokeback Mountain and The Dark Knight....

[THE WINGS]

After next Friday night: July 18th, I was hoping to get everyone's thoughts on the two roles.
So far, from the trailers I have seen, I would think that BOTH roles are just as deep, albeit totally different.  I would appreciate everyone's observations....

Thanks, THE WINGS

[optom3]

After next Friday night: July 18th, I was hoping to get everyone's thoughts on the two roles.
So far, from the trailers I have seen, I would think that BOTH roles are just as deep, albeit totally different.  I would appreciate everyone's observations....

Thanks, THE WINGS

O.K the males in my house saw it first and I went later last night, having been convinced by the boys that I would not spend half the film peeking between my fingers.
The 2 roles are so different it is so difficult to compare.In my opinion BBM was better ,simply because for me it was the better film.Heaths' acting in both is incredible.I completely forgot it was the joker. and not Heath, in TDK.
I personally would have thought the more difficult role had th have been Ennis as he has next to no props  to hide behind.The voice and posture in both roles seems to be key to him finding and inhabiting the character.
In both roles Heath no longer exists. He truly does become the character he is playing.For me that contrast was more obvious in TDK as Christian as batman still seems like Christian. Heath as the joker, is the joker.
I believe honestly that BBM and Ennis will be discussed for years. I believe the joker will be discussed for years, but not TDK.
I also feel that Heath had a lot of fun playing the joker, I am not sure t is a word he would use to describe playing the part of Ennis.
What I can say is that we have lost a truly incredible actor, who I think had only just started to scratch the surface of his potential.The thought of so many wonderful performances we will never see is very hard to bear
It is also sad beyond words that Matilda has lost her father and will never see for herself the high esteem he was held in, by both ans and critics alike.

[RebelWithASmile]

that was very good optom3

I agree that his Performance in Brokeback is the better one, but heath Ledger is no longer Ennis, and will for now on be known as the Joker from TDK. People hyped this up so much, i loved his performance, but i felt the movie wasn't a 'masterpiece' as everyone else was saying. The batman fans will protect his performance no matter what, because for some, this was their awakening to Heath Ledger. its a shame, they couldn't open their hearts to Brokeback (as we know the blunt dislike of that movie for various reasons).

I'm hoping for an Oscar nod, but not a win. I think the Academy will feel too pressured to not nominate him. I recall a time in the 30s when Bette Davis was not nominated for a popular film that she was in and SO MANY PEOPLE complained that the Oscars had her as a write in on the ballot.

70 years later, and much more interest because its BATMAN, i could see heath taking home gold, though for all the wrong reasons.


i know this was a tad off topic, but there you go

[optom3]

I am hoping somewhat optimistically perhaps, that those who saw is phenomenal performance on TDK ,might just might cast off their prejudices and give BBM a try.
Then they will start to have an inkling of what we have lost.It is hard to imagine 2 more diferent roles.Enis full of love that he keeps mainly bottled up.The joker full of psychopathic hate, that he barely contains at all.

[loneleeb3]

I saw the movie last night and  was so sad.
I guess I went hoping to see a glimpse of Ennis Del Mar or even Heath. Either was to be found.
What I saw was a pschopathic lunatic. I have to say he played the part fantastically.
He should get an oscar but this, as we all know, should be his second!
It was hard watching for me. There are no comparisons between Heath, Ennis and the Joker.

[Brown Eyes]

I don't see much to compare where it comes to Ennis and the Joker particularly.  But, since both characters were manifested by the same actor, it is an interesting question when it comes to acting technique and strategies I think.

Spoiler-ish ***

What I'm really here to ask about is whether or not folks think there was a veiled reference to BBM in TDK.  I'm thinking specifically of the scene where the Joker jumps into the semi-truck and the driver has a cowboy hat on.  I recall Lee and I discussing the fact that in that moment, Heath is sitting in essentially the same place as he was in the opening moments of BBM where he's riding in the passenger seat of the semi as Ennis.  And, obviously the cowboy hat itself on the driver immediately evokes BBM especially with Heath Ledger in the same scene.

I think filmmakers like to make "inside jokes" about the directors or the actors, etc., and of course usually in a fun/ gentle ribbing kind of way.  I'm thinking of specific examples of this kind of thing in BBM, where Jack's reference to the "big ice storm" seems to be a direct reference to Ang Lee and the Jolly Green Giant in the grocery store may also be a goofy, veiled reference to Ang Lee's Hulk.

[KristinDaBomb]

I love both movies, but I really can't compare the two. Brokeback will always have a special place in my heart. And TDK was special to me too because it had Heath, and was filmed in my hometown, Chicago. I haven't been there in so long, so that made the movie nostalgic for me.