The Dark Knight: 30 Breathtaking Behind-The-Scenes Photos

A decade on and still the greatest.

Dark Knight Behind The Scenes Clown Mask
Warner Bros.

18th July 2008, Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight reignited the world's love of Batman. After a great rebirth with Batman Begins, the director continued his stripped back yet considerate adaptation of Gotham's caped crusader by releasing the greatest comic book movie of all time.

That The Dark Knight was far removed from other more pulpy offerings in the same genre in no way discounts it from standing side by side with other superhero movies either. All Nolan did was put a more real-world spin on it without betraying the characters and the result was a grown-up, action-heavy opus that was gritty well before other directors misappropriated and abused the term.

At its heart, The Dark Knight succeeded because of three performances predominantly: of Christian Bale, of Aaron Eckhart and, of course, of Heath Ledger. But while it's all too easy to be swept away by the almost perversely romanticised tragedy of Ledger's own personal story, The Dark Knight is a triumph because of all of its parts and because of its production.

Let's peel back some of the magic and look behind-the-scenes at Nolan's epic...

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