10 Best Joker Movie Moments
5. The Museum (Batman 1989)
Jack Nicholson's Joker brought us an infinite stream of memorable quotes, but this one, and the action that follows, all but top the lot.
The museum scene in Tim Burton's 1989 take on the Clown Prince of Crime is so oddball that it's something we'll probably never see on-screen again - certainly not in this age of dark and gritty comic-book adaptations. The Joker and his gang, boombox in hand, wander around a city museum, blasting out a classic Prince tune and splashing Joker-style paint across dozens of expensive works of art.
This is anarchy embodied.
The way Jack Nicholson plays this scene - like a toddler who's been let loose with a crayon - is enough to keep things light, but you never get the sense that he's not in control, and that he doesn't have a purpose. He's still commanding his goons, and as the scene later reveals, he's here for a reason - and it's this combination of unpredictability and power that makes this a defining Joker moment.