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'I Read It In His Draft': Christopher Nolan Once Revealed He Didn't Understand THIS Iconic Line From The Dark Knight
Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Trilogy is one of the most critically acclaimed film series. However, the director did not understand an iconic quote from his own movie when he first read it.
The Dark Knight Trilogy by Christopher Nolan, which consists of Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises is probably one of the most famous and critically acclaimed movie series of all time. Naturally, it also has a horde of really great quotes that people still use from time to time.
A lot of these quotes are originally said by Joker (Heath Ledger) in the movies. However, probably the most iconic quote in the movie trilogy, which has been immortalized as one of the best quotes of all time was said by the character Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) and later by Batman (Christian Bale). However, Christopher Nolan himself said that he did not understand this line when he first read it.
This quote from The Dark Knight remains forever iconic
The 2008 movie The Dark Knight, which was the second film in the series is a fan-favorite. In the film, Harvey Dent delivers probably one of the most iconic quotes of all time which is, “You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” Bruce Wayne also repeats this quote later in the movie. Immortalized because of the philosophy behind it, the line is arguably one of the greatest superhero movie quotes of all time.
In the movie, the line is first delivered by Harvey Dent during a double date with his girlfriend Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal), Bruce Wayne, and his current girlfriend ballerina Natascha (Beatrice Rosen).
During the date, Natascha talks about how celebrating Batman as a vigilante hero can be a mistake. Bruce himself agrees with her to further detach himself from his Batman persona.
However, Harvey argues with her in favor of Batman and starts to praise him for battling the rampant corruption and crime of the city. He said that Batman’s method was similar to a practice in the Roman Empire where one general would be appointed to have absolute authority over a country in times of dire need.
However, Rachel counters this by saying that the last person to be appointed was Caesar, who refused to give up his power. That is when Harvey Dent delivered what is known as the “die a hero” line, which proved to be true for his and Bruce’s life down the line.
When Harvey Dent later became a supervillain known as Two-Face, Bruce later took the blame for all his actions onto his own persona Batman. This, although protected Harvey’s image, made Batman a villain in the eyes of the very people he fought so hard to protect.
Christopher Nolan did not under the line when he first read it
The director of the Batman Trilogy, Christopher Nolan himself first did not understand what this line meant. The quote was actually written by his brother Jonathan Nolan who served as his co-writer in the film.
During a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Christopher Nolan opened up about the significance of the line saying that they were, “looking for something that would distill the tragedy of Harvey Dent, but also apply to Batman.” He also said that he was inspired by characters from Greek Tragedies while writing and planning the movies.
In another interview during his recent Oscar-winning movie Oppenheimer’s promotion, the director jokingly told Deadline that he has always been plagued by the “die a hero” quote. “It kills me because it’s the line that most resonates. And at the time I didn’t even understand it,” Nolan said.
He also further explained that when he read the line in his brother’s drafts, he agreed to keep the line in the movie but said that he did not know what it meant or whether it was an actual thing. But he also said that in the years after the movie had come out, the quote has only gotten truer.
The “die a hero” quote has certainly become one of the most relevant and used quotes of all time after the film’s 2008 release. Not only does it perfectly encapsulate and foreshadow Batman’s fall from grace in the eyes of the people but also proves how easy it is to divert the attention of the people to go from positive to negative if a character is enigmatic and popular.
In the end, the vigilante hero debate still remains prevalent, making us question whether one person having a lot of power can ever be a good thing.
ALSO READ: 'That's Been Tremendous Fun': Christopher Nolan Recalls Changes In His Early Career Plans
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