• TITLE: The Dark Knight
• DIRECTOR: Christopher Nolan
• SCREENPLAY: Jonathan Nolan & Christopher Nolan
• STORY: David S. Goyer & Christopher Nolan
• TIME: 2 hours 24 minutes (144 minutes)

ACT 1

SEQUENCE ONE

• 00:00:00 - 00:06:23 - Bank Heist
• 00:06:23 - 00:07:23 - Montage / Mayor interview / Commisioner waiting
• 00:07:23 - 00:10:35 - Fake Batmans in the parking lot
• 00:10:35 - 00:11:35 - Batman gets intel from Gordon
• 00:11:35 - 00:11:50 - Alfred brings breakfast to empty bed
• 00:11:50 - 00:13:53 - Alfred goes to secret underground lair (PREMISE: You don’t spy on me do you? Know your limits).
• 00:13:53 - 00:15:35 - Dent is late. Dent cross examines/ almost gets shot.
• 00:15:35 - 00:16:02 - Rachel and Dent walk hallway
• 00:16:02 - 00:17:34 - Gordon gets warrants from Dent

SEQUENCE TWO

• 00:17:34 - 00:19:20 - Wayne Boardroom / Lau JV falls through / Wayne requests new suit from Fox
• 00:19:20 - 00:21:40 - Wayne double date with Dent/Rachel to test his trust.
• 00:21:40 - 00:26:10 - Lau moves money/ Joker appears/ offers to kill Batman for half
• 00:26:10 - 00:27:15 - Dent meets Batman. He wants Batman to get Lau back.

SEQUENCE THREE

• 00:27:15 - 00:29:35 - Fox and Alfred arm and prep Batman for Hong Kong trip/ Ballet cancelled/ cruise of ballet troupe
• 00:29:35 - 00:31:43 - Joker kills Gambol
• 00:31:43 - 00:34:00 - Fox stops deal with Lau/ plants cell phone
• 00:34:00 - 00:37:49 - Batman kidnaps Lau

ACT 2A

SEQUENCE FOUR

• 00:37:49 - 00:39:35 - Lau negotiates with Rachel
• 00:39:35 - 00:40:41 - Arrest all crime lords/ funny hearing
• 00:40:41 - 00:42:07 - Mayor don’t like it/ but accepts it / explains stakes for Dent / Scary hung Joker in Batman face slams into window
• 00:42:07 - 00:43:35 - Wayne and Alfred watch Joker’s video threat of killing people everyday until he turns himself in
• 00:43:35 - 00:46:18 - Fundraiser for Dent / Wayne endorses him. Rachel chastizes him. (Hero with a face)
• 00:46:18 - 00:49:09 - DNA found on Joker card reveals Commisioner/ Judge and DA. (Targets)/ MCU preps them. They die.

SEQUENCE FIVE

• 00:49:09 - 00:53:20 - Joker crashes the fundraiser.
• 00:53:20 - 00:53:50 - Dent tells Lau to get moving
• 00:53:50 - 00:55:18 - Alfred tells Burma story “some men just want to watch the world burn”
• 00:55:18 - 00:56:48 - “Harvey” “Dent” body on Eighth and Orchard (Mayor is next target)
• 00:56:48 - 00:57:17 - CSI the bullet found in apartment wall
• 00:57:17 - 00:58:47 - Numbers guy threatens Fox with blueprints and “cell phone plan for Army”

SEQUENCE SIX

• 00:58:47 - 1:00:54 - Fox figures out contract is real/ police funderal for Commissioner Loeb/ fingerprint ID/ Wayne goes to 1502
• 1:00:54 - 1:03:19 - Attack on Mayor / 8 honor guard were sabotaged / Gordon “dead”
• 1:03:19 - 1:03:59 - Gordon’s family told of death / Bat light switched off
• 1:03:59 - 1:04:37 - Batman beats thugs in club
• 1:04:37 - 1:05:38 - Dent warns Rachel to leave/ tears tape off honor guard
• 1:05:38 - 1:06:31 - Batman interrogates Sally
• 1:06:31 - 1:08:22 - Dent interrogates honor guard/ Batman stops him/ tells him to hold press conference
• 1:08:22 - 1:09:36 - Wayne has sad talk with Rachel
• 1:09:36 - 1:10:49 - Wayne has closing talk with Alfred
• 1:10:49 - 1:13:23 - Press conference/ Dent claims to be Batman/ Rachel is confused
• 1:13:23 - 1:14:24 - Rachel visit Dent/ warns him this bait trap won’t work.

ACT 2B

SEQUENCE SEVEN

• 1:14:24 - 1:23:00 - Chase through lower Fifth tunnel/ Batmobile self/destruct/ Batcycle flips Joker’s truck/ charge each other
• 1:23:00 - 1:23:30 - Dent gets in suspicious car away from crime scene
• 1:23:30 - 1:24:37 - Mayor greets Gordon back from dead… in front of jailed Joker

SEQUENCE EIGHT

• 1:24:37 - 1:25:36 - Gordon sees wife/ gets slapped/ inmate acts sick/ Gordon checks in on son
• 1:25:36 - 1:27:14 - Gordon interrogates Joker / stakes are set for Dent’s disappearance
• 1:27:14 - 1:30:48 - Batman interrogates Joker / Joker shares worldview / Joker reveals location of Dent and Rachel
• 1:30:48 - 1:31:19 - Dent wakes up to Rachel screaming into phone
• 1:31:19 - 1:31:26 - Batman races through lower Fifth tunnel

SEQUENCE NINE

• 1:31:26 - 1:33:00 - Joker taunts guard/ inmate falls down/ Rachel and Dent talk/ Dent knocks over drum barrel
• 1:33:00 - 1:34:05 - Gordon races to 250 52nd st./ Joker talks about knives (more taunting)/ inmate gets checked
• 1:34:05 - 1:35:03 - More Batman on cycle/ Joker has cop hostage/ Rachel panics/ Joker calls/ inmate explodes
• 1:35:03 - 1:36:14 - Gordon and Batman arrive/ Batman saves Dent/ Rachel dies
• 1:36:14 - 1:36:28 - Joker meets Lau
• 1:36:28 - 1:36:58 - Gordon realizes Joker planned to be locked at MCU/ Joker drives policecar like dog/ scenes of firemen
• 1:36:58 - 1:37:57 - Alfred reads Rachel’s letter VO’d over destruction/ dent in hospital/ Batman playing with coin
• 1:37:57 - 1:39:20 - Alfred gives Batman pep talk/ takes Rachel’s letter/ reveals Burma criminal’s death
• 1:39:20 - 1:39:57 - Dent wake up/ finds coin/ mourns for Rachel
• 1:39:57 - 1:40:11 - Alfred sees newscast of M&A lawyer threatening to reveal true identity of Batman

ACT 3

SEQUENCE TEN

• 1:40:11 - 1:41:47 - Gordon visits Dent/ Dent makes him call him Two Face
• 1:41:47 - 1:42:05 - Sal tells Gordon where Joker will be
• 1:42:05 - 1:45:00 - Cut scenes b/w Gordon getting men ready/ Joker burning cash/ Newscast of M&A lawyer/ Joker threatens Reese
• 1:45:00 - 1:47:16 - Cut scenes b/w Wayne in Lamborghini/ Gordon protecting Reese/ Hospital Evacs. Joker kills cop.
• 1:47:16 - 1:48:59 - Joker visits Dent and talks about “Plans/ Schemers/ Control”
• 1:48:59 - 1:51:25 - Cut scenes b/w Gordon talks to Berg/ Joker/Dent/ Wayne in Lambourghini (shots go off)
• 1:51:25 - 1:52:54 - Gordon talks to Wayne/ Joker blows up the hospital
• 1:52:54 - 1:54:14 - They discover missing bus/ Joker makes Engel read newscast threatening bridges/tunnels (break in at Wayne R&D)

SEQUENCE ELEVEN

• 1:54:14 - 1:55:45 - Two Face kills Wertze
• 1:55:45 - 1:57:03 - Batman reveals sonar spying to Lucius of all 30MM Gotham cell phones
• 1:57:03 - 1:57:48 - Gordon talks about ferries and Dent’s disappearance with Mayor
• 1:57:48 - 1:59:19 - Sal gets in car/ sees Two Face/ forces him to reveal Ramirez/ Two Face kills driver
• 1:59:19 - 2:02:50 - The two ferries set off (one with prisoners/ one with civilians)/ Lucius tracks Joker/ Joker announces rules
• 2:02:50 - 2:03:36 - Two Face makes Ramirez call Barbara Gordon
• 2:03:36 - 2:05:00 - Civilian boat votes/ Prisoner boat riots/ Gordon surrounds Prewitt building/ Batman leaps in
• 2:05:00 - 2:07:32 - Gordon gets a call from Dent/ Batman stops SWAT from killing civilian in clown costumes with Lucius’ help
• 2:07:32 - 2:09:09 - Batman deals with more SWATS and a big group of clowns/ the civvie boat votes “for” but can’t do it.
• 2:09:09 - 2:09:52 - Joker sets dogs on Batman/ beats him with a lead pipe.
• 2:09:52 - 2:10:45 - Big black prisoner gets up to take detonator/ some slimey lawyer type picks up detonator
• 2:10:45 - 2:11:12 - Batman and Joker fight
• 2:11:12 - 2:11:45 - Big black prisoner throws detonator out the window
• 2:11:45 - 2:15:22 - Both boats surprised/ Joker thrown out of building/ Batman catches him. Joker talks about breaking Gotham’s soul.

SEQUENCE TWELVE

• 2:15:22 - 2:20:28 - Dent threatens Gordon’s family/ monologue about “fair”/ flips coins for Batman/ himself/ Gordon/ Batman pushes him
• 2:20:28 - 2:22:27 - Gordon and Batman plot to set Batman up for all of Dent’s crimes.
• 2:22:27 - 2:24:28 - Funeral/ Destroy Batlight/ Alfred burns Rache’s letter/ Lucius punches in password/ Final Monologue

THOUGHTS

• Every scene is tight and flows from one to another in a hurried pace. As soon as one scene ends, you’re setting up for the next action.
• There’s a lot (A LOT) of smash cutting between three scenes during several sequences In other words, three scenes are moving concurrently and in parallel, causing tension, urgency and collisions.
• When it does take time to take a breather – it’s this constant uncertainty with what’s about to happen.
• Most scenes are 30 seconds to a minute long. It’s JUST enough to get the story across so we can move on.