The Man Who Laughs 1928
The Conrad Veidt silent film Bill Finger and Bob Kane cite as the source; Gwynplaine's permanent grin is the visual template for the Joker.
The Big Picture · Discussion · Review · Interview
A 'Joker' Deep Dive (SPOILERS) | The Big Picture
October 4, 2019/ 110 min/ Sean Fennessey · Jason Concepcion
Sean Fennessey and Jason Concepcion trace the Joker from Batman #1 through the movies, then dig into Todd Phillips's film. Plus: Sean talks Lucy in the Sky with writer-director Noah Hawley.
8 films across 3 segments.
AI-generated This episode was transcribed and analyzed with AI models. The matches aren't perfect — expect the occasional misheard title or a link to the wrong film.
The Joker on screen, before Phillips80 years of the character, four movie versions
Batman 1989
Jack Nicholson plays to the rafters; Burton's version retcons the Joker as the man who shot Bruce Wayne's parents, an early fanboy-canon flashpoint.
Batman Returns 1992
Cited alongside the first as a strange, goofy cultural document, nothing like the later Marvel house style.
Batman Begins 2005
The Nolan reboot, a hit whose success set up the anticipation for its sequel.
The Dark Knight 2008
Heath Ledger's Joker, an unreliable narrator with no origin, reset the template and changed how the comics drew him too.
Suicide Squad 2016
Jared Leto's muscular, tattooed Joker; a bungled, over-vain take with too many trace elements of Ledger to work.
'Joker'spoilers throughout
Joker 2019
Todd Phillips's Travis Bickle riff, Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck. The hosts call it compelling and troubling, the truest screen version of the Joker as mentally ill, and a Trojan-horse 70s character study that only turns comic-book in its final act.
In conversation
Noah Hawley on
Lucy in the Sky 2019
Hawley's feature debut, a fictionalized magic-realism riff on the Lisa Nowak astronaut story with Natalie Portman, built around a shifting aspect ratio.
Also mentioned raised along the way
The 'Joker' touchstones Taxi DriverThe King of ComedyJoeNetworkI'm Still HerePsychoZorro, The Gay Blade
The R-rated superhero wave LoganDeadpoolThe Wild BunchAvengers: EndgameAvengers: Infinity WarBlack PantherAquamanIron ManDie Hard
Hawley's references The Right StuffGravityThe Great BeautyYouthI, Tonya
Not films filtered out: TV, games, ads
TV FargoLegionBatman (1966 series)Batman: The Animated SeriesThe BoysBreaking BadThe UnusualsMy GenerationNBA DesktopEscape at Dannemora
Podcasts Sonic BoomBinge ModeThe Rewatchables
Games Batman: Arkham series
Ads MasterClassLuminary