Joker : One Bad Day

[Wakeupkeo]

Disclaimer: this edit is probably for a VERY small audience. *Not comic-accurate!*

Bad Movies Made Less Bad Presents:

• A Joker-centric retelling of The Killing Joke rescored with the haunting cello soundtrack of the 2019 Joker movie.

Blueyoda made an incredibly accurate-to-the-comic edit of the terrible theatrical release of Batman : The Killing Joke. For me though, it still didn't capture the darkness I felt when I originally read the comic, lingering on each page to soak it all in, before I moved to the next daunting page. As much as this was about Batman and Joker coming to terms with their similar motivations to become who they are, this was always more of a Joker story, with Batman reacting to it.

So, without the restrictions of comic accuracy since its been done so well already, I set about to deconstruct what made the comic great, and rebuild a short story that kept the spirit of the comic. In this edit, I have

• Removed most of the original score and replaced it with much of the haunting Joker (2019) Original Motion Picture Soundtrack album by Hildur Guðnadóttir
• Where possible Batman speaks less and is more stoic
• Some camera shots are extended for tone and a slower pace.
• Overall dialogue has been adjusted throughout for a more "cinematic" feel, disregarding comic accuracy.
• Joker's stage song is mostly removed
• Circus thugs attacking Batman remain, as it seems in character for Joker to "soften him up a bit" before he goes one-on-one with Batman.
• Batman doesn't kill Joker at the end.

Again, this edit is probably for a VERY small audience because of a couple of these choices. Still clocking in at a brisk 35min though.

Here is a sample, I plan on releasing sometime in December!

 

[lantern51]

This could be interesting. I'm a big fan of the book, but this idea FEELS like this could be a good edit. You have some major skills based on what I've seen in your other edits, so it would be worth checking out.

 

[Wakeupkeo]

Thank you to @Dwight Fry for the initial motivation to pursue this edit, and a big thank you to @blueyoda for a great and detailed review and audit, with many great and detailed notes, and more motivation to keep working on this edit!

Here's a new teaser trailer!

 

[Wakeupkeo]

Finally releasing this weekend!

Change list:

• New intro logos
• All scenes before Batman's arrival at Arkham scene removed. Movie begins with puddle that Batman steps in, extended.
• Cuts to Batman entering Arkham.
• Removal of walk through front desk office of Arkham.
• Removal of Batman lines until he talks to Joker, FK to reanimate his face for no talking.
• Foley added for Joker cell door entrance
• Most of Batman dialogue with Joker edited for cinematic feel.
• Joker face in his cell mostly removed to be in the shadows
• New intro music added.
• Gordon dialogue edited.
• Joker and Jeanie scene edited for dialogue, new rain sounds and background music added.
• New music added to Joker and carnival owner, their interaction edited. Shot extended in transition to Batman's cave.
• Batman's cave scene edited to remove all Batman's lines, Alfred interaction removed completely.
• Barbara assault scene heavily edited and rescored.
• Joker in bar with mobsters scene edited for clarity and cinematic feel.
• New scoring added from bar scene to Gordon naked.
• Barbara in hospital scene edited for cinematic effect
• Gordon and Joker dialogue edited
• Joker, mobster and cops in bar scene edited and rescored
• Batman at gambling hall edited for no dialogue
• Gordon on trial removed, Joker stage song removed, carnival ride sequence rescored and edited for Joker singing while Gordon is forced to look at Barbara naked (extent of assault on Barbara left vague)
• Batman in alley edited for no lines from Batman, and Poster blood FX changed to not look like the same mugshot Batman is holding
• No dialogue with hookers under the bridge
• End of Gordon's carnie ride edited and rescored
• Joker and mobsters at chemical factory rescored
• Batman removed from flashback at chemical factory, Joker just has his own bad luck without Batman involved. (Batman being a factor to Joker's creation seemed always seemed a little odd to me personally, but that was more for Batman's side of Killing Joke's story - that Batman has that guilt. But as a more Joker POV, it "felt" more tragic to me if Joker was truly "unlucky" that day, and ultimately leaving the "who came first" question more vague.)
• Fight with carnies heavily edited and rescored, with new foley. (I kept the carnie fight as it seems in character for Joker to soften Batman up before going hand to hand with him.)
• Gordon in the cage edited for pupils dilation.
• Little people in the funhouse attacking Batman removed.
• Joker and Batman fight rescored.
• Joker and batman dialogue in rain edited for pacing.
• Police lights added and shot of Joker and Batman tracking down to the puddle slowed down. New credits added and scrolling credits rescored.
• Batman doesn't kill Joker in the end. He BARELY chuckles.
  • But for me, that is the actual "Joke that Kills" from the comic. In the comic, the point that Joker pulls the trigger, only to find out that its a toy gun, it the major climactic moment. Joker tried to kill Batman, only to fail again (after his attempt to drive Gordon mad.) But then, he tells a joke and actually gets Batman to laugh. From Joker's perspective, he "kills" with a joke. Its actually why I subscribe to the "Batman didn't kill Joker" philosophy in the comic: many people say that the title "The Killing Joke" refers to Joker telling the Joke and Batman killing him, however I have had this different view. Joker always lived in The Killing Joke and died in TDKR.

Also, just another shoutout to @dwightfry, @Zarius, and especially @blueyoda for amazing feedback, consulting and patience from great editors that know the source material extremely well, often with different POVs of the source comic.

 

[Dwight Fry]

• But for me, that is the actual "Joke that Kills" from the comic. In the comic, the point that Joker pulls the trigger, only to find out that its a toy gun, it the major climactic moment. Joker tried to kill Batman, only to fail again (after his attempt to drive Gordon mad.) But then, he tells a joke and actually gets Batman to laugh. From Joker's perspective, he "kills" with a joke. Its actually why I subscribe to the "Batman didn't kill Joker" philosophy in the comic: many people say that the title "The Killing Joke" refers to Joker telling the Joke and Batman killing him, however I have had this different view. Joker always lived in The Killing Joke and died in TDKR.

That's the brilliance of the end of the graphic novel: it allows for so many different interpretations, and all of them are valid. As I see it, I agree that Batman definitely does NOT kill Joker. It's a case of Joker, motivated by Batman's "pep talk", slipping back to his earlier stand-up comedian persona (even arguably going sane for a second), and the reason for Batman's laughter is a response to that, either because comedian Joker finally found an audience that does appreciate his jokes and the clever irony of this particular one (the two inmates are clearly meant to be Batman and Joker, but who is who?), or because (and I tend to go with this one) he's such a terrible comedian that Batman can't help but laugh nervously at his awkwardness. Of course, the movie's flat reading allows for no other interpretation than face value, which is one of the many reasons it's terrible...

Thanks for the shout-out! It's been my pleasure.

 

[Wakeupkeo]

(the two inmates are clearly meant to be Batman and Joker, but who is who?)

Agreed about the brilliance of the ending. I personally always read it as Batman is the one "offering the flashlight bridge."

 

[Dwight Fry]

Agreed about the brilliance of the ending. I personally always read it as Batman is the one "offering the flashlight bridge."

Either that or Joker is telling Batman "no point in trying to rehabilitate me, nothing would work and you would never trust me". We'll never know for sure.

 

[Wakeupkeo]

I appreciate @BasedMan2022 taking the time to watch and be the first to review this edit, and am so sorry that they had a bad audio experience. I put a ton of time in specifically on quality sound design in this edit, and I really apologize since I pride myself so much on quality. This is the first I have heard of the “tin sounding “ response from any one of the many respected editors who previewed it, but that does not mean this reviewer is wrong. I have already politely reached out to find out if they watched on headphones or 5.1 surround sound, or another method. I reviewed on both outputs, but I will try to match their setup for review and may pull the edit back for more work if I can duplicate what they are hearing.

After this first review, I reached out to @DigModiFicaTion to see if they would give me a baseline check of whether the edit needs to be pulled. Luckily, they instead had a pleasant audio experience as well, and only suggested maybe some EQ-ing at both ends of the vocal removed file to soften those edges and help them sit in the mix a bit better, which I am going to do.

And I definitely appreciate the review from @Dwight Fry as well, and after still questioning myself whether I should pull the edit, their review along with assurances from a few other viewers, I have decided to keep if up while I work this week on the additional audio fixes.

Thank you all for taking time to look, and I promise this edit will be of a high enough quality for this community, or I will not keep it listed. I pride myself on a very high quality result and appreciate all valid and constructive feedback.

 

[Wakeupkeo]

Thank you @Zarius for the extremely kind review, I am honored by it! "Love letter to the core ethos of the Joker and his twisted nature." Love that quote!
And thank you to @DirtyCop1036 for their review as well!

Deep into audio work, I am so committed to getting the dialogue sounding even more full.

 

[Wakeupkeo]

New version with audio fixed a ton - no AI adjusted dialogue, only original now. I have not heard back yet from @BasedMan2022 about their specific issues, but I have sent a link to them to see if this resolves their audio issues. If so, it will become the official version.

And thank you @tankrl for taking the time to leave a review, I really appreciate it!!

 

[Wakeupkeo]

Thank you @yoshif8tures for the kind and hilarious review!

 

[Wakeupkeo]

Thank you @blueyoda for the amazing review!!! And congrats on the FEOTY nom!