Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy has been ruling the world of superhero flicks ever since Batman Begins took off in 2005. Exploring a darker, more realistic version of not just Bruce Wayne in particular, but the prospect of a superhero in general, the blockbuster film series is perhaps one of the most grounded and memorable iterations of the Batman saga.
Despite the gritty action sequences and violence portrayed in the films, however, Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy received the same PG-13 rating that the majority of his projects have. But surprisingly enough, The Dark Knight Rises had come awfully close to being classified as an R-Rated film, thanks to one death scene.
The Dark Knight Rises – Christopher Nolan Scrapped R-Rated Scene
One of Hollywood’s most critically acclaimed filmmakers, Christopher Nolan holds a squeaky-clean track record of spawning PG-13 movies. After his directorial debut, Memento (2000) and Al Pacino-led Insomnia (2002), the Oscar nominee has never deviated from his well-maintained repertoire of family-friendly movies. But The Dark Knight Rises almost became the exception owing to one particular scene which was gory enough to earn the film an NC-17 rating.
The scene in question involved the demise of Matthew Modine’s Peter Foley, Gotham’s Deputy Police Commissioner, whose end was apparently so gruesome that they decided to scrap it altogether. According to the original script, Peter Foley was supposed to get run over by a vehicle that Talia al Ghul [Marion Cotillard] was driving following Batman’s stabbing [Christian Bale] and Bane’s death [Tom Hardy]. But after they were done shooting that sequence, it turned out to be so “sickening” that Nolan turned blanched toward the end of it.
“All it does is, it just cuts, and I’m on the ground, dead. But it was so violent. The guy that was doubling me got hit by the car […] And the sound of his body hitting the cobblestone street in front of the New York Stock Exchange, it was sickening.”
“I remember I looked at Christopher Nolan when we shot it and his face was white. He was like, ‘Ok, let’s move on. We got that.’ But it was like, ‘Oh my God, is that guy going to get up? Is he okay?’ But [Nolan] said that if he would have put it in the movie, it would’ve got an NC-17 rating because it was so violent.”
So, they ended up cutting the scene entirely, ultimately writing off Modine’s character in an armed fight between the city’s police force and Bane’s followers.
Oppenheimer – the Film That Will Break the PG-13 Pattern
Nolan’s forthcoming spectacle, Oppenheimer, will mark his first R-Rated film in over two whole decades, a rather shocking feat given his history, but one that has been pleasantly received regardless. Fans were stunned, to say the least, but excited nonetheless. The biographical thriller based on J. Robert Oppenheimer’s historical creation of the atomic bomb, starring Cillian Murphy, is one of the most anticipated releases of this summer.
With an ensemble cast comprising Robert Downey Jr., Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, and Florence Pugh, the forthcoming biopic has already bagged insane reviews, with early viewers deeming it so intense that it rendered them “devastated.” In fact, some people even ended up walking out of the movie, as per what the 52-year-old director told Wired Magazine. That definitely explains the NC-17 rating.
Oppenheimer hits cinemas on July 21, 2023.
The Dark Knight Trilogy can be streamed on Max.
Source: Reelblend Podcast
