Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy has some of the most quotable dialogues in cinema history. Several lines by Batman and Joker in the film have left a mark on pop culture and have even found themselves in modern memes. However, not every line could leave an impact like Harvey Dent’s- “You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”
Fans were shocked to learn from Christopher Nolan that the iconic dialogue was not written by him but by his brother, Jonathan Nolan. The Nolan brothers have collaborated on several projects like The Dark Knight Trilogy and The Prestige. When the Westworld co-creator recently visited the SXSW Film & TV Festival, he explained the iconic Harvey Dent dialogue.
Jonathan Nolan explained the meaning behind Harvey Dent’s iconic dialogue
Christopher Nolan is hailed as one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. His recent Oscar win for Oppenheimer further cemented his reputation as one of the best in this era. Therefore, it was difficult for the fans to accept when he admitted to Deadline that he could not understand the Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) dialogue.
It cannot be denied that besides the late Heath Ledger’s Oscar-winning Joker performance, one of the most memorable elements from The Dark Knight is Harvey Dent’s line- “You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” It was a brilliant foreshadowing of the impending doom of both Harvey Dent and Bruce Wayne.
The line was prophetic as Dent turned into the monstrous killing beast ‘Two-Face’, while Batman took the blame for Harvey Dent’s actions and became a villain in the eyes of Gotham’s citizens. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Jonathan Nolan revealed that it was incorporated later in the script as they wanted something that could symbolize the tragedy of both Harvey Dent and Batman.
“It came later in the script. We’ve done a version or two of the script where we were looking for something that would distill the tragedy of Harvey Dent, but that would also apply to Batman.”
Jonathan Nolan delved more into the depth of the dialogue and stated that it was also influenced by Lord Acton’s famous quote- “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely”.
“The first part of that line is ‘you either die a hero’ — and that part’s important, because not everybody wants to be a hero; it’s engaging in heroics that puts you in this space, where you have this binary outcome. The idea is there are people who put themselves on the line and so often that wager turns on them. It’s also that old idea of absolute power corrupting absolutely.”
The dialogue achieved legendary status from memers and pop culture fanatics all around the world. No other line can signify the hero-turned-villain arc more beautifully than it. Christopher Nolan also stated to Deadline that it killed him that the line he did not understand became a pop culture phenomenon over time.
Jonathan Nolan is proud of how people have embraced his line
Be it the case of Eren Jaeger in Attack on Titan, or Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones, Harvey Dent’s dialogue is evident for many famous pop-culture characters. It can be undoubtedly stated that Jonathan Nolan wrote a timeless line that will be remembered for a long time.
In his statement, the 47-year-old screenwriter said that he is extremely proud of his Dark Knight line. He knew that the line was resonant to Harvey Dent and Bruce Wayne in the film. However, he was happy to see how it also resonated with people beyond the film.
“It felt uniquely resonant to the tragedy of Harvey Dent and the tragedy of Batman. The fact that it resonates with people beyond the film is gratifying. I was proud of that line.”
The dialogue had a massive cultural impact. Christopher Nolan also addressed that he understood more about the line while making Oppenheimer. The line also signifies how sometimes people can turn against iconic figures- “In [Oppenheimer], it’s absolutely that. Build them up, tear them down. It’s the way we treat people.”
Jonathan Nolan is now all set to present before the audience his new series, Fallout. He has directed the first three episodes of the post-apocalyptic series based on the famous video game. The series will be premiered on April 11, 2024 on Amazon Prime Video.
The Dark Knight can be streamed on Max.
