The Corner Penthouse

Joker is the latest DC Comics movie, but it's not your typical "comic book movie". Just what kind of movie is it? Read on to find out...


Joker is an alternate take on the titular Batman villain's origin story, taking place in October 1981, set in a Gotham City very similar to the real New York City of the time. Forever alone in a crowd, Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) longs for any light to shine on him. Trying his hand as a stand-up comic, he finds the joke always seems to be on him. Caught in a cyclical existence between apathy and cruelty and, ultimately, betrayal, Arthur makes one bad decision after another that brings about a chain reaction of escalating events, culminating in an unforgettable appearance on Murray Franklin's (Robert DeNiro) talk show.


This may be the first time you have a "Batman film" without Batman. That's fine, since his greatest nemesis is a strong enough character to carry his own film. Besides that "difference", this isn't a PG-13 action film, like most in the superhero genre. It's a psychological character drama, rated R for strong bloody violence, disturbing behavior, language and brief sexual images. As long as you go into the film knowing that it's a methodically-paced character study, and not a superhero action film, you'll find a lot to like here.


Although shot digitally, Joker is meant to look and feel like a 1970s/early 1980s film, complete with a recreation of the era-appropriate Warner Bros. logo (the "W" made out of three lines) at the start of the film. While there are many colors that pop beautifully in 4K, the picture looks appropriately bleak and dirty, helping to show you a Gotham City that you DON'T want to live in. In keeping with the era, the film is heavily inspired by Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver (1976) and The King of Comedy (1982), both starring Robert DeNiro, who appears in Joker playing a Johnny Carson-like talk show host very similar to the one his character kidnapped in The King of Comedy.


The film was directed by Todd Phillips from a screenplay he co-wrote with Scott Silver. Yes, the same Todd Phillips who was previously best known for directing such broad-based comedies as Road Trip, Old School, Starsky & Hutch, and The Hangover Trilogy. Kudos to him for branching out into a new genre, and for doing such a great job at it. The screenplay is as top notch as Joaquin Phoenix's performance, as the set direction, as the music, as...well, everything. There's a even a little bit of subtly in naming the character Arthur Fleck, as in "a fleck" of nothing, an insignificant person.


Joker is presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio with a runtime of 2:01:49. Audio languages include English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese. The film includes English SDH, Spanish, French, and Portuguese subtitles. The first print run includes a beautiful slipsleeve.

Here's a list of all of the bonus features that can be found on the Blu-ray disc. The UHD disc does not contain any bonus features.

• Becoming Joker (1:25) - A brief look at Joaquin Phoenix before and after transforming into the Joker.
• Joker: Vision & Fury (22:25) - The filmmakers discuss what it took to make the film.
• Please Welcome...Joker! (2:44) - Multiple takes of a scene with drastically different performances.
• Joker: A Chronicle of Chaos (3:04) - A gallery of still images set to some of the film's score music.

Also included in the 4K UHD + Blu-ray Combo Pack is a second standard Blu-ray disc, which contains the movie and all of the bonus features listed above. Audio languages include English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese. The film includes English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese subtitles.


A digital copy code voucher is also included in the standard two-disc black UHD Blu-ray case.


Joker is available on 4K UHD/Blu-ray Combo Pack, Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack, and DVD.


All images were taken from the IMDB gallery of the film or were provided by Warner Brothers. The item was provided by Warner Brothers for review on this site.