The Joker - Jack Nicholson or Heath Ledger?

laurence1870 · 15/07/14 - 08:58

It seems Heath Ledger has taken over the iconic face of the Joker, but which was your favourite portrayal?

I love both, but being a huge fan of the 80s-90s series, I always picture Jack N as the famous villain.

Ben_Fisher1 · 15/07/14 - 09:12

Without question Jack Nicholson. He was perfect for the part. It suited his manic style to a tee.
Heath's interpretation was something novel, and of course, he died not long after, so i suppose that stays with people. But he cannot compare with Nicholson, he embodied the cartoon character, and looked most like him. And let us not forget these are based on cartoon comics, not Shakespeare. Some people tend to take this superhero stuff a bit too seriously.:D

Emolga · 15/07/14 - 09:34

laurence1870 wrote: »

It seems Heath Ledger has taken over the iconic face of the Joker, but which was your favourite portrayal?

I love both, but being a huge fan of the 80s-90s series, I always picture Jack N as the famous villain.

Jack Nicholson.

gashead · 15/07/14 - 09:51

As an acting performance, Ledger's. As an embodiment of the character, Nicholson's.

If we were to add the TV shows into the equation, for me, Cesar Romero beats them both.

Naa_KwaKai · 15/07/14 - 10:21

Needs a poll. Heath Ledger.

rumpleteazer · 15/07/14 - 11:04

Mark Hamill

Out of Nicholson and Ledger I prefer Nicholson. I've always been a fan of the cartoon Joker and Nicholson is pretty close to that. Plus he got the line "have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moon light", I love that line

PJ68 · 15/07/14 - 12:01

i hated the first batman film i thought it was terrible. much prefer batman returns

Dandem · 15/07/14 - 12:11

Heath Ledger for me. It was a really bold decision by him and Nolan to take the character in the direction they took it, and it paid huge dividends. It really allowed Ledger to demonstrate just how talented an actor he is, whilst intriguing and delighting the audience with how different and unpredictable this new Joker could be.

EVILSPEAK · 15/07/14 - 12:27

Jack Nicholson was terrible as The Joker, the last person on earth who should have played him. He was too fat and looked nothing like the character at all. Why on earth they didn't give the part to James Woods, who would have been perfect, I'll never know.. Heath was fantastic though, he owns that role forever now. and if they resurrect the character I don't envy the person whop has to try and compete with his portrayal.

roger_50 · 15/07/14 - 12:37

Well....Ledger's performance suited Nolan's Batman universe and Nicholson more suited Burton's Batman universe. It's not easy to compare them.

It perhaps becomes more a question of which overall film interpretation you prefer.

For me, I thought Ledger was 'pretty good' in the role. Nothing more. His part wasn't actually that well written IMO. Same with Nicholson to a certain degree - although his Joker did fit the more simplistic comic book craziness of the original film.

TDK does take itself a little too seriously and the film's shortcoming do show themselves more I think. In fact, I think the film's a bit of a mess.

Emolga · 15/07/14 - 12:56

EVILSPEAK wrote: »

Jack Nicholson was terrible as The Joker, the last person on earth who should have played him. He was too fat and looked nothing like the character at all. Why on earth they didn't give the part to James Woods, who would have been perfect, I'll never know.. Heath was fantastic though, he owns that role forever now. and if they resurrect the character I don't envy the person whop has to try and compete with his portrayal.

Are you serious? The last person on earth who should have played him? Yeah, your entitled to your opinion, but that's a bit over the top.

Matt D · 15/07/14 - 13:18

rumpleteazer wrote: »

Mark Hamill

This

But out of the two from the OP - Ledger.

Rich_L · 15/07/14 - 13:44

Jack Nicholson.

Poll needed though.

icanboogie · 15/07/14 - 14:09

'If you're gonna go, go with a smile'

I like both, they suited the style of Batman film they were in.

mialicious · 15/07/14 - 14:20

HL really lost himself in the role so my vote goes to him.
As much as I like Jack, he just did "jack nicholson as the Joker" you never really believe that his Joker is really insane, he is pure pantomime; plus he was overweight and old and he dad-dances to Prince.

james2018 · 15/07/14 - 15:09

Ledger, without a doubt.

Naa_KwaKai · 15/07/14 - 15:10

You can tell a lot of people on this thread are oldies.

roger_50 wrote: »

Well....Ledger's performance suited Nolan's Batman universe and Nicholson more suited Burton's Batman universe. It's not easy to compare them. It perhaps becomes more a question of which overall film interpretation you prefer.

Agree.

TDK does take itself a little too seriously and the film's shortcoming do show themselves more I think. In fact, I think the film's a bit of a mess

I love the TDK but prefer 'Batman Begins'.

idlewilde · 15/07/14 - 17:45

It's a pity the question doesn't simply ask "Who was the greatest TV / movie version of The Joker?" as I would have to agree with the people wh voted for Mark Hamill, the definitive version of the character in my opinion.

LM · 15/07/14 - 17:49

Heath Ledger
Always angers me when people reckon he only won the oscar because he died, which i believe is untrue.

dearmrman · 15/07/14 - 18:02

I agree with roger_50 both Jokers suited the respective films they were in, you couldn't see Jack in Nolan's version, nor would Heath's have suited Burton's version. It's a tie for me, neither better/worse than the other.

And sorry little-monster just to anger you a little bit more, I believe Heath only won the oscar because he died.

Naa_KwaKai · 15/07/14 - 18:09

dearmrman wrote: »

I agree with roger_50 both Jokers suited the respective films they were in, you couldn't see Jack in Nolan's version, nor would Heath's have suited Burton's version. It's a tie for me, neither better/worse than the other.

And sorry little-monster just to anger you a little bit more, I believe Heath only won the oscar because he died.

True, he only won the Oscar because he died but coincidently it just so happens that he deserved to win so for once the Oscars got it right. I can't stand the Academy anyway, it's all politics.

K2k · 15/07/14 - 18:09

Heath Ledger did a great take on the Joker but it wasn't the character. Batman is more than just the Nolan movies and has been going in various forms for years and is still going now. The comics did not change to match Nolan's vision and eventually Ledgers performance will be forgotten.

Mark Hamill is the most true, then probably Caesar Romero, then Nicholson, then Ledger. Hamill has been in at least one animated movie so should count.

Despite what I said, I did enjoy Ledger's performance a lot.

idlewilde · 15/07/14 - 18:44

The funniest thing about Caesar Romero is the fact that he refused to shave off his moustache, so it can be seen through the white make-up.

Gulftastic · 15/07/14 - 18:50

Nicholson. He comes with a Prince soundtrack, so wins.

Tom_Mullen · 15/07/14 - 19:00

laurence1870 wrote: »

It seems Heath Ledger has taken over the iconic face of the Joker, but which was your favourite portrayal?

I love both, but being a huge fan of the 80s-90s series, I always picture Jack N as the famous villain.

Heath Ledger by far for me, he played the character brilliantly.

grimtales1 · 15/07/14 - 19:12

Heath Ledger as an "acting" performance IMO, he was brilliant.

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The Joker - Jack Nicholson or Heath Ledger?

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