In a digital world, "Dark Knight" takes film route

LOS ANGELES
From chilling close-ups of Heath Ledger's Joker to heart-pounding aerial photography, few summer movies have attracted filmmakers' attention like Christopher Nolan's landmark addition to the Batman franchise.
With digital processes all the rage in Hollywood, Warner Bros.' "The Dark Knight," which opens Friday, takes the film route, in part using Imax 65mm film cameras -- a first for a Hollywood production -- while shooting the rest of the movie in "anamorphic" widescreen 35mm.
But what viewers likely will remember is the exciting cinematography, which has depth, clarity and dynamic range.
A 100-pound Imax camera might look as much like a contraption developed for Batman at Wayne Industries as it does a filmmaking device. But for the film's director of photography Wally Pfister, the decision to bring it on set was a simple one.
"For more than any other reason, because it is the absolute highest-quality image-capture system available," says Pfister, a two-time Oscar nominee for the Nolan films "Batman Begins" and "The Prestige." "What that means for Chris is he can put on quite a show. It makes a much more epic event of the movie.
"For me, at a time when a lot of filmmakers are choosing to go with lower-resolution digital systems, it gives me an opportunity to use the highest-quality film negative available. You expose 65mm and it is printed to 70mm."