The Joker Trailer References Scorsese & Chaplin

With Buzz Building, Hits Theaters October 4th

The teaser trailer starts with an aggressively contemporary drone shot of a city. Gotham City? The Batman / Joker origin story trailer propels us into a violent little world of classic cinema references.

And then, the tide turns, and we see gritty, dirty streets and an isolated protagonist writing his thoughts alone; we are in his thoughts, alone. The trailer creeps into Scorsese-like grime with the power of Taxi Driver’s lonely and dramatic tone. The world beats him down.

Read More: ‘Parasite’ sweeps with Best Picture, Best Director and Best International Film: All Oscar Winners Announced

The music picks up and a version of “Smile” plays (a song that is based on the theme from Modern Times, a Charlie Chaplin movie). Again, we are channeled into another Scorsese movie, the black comedy “The King Of Comedy”. We see comedy clubs, Joker laughs in the audience, a late night host… Was that Robert Deniro? (The star of both Taxi Driver, and The King Of Comedy). 

The trailer ends with The Joker (Joaquin Phoenix) revealing that he “used to think his life was a tragedy… But now I realize: It’s a comedy.” In Theaters October 4, 2019.

Read More: 2020 Pulitzer Picks: “The Nickel Boys” Makes History, “A Strange Loop” and Susan Sontag Bio Take Gold

Find books on Big Tech, Sustainable Energy, Economics and many other topics at our sister site: Cherrybooks on Bookshop.org

Enjoy Lynxotic at Apple News on your iPhone, iPad or Mac and subscribe to our newsletter.

Lynxotic may receive a small commission based on any purchases made by following links from this page.