Leave it. His death has nothing to do with the context of his performance in the film. He was an actor, and assuming he did his job correctly, the audience shouldn't be thinking about him but rather his character.

I'm with you Hunter, I hate to be a band wagon jumper..but I say take it out. It hits a little too close to home. And yes, I know "IT'S PART OF THE PERFORMANCE" and I apologize for not KNOWING the actor..but...

Too soon.

I know it could be reinserted later on dvd, but artistically, it should be left in. I don't know how many people are going to go watch the Dark Knight hoping for Heath's performance to be light and uplifting? Let his amazing work live on. I am hoping people will finally realize that Jack's joker was contrived and bloated. The best thing about the buzz on this movie is how uncomfortable it's going to be, it was supposed to be unsettling before his death anyway. I guess they could cgi a purple jacket on Heath too...

I understand some people may seem uneasy about the scene, but it was intended to be part of the film. I think it should remain because in the end it is still a movie. I know respect and all but I would want my performances, regardless of the scene, to be remembered and not left behind after I passed away.

I feel they should take it out. Sorry but it will remind me a lot of people of his death.

i'm on the fence with this one, which is weird cuz normally i'd shout 'leave it in!!' at the top of my lungs. but this passing was different - for me - than other celeb deaths, still really bummed. i like your idea about having it in the dvd.

anyone else see those new weird pics of heath's joker? i dunno if they were real, but they were trippy as hell. they were up a few days ago, but i think they're gone. there's some cool spoilers on another site about some of his lines/scenes, but i won't say cuz i know alot of people don't wanna know.

@ Alex

I totally understand your point, but I think separating the two in July will nearly be impossible. The Crow's original theatrical release is a great example. Then again, Brandon Lee died from a freak bullet incident and he was shot countless times in his last film. I can't recall if any scenes were cut out of respect for his passing.

To me, it's really not a matter of "people can't handle it." For one, I can't say whether Ledger would want the scene in there. Maybe WB should ask his family what he'd want to do with this one scene. Not sure why I feel this way about it, but respect plays a big part. Again, this is all speculation.

Fuck test audiences.

I think I would have those feelings of too soon throughout the whole film. It's going to be odd watching him on screen knowing that he has passed away. I understand a lot of actors have passed away and they're immortalized on film but this is a movie that he will never get to see or be rewarded for after the viewings.

It is hard to have an opinion, not having seen the scene, the context, or anything else other than that brief description. I'm usually in the camp of if it works leave it, but in this particular instance... I dunno, maybe it hits just a little close to reality. Again, with DVD we can see a lot of cut scenes, this could be one. Ultimately I'll have to trust Nolan with this one, he worked with Ledger and he knows his film. If he feels it should be left in, he'll fight for it.

I think the scene should be kept. Just because he jumps out of a body bag really doesn't have anything to do with his death. Its not like the Joker is overdosing in one of the scenes or something like that, even though he is crazy. I think the scene should be treated like any other scene in any other movie should be treated, if audiences are reacting badly (For reasons other than Ledger's death), then sure, it should be cut. People need to look past the fact that they know the Joker was played by Heath Ledger in real life, if it was any other actor, would anyone care at all, not really. Audiences need to look at that scene as if they know its the JOKER not HEATH LEDGER jumping out of a body bag, which they should be doing already anyway. The side of respecting what the actor did is also an issue. Wouldn't it be kind of a shame (and somewhat disrespectful) if you were to downgrade the actor's final complete movie? Obviously if the character he was playing was important enough to him for him himself to be suffering somewhat during his portrayal, so shouldn't that same attention be given by the others involved in the project? Though these are difficult subjects to argue over, I am eager to hear the opinions of those who think the scene SHOULD be cut.

That's my problem, people en masse are ridiculous and will put 2 and 2 together and cry about what a horrible image it protrays.

People get so caught up with their emotions they will tag anything that reminds them of this persons ordeal or some historic situation and want it erased from the planet of the Earth. Let's not tread back to a time when advertisers were falling victim to all the 9/11 shit people "thought" they were seeing in images.

Bans were being thrown around like "fuck you's" in a Deadwood episode.

I say leave it in. I don't think we know the whole story behind the scene. I think the movie needs to be the whole vision from Nolan not some cut up crap that Warner Bros. have deemed watchable. I want TDK to be "dark" and if that means seeing this great actor in a body bag then so be it.

COME ON MAN!!!! STUPID AMERICANS AND THEIR "OOOOOOOOOOOOOH TAKE IT OUT"

Its a movie, get over it!!!! You guys live in a fantasy!!!

Im American by the way, so dont even bother.

Leave it in

At first i was thinking maybe they should cut it, but after pondering it for a little bit I think it would be better if they left it in.

There was no way to tell that he was going to pass away, so why let it affect the performance that he had acted in? I think it's human nature to compare the two and make the 'death' conclusion.

BUT!!

Watching Ledger playing the Joker on the screen (no matter the context of the character) is a celebration of his life and if you take anything away from his performance then they are being sensitive to what audiences think rather than being sensitive to Ledgers decision to make The Joker a memorable performance.

That's my take!

It'd be a shame if it gets removed - personally I think that Ledger would have been disappointed if it was cut.

Keep it of course, foreboding or not, it was all part of the story prior to his passing.

If Heath acted in the scenes and agreed to do them, I'm sure he had every intention of them using the footage. I'm sure he'd be dissapointed to know his art is being tampered with just because of his death. He had every intention of making the Joker a dark character.

Probably the same testers who like Fanboys without the cancer. Leave it in!

I say we all just smoke a bull, calm down, and chillllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll. Far out, man. X)

Keep it in. It sounds like something the Joker would pull anyway. What happens on film is one thing. What happened in real life is another.

How the hell do you smoke a bull? Like smoking pork?

Sounds good!

This reminds me of The Crow and how they reshot/re-edited the scene where his character was shot (they turned it into a stabbing after his real-life death). Of course, it's a little different... the shot in question doesn't involve Ledger actually getting killed.

I too say leave it in, but agree with a previous commenter about how the allusion to Ledger's death will overpower the scene if they leave it in. Whether or not it's "too soon", people will immediately go, "oh yeah, he died" and will be thinking of that for the rest of the scene, instead of focusing on the story.

@REAL6

YOU SHOW THEM.

Such a good rebuttal!

It's like saying "fuck fags, but I'm gay..so don't bother."

wLeave it, easy choice. Heath wouldve wanted it that way.

Holy craptacular nonsense, Batman.

DON"T GO SEE IT yet if you are sensitive and having a rough time! You can't tell me that this one scene is the only one that will spark emotion connected with his death. This debate is ridiculous.

The Dark Knight leave it alone! Its the Joker man he would pull stunts like this, its not real life... its a story (a amazing story). Mr Ledger should be aloud to shine even in dark times, they should show everything. I want to see it all and I am sure there many more who do to.

It should be kept in the film. People need to stop being sissies. Death is a part of life.

Keep it in there. The scene was part of his entire performance. Should they just not release the movie because it will remind us that Heath is no longer with us? No. Taking the scene out won't bring him back. Leave it in, any footage we can see of such a good and dearly missed actor is special.

"Death is a part of life."
No it's not...being PART of life implies life goes on after death. Death ends life.

Leave it in. Let's not cheat the audience out of the man's last complete performance.

The movie hasn't screened yet. The story is BS.

Oh boo hoo. Political correctness is in no place to constitute whether or not scenes should be cut out of a movie.

100% Leave it in. I don't expect Nolan put the scene in the movie just to pass time, I'm sure it adds to the atmosphere/character/story. I really think it's ridiculous to consider editing the movie unless there's a scene where he takes out a bottle of sleeping tablets and swallows it whole.

A body bag is far too generic an image to provoke editing.

Dave.

RIP Ledger

They absolutely should NOT cut this scene from the movie. How is seeing him in a body bag going to "remind you that he is dead?" Did you forget?

I for one would like to see as much of his performance as possible, every last disturbing second of it.

i agree with hunter they should take it out,
infact they should take joker out the movie i don't want his last film to be him as a killer. You see i am a huge pussy and can't seeing him in a body bag is too much for me. Even though i never meet him or talked to him his death was so important to me that his last film should be edited and cut so his death is easier for me to deal with. Because i don't understand art or a directors vision, and a scene in a film where he looks like he is dead even though he ISN'T EVEN DEAD IN THE DAMN SCENE is too much for me to take and will remind me too much of LORD LEDGER

the 65,000 dollar question is: would Heath want it pulled? think for a moment. if an actor is told a scene they did was cut, would it sit easy with them? we haven't seen the movie but it's safe to say he put his whole self into the role and to cut a scene to me is a slap in the face. ask any actor and they would tell you the same. while i see where WB is headed and think they are keeping the right intentions, it would be like cutting a scene in one of james dean's movies when he passed.

Fuck Exces let Nolan keep it however he wants. If he says no, then we'll have wait to see in it in ton the dvd...but if Nolan says keep it I'm all for it. It is HIS vision we're going to see after all, so I say let him have the last word.

Leave the scene in the movie. Heath Ledger's death has nothing to do with The Joker hiding in a body bag.

Here's the question: does it throw people out of the film if its in? Can it be cut without fucking up the story/tone of the movie?

Lots of stuff gets left on the editing room floor... original vision my ass. 'Original Vision" gets your the Star Wars prequels.

I'm as amped as the next guy- moreso- to see every wattage of Ledger's performance as the Joker. I want to see every bit... but if one simple image throws people out of the whole story then it needs to go.

And don't blame the WB...blame the douchebags who took pictures of the bodybag leaving the apartment building for this one.

In the end, the studio respects Nolan too much to pressure him. It's all on Nolan if the scene is tasteful or not.

Leave it in.

Most of what we do to accommodate someone's passing is for the ease of the living not for the sake of the person who's passed. I don't think Heath Ledger would want the scene cut. Especially if it's a good scene. He was dedicated to his craft, to say the very least.

It would be an entirely different situation if they fabricated something posthumously and stuck it in there but this was something that he created. It might be a little eerie to watch but I don't think it's in poor taste at all.

Put three more months between now and the first time it is viewed and it won't seem so "soon".

I get the whole too soon talk, but in all reality, Brandon Lee crawled out of a grave in Crow. Nobody thought it was too soon for him.

Leave it in

This is a really tough call to make. Obviously something can be said for keeping the artistic vision but it may also be a little too close to home.

I'm of the opinion that unless it's critical or gives the viewer something that otherwise couldn't be given then keep it in. Otherwise cut it and then include it on the DVD.

I would hate for the scene to go completely unseen by mass audiences so if they do cut it I hope they release it in the special features.

I'm sorry, but removing a scene because the studio fears it will remind people of Ledger's death is absurd. Do they think the audience will suddenly forget it happened if they cut the scene? I'm sure they believe that by doing so they're being respectful to a few overly sensitive people in the audience, but in actuality they're being disrespectful to Ledger. Let's face it, the studio is afraid of making the audience uncomfortable which they believe will ultimately affect their bottom-line. It's further proof that executives know nothing about film except to sanitize it beyond any possible offense. I may be showing my cynicism here, but it seems like a bunch of PC bullshit designed to widen demographics and ensure that Jack and Sally from wherever-the-fuck USA aren't made to feel uncomfortable (God forbid). Seriously, If you want to respect the man and his (unfortunately final) work, leave the performance intact.

Hunter, I can't believe you are taking that position.

Nobody who really loves film can take that position. Therefore, you, Hunter, are not a true lover of film.

I say leave it in. Heath was a great actor and it seems to me he probably wouldn't want his performance sanitized. The movie is supposed to be unsettling and he'll live forever on film.

However, if his family had a problem with it, I'd respect their wishes.

Leave it in. It's not in bad taste, it was shot BEFORE his passing.
I respect Heath as much as the next person but taking it out is
losing part of the story. From what I've read Heath was quite happy with his performance in the movie.

Simply put...I would imagine "the deceased" wouldn't want his performance in the film altered. No matter the case.

And if this does get cut, there is NO WAY in the world they would include it on the DVD. Would it be any less "offensive" 8 or 9 months after the release? No. You are dreaming.

In my own opinion, I'd say leave it in...I don't see how watching his character play dead will be any more shocking or offensive then seeing him in that gruesome-ass makeup, playing a murderous psychopath.