When talking about the historical roots of “The Dark Knight Rises” in Empire’s retrospective piece on the trilogy, Christopher Nolan was sure to mention the influence of silent films on the scope of the movie’s production:
“It’s all about historical epics in conception. It’s a war film. It’s a revolutionary epic. It’s looking back to the grand-scale epics of the past, really, and for me, that goes as far back as silent films.”
The war film that Nolan turned his big finale into feels like the next natural step following the previous two films. Gotham City’s resolve as a city had been tested before — first with Ras Al Ghul and his attempt to poison the city with Crane’s fear toxin in “Begins.” Then, with Joker’s anarchy, Batman was forced into retirement to preserve people’s faith in the city’s justice system. “Rise” is a culmination of these previous troubles, manifested into an epic battle between Bane’s mercenaries and the law enforcement of Gotham, with Batman leading the charge. The third act of the film is a massive fight scene involving hundreds of extras, and thanks to Nolan shooting in IMAX, it was given an enormous scope:
“We’ve shot over a third of the movie in the IMAX format, and that naturally puts you more in the mode of staging very large events for the camera. It’s my attempt to get as close to making a Fritz Lang film as I could.”