Nicholson's Joker smile prosthetics

[The Laughing Fish]

Despite the fact that Nicholson naturally had a Joker-like grin, he had to undergo hours of makeup and wear prosthetics to have a deformed mouth on screen.



I've heard some people complain about how they thought the makeup effects looked "awful"...and I truly can't understand how they could think so. I thought the prosthetics were great, and made his face look clownish like he was supposed to look. I guess some people didn't like the idea that Joker's smile was permanent, but I rather liked it since his inability to stop grinning played a part in his madness. Sometimes I wish the lines consisting of Joker telling Grissom he can't stop smiling while murdering him were included in the film.

[Edd Grayson]

Rotelli: What's with that stupid grin?
Joker: Life's been good to me...

I liked that. 

[Cobblepot4Mayor]

"Awful" my ass. No makeup effect has ever captured my excitement or imagination as much as Nick Dudman's transformation of Nicholson into the Clown Prince of Crime. It remains unmatched. The people who moan that are probably the same nutcases who said the Batman tv show dvd would never sell because of being "cheesy", "irrelevant" and "giving Batman a bad name" and all that. And oh look, it's sold in droves of incredible attention and success. Funny that.

Nicholson also gave great thought and input. Wanting more of the face's "elongation" seen in the comic books. Just look at that chin. He noticed how the green hair was treated almost as a comic book's lighting effect and they decided to go with that feel than merely pure green.

I also like very much how Dudman actually rejected concepts that deviated from looking like Jack Nichsolson. They wanted to keep the famous actor recognisable and yet still be also recognisably the Joker. And that makes a big difference. When you have an actor of the calibre of Jack you want the excitement of seeing him playing the Joker to still be in there.   

I remember as a small child getting my face painted up like the Joker at a holiday camp (that and the Turtles). Must have been 1990/91 when I was about three years old. The guy even sprayed my hair totally green! It was just fantastic. I loved it so much I refused to wash it off until the next morning after that night (leaving a stained pillowcase behind in our hotel room I'm told). Wish I had the picture. We lost it in our haste packing up to leave. Always a regret but I can see it in my memory right now. The fact they even made fun kids Joker make up packs is a testament to how the makeup work became iconic and made an impression on young people on the movie's initial release.

[Catwoman]

I always wondered how they did that lol.

Anyone who says it's awful is just being an anti-Tim Burton dummyface and hates on everything he did. It's amazing. It's how I picture the muscles in someone's face doing in real life since we all know they stretch into a grin. I don't know why someone would say it's awful. Probably thinks he'd look better with painted on makeup and a cut in smile complete with nasty infected scars on his mouth...

My darling squealing wretched pinhead puppet of Gotham () I love your comment about wanting to keep Jack recognizable for like a wow factor. And it worked and even after watching it like 60 times or more, it still works. I still catch myself going "OMG...that is JACK FREAKING NICHOLSON AS THE JOKER......OMG" lol. And I love your story about becoming a little Joker. Pity about the pic. Moving can be a bitch, I've lost so many keepsakes along the way.

[Slash Man]

The people who don't like Jack's makeup, what do they think is presentable? Heath Ledger's? 

Now that we've got that out of the way, this topic is totally deserving of a thread. The Batman-Online gallery has a bunch of great pictures when it comes to this, check out Dudman testing the makeup on himself:

Here's the rest:
http://www.batman-online.com/gallery/Movies/Batman_1989/refine=19

Anyways, this picture is really interesting because it captures process, and minor changes in sculpts before the final design was reached:

The most noticeable change is the cleft chin on the right; I believe it was in the 80s where that temporarily became a part of the character's design (can't find the comic art I'm looking for). Also notice the prosthetic nose tip. I actually think this would've been a good addition, as pretty much every adaption, save for a few, had the Joker with a pointed nose. The other big change is the laugh lines; they're in a more natural position, while the edges of the mouth are still perpetually pointed up. A subtler look, no doubt. I would've loved to see it, but I'm absolutely not going to argue about what we got.

The ones in the back seem to mix and match aspects of the final and the modified one I described. And while I can't see, the one in the middle seems to have a HUGE chin.

The final one had the exaggerated smile, but a bunch of other small, subtle features. The chin worked great. Overall, it struck the balance between funny and creepy. The creepiest scene for me was actually the scenes where he covered up his clown makeup, but the smile remained.

[Catwoman]

The creepiest scene for me was actually the scenes where he covered up his clown makeup, but the smile remained.

I still have a hard time eating seeing that one lol

[The Laughing Fish]

Rotelli: What's with that stupid grin?
Joker: Life's been good to me...

I liked that. 

Such a classic scene.

"Awful" my ass. No makeup effect has ever captured my excitement or imagination as much as Nick Dudman's transformation of Nicholson into the Clown Prince of Crime. It remains unmatched. The people who moan that are probably the same nutcases who said the Batman tv show dvd would never sell because of being "cheesy", "irrelevant" and "giving Batman a bad name" and all that. And oh look, it's sold in droves of incredible attention and success. Funny that.

I've noticed that those who hate on Dudman's Joker makeup are normally the same ones who hate any sort of outlandish humour in comics and film. These are the type of people who hate on the 60s TV show, The Brave and the Bold cartoon; in fact, they tend to hate the current Marvel and Spider-Man movies for embracing its silliness. These people hate any sort of levity in comics. While at the same time, they'll tell you that Joker walking out of an exploding hospital in such a bored and uninteresting manner is hilarious. 

I also like very much how Dudman actually rejected concepts that deviated from looking like Jack Nichsolson. They wanted to keep the famous actor recognisable and yet still be also recognisably the Joker. And that makes a big difference. When you have an actor of the calibre of Jack you want the excitement of seeing him playing the Joker to still be in there.   

I agree. Of course, you always get those detractors who argue that Nicholson "was only playing himself", despite the fact that he tends to resemble a lot like the Joker both in appearance and in behavior (at least before the 2000s), than something like Ledger's version.  Sure, Joker was never called "Jack Napier" in the comics...but then again, he was never depicted having scars on his face until Gotham Noir in 2001, which was a one-off Elseworlds story (ironically, he was called Napier in that comic too). And even then, I don't remember him making up stories about his scars either.

Anyone who says it's awful is just being an anti-Tim Burton dummyface and hates on everything he did. It's amazing. It's how I picture the muscles in someone's face doing in real life since we all know they stretch into a grin. I don't know why someone would say it's awful. Probably thinks he'd look better with painted on makeup and a cut in smile complete with nasty infected scars on his mouth...

In my opinion, the clownish demeanor makes the Joker look like an underestimating threat. On the outside he looks like a circus act who could entertain children, but on the inside he is a monster. Anyone could mistake him for being a trickster until they realize he's a homicidal maniac in disguise when it's too late. If you transform him into a deranged emo-goth with scars on his face, it makes it difficult to believe he can do the things that he does because everyone is aware that he looks too evil. It's true that the clown and goth appearances are both unrealistic. But I'd argue that a whimsical maniac who enjoys to disguise his monstrosity with his depraved yet childish sense of humour is easy to believe than one that comes across as a Victor Zsasz clone.

The creepiest scene for me was actually the scenes where he covered up his clown makeup, but the smile remained.

It was hilarious at first, but it then becomes shockingly dark when Joker talks to the rotten remains of Rotelli's corpse at the end of the scene. For all the complaints about the cheese in Burton's films, I wouldn't call them suitable for young children to watch.

[Slash Man]

It was hilarious at first, but it then becomes shockingly dark when Joker talks to the rotten remains of Rotelli's corpse at the end of the scene. For all the complaints about the cheese in Burton's films, I wouldn't call them suitable for young children to watch.

Funny you should say that, the camera zooming in on corpse scared the daylights out of me when I was watching it with my dad. That scene also has the best Nicholson laugh... he keeps going on, well after he leaves the room.

[Edd Grayson]

You're crazy!

Heh-heh...Haven't you ever heard of the healing power of laughter?