Passes the Bechdel test

The Dark Knight

Name: The Dark Knight
Released: 2008

2008. Directed by Christopher Nolan, written by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

Yes 1. At least two women
17 women characters. 10 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
In 1 scene out of 389.
Yes 3. About something besides a man
In that scene, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.

Second opinion

Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 3 out of 3, though someone marked that rating as dubious.

The film

Set within a year after the events of Batman Begins (2005), Batman, Lieutenant James Gordon, and new District Attorney Harvey Dent successfully begin to round up the criminals that plague Gotham City, until a mysterious and sadistic criminal mastermind known only as "The Joker" appears in Gotham, creating a new wave of chaos. Batman's struggle against The Joker becomes deeply personal, forcing him to "confront everything he believes" and improve his technology to stop him. A love triangle develops between Bruce Wayne, Dent, and Rachel Dawes.

Released: 18 Jul 2008
Genres: Crime, Thriller
Rated: PG-13
IMDb: 9.1 / 10
Metascore: 85 / 100
Awards: Won 2 Oscars. 164 wins & 165 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

Women
Men
Not in the cast list
Bigger name, more lines

Dent 161 lines, man
Gordon 129 lines, man
The Joker 111 lines, man
Wayne 88 lines, man
Batman 86 lines, man
Rachel 77 lines, woman
Fox 54 lines, man
Alfred 53 lines, man
Lau 24 lines, man
Ramirez 24 lines, woman

Full cast, 138 people

Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne
Heath Ledger as Joker
Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent
Michael Caine as Alfred
Maggie Gyllenhaal as Rachel
Gary Oldman as Gordon
Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox
Monique Gabriela Curnen as Ramirez
Ron Dean as Wuertz
Cillian Murphy as Scarecrow
Chin Han as Lau
Nestor Carbonell as Mayor
Eric Roberts as Maroni
Ritchie Coster as Chechen
Anthony Michael Hall as Engel
Keith Szarabajka as Stephens
Colin McFarlane as Loeb
Joshua Harto as Reese
Melinda McGraw as Barbara Gordon
Nathan Gamble as James Gordon
Michael Vieau as Rossi
Michael Stoyanov as Dopey
William Smillie as Happy
Danny Goldring as Grumpy
Michael Jai White as Gambol
Matthew O'Neill as Chuckles
William Fichtner as Bank Manager
Olumiji Olawumi as Drug Dealer
Greg Beam as Drug Buyer
Erik Hellman as Junkie
Beatrice Rosen as Natascha
Vincenzo Nicoli as Crime Boss
Edison Chen as LSI VP
Nydia Rodriguez Terracina as Judge Surrillo
Andy Luther as Brian
James Farruggio as Man No. 1
Tom McElroy as Man No. 2
Will Zahrn as Assistant DA
James Fierro as Thug at Party
Patrick Leahy as Gentleman at Party
Sam Derence as Male Guest
Jennifer Knox as Female Guest
Patrick Clear as Judge Freel
Sarah Jayne Dunn as Maroni's Mistress
Charles Venn as Gambol's Bodyguard
Winston Ellis as Gambol's Bodyguard
David Dastmalchian as Joker's Thug
Sophia Hinshelwood as Reporter
Keith Kupferer as Heckler
Joseph Luis Caballero as Cop Heckler
Richard Dillane as Acting Commissioner
Daryl Satcher as Officer at Intersection
Chris Petschler as Convoy Leader
Aidan Feore as Fat Thug
Philip Bulcock as Murphy
Paul Birchard as Cop with Fat Thug
Walter Lewis as Medic
Vincent Riotta as Cop at 250 52nd St.
Nancy Crane as Nurse
K. Todd Freeman as Polk
Matt Shallenberger as Berg
Michael Andrew Gorman as Cop at Hospital
Lanny Lutz as Bartender
Peter DeFaria as Civilian
Matt Rippy as First Mate
Andrew Bicknell as Prison Ferry Pilot
Ariyon Bakare as Guard Commander
Doug Ballard as Businessman
Helene Maksoud as Mother
Tommy Campbell as Passenger
Craig Heaney as Passenger
Sutara Gayle as Passenger
Lisa McAllister as Passenger
Peter Brooke as Passenger
Joshua Rollins as SWAT Sniper
Dale Rivera as SWAT Leader
Matthew Leitch as Prisoner on Ferry
Tommy Lister Jr. as Tattooed Prisoner
Thomas Gaitsch as Reporter #3
William Armstrong as Evans
Adam Kalesperis as Honor Guard Man
Tristan Tait as Uniform Cop
Bronson Webb as Bounty Hunter
David Ajala as Bounty Hunter
Gertrude Kyles as Fox's Secretary
Jonathan Ryland as Passenger Ferry Pilot
James Scales as Guardsman
Nigel Carrington as Warden
Ian Pirie as Corrections Officer
Lateef Lovejoy as Prisoner
Grahame Edwards as Prisoner
Roger Monk as Prisoner
Ronan Summers as Prisoner
Wai Wong as Hong Kong Detective
Michael Corey Foster as Honor Guard Leader
Hannah Gunn as Gordon's Daughter
Brandon Lambdin as Armoured Car SWAT
Matt Skiba as Man Trying to Reach Coleman Reese (uncredited)
Jon Lee Brody as Waiter (uncredited)
Debbi Burns as Bank Patron (uncredited)
Maritza Cabrera as Party Guest (uncredited)
Shirin Caiola as Party Guest with Glass (uncredited)
Laura Chernicky as Party Guest (uncredited)
Henry Milton Chu as Lau Henchman (uncredited)
Kelli Clevenger as Paramedic (uncredited)
Richard Divizio as Chechen Gangster (uncredited)
Tony Domino as Press Conference Heckler (uncredited)
David Fultz as Pedestrian (uncredited)
Natalie Hallam as Ferry Passenger (uncredited)
Jordon Hodges as Police Officer (uncredited)
Erron Jay as Prisoner (uncredited)
Nicky Katt as Shotgun SWAT (uncredited)
Thomas Kosik as Parade Police Officer (uncredited)
Don Kress as Maroni's Henchman (uncredited)
Tim Krueger as Assistant D.A. (uncredited)
Dan Latham as Police Sgt. Spellman / Gotham Bomb Squad (uncredited)
Tom McComas as Helicopter SWAT Sniper (uncredited)
James Mellor as Ferry Passenger (uncredited)
Joseph Oliveira as Officer (uncredited)
Buster Reeves as Joker's Thug #2 (uncredited)
Peter Rnic as Prisoner (uncredited)
Amit Shah as Party Guest (uncredited)
Michelle Shields as Angry Hospital Relative (uncredited)
Sofiya Smirnova as Evacuee (uncredited)
Bruce Spielbauer as High-Ranking Police Official (uncredited)
Robert Patrick Stern as Extra (uncredited)
Robert Stone as Dept. of Corrections Resident (uncredited)
Richard Strobel as Detective (uncredited)
Tom Townsend as Police Officer (uncredited)
John Turk as Chechen's Bodyguard (uncredited)
John Warman as Detective (uncredited)
Chris Wilson as Major Crime Unit Detective (uncredited)
Kevin Zaideman as Party Staff (uncredited)
Rob Clark as Party Guest (uncredited)
Craig Braginsky as Police Officer (uncredited)
Mike Whyte as Police Officer (uncredited)
Rick Avery as Masked Thug (uncredited)
John Snowden as Detective (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 9 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 2% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 389

Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.

Show the numbers

Scenes	Women's lines	Men's lines
1 to 9	0	12
10 to 18	0	19
19 to 27	5	27
28 to 36	2	39
37 to 45	22	80
46 to 54	0	39
55 to 63	0	48
64 to 72	0	20
73 to 81	0	3
82 to 90	9	22
91 to 99	3	33
100 to 108	12	27
109 to 117	5	20
118 to 126	4	38
127 to 135	0	16
136 to 144	3	4
145 to 153	14	53
154 to 162	13	19
163 to 171	0	4
172 to 180	0	2
181 to 189	0	1
190 to 198	0	5
199 to 207	0	1
208 to 216	2	10
217 to 225	0	50
226 to 234	2	19
235 to 243	6	11
244 to 252	2	4
253 to 261	2	2
262 to 270	7	17
271 to 279	3	51
280 to 288	1	10
289 to 297	0	11
298 to 306	0	17
307 to 315	0	19
316 to 324	0	45
325 to 333	0	8
334 to 342	12	16
343 to 351	0	19
352 to 360	0	9
361 to 369	0	5
370 to 378	0	7
379 to 387	1	79
388 to 389	0	5

The evidence

Straight from the script
Counted from the script and the credits

Tap an exhibit to open it.

Exhibit A: the passing scene

The scene our parser counted as passing, word for word.

RAMIREZ: Barbara, it's Anna Ramirez- BARBARA: Hi, Anna- RAMIREZ: Listen carefully, there's no time. Jim needs you to pack up and get the kids in the car right away. BARBARA: But the units outside-

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 12 are women's.

130 lines from women, 946 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

17 women and 92 men in the cast. 10 women and 64 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 40 of 1,103. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 115 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 10% of the words (1,198), men 90% (10,778). Women have 12% of the lines, so their lines run shorter than men's.

Exhibit E: the test the other way

Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.

Conversations between two named characters

Two women

Two men

112

Exhibit F: behind the camera

3 of the 17 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 19% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Christopher Nolan (man)
Written by: Jonathan Nolan (man), Christopher Nolan (man)
Story by: David S. Goyer (man), Christopher Nolan (man)
Produced by: Emma Thomas (woman), Christopher Nolan (man), Charles Roven (man)
Shot by: Wally Pfister (man)
Edited by: Lee Smith (man)
Music by: Hans Zimmer (man), James Newton Howard (man)
Production design by: Nathan Crowley (man)
Costumes by: Lindy Hemming (woman)
Cast by: John Papsidera (man), Lucinda Syson (woman), Nicholas Gall (gender not listed)