Ray Bolger, taxi driver and many other sources that inspired the joker
Joaquin Phoenix's dance moves were inspired by Bolger, influences by "Taxi Driver" and "Modern Times," a cameo you may have missed and nine other details you may have missed in #Joker https://t.co/Sbil4y7Xm9
- Insider (@thisisinsider) October 4, 2019
Phoenix dances a lot as Joker throughout the film and he worked with choreographer Michael Arnold.
"I think what influenced me the most was Ray Bolger," Phoenix told the Associated Press. "There was a particular song called 'The Old Soft Shoe' that he performed and I saw a video of it and there's this odd arrogance almost to his movements and, really, I completely just stole it from him."
In addition to "King of Comedy," Phillips said he was inspired by 1928 silent film "The Man Who Laughs," "Dog Day Afternoon," and "Taxi Driver." The inspiration is easy to see as it's also about a loner who lashes out at a society that rejects him.
Also though "Joker" is very much its own original take on the Clown Prince of Crime, it's tough to not make some comparisons to the popular graphic novel.
The theme of "The Killing Joke" is that all it takes is one bad day to turn a normal man crazy. That's essentially the story we're seeing in "Joker," just over a series of days.
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