What does the haunting chant from The Dark Knight Rises really mean? Following the reception to Batman & Robin, the franchise found itself in a weird place. The reception to the 1997 sequel was so toxic that Joel Schumacher’s planned follow-up Batman Unchained was quickly shelved, and the studio fielded various pitches and screenplays in the years that followed. This included a live-action version of Batman Beyond or a Darren Aronofsky-directed take on Batman: Year One.

None of these ideas got off the ground and it wasn’t until Christopher Nolan came along that Batman Begins got off the ground. Nolan’s take on the material was more grounded and he assembled a cast that included Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Cillian Murphy, Liam Neeson and many more. The film received great reviews and restored the credibility of the series, but the 2008 sequel The Dark Knight would go on to be considered a genre landmark. From Heath Ledger’s unforgettable Joker to the movie’s rich themes and characters, it’s a masterful interpretation of the Batman mythos.

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It’s the kind of movie that’s hard to top and while The Dark Knight Rises also received great reviews, it’s didn’t reach the acclaim of its predecessor. It’s still a strong sequel, with Bruce Wayne/Batman facing off against Tom Hardy’s Bane, who brings an almighty reckoning to the people of Gotham City. Composers James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer collaborated on the previous two entries, but only the latter returned for The Dark Knights Rises. He delivered another strong score, with one of the most memorable elements being an eerie chant heard throughout the movie.

The Dark Knight Rises chant consists of the words “Deshi Basara,” and is most prominently heard in the scene where Bruce finally escapes from the underground prison. Tom Conti’s prisoner explains to Wayne that the chant means “Rise,” with Zimmer stating in an MTV interview that it means “rise up” and is based on a real language. Many have guessed it comes this language Moroccan Arabic, though the composer refused to divulge. The chant itself was made up of thousands of voices from fans who contributed to it on the website UJAM.

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The Dark Knight Rises chant is a powerful piece of music and rising up obviously relates to the central themes of the story. It clearly worked a treat on Bruce Wayne, since he only completed his leap of faith thanks to the chorus of prisoners cheering him on with “Deshi Basara.”

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Padraig Cotter
(3484 Articles Published)

It’s pronounced Paw-rick, not Pad-raig. Now that’s out of the way, a brief introduction. Padraig has been writing about film online since 2012, when a friend asked if he’d like to contribute the occasional review or feature to their site.

A part-time hobby soon blossomed into a career when he discovered he really loved writing about movies, TV and video games – he even (arguably) had a little bit of talent for it. He has written words for Den of Geek, Collider, The Irish Times and Screen Rant over the years, and can discuss anything from the MCU – where Hawkeye is clearly the best character – to the most obscure cult b-movie gem, and his hot takes often require heat resistant gloves to handle.

He’s super modern too, so his favorite movies include Jaws, Die Hard, The Thing, Ghostbusters and Batman. He can be found as i_Padds on Twitter making bad puns.

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