Standing on a street corner in Chicago, an unidentified man carries a duffle bag over his right shoulder and a clown mask in his left hand. Within seconds, he’s whisked away in an unmarked car, and the game’s afoot. This is the opening of The Dark Knight (2008).

In the summer of 2007, The Dark Knight filmed in and around multiple locations in downtown Chicago (or Gotham, if you will), for example:

• Old Chicago Post Office

• Navy Pier

• Chicago Theater

• Millennium Station

• Lower Wacker Dr

• Chicago Board of Trade Building

The first 66 days of the shoot took place in Chicago, beginning with the bank-heist sequence, as represented in today’s screenshot. Then, production traveled to the UK for 53 days. Then, it moved back to Chicago.

This is an odd schedule for a big-budget movie. So here’s The Dark Knight's director, Christopher Nolan, explaining the (intentional) traveling:

“When we made The Dark Knight we quite specifically moved around. We started in Chicago, went to London, went back to Chicago which is a massive production no-no; you’re never supposed to go back to the same place. But it meant we constantly challenged people to work in a new environment on a daily basis.”

Watch the full opening below, which takes place at S. Franklin St. and W. Van Buren St.