Will Christopher Nolan's sequel to Batman Begins (2005) live up to the hype?
It has already broken box office records and critics and fellow cast members alike are tipping the late Heath Ledger for a posthumous Academy Award.
The Dark Knight sees Christian Bale reprise his role as the melancholic comic book hero Batman, now pitted against Ledger's deranged Joker, who wreaks havoc on Gotham city with a mad spree of violent crime and murder.
Bruce Wayne - the caped crusader's alter ego - is unlucky in love now too. His ex-flame Maggie Gyllenhaal, is in a new relationship with Gotham's District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart).
Despite glowing reviews and a stellar cast including Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Gary Oldman as Lieutenant Jim Gordon, does this summer blockbuster owe its success to the dark real-life dramas surrounding it?
The Dark Knight is rated 12A and is on general release.
WEST SIDE STORY SADLER'S WELLS
West Side Story is perhaps the most famous musical of all time.
Set in Manhattan in the 1950s it is the story of Maria and Tony - star-crossed lovers whose love can never be accepted because of the rivalry between two gangs they are associated with, the white Jets and the Puerto Rican Sharks.
The score from Leonard Bernstein and lyrics from Stephen Sondheim produced songs which have seeped into our popular culture - Maria, America, Somewhere, Tonight, I Feel Pretty, and Cool.
The musical was remade as a classic film in 1961 with Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer, which won 10 Oscars.
The musical is being re-staged worldwide for its 50th anniversary and is the only modern day production licensed to call itself "The Original".
Fans of the film and musical will be delighted to see it return, and with its themes of gang culture, racism and teenage violence, the story has many contemporary resonances.
But how does the production, which debuted in 1957, hold up for modern audiences?
West Side Story continues at Sadler's Wells until 31st August and then tours around the UK.
BRIGHT SHINY MORNING by JAMES FREY
James Frey made his name with A Million Little Pieces, a hard-hitting memoir about his recovery from drug and alcohol addiction.
It was published in 2003, became an international hit and was chosen for Oprah's book club.
A further memoir My Friend Leonard, about an older man he met in rehab, followed in 2005 and was also acclaimed.
Then in early 2006 Frey was forced to admit that many of the events he had detailed had been exaggerated or even made up and both press and public turned on him.
There was an embarrassing showdown with Oprah on her programme and a lawsuit found in favour of readers who felt deceived by the "memoir".
Now Frey moves officially into fiction with his first novel Bright Shiny Morning - a tale of LA and its varied inhabitants. Will it prove that the quality of his writing can overcome the controversy of his previous works?
Bright Shiny Morning is published by John Murray on 7th August.
HOUSE OF SADDAM BBC TWO
We think we know a lot about Saddam Hussein and the major events in his life - the Iran/Iraq war, the invasion of Kuwait, the two gulf wars, and finally his ignominious end after being discovered by American soldiers hiding in a hole near Tikrit.
This new four-part drama aims to go behind those events and show us the man behind the image.
The first episode opens in Baghdad in 1979 with Deputy President Saddam, played by Igal Naor, and his cronies intimidating the President to resign so they can seize power.
We follow Saddam's rise as he ruthlessly takes out all opposition and surrounds himself with his extended family.
Said Taghmaoui plays Barzan his half-brother and head of security with Shohreh Aghdashloo as his glamorous wife Sajida, mother of his five children including the murderous Uday, played by Philip Arditti.
Christine Stephen-Daly is Samira, the younger and even more glamorous mistress who replaces his wife.
Based on real events and conversations with people who knew Saddam at first hand, will this drama show the panel what really made Saddam tick?
The so-called Baghdad Blogger - Salam Pax - who has made several Newsnight films - will join us to tell us what he makes of the dramas.
House of Saddam begins on BBC TWO on 30th July at 9pm.
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