Modern Movies in Black and White

THE MIST (on DVD) is a whole nother level in B&W. Darabont knows how to stage & light a scene and the contrast looks great in B&W. But the desaturation also smooths over some of the slightly dodgier CG and gives it even more of a throwback vibe ala the socio-political monster-siege film to which it pays homage (NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, etc).

Very interesting little study. Lighting, man, it's the basis for the whole thing. I guess you always notice a well lit scene, because the characters stand out how they should, but the commentator and Soderbergh, are totally correct that there is far more at work than just lighting a scene. It's like playing the bass and being a bassplayer, world of difference and I think we lose that sometimes in some of the more thought about films in color, because the color just consumes (like in Amelie, for instance). Think I'm gonna try this.

And holy hell, I forgot how much I absolutely, positively adore Out of Sight. The commentator is right, he's totally classic film star cool in that one.

That dude is spot on about the scene in Indy's house. Black and white turns a standard exposition scene in to something with more depth and texture.

How great would it be if this started the exact opposite trend of that bullshit colorization fad from the 80s?

Silence of the Lambs was amazing. The shadows really added much more to that first meeting between Hannibal and Agent Starling. It completely blew me away.

American Beauty strikes me as another film whose cinematography would translate well.

I think it's interesting, but there seems to be a little disassociation with using examples I've previously seen in color. Also with modern film movements, crisp sound and video, it feels like a cheap filter. For something to be B&W, the film needs to be softer, grainier, lit just right and more static in shots. Basically, it needs that vintage feeling.

The talking scene in Raiders and a few shots in Lambs worked though.

edit: Halloween worked!

Nice, here are a few I have watched in B&W and thought gained a lot,

Pulp Fiction

Oh Brother where art thou?

The Shawshank Redemption

Public Enemies

Bound

The Big Lebowski

I haven't tried it, but I think 'Inglourious Basterds' would work great in B&W.  For some reason, whenever I remember it the tavern scene is in B&W, and I'm always a little surprised that it's in colour when I watch it.

I'd love to see all the Mad Max films in black and white with the constrast upped a bit. And the music lowered a tad.

I've always thought that had "The Happening" been shot in Black & White we would all be singing a different tune about M. Night Shyamalan.

I did this with the Star Wars prequels a while back, and felt they worked somewhat better.  A lot of the plasticine cgi was much more natural when you lost the color and upped the contrast.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike's Pants 

I've always thought that had "The Happening" been shot in Black & White we would all be singing a different tune about M. Night Shyamalan.

I don't think shooting THE HAPPENING in "Tits-On-Screen-Every-20-Seconds-O-Vision" could've improved it, let alone black and white.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew Merriweather 

I don't think shooting THE HAPPENING in "Tits-On-Screen-Every-20-Seconds-O-Vision" could've improved it, let alone black and white.

I have absolutely no rebuttal for that.

Well played.

I thought about this thread when Andy Richter showed a clip of a future piece of black and white couples watching black and white films.

So, will no one take the obvious route and mention LA Confidential?

Eh, interesting experiment, but I honestly think most of these movies work just fine in color, especially since they already use shadows and great lighting anyway. Particularly Raiders, which just *pops* with color. I'll admit that Out of Sight and The Last Seduction work a little better since noir is almost always better in black-and-white, but Fargo? Seriously? You're telling me that Roger fucking Deakins' work can be improved by turning the colors down?

It's not always just about the color.  I think turning Fargo could work in a lot of scenes because of the setting's contrast between the values.  It would also enhance the film's quasi-noir tone.

I actually don't think LA Confidential would work as well as you think it would, Justin.  Sequences like the Victory Motel shootout aside, I feel that the lighting in that film doesn't particularly strike me as one that popped in terms of contrast.  But I could be wrong.  I should try it out.

I feel like Chinatown would be in a similar place.  A good deal of that film's personality comes from the yellow-tinged palette that really makes you feel like LA is going through a water shortage.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcnooj82 

It's not always just about the color.  I think turning Fargo could work in a lot of scenes because of the setting's contrast between the values.  It would also enhance the film's quasi-noir tone.

 

I actually don't think LA Confidential would work as well as you think it would, Justin.  Sequences like the Victory Motel shootout aside, I feel that the lighting in that film doesn't particularly strike me as one that popped in terms of contrast.  But I could be wrong.  I should try it out.

 

I feel like Chinatown would be in a similar place.  A good deal of that film's personality comes from the yellow-tinged palette that really makes you feel like LA is going through a water shortage.

I suppose, but still, fucking with Roger Deakins' stuff just seems wrong to me. And the sheer *whiteness* of the snow and ice in the movie is a large part of how the movie works visually.

I think Fargo looks like asshole in the black and white. Without the color, so much of that film just looks plain. You don't feel the UGLINESS of so much of it. The car Buscemi is driving is simply a car. You don't feel how fucking ugly of a car it really is, and that's a big part of the film to me. 

Interesting experiment and link though. I think Raiders looks amazing. Overall I'm probably against this sort of thing, just like I am with colorization. But it's still neat to look at and it's a cool way to study the lighting and feel of certain films. 

Also Silence of the Lambs really fell flat for me in that clip. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by joeypants 

I think Fargo looks like asshole in the black and white. Without the color, so much of that film just looks plain. You don't feel the UGLINESS of so much of it. The car Buscemi is driving is simply a car. You don't feel how fucking ugly of a car it really is, and that's a big part of the film to me. 

 

I just watched that site's B&W clip of Fargo, and agree with this.  It looks like all they did was turn the color off.  Stuff I thought would look good in black and white (the snow) does look dull.  The snow is just grey.  The contrast would need to be boosted a bit (the way Darabont regraded The Mist to suit B&W) to make it look striking.  But the point about Buscemi's ugly car needing color is a very valid one.  

The scene with him and Stomare in the car at night looked pretty good though.  

Raiders in B/W is an interesting option but is in no way superior. Spielberg used a great warm palette for the film. When Sallah and Indy first lift the ark from it's tomb, the way it's lit - with the yellows, the golds- you can feel it's energy. It's the way that scene is lit and colored that gives it power. I just don't see that shot being as effective in black and white.

Yeah, no offense to anybody, but most of these choices are horrible. O, BROTHER WHERE ART THOU?, why?

O Brother wasn't one of the 10, was it?

The guy narrating the Fargo clip also gets it wrong.  He says The Man Who Wasn't There was shot in black & white.  Either he simply misspoke or didn't clarify, but the film was shot in color with the intention of grading it in black & white.

Years and years ago, and I forget why, I rewatched Never Say Never Again in black-and-white and found it improved.

Anyone try Apocalypse Now?

ETA: Having now gone through the list, I feel that it pigeonholes itself unnecessarily by considering monochrome an inherently 'retro' medium. Virtually all the choices are films that intentionally recall older classics or are at least set in the past. I'm going to try and think of some more applicable 'modern' films.

ETA2: Ooh, Repo Man looks awesome. Robby Müller, eh. And The Terminator really shows off James Cameron's affinity for deep shadows and reflective highlights when you take all that blue light out of there.