Modern B&W movies (1 Viewer)

[JJR512]

The other day I saw at Best Buy a DVD 2-pack with Requiem for a Dream and the director's earlier movie, Pi, for $19.99. Having wanted RfaD for a while but not having gotten around to actually getting it, I picked that up for the deal that it was. I didn't know anything about Pi but I figured hmm, two for $20 or one for $15...

Anyway, I watched Pi the other night. Now the interesting thing about this was that it wasn't until about half-way through the movie that it occurred to me it was in black & white! I guess the story pulled me in so much that a detail like color, or the lack thereof, was by comparison not important.

I'm wondering if any of you have had a similar experience. Not necessarily with the same movie, but with any other modern movies that were done in B&W. By "modern", I mean movies since the time when color became the norm, and I'm specifically asking about these because with older movies, B&W is expected, because there was no choice. But with a modern movie, with color available, the director had to make a specific and deliberate choice to use B&W. That's an artistic choice, and whatever the exact reasoning or emotion behind it, it seems to have worked out well for Darren Aronofsky (director). I think it was a successful decision on his part because if it didn't work, it would stick out like a sore thumb, but like I said, I didn't even consciously notice it.

 

[Rob Tomlin]

The Black and White cinematography in The Man Who Wasn't There could not have been more beautiful, and it was a perfect compliment to this movie (which was basically a tribute to the Classic Film Noir)!
Raging Bull is also quite noteworthy!
EDIT: I should add that, although released in black in white, TMWWT was originally shot on color film (due to contractual obligations, I believe).

 

[george kaplan]

Well, certainly by 1970 color was the norm. My favorite b&w films after that date include:

Young Frankenstein
Zelig
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
Schindler's List

 

[Scott Weinberg]

Good calls, GK. I wouldn't have remembered DMDWP.
Paper Moon?

 

[Steve Enemark]

Don't forget Manhattan, a beautiful-looking B&W film.

 

[Scott Weinberg]

D'oh! Another good call!
How 'bout...
Ed Wood
Clerks
The Elephant Man
...Nadja?

 

[Alphonse Brown]

I had the opposite reaction. Under the Cherry Moon was so bad that all I noticed was it being in black & white.

 

[Bruce Hedtke]

...Nadja?

Definitely quirky...ok, downright strange...but still, inventive as hell and watching Peter Fonda go nutso was classic. Not sure I agreed with the blurring out technique though
Bruce

 

[BarryS]

Bob Fosse's Lenny. It's pretty old (1974), but even then most movies were made in color.

 

[Yee-Ming]

doesn't really count, but what about half of Memento? i.e. the in-between bits where Leonard is on the phone in his motel room, as contrasted to the colour scenes which run "backwards".

 

[Bjorn Olav Nyberg]

Following

although that was shot on B&W due to budget restrictions more than an artistic decision. But so was Clerks.

Which reminds me of another budget movie just released to DVD: Man bites dog

 

[Mike Kelly]

Ah, glorious Black & White: Here are a few more -
The Last Picture Show
Rumblefish
Kafka
Judy Berlin

 

[George See]

Man of the Century

Was a fun little film.

 

[Lew Crippen]

edit second time today I was too fast with the cut 'n paste.

Last Picture Show is perfectly realized in B&W. I can’t imagine small-town Texas looking any different.

Love the other suggestions

 

[Brent Avery]

A number of other films come to my mind and which I am sure most of you will know of:
A NIGHT TO REMEMBER (1958)
LONLEY ARE THE BRAVE (1962)
THE TRAIN (1964)
DR. STRANGELOVE (1964)
A THOUSAND CLOWNS (1965)
A HARD DAYS NIGHT (1964)
THE LEAGUE OF GENTLEMEN (1960)
THE DEFIANT ONES (1958)
SINK THE BISMARCK (1958?)
THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD (1960?)
I am sure there are some others that I cannot remember right at this moment but at least it is a start. One thing the ones I listed have in common - they are all very well written and acted,(well,except for The Beatles'attempt- it is just simple fun) and outside of The Train, A Night To Remember, Dr. Srangelove,A Hard Days Night and The Defiant Ones,the others are not on dvd, although they really should be at least I have some of them on laserdisc.

 

[Seth Paxton]

Zentropa by Lars Von Trier is mostly B&W though IIRC he slips color in at moments to enhance moods. It's been about a year since I saw it though. Great, great film.
Many of my other favs have already been mentioned. The idea that color is the only way to make a film that people will enjoy is ridiculous. I think that's a myth that the studios cling to.
B&W often offers much more drama and has been argued (including in the cinematography thread) to be MORE reality enhancing than color.

 

[Claire Panke]

Ah, Zentropa...that one rearranged some of my little grey cells a few years ago.

Another modern B&W film no one's mentioned yet is Tod Kalin's Swoon, about the Loeb and Leopold murder. (Same source material was also put to B&W use by Hitcjcock in Rope.)

Todd Haynes also used B&W for major sections of Poison.

 

[Rob Tomlin]

B&W often offers much more drama and has been argued (including in the cinematography thread) to be MORE reality enhancing than color.

I agree with this to a large extent. Photography is one of my hobbies. I shoot about 75-80% b&w with the rest in color. I work in both 35mm and Large Format (4X5). It is much more difficult to create a certain mood using color than black and white. More often than not, the color can actually detract from the actual subject matter. My black and white prints are generally more "dramatic" than the color prints. Of course, there are exceptions.

Black and white narrows everything down to the most basic of elements- shapes and light.

 

[Lew Crippen]

Zentropa by Lars Von Trier is mostly B&W though IIRC he slips color in at moments to enhance moods. It's been about a year since I saw it though. Great, great film.

I agree Seth. And I’d say that although Element of Crime is technically in color, Von Trier’s concept and presentation is certainly monochromatic.

 

[Ted Lee]

another vote for 'the man who wasn't there'. how bout 'pleasantville'?

also, i may be having a brain-fade, but wasn't 'schindler's list' also b&w? can't remember now...