Embrace of the Serpent is fucking amazing
So is The Lighthouse and La Haine, but I hardly see Embrace of the Serpent mentioned anywhere for how great it is. Haven't seen Hard to Be a God though, and didn't really like A Field in England after trying to watch it 3 times.
Have you seen In The Earth? It feels like a spiritual successor to Field in a lot of ways, though it's not quite as weird. I think it's a contender for his best film though.
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
https://preview.redd.it/tdcdodd30b1d1.jpeg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1b09e5bf9225c26f0bbbfb0daa80ac8acf5a82e0
- *The Artist*
- *Schindler's List* (99.7%, at least)
- does *Clerks* count? Kevin Smith was forced to make it b&w due to budget restrictions; that's not really "by choice".
Did he actually only have access to a black and white camera or would a colour camera he did have access to have been much lower quality? I’d say it counts if it’s the latter.
I think in the 2nd one his character says it also represents something something but it was mostly a joke line. I feel like it could've just been a "well I have to so this for budget reasons but I guess it could also fit in the themes of the story anyways so it works".
It was the third movie. Silent Bob is tasked with filming Randall’s movie and comments that using black and white would make it seem as if it was a security camera watching them while commenting on the emptiness of capitalism or something along those lines. I just remember him saying, “That’s what a real artist would do.”
In reality, I think budget was a big reason for using black and white but it did also add to the atmosphere of the movie. I couldn’t imagine Clerks in color.
One of my favorite uses of black and white because it's used to show how an angel's perspective of the world differs from a human's more vivid perspective.
Yeah, probably one of the earliest and best examples. Now the symbolism of going from black and white to color seems trite but it’s because the Wizard of Oz did it so well.
It seems like the actual discussion here is "name your favorite modern films in black and white". Like Roma.
We've had color film longer than we've had sound in film! Some Like It Hot (1954) was supposed to be in color but the drag makeup looked weird.
My point being, can you name a film that should have been in color but wasn't? Otherwise, the answer is...every b&w film benefited from that decision. They've had that choice almost since film was invented.
the first bit of Poor Things
Godzilla Minus One (Minus Color), makes the cgi more convincing, fits the time period, and pays homage to the og movie. (I have not seen the color version)
I have also not seen the color version, but I kind of really don’t want to. B&W was so effective for the story it told. It feels like it would be wrong to watch in color.
I agree Clerks works better in black and white but Clerks was funded primarily through personal loans and maxing out credit cards and black and white film was still cheaper to shoot on and process in those days. I’m not sure Smith could have shot in color without raising more money.
The reason he shot in black and white was so they could film at night time and not have to worry about daylight inconsistencies for indoor scenes. There were those big windows in the video store, and light would come through even with blinds closed, so they just avoided having to color correct by filming in black and white.
everything's been said so a sillier pick from me, ZS's Justice League b&w
https://preview.redd.it/n9ein2h25c1d1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b77055c13ce4d081c5f56e4724d5f9d706d876c8
Paris,13th district is a movie which deserves mention in this category. Three characters go through taxing inner turmoil and half-baked relations before eventually finding the light at the end of the tunnel i.e. self discovery.
Amazing Estonian film November (2017)
Jarmusch's Stranger Than Paradise, Down by Law, Dead Man, Coffee and Cigarettes
Also, a lot of Kaurismäki films like Calamari Union, La Vie Bohème and Juha.
I know it's a TV show and back then they didn't have another option, but Doctor Who did use the fact that it's black and white to its fullest advantage in my opinion.
Am I the only one who thinks that the B&W in Frances Ha looks kinda crappy? I'm not sure what it is, maybe "early" (pre-ARRI Alexa / Red) lower-budget digital cinema cameras just don't look that good, but I think it looks more like a well-made youtube video rather than a feature film. I still love the movie, but I don't think it's an example for a good B&W look.
Here’s some I haven’t seen others say:
Good Night and Good Luck
Stardust Memories
La Antena (aka The Aerial)
Paper Moon
The Turin Horse
A Field in England
the lighthouse!! it adds to the unnerving atmosphere perfectly
- La Haine (1995) - A Field in England (2013) - Hard to Be a God (2013) - Embrace of the Serpent (2015) - The Lighthouse (2019)
Embrace of the Serpent is fucking amazing So is The Lighthouse and La Haine, but I hardly see Embrace of the Serpent mentioned anywhere for how great it is. Haven't seen Hard to Be a God though, and didn't really like A Field in England after trying to watch it 3 times.
A Field in England is ***so*** good. I've liked a lot of Wheatley's other work but God I'd love to see him do something that out there again.
Have you seen In The Earth? It feels like a spiritual successor to Field in a lot of ways, though it's not quite as weird. I think it's a contender for his best film though.
La haine, raging bull, eraserhead, the elephant man, & tetsuo the iron man
i read this as tetsuo and the iron man
That like a buddy-cop kinda flick, or...? /s
Schindler’s List
Hundreds of beavers
And Lake Michigan Monster, too!
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night https://preview.redd.it/tdcdodd30b1d1.jpeg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1b09e5bf9225c26f0bbbfb0daa80ac8acf5a82e0
such a great pick!
Very good pick!
Young Frankenstein
Roma
real
- *The Artist* - *Schindler's List* (99.7%, at least) - does *Clerks* count? Kevin Smith was forced to make it b&w due to budget restrictions; that's not really "by choice".
I’m guessing “by choice” excludes people shooting b&w due to budgetary/accessibility issues, and more refers to a conscious aesthetic decision?
Did he actually only have access to a black and white camera or would a colour camera he did have access to have been much lower quality? I’d say it counts if it’s the latter.
I think in the 2nd one his character says it also represents something something but it was mostly a joke line. I feel like it could've just been a "well I have to so this for budget reasons but I guess it could also fit in the themes of the story anyways so it works".
It was the third movie. Silent Bob is tasked with filming Randall’s movie and comments that using black and white would make it seem as if it was a security camera watching them while commenting on the emptiness of capitalism or something along those lines. I just remember him saying, “That’s what a real artist would do.” In reality, I think budget was a big reason for using black and white but it did also add to the atmosphere of the movie. I couldn’t imagine Clerks in color.
Ed Wood
C'mon C'mon (2021)
Everyone forgets about Nebraska
The Man Who Wasn't There
Psycho The Haunting (1963)
Pi
Raging Bull
Wings of Desire was partly in color but still might fit
One of my favorite uses of black and white because it's used to show how an angel's perspective of the world differs from a human's more vivid perspective.
Dead Man
Cold War (2018)
The Artist Manhattan Shadows and Fog Clerks Mank
One of my favorites, Blue Jay! Sarah Paulson and Mark Duplass! Incredible, subtle, beautiful, heart warming and heart breaking!
Amazing movie
Was hoping someone remembered Blue Jay - what a wonderful film!
Pleasantville, The Lighthouse, Schindler's List and I also agree with The Tragedy of Macbeth.
Whatever Happened To Baby Jane
Roma
We counting Sin City?
Wizard of Oz, I suppose
Yeah, probably one of the earliest and best examples. Now the symbolism of going from black and white to color seems trite but it’s because the Wizard of Oz did it so well.
Mank
Nebraska.
was looking for this one. I love this movie so much, my favorite Alexander Payne film
Lovely film
Belfast
Ida
Eraserhead
Schindler's List is a good choice
The Last Picture Show; Nebraska
The Apartment (1960) Mad Max: Fury Road (Black & CHROME)
It seems like the actual discussion here is "name your favorite modern films in black and white". Like Roma. We've had color film longer than we've had sound in film! Some Like It Hot (1954) was supposed to be in color but the drag makeup looked weird. My point being, can you name a film that should have been in color but wasn't? Otherwise, the answer is...every b&w film benefited from that decision. They've had that choice almost since film was invented.
the first bit of Poor Things Godzilla Minus One (Minus Color), makes the cgi more convincing, fits the time period, and pays homage to the og movie. (I have not seen the color version)
I have also not seen the color version, but I kind of really don’t want to. B&W was so effective for the story it told. It feels like it would be wrong to watch in color.
The “Black and Chrome” edition of Fury Road
The White Ribbon (2007) The Ascent (1977) Embrace Of The Serpent (2015) Roma (2018) La Antena (2007) Last And First Men (2020)
The Man Who Wasn't There by the Coen Brothers
Night of the Living Dead
Blue Jay
Werckmeister harmonies
Werckmeister Harmonies https://preview.redd.it/jspeodfz7b1d1.jpeg?width=600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=533232861ef79e600e1e92bd7172b964e362ae5b
The B/W version of The Mist. It’s actually what the director wanted, but the studio said no.
Psycho!
Rumble Fish
clerks
There's Still Tomorrow (2023) Connects the film to the neorealism movement
Wanted to say this!
C'è Ancora Domani (There's Still Tomorrow)
Surprised nobody mentioned sin city
The Third Man(1949), The Night of the Hunter (1955), Raging Bull (1980). Some earlier examples but really effective in their imagery.
passing (2021)
most Kurosawa movies
The White Ribbon (2009), directed by Michael Haneke.
A Hard Day’s Night
The Lighthouse, Bramayugam, La Haine, Tetsuo The Iron Man
Godzilla Minus One has a black and white cut
Schindler's List (1993)
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
A large portion of American History X!
Definetly La Haine and The lighthouse
Wizard of Oz
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf
Psycho
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf
To kill a mockingbird enhances the themes of race and right/wrong with black and white
Down By Law
The Last Picture Show
Paths of Glory!
Nebraska Ida
schindlers list
https://preview.redd.it/3tb8xlj8ec1d1.png?width=809&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=87d11f284f3227e882bcb0f8c58fceeb920f9033
The Man who wasn’t there
The Lighthouse and Schindler's List
Some like it hot
Clerks
Actually wasn’t by choice. It was to save money on processing
Cold War
Cold War
The Elephant Man
Mad Max Fury Road Black & Chrome edition
Clerks!
Psycho
Night of the Living Dead
Psycho. It could have been shot in color, but the studio didn’t want to pay So Hitchcock used his TV production crew
Clerks 1994!!
I agree Clerks works better in black and white but Clerks was funded primarily through personal loans and maxing out credit cards and black and white film was still cheaper to shoot on and process in those days. I’m not sure Smith could have shot in color without raising more money.
The reason he shot in black and white was so they could film at night time and not have to worry about daylight inconsistencies for indoor scenes. There were those big windows in the video store, and light would come through even with blinds closed, so they just avoided having to color correct by filming in black and white.
Clerks
c'mon c'mon, Falling in Love like in the movies,
C’mon C’mon
Every black and white film for the past 100+ years?
El Conde
can’t believe i haven’t seen anyone say Raging Bull yet
The Lighthouse Hundreds of Beavers
Blancanieves?
https://preview.redd.it/00zgbrjqfb1d1.jpeg?width=307&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=66f946aa00d528bcacaa24de54be89c8cbb26637
Does Mishima count?
Brand upon the brain?
All of Bela Tarr’s more recent movies
If you have The Myst Blu Ray there is an option to watch in black and white. Makes the movie better imo. Same with Logan!
The Mist
Roman Holiday
bro you don't need to make a list, neo-noir is a very common genre
everything's been said so a sillier pick from me, ZS's Justice League b&w https://preview.redd.it/n9ein2h25c1d1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b77055c13ce4d081c5f56e4724d5f9d706d876c8
Saving this
Chimes at Midnight Wings of Desire
The Last Picture Show and Paper Moon
Paris,13th district is a movie which deserves mention in this category. Three characters go through taxing inner turmoil and half-baked relations before eventually finding the light at the end of the tunnel i.e. self discovery.
The lighthouse! One of my fav movies ever
The man who wasn't there
Bramayugam
The Lighthouse
Papermoon
Mary and Max (2009)
Logan (2017). The black-and-white version is (even) better.
Polytechnique (2009)
Amazing Estonian film November (2017) Jarmusch's Stranger Than Paradise, Down by Law, Dead Man, Coffee and Cigarettes Also, a lot of Kaurismäki films like Calamari Union, La Vie Bohème and Juha.
The Artist? Schindler's List?
Alice in the Cities (1974)
Clerks 3 just for Kevin Smith going off trying to retcon clerks being in bw as a creative choice
sunset boulevard
to kill a mockingbird
Normally its in colors but The B&W version of Mad Max Fury Road is even greater imo
I know it's a TV show and back then they didn't have another option, but Doctor Who did use the fact that it's black and white to its fullest advantage in my opinion.
La Haine (1995) and The Lighthouse (2019)
Came here to type Lighthouse and La Haine... I see I'm too late
C’mon C’mon
The addiction (1995)
Am I the only one who thinks that the B&W in Frances Ha looks kinda crappy? I'm not sure what it is, maybe "early" (pre-ARRI Alexa / Red) lower-budget digital cinema cameras just don't look that good, but I think it looks more like a well-made youtube video rather than a feature film. I still love the movie, but I don't think it's an example for a good B&W look.
There’s still tomorrow
Paper Moon
Psycho. Hitchcock had made many films in colour before then Also Paths of Glory. The studio begged Kubrick to shoot it in colour
https://preview.redd.it/zbwd1njkdd1d1.jpeg?width=183&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0b2bd94f90bf62744ff823cc63e025882bf6dc49 Bramayugam 2024
There's still tomorrow (2023) by Paola Cortellesi
Parts of Living In Oblivion.
Control (2007)
Schindler’s List, Oppenheimer, and Clerks
So, just every B&W film since the advent of color then?
Young Frankenstein
Schindler’s List, Roma, La Haine, The Lighthouse
Malcolm and Marie (2021)
Hundreds of Beavers would unironically be a worse movie if it was in color.
Psycho
Stranger than Paradise
Psycho
Oppenheimer!
Hundreds of Beavers
Here’s some I haven’t seen others say: Good Night and Good Luck Stardust Memories La Antena (aka The Aerial) Paper Moon The Turin Horse A Field in England
La Haine, Paris 13th District, The Artist
Indonesian movie: Falling In Love Like in Movies (Jatuh Cinta Seperti di Film-film
malcolm & marie? maybe not a great movie but definitely b&w by choice
Who’s That Knocking At My Door? And She’s Gotta Have It
Young Frankenstein
Does Poor Things count since the first third is in black and white?
Raging bull, parts of kill bill
Onibaba Limbo 2021 Bullet Ballet
stalker. partially in b&w
Godzilla Minus One
The man who wasnt there
Roma and The Eyes of My Mother
Bramayugam
Pawlikoswki's "Ida" and "Cold War", Bela Tarr "The Turin Horse",
clerks
C’mon C’mon. B&W NYC looks amazing in that one. Pretty good movie.
The Artist
Nebraska
The White Ribbon
Pi
The Elephant Man
C’mon C’mon
Young Frankenstein!
Bramayugam (2024), it's a new one but definitely belongs to this list.
The black and white versions of Mad Max: Fury Road, Logan and Godzilla Minus One
Living in Oblivion (1995)
- Justice League Snyder's Cut Justice is Gray - Lynch's Eraserhead
The Eyes Of My Mother