Black and White World

I've been having some fun on my computer the past few days watching old Siskel and Ebert shows that are now available here. http://www.atthemoviestv.com/. I was watching one of their special shows about black and white movies which has inspired me to write about my enthusiasm about the same topic.

I get kidded sometimes about black and white movies, I have been asked before to list my favorite movies and after I get through my top five someone will ask me "are there any movies you like that are in color, or from the last twenty years for that matter?" I can't apologize for my love of black and white movies or old movies for that matter. I suppose the fact that one associates black and white with old is a reason some people find them difficult to watch. I couldn't disagree more however, I've always found black and white movies more enjoyable to watch. Black and white has that power to take us from reality, like Siskel and Ebert pointed out in their show, the real world is in color so why go to the movies to see something you see everyday. Black and white is a stylistic way to lift one out of reality and into the world of movies.

I started thinking of movies I love and how I couldn't imagine seeing them in color. One such film that sticks out in my mind is "The Bride of Frankenstein" I cannot think of seeing that film in color, it would be close to blasphemy. The film's black and white works to highly stylize the film. The monsters and characters are already seen out of this world and are wonderfully grotesque the addition to dark shadows and mystery add to the amazement. Only after the commercialism of Frankenstein the monster do we now know his face was green, in 1931 when the first film premiered I'm sure no one had any idea what color her was and I think the monster would look more dated if he appeared on screen in green make up.

Other films like the early Astaire and Rogers musicals which created this whole romantic world that seemed to live in fancy ballrooms and Fred wearing a tuxedo and Ginger wearing a feathery dress just seemed so in tune with the style of black and white.

Even my beloved "It's a Wonderful Life" is better in a black and white world. The black and white some how makes Capra's uplifting tale a little more menacing, it was after all a story about a man who is driven to suicide. As we see good hearted Jimmy Stewart at the end of his rope ready to jump off a bridge part of his face is covered in shadows only showing the desperation of his eyes searching for any other option. Of course "It's a Wonderful Life" was one of those notorious films that were colorized in the mid-eighties something that both Capra and Stewart fought against. Another beloved Christmas film Alistair Sim's version of "A Christmas Carol" is routinely seen on television every year in color. When I first saw the film I actually thought it was filmed in color originally, but when I finally saw a copy of the film in black and white it suddenly became a darker movie for me, it seemed to say that not everything was the way it should be, Dickens after all intended it to be a ghost story.

Then of course there are all of those tough, gritty, intriguing, mysterious films belonging to the category of film noir. Films like "The Big Sleep", "Out of the Past", "The Set-Up", where men like Bogart, Mitchum, and Ryan just seemed to live out of, how can you imagine them being in bright colors?

Siskel and Ebert also make a point in their show by saying many of the film makers we admire today like Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese, and Francis Ford Coppola have all made their black and white movies ("Manhattan", "Raging Bull", and "Rumble Fish"). You could also add Steven Spieberg (Schindler's List), the Coens ("The Man who Wasn't There") and Steven Sodebergh ("The Good German") to the list as well. Film makers, intelligent film makers seem to know black and white movies can raise a film to a higher form of style, and today since it's such a lost art it's a pleasure to see them using it.

Just so you know this is not meant to knock color films, I happen to think when used well color films are just as effective as black and white and after viewing a few gems recently ("Three Colors Trilogy") I would say there are some films that should stay in color just as some should stay black and white. But color is in no way of becoming an extinct art form, and black and white is slowly running on empty, I hope people will revisit some black and white movies and not think of them as a chore to watch but rather an different experience. If you think about it black and white is just the canvas the artist uses to express what he/she sees.

What are some of your favorite black and white movies and why, I'd love to hear them.