As technology has progressed, so have the movies. Almost everything playing in theaters today exemplifies this progress, with their use of CGI to create impossible images, portable cameras and equipment that allow for shooting on real-life locations, and even sound that allows audiences to hear as well as see the stories being told. While these advancements are to be celebrated for allowing filmmakers to express more than ever before, we have also lost some elements of cinematic expression due to the immediate adoption of new technologies by major studios, making some methods appear unjustly inferior to most audiences.
One of these lost elements is the use of black-and-white images. We’ve seen arecent rise of black-and-white moviesin the independent film scene, but there is still an overwhelming sense thatblack-and-white is strangeto the more natural choice of color reserved for art house films. More should be done to eradicate this way of thinking and make black-and-white movies a more common and acceptable choice for filmmakers, even in major releases. Here are some of the reasons black-and-white can create unique moods for the movies we love that shouldn’t fade away.
Dreamy Visions
Movies are the purest representation of dreams. They have the potential to present surreal images not possible in reality that dig into our subconscious and reveal our truer, deeper selves. An excellent way for films to express this is through the use of black-and-white. The lack of color presents an otherworldly quality that’s still identifiable enough to come across as relatable.The work of David Lynch is proof of this idea, present in his work as early as his first film,Eraserhead. Bizarre instances of unexplained mutant babies and girls with large cheeks, the black-and-white serves as a graceful method of suspending the audience’s disbelief. The lack of color accentuates the dreamy quality of the film and enhances the experience, not negating the weird nature of the story but embracing it more. Lynch’s work isn’t alone in this accomplishment. Fellini’s8 1/2, Bergman’sWild Strawberries,and even Aronofsky’sPiall create something more dream-like through the lack of color, a quality that would be wonderful to see more of in movies today.
Related:10 Black and White Movies That Should Never Be Touched
Shadowy Horrors
The surreal capabilities of black-and-white can also greatly benefit horror movies. There’s nothing quite like an image draped in an inky blackness and a figure appearing from the void. Many classic films prove this point likeNosferatu, Psycho, The Night of the Hunter,orOnibaba. One of the great modern examples isRobert Egger’sThe Lighthouse, the maddening story of two men isolated in a lonely lighthouse during a terrible storm. The black-and-white is appropriate for the late-1800s aesthetic, matched by the 4:3 aspect ratio, which makes the images look like the old photos of sailors from that time. More importantly, the stark color contrast enhances the primary emotions of paranoia and isolation that the film is seeking to embody.
The day scenes have a dreary grayness that mirrors the dull existence of the two men’s daily chores, while the night scenes of solitary lamplight or the mysterious lone beam of the lighthouse itself accentuate how alone the men are from the rest of the world on their solitary rock of land. It’s masterfully discomforting and helps draw the viewer into the headspace of the main character, all from the black-and-white. With results so effective it’s impossible to imagine the movie otherwise and makes one wonder how other horror films could benefit greatly from choosing to do the same.
Related:Ghost of Tsushima May Be Filmed Entirely in Black and White According to Director
Stark Realism
Black-and-white can also have great potential for the complete opposite of the unreal, which creates a purer sense of reality. Without color to distract from the events on screen, the viewer can better focus on the moment-to-moment actions of the characters, like inNoah Baumbach’sFrances Ha. It can also better reveal how bleak a situation can be with the unavoidable disappointment of real life, shown beautifully in Alexander Payne’sNebraska.Black-and-white also can represent a believable sense of the past with nostalgic films like Alfonso Cuarón’sRoma.Perhaps one of the greatest examples of black-and-white’s power for the real is Martin Scorsese’sRaging Bull.
Scorsese fought with the studio at the time for the film to be shot in the increasingly unpopular black-and-white, due to how he felt it would better match the mood of the period he was capturing. He wanted the movie to have the same feeling as classic boxing films, as well as the television broadcasts of the fights they were depicting. What he created through this choice was a deeply felt portrait of anincredibly flawed human beingwhose greatest fight was with himself. The black-and-white makes it all the more powerful with its stark contrasts and reflective moods, which give the audience a greater sense of the tragedy they are witnessing. It also acts as convincing evidence of the ever-powerful effect black-and-white can have on movies and why it should always be more accepted by the audience regardless of the time they live in.
