43 replies to this topic

[Persona]

Hi.

I'm putting a list together of black and white films worthy of a look since, OK, let's say Psycho, although when I first started making the list I was only thinking since Eraserhead. Can you think of more than the ones I've listed?

The Ones I Already Connect With:

Psycho
Closely Watched Trains
Eraserhead
The Elephant Man
Europa (Zentropa)
Epidemic
Following
Pi
13 Tzameti
Wisconsin Death Trip
Good Night, and Good Luck


One I Wish I Could Connect With:

Werckmeister Harmonies


One I haven't Seen:

My Winnipeg

Edited by Persona, 20 January 2011 - 09:40 PM.

[J.R.]

The Man Who Wasn't There
Sin City
Ed Wood
Raging Bull

Edited by J.R., 20 January 2011 - 10:15 PM.

[John Drew]

Manhattan

Stardust Memories

In Cold Blood

Hud*

Seconds*

*Both featuring the great cinematography of James Wong Howe.

edit: Do they have to be completely B&W (he asks, eyeing Zentropa)? If not, then check out the documentary Visions of Light, all about cinematographers and their craft.

Edited by Baal_T'shuvah, 20 January 2011 - 10:27 PM.

[Andrew]

Red Beard
Zelig
High and Low
Bergman's faith trilogy

Edited by Andrew, 20 January 2011 - 10:20 PM.

[Persona]

Great suggestions so far, keep it up! Some of the titles I'll have to look up, as I don't even know what they are -- and that's great!

J.R., on 20 January 2011 - 10:12 PM, said:

[Sin City

Baal_T, on 20 January 2011 - 10:15 PM, said:

Do they have to be completely B&W (he asks, eyeing Zentropa)? If not, then check out the documentary Visions of Light, all about cinematographers and their craft.

They have to have pizzaz, a snap to them. Like the first five minutes of Antichrist. That's what I'm looking for. I'd forgotten about the color splashes in Zentropa (it's blood, right?), but now that you mention that, I wonder if The Element of Crime should qualify, too. It's been years since I've seen it, and I'll admit there's less pizzaz there than in Zentropa. The Element of Crime is almost like a wash out. As Prins once noted, a yellow wash out.

[M. Leary]

Rumble Fish
Kafka
Killer of Sheep

Edited by M. Leary, 21 January 2011 - 08:42 AM.

[Buckeye Jones]

Battle of Algiers
Schindler's List

[M. Leary]

Down by Law
Stranger Than Paradise
Dead Man
Coffee and Cigarettes
Clerks
The Last Picture Show
Wings of Desire
Night of the Living Dead
Control
The White Ribbon
La Haine
Kes
Dr. Strangelove
The Elephant Man
Saddest Music in the World

Edited by M. Leary, 21 January 2011 - 09:03 AM.

[SDG]

Vivement dimanche! (Confidentially Yours, 1983)
The Call of Cthulhu (2005, also silent)

[Persona]

Awesome. Thanks for the input, I will check these out. If you think of more, let me know.

The more I think about it, the B&W films with an itty-bitty splash of color are quite appropriate for this list.

[M. Leary]

Oh, well this looks like a handy resource. Quite a list.

[SDG]

To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Young Frankenstein (1974)

Ah okay, good find MLeary, I'll stop racking my brains.

[Persona]

Wow. Wikipedia still fascinates me.

[M. Leary]

Yes. It amazes me that someone sat down for hours and made this list. Why? Precisely for this occasion.

[gigi]

I love wikipedia. A large proportion of my thesis, which I slogged long and hard doing primary research for, is on there. You just got to know what to look for. I swear, soon it will be possible to do a PhD in the University of Wiki.

Not that I tell my undergrad students that...

[SDG]

M. Leary, on 21 January 2011 - 09:38 AM, said:

Yes. It amazes me that someone sat down for hours and made this list. Why? Precisely for this occasion.

Not quite. Stef wanted B&W's since Psycho (1960). The Wiki list comprises films made since the 1960s, i.e., starting in the 1970s. Thus for example the Wiki list does not include To Kill a Mockingbird (1962).

[J.R.]

Frankenweenie (Tim Burton short)

[MattPage]

FWIW I recall reading somewhere that 1960 was the first time that there were more colour films produced in a year than black and whites. I remember it because of Psycho.

Matt

[Ryan H.]

Y'know, sometimes I'll watch contemporary films in black-and-white by turning down the color on my television set. Sometimes the experiment doesn't work; not all films are lit in a way that makes them work in black-and-white. But sometimes, it produces a startlingly different experience. There are a few films filmed in color that I personally feel are much more effective in black and white.

[yank_eh]

Ryan H., on 22 January 2011 - 06:29 PM, said:

...There are a few films filmed in color that I personally feel are much more effective in black and white.

Such as?