43 replies to this topic

[John Drew]

yank_eh, on 29 January 2011 - 07:00 AM, said:

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?

The Man Who Wasn't There. I watched a color version of this, broadcast late one night on Starz or Encore. I knew the film had been shot in color, and later processed in black & white, and that DVD's of the color version were available in Japan and some Europian markets. It was an odd viewing, to say the least.

Here's a link to some shot comparisons of the color version and B&W version.

Edited by Baal_T'shuvah, 29 January 2011 - 02:33 PM.

[Ryan H.]

yank_eh, on 29 January 2011 - 07:00 AM, said:

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?

I'm sure nobody likes this film well enough to try it out, but Joel Schumacher's THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA gets a heck of a lot better if it's watched in black-and-white.

[Persona]

M. Leary, on 21 January 2011 - 09:01 AM, said:

Down by Law
Stranger Than Paradise
Dead Man
Coffee and Cigarettes

I had no idea these were all Jim Jarmusch films. I've not seen any of them. I think the only two Jarmusch I've seen are Ghost Dog and Broken Flowers. Strike that. After looking it up, I've also seen Mystery Train, but I'm certain I saw that twenty years ago.

Anyone have an opinion on these four Jarmusch black and whites? I guess I could go to the Film section and do a search on Jarmusch... I really know nothing about the man. I do remember watching the commentary, or maybe it was a "making of" on the Broken Flowers disc and thinking that he seemed "cooly" artistic. I think he's got some claim to fame though. I just can't remember what it is. Was he married to someone famous or something?

M. Leary, on 01 December 2009 - 09:36 PM, said:

Persona, on 01 December 2009 - 09:18 PM, said:

My Winnipeg

Oh, you are going to love this...

Does anyone know if this is really in black and white? Or it it sepia toned ala The Element of Crime.

And while I'm here, are any of these films really black and white, or are they all considered monochrome, and black and white is just a general way of saying that?

Edited by Persona, 31 January 2011 - 10:23 PM.

[Ryan H.]

Persona, on 31 January 2011 - 10:18 PM, said:

Anyone have an opinion on these four Jarmusch black and whites?

I own COFFEE & CIGARETTES. It's interesting. Don't know what else to say about it.

[Persona]

And why did the Coens shoot The Man Who Wasn't There in color only to switch it to B&W later? I remember the film -- I need to see it again, I think I'd like it more now -- but I clearly remember it was black and white.

[Persona]

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

check out the documentary Visions of Light, all about cinematographers and their craft.

Oh, this looks fascinating. I'll definitely be chasing this one down.

[Ryan H.]

Okay, here are some splendid post-PSYCHO black-and-whites for you Stef that haven't been mentioned in this thread and aren't on that Wiki list:

CAPE FEAR
CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT
LOLITA
THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE
THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD
THE TRIAL
WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE?
WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?

[Persona]

Awesome, Ryan! Thanks for the input.

OK. Here's what I've got lined up for February, the most color-less month, so far:

Frankenstein ('31) (obviously already viewed, blogging Feb. 2)

Bride of Frankenstein ('35) (already viewed, blogging Feb. 3)

Rope (Hitch) ('48)

Double Take (2010, an easy way to balance out the Hitch)

The Earrings of Madame De... ('53 - Ophuls, my first Ophuls)

Ashes and Diamonds ('58 - Wajda)

Eraserhead ('76 - will revisit)

Zentropa/Europa ('91 - will revisit)

And I think I'd like to add to that the documentary Visions of Light ('92)

Following ('98 - will revisit)

My Winnipeg (2007)

and, most likely out of chronological sync with the rest, the four Jarmusch films:

Stranger Than Paradise ('84)

Down By Law ('86)

Dead Man ('95)

Coffee and Cigarettes ('2003)

I wonder if there are some years missing here in the timeline... Looks like the 60s and 70s, and non-Jarmusch 80s are sorely under-represented. Any suggestions for those at this point, but especially some foreigns, as it looks like I don't have enough of those, would be appreciated.

I'm going to try to blog these for Feb. Not going to worry about how much time I have, or a full-on review. Just simply watching for my own enjoyment, so even if I only post a three-sentence capsule like we're doing for the horror thread, it would be a lot of fun to pull off.

Edited by Persona, 31 January 2011 - 11:11 PM.

[Persona]

Perhaps Closely Watched Trains could be a 60s filler. I saw it maybe fifteen years ago, and quite liked it at the time.

[Ryan H.]

Persona, on 31 January 2011 - 11:04 PM, said:

Awesome, Ryan! Thanks for the input.

I really want to see what you make of WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?

Persona, on 31 January 2011 - 11:04 PM, said:

Rope (Hitch) ('48)

You do know this one is in color, right?

Persona, on 31 January 2011 - 11:04 PM, said:

Any suggestions for those at this point, but especially some foreigns, as it looks like I don't have enough of those, would be appreciated.

All of mine are from the sixties, I think. And they're all very good. Some of them are really, really good (like THE TRIAL, WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? and SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD).

And I thought about recommending foreigns, but, IIRC, you're not a big Godard/Resnais guy, and so I didn't throw those out there. Still, you could give VIVRE SA VIE and ALPHAVILLE a shot. They're not anything like IN PRAISE OF LOVE. Heck, ALPHAVILLE is actually fun.

Edited by Ryan H., 31 January 2011 - 11:13 PM.

[Persona]

Gotta say, I like the list I've put together. Yeah, some of this is challenging myself on the black and white format. But also, I've got the two newly discovered monster films that I love in the two Frankensteins, and several films I've loved from the past but haven't seen in years. Those could balance things out quite nicely for me.

[Persona]

Ryan H., on 31 January 2011 - 11:11 PM, said:

Persona, on 31 January 2011 - 11:04 PM, said:

Awesome, Ryan! Thanks for the input.

I really want to see what you make of WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?

I'll look that one up. Did that make one of our lists? I remember you talking about it recently, somewhere, in relation to some other movie that's out. Was it The King's Speech? Yeah, I think that's it.

Ryan H., on 31 January 2011 - 11:11 PM, said:

Persona, on 31 January 2011 - 11:04 PM, said:

Rope (Hitch) ('48)

You do know this one is in color, right?

WHOOOOO-WHA"T?! Sonofa... This throws everything out of whack. It's already headed here. It's one of the first I was supposed to see this week! I'll have to instead see Notorious, which I saw for the first time last year...

shoot. Looking at Netflix, I know what I did. I do this all the time. Dangit! I got my "R"s confused. I was thinking of getting Rebecca and I accidentally got Rope. Dangit, I say! DANGIT!

Ryan H., on 31 January 2011 - 11:11 PM, said:

Persona, on 31 January 2011 - 11:04 PM, said:

Any suggestions for those at this point, but especially some foreigns, as it looks like I don't have enough of those, would be appreciated.

All of mine are from the sixties, I think. And they're all very good. Some of them are really, really good (like THE TRIAL, WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? and SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD).

And I thought about recommending foreigns, but, IIRC, you're not a big Godard/Resnais guy, and so I didn't throw those out there. Still, you could give VIVRE SA VIE and ALPHAVILLE a shot.

I actually like quite a few of those early Godards. Anna Karina makes me wish I were fifty years younger and living in a black and white world. But I think I want to save those Godards for some other time. But, personally I believe that pre-Psycho, or around that time or whatever, those early Godards were all The Awesome.

It's late Godard that I really can't get into. And I've tried. I sat next to Leary at Notre Musique and listened to him gasp and cry and fall out of his chair in excitement. He spilled his popcorn on the lady next to him. He's a real tart that way for French film.

EDIT: I've got Virginia Woolf coming now, FWIW!

Edited by Persona, 31 January 2011 - 11:30 PM.

[Ryan H.]

Persona, on 31 January 2011 - 11:22 PM, said:

I'll look that one up. Did that make one of our lists? I remember you talking about it recently, somewhere, in relation to some other movie that's out. Was it The King's Speech? Yeah, I think that's it.

I nominated it for the Top 100, created a thread on it, but it didn't do well in the voting process. I do think I mentioned it in THE KING'S SPEECH thread.

Persona, on 31 January 2011 - 11:22 PM, said:

I've got Virginia Woolf coming now, FWIW!

Cheers.

[Persona]

An explanation of why Black and White, and why now.

[Persona]

Currently watching Zentropa, I believe for the first time in twenty years.

I cannot tell you how much fun this project has become. I feel bad that I started the thread of only tracking down black and whites since Eraserhead, which quickly went back to Psycho, and due to the Horror 25 ended up being a February exploration of any black and white, aiming for a timeline or at least a theme to pull some of it together but still with an emphasis on newer films, films from the last 30-40 years.

But regardless of the original intent and where things ended up, I just wanted to share what a great deal of fun it has been. I'm not going to get to all these good films in February -- hopefully I'll hit at least 80% of the ones I listed for myself -- but the project has made me wish February would go on a lot longer than 28 days.

We'll have to see about finding a reason to do this again sometime soon.

M. Leary, on 21 January 2011 - 08:41 AM, said:

Kafka

I'm really surprised I didn't catch this. Watching Zentropa tonight actually reminded me of Kafka, it just kind of leapt into the head with only a reason of some kind of earlier association I had. I often cite The Double Life of Veronique on British TV in January '96 as the moment I fell in love with film as an art form, but these things build from a less firm foundation and escalate over time. I'm certain Zentropa and Kafka were earlier films that kind of set me on the path to Veronique.

Thanks for the help, everyone. If you think of anything else, feel free to remember the thread.

[Persona]

And apparently Kafka never made it to DVD.

I don't get it.

[John Drew]

Persona, on 08 February 2011 - 11:42 PM, said:

And apparently Kafka never made it to DVD.

I don't get it.

Neither did Soderbergh's following film King of the Hill. Weird. I remember really liking that film.

[John Drew]

How has the B&W fest progressing? Did you ever get around to watching Visions of Light?

[Persona]

Thanks for asking! Of the 20-or-so months I've blogged at Filmsweep, it was easily the most fun, and productive month I've had. It has given me the idea to declare certain themes per month to investigate. This month, along with the EUFF screenings, I'm concentrating on a few new foreigns, as well as some old ones I may have missed. April, perhaps April/May I'm going to concentrate on the A&F t100.

In February I covered Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, The Elephant Man, Eraserhead, Zentropa, Following, Notorious (Valentine's Day special!), Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, A Place in the Sun (theater screening!), The Earrings of Madame de..., Ashes and Diamonds, Citizen Kane (theater screening!), Stranger Than Paradise, Down By Law, Dead Man, and Coffee and Cigarettes.

I really enjoyed the black and whites, and there are a bunch of leftovers from this thread to go back to. I think I'll be doing the B&Ws again, if not before next February then definitely Feb, 2012. Not October, though -- now that we have the Top 25 Horror, October is pretty much covered.

I still need to finish Visions of Light, btw. Loved what I saw, but I was seeing a lot at the time. I think it will turn up on my next "Non-lollipop Docs," sometime in the next few weeks.

Edited by Persona, 13 March 2011 - 05:56 PM.

[Persona]

Anyone here actually seen our #5 in the Top 25 Horror, the Rouben Mamoulian Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde? I am curious why Netflix streams the 1920 version and not the version we report is the best.

I'm down to Netflix streaming these days, and considering a few black and whites for February again this year.

I don't think I've ever seen any version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde...