A black and white film in 2021
I want to start with a disclaimer, this is not a film review for the recent release of Malcolm and Marie. However, this film immediately cast my mind to the history of black and white films. And I wondered, how many iconic films were purposefully filmed in monochrome? As contemporary films are mainly shot in colour. So in this week’s blog, I’ll be digging into this and rounding up a brief watch list.
But for those of you who haven’t seen Malcolm and Marie yet, here’s a brief synopsis without any spoilers. A couple returns home after a film launch and ends up having a series of conversations/ arguments. Whilst this stems from the event, this broadens to aspects of their relationship as a whole. Interestingly, honesty is used as both a rationale and a weapon during their discussions. I’d definitely recommend watching it!
The transition between black and white films and colour films?
In 1908, the Kinemacolor process was developed and launched by George Albert Smith. Two years later, the first colour feature film was made.
Across the pond, Hebert Kalmus established the Technicolour trademark in 1915, where filmmakers were introduced ‘ to the two-colour subtractive process, where two negatives capturing red and green lights were placed back to back’ (Reb, 2015). Despite these advances, only certain colours could be prioritised — meaning only some sequences of colour appeared in monochrome films. Until 1926, where The Black Pirate was shot throughout in two-toned Technicolour.
Why film in monochrome?
With colour permeating most of visual culture, I’m intrigued by the director’s and filmmaker’s reason for shooting in monochrome. For director Spike Lee and cinematographer Ernest Dickerson in She’s Gotta Have It they were inspired by Rumble Fish.
They ‘wanted a centre section — with the dance sequence — the colour section — to feel like old Technicolour because Spike loved old Technicolour musicals’ (Rumble Fish, nd)*.
For director Steven Spielberg their decision to film Schindler’s List in black and white was because,
“The Holocaust was life without light. For me the symbol of life is colour. That’s why a film about the Holocaust has to be in black-and-white” (Palowski, 1998).
These two examples (of many) point to the thinking behind how monochrome could be used and the impact this has on audiences reception.
My watch list: present and future
From the monochrome films I’ve watched I’d recommend adding the following to your own to watch list:
Monochrome films I intend to watch soon:
- 12 Angry Men
- The Black Pirate
- Sunset Boulevard
For a more comprehensive list check out The Culture Trip or some of the commercial successes.
If you have any more suggestions for my future watch list, do send them over!
*Drawn from material excerpted from George Alexander’s ‘Why We Make Movies: Black Filmmakers Talk About the Magic of Cinema’.
