Why Every Film Looks Better in Black and White

[@wolfcrow]

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[@hedorahh]

As many in the comments, I am a Kurosawa fan and for me, motion, framing and expressions are more important than color. Love black and white films.

[@redryan20000]

With that said, the colors in Ran are amazing

[@blurredlenzpictures3251]

The snow scene in Ikaru wouldn't be the same

[@AlexWaltz21]

Worth mentioning that Oppenhimer which was a huge box-office success had significant portions of black and white.

[@blurredlenzpictures3251]

It was only successful because of that Plastic Doll movie tho no?

[@r.c.c.10]

I don't really think it's any worth mentioning. It wouldn't add anything to the conversation. It didn't add much in these terms to the film itself.

[@Film-Watcher12]

But that wasn’t why it was so popular.

[@lanolinlight]

So many color films up to the '90's retained black and white lighting techniques--three-point lighting with bright, hard key light. Look at PULP FICTION. That's why such films work so well when stripped of color. More recent low-contrast, low-key color films shot at wide apertures (the Bradford Young look) would have a harder time holding the eye in monochrome.

[@CODBlackOps6WALKTHROUGH]

la la land looks good in color. and so does drive. yes they might have better contrast in b and w, but the color MAKES the movie. it actually adds atmosphere and is tied into the sense of nostalgia in both.

[@coinopanimator]

I think Black and White is a primal thing. Many animals see only in monochrome. Maybe thats how our eye used to be before colour and somehow theres a deep connection thats still with us.

[@morgantrevino4881]

Crazy you didn’t mention the official B&W version of Fury Road. Black and Chrome. Looks absolutely fantastic, the lack of color lets you eye wander more and notice more detail in every shot.

[@coeus2604]

I was thinking the same thing. Very different experiences but equally great

[@Unam-et-Solum]

I remember watching the Noir version of 'Logan' when that released on Blu-ray and I have to say the black and white version impacted me more than colour. Obviously they both work, but something about the way they lighted a lot of the scenes just worked so well in black and white.

[@joelwatts6890]

I never thought about the next step in the progression of style of Batman movies being black and white but it’s an excellent idea. It goes perfectly with my idea of a Batman movie set in the 1930s when the character was originally created.

[@mahatmarandy5977]

My film teacher explained it this way: color movies are one step away from reality because they’re two dimensional. Black and white movies are two steps away from reality because they’re 2D and monochromatic. Silent films are three steps away because they’re 2D, Monochromatic, and mute. He said that each step is harder for the average person to take, which is why B&W films make people uncomfortable unless they’re used to them, and Silent films are nearly unwatchable. They were fine in their time when people had no choice, but color and sound simply make it *easier* for audiences. Bergman once said that he hated using color. I think the quote was, “In black and white I can simply write a shot saying ‘the ball bounces,’ but in color I have to think about what color the ball is, and why it’s that color, and that’s simply too much effort. It distracts me from my purpose. I have a technical question: If you’re looking at a B&W film like, say, “The Trial” (1962), which was shot on 35mm B&W stock, do you get a greater depth of field than if you shoot something on color and convert it to B&W?

[@wolfcrow]

The DOF doesn't change in either case.

[@mahatmarandy5977]

@@wolfcrow Really! That’s interesting, because generally the DOF in B&W is so much more than in color. I didn’t know if film stock or whatever had something to do with it

[@izuix5629]

DOF is dependent on the aperture and the sensor size / film format

[@mahatmarandy5977]

@@izuix5629 can you dumb that down for an analog guy lime me who still thinks in terms of physical film and stuff?

[@TokyoXtreme]

⁠The smaller the aperture hole, the more distant objects will become in-focus, at a cost of light. The smaller the sensor - or size of film stock (8mm vs 16mm vs 35mm etc) - the greater the depth of field. The trend recently is that people want greater separation between subject and background, but having a large depth of field looks great in Lawrence of Arabia, which is the Wolfcrow video I watched just before this one 😂

[@CasperWetering]

Better call saul ended its show with episodes shot in black and white. The emotional contrast that was created by going from colour to black and white hit me right in the heart. That transition from colour to black and white gave in my opinion the story more colour and depth as a whole. I love seeing black and white film.

[@albertusbodenstein1976]

My viewfinder is set to BnW. I prefer it like this so I can see shapes and contrast better.

[@ss9749]

I love black and white films and photographs. I prefer shooting photos in black and white, but my family says things like this would have been such a good picture in color. Could you imagine Citizen Kane or an Ansel Adams landscape in color? ( I know Adams did shoot some photos in color, but no one remembers those as special )

[@Randuski]

I bought the movie The Mist on blue ray, specifically because it comes with the black and white version, which was the original plan for the film. It’s the only way to see it as it was intended, and it’s a much better film when the color is removed. It shines a brighter light on its influences, old black and white monster movies

[@cjkalandek996]

The Justice is Grey edition of Zack Snyder's Justice League is my preferred way to watch it. Because it made the film look and feel even more like a graphic novel come to life.

[@AkumaAPN]

Mad Max Fury Road was also released in Black & White. My local movie theater showed it once, and it was glorious. It's called the "Black and Chrome Edition."

[@RawHeadRay]

I just spent my 401K on mostly post production equipment, I didn’t have more than $300 left over for a basic 4K camcorder but I had a thought, “ this camera is so sharp and low buget that if I shoot a short film on it even a really well composed, lit scene it will still look like a cheap camera,…let’s shoot a few black & white shorts” It occurred to me that not only would I get a few feet away from cheap looking but I also get to play in one of my most favorite cinema looks. I got a camcorder with a wide angle so it has a dynamic look to it. I’m 55, I’m not trying to be rich or famous but I love this stuff, I’m excited to play.

[@shueibdahir]

Oh boy are you going to regret that decision....

[@RawHeadRay]

@@shueibdahir I’m, I already don’t, but I screenshot your reply for future assessment 😂

[@RawHeadRay]

@@shueibdahir and I subb’d your page so I can gleefully update you 🤓

[@TheFalconerNZ]

As you said Black & White carries a stigma of being old, low budget or outdated yet I have seen many reviews of the original '12 Angry Men' (1957) where the reviewers forgot it was black & white within minutes of starting to watch because the beauty of the movie is in the acting & script & raved about how good the movie was. Yes the photography also played a big part of making this movie so good. Visuals help sell a movie & play a big part in making the great spectactical experience movies like in the new Dune movies, but it is the storyline that really makes a great movies. So the bad press black & white was is unfair & needs to be exposed as an unfair prejudice.

[@AlessandroTorza-rs4ve]

I wholeheartedly agree with your conclusion that more high-profile and commercial Hollywood productions should take the B&W route. The other day I was telling my wife that Matt Reeves, who has fully embraced the neo-noir esthetics in The Batman (2022), should make one movie from his Batman 'saga' black and white-although I wouldn't bet one cent on it happening, alas.

[@josemenchaca6852]

💯 % When Kurosawa Mode was revealed for Ghost of Tsushima I played it entirely in B/W before I ever played it in color. It gave my playthrough a profound sense of mystique and ominous foreboding with every encounter and made it so much more impactful. I remember to this day, I was riding casually through a forest road and came near to a clearing, a light at the end of the tunnel if you will only to be met with the silhouette of two bodies strung up from a tree with arrows piercing their bodice. Their black shadows against the light behind them was so beautiful and tragic and I was so moved that I cried. I was in mourning and in awe the sight. After I regained some composure i took a photo 😂. As an pencil artist i am really scared to color in my drawings and just don't do it, so I compensate for that by being a bit more abstract with lighting while trying to balance details. Mike Mignola does this masterfully and I take my inspiration from him. I have always, as you say in the video, "see in black and white first."

[@wolfcrow]

Great example!

[@EdTheBearsFan]

Spike Lee's "She's Gotta Have It" is another black and white film worth checking out. I love how he introduces color temporarily and then cuts back to black and white.

[@erickbrown5385]

I agree. I didn't get a color TV set until 1984 so I had no option but to watch in Black and White. My parents had color. I watched Black Beauty on both and just loved it better in Black and White. I'd turn the color off on my tv if I could.

[@santaclaus2115]

You should check out Werewolf by Night, as it was initially released in 2022 as a black and white Marvel Halloween Special. It's a bit more mainstream (and not too "artsy"), and they re-released it in color, but maybe it would be interesting to dissect the difference.

[@thepayne7862]

Love black and white movies, I can't stand it when classics movies are colorized they just don't feel the same.

[@SpockvsEgon]

I love black and white movies and plan for my next movie to be in black and white. My dad refuses to watch them because he grew up with a black and white TV. He desperately wanted a color TV and it was years before he could afford one. He sees watching black and white as a huge step backwards.

[@wolfcrow]

His take is a very valid one.

[@yarwar]

The black and white sequence (filmed in near-infrared) in Dune 2 is a visual gem in this already beatifully photographed movie.

[@TapirMask]

Black and white has it's obvious advantages, but it's also asking me to sacrifice the joy of colour to get there. It's why even though I've seen it 20 times I still haven't watched the black and white version of Fury Road, because the colour in that film is one of my favourite parts of it and I don't think that film is lacking in texture either way. Trading colour for texture is a value proposition most won't make. I don't think popular audiences have ever complained about Schindler's List being in black and white because the film is so great and the palette feels so integral to that. Oppenheimer also received no complaints for a major amount of it being in black and white, and there was also the beloved sequence in Dune II, both nestled in within the colour scenes of the film. I think this is how you get people to watch black and white on a larger scale. Either be so unmissable an experience that viewers could not ask themselves why it couldn't be in colour (for Schindler's List it would be sacrilege), or meet viewers in the middle. While obviously an important creative decision, in a parallel world where Roma was in colour would it be any less artistically impressive?

[@griffinhamill761]

That’s a great point: get people to appreciate b&w by skillfully interweaving it into a color film (and in a way black, gray, and white are colors even though they may technically not- they’re degrees). Dune II’s b&w infrared sequences worked because at no point did I question whey they went that route and it made it feel alien and weird. The great Carl Theodor Dreyer wrote about how color films usually never work in an article from the 50’s. He spoke of Gate of Hell and John Huston’s opening scenes for Moulin Rouge where the colors were coordinated to heightened effect. Dreyer was after something called psychological realism and just recreating naturalistic color bored him. I believe he said something along the lines of, why can’t the trees be blue and the sky green? Asian cinema understands color theory better, like In the Mood for Love.

[@VFXRefugee]

I love this line of inquiry. Deserves a second video imo.

[@AWSVids]

7:08 "Ask any kid to watch black & white cartoons, it's just impossible. Left to their own devices, they'll pick colour most of the time. Maybe most black & white cartoons look old and dated, the sound is different..." When I was a kid, I definitely didn't like black & white content very much, and for me, it was because I found it scarier... creepier. There's something kinda haunting and nightmarish about it, especially in darker scenes. As I've gotten older, I've gotten more comfortable with it, but colour has always just felt more comforting and I still feel like that's the main difference in how it makes me feel. It's great for something scary or somber, but for something more positive or exciting, I think you need colour. Black & white makes things much more stark and surreal. It inherently feels more artistic, because it's naturally not feeling as much like reality. You're aware that there's a lens of some medium between you and the content much more keenly. I think that kinda shifts expectations a bit, where we're automatically not as bothered by things seeming fake or off or cheap or something like that, because we're not as much in "trying to believe this is reality" mode as we are when we're looking at a color image. In color, cheap sets, bad visual effects or color design, bad make-up or costumes, unflattering or flat lighting, etc... will all bother us a lot more and kinda pull us out of the movie/show. But you put the filter of black & white over it and suddenly we're just like, "Oh, whatever looks weird is intentional and artistic." and we just focus more on the content instead of being distracted by things having to look believable. I think a famous example of this is The Mist, when the colour version was released, the visual effects looked terrible and everything felt cheesy... but then in black and white, suddenly it looks and feels like an intentionally stylized shlocky horror movie that works on that level. On a technical level, colour can be a tricky thing to handle for cameras and colour graders, etc, and on a lot of displays, it can be the thing that's recreated the worst. It varies from display technology to technology, etc... the settings of your tint and saturation, etc, will sometimes make colours look weird or just different than intended, and certainly not realistic. It can cause artifacts like banding, reds can bloom, it softens the image, etc.... Taking that element out and just normalizing it across a grayscale spectrum immediately takes away a lot of variables that can make a picture look bad or weird.

[@bobbob8229]

Great comment ! ! !

[@fangorn2512]

A great movie you didn't mention is Raging Bull. The black-and-white cinematography, along with the overall set design, really helped create the authentic feel of the 1940s, where the story is set. I don't think this movie would have worked as well in color.

[@carlosalbertolealrodriguez5529]

Scott McCloud said, in his book "Understanding Comics", that black and white comics have the advantage of helping the reader to focus on the ideas or concept of the story, while the color comic books, help the reader to understand the world of the comic, because shapes takes the first place on the attention of the reader.

[@saulekaravirs6585]

Main thing I like about Black and White movies: I can hear and understand the voices of the actors well and clearly. I think if I were to give my main reason I don't like watching BW movies it would be that they are not immersive. I am very aware that I a sitting in a chair at home while watching BW movies. It's like watching a play, only somehow less engaging. Some color movies have the same problem, but the movies that I have loved, Hatari!, LoTR trilogy, Galaxy Quest, and Titan AE, all immerse me and cause me to neglect my real life self while I submit my attention to the screen. Although I must say, I love using BW or bichrome in my photography. Always seems to look good. Make it warm like Sepia, or cold high contrast BW can give a lot of creative control.

[@griffinhamill761]

What once a technical limitation (b&w) helped form some of the most majestic films. Carl Theodor Dreyer took advantage of the recent innovation of Panchromatic film in 1928 for The Passion of Joan of Arc. This film stock registered reds better in b&w, giving a more fully fleshed out, realistic look to the faces in the film. It’s palpable. Today we almost have the inverse problem of knowing there is color and therefor audiences outright rejecting and refusing to see b&w films. I love color but find b&w more moving as it’s dreamlike and an abstraction. It makes one focus on line, shape, texture and composition. Bela Tarr used it exclusively after the 80s. Coen bros were forced to shoot Man who wasn’t there in color (foreign markets) and desaturated. Also, nice choice of choosing Empire Strikes Back, as that was shot by Peter Suschitzky. David Cronenberg chose him as his DP 8 years later for Dead Ringers. Peter’s work is modulated, painterly and expressive. His films always look brilliant including the Cronenberg films. He was trained in b&w photography as well as films and his father, Wolfgang, shot original Get Carter, and his son, Adam, is also a DP!

[@vegardpedersen]

I used to hat eBlack and white films, but as i started watching them to learn cinema, i now love it, you focus on great composition and not distracting things, you are more invested in the frame in a way, and after 10 minutes, you forget about caring for the color anyways. Do any of you feel the same?

[@anakinnotvader]

Same! I love the big name classics but avoided b&w films for the most part. Then I took intro to film and fell in love with the composition and production design of golden age films

[@thetalentof]

Brilliant take on the many advantages of shooting B&W, I think audiences can sometimes be turned off by this (including myself unless there's an auteur like Cuaron or Spielberg who can voice clearly their artistic reasons for doing this) but some recent B&W films that I watched and thoroughly enjoyed are 'Frantz' and 'Blue Jay.'

[@FilmSpook]

The Genius Akira Kurosawa just winked and smiled at the Genius Sareesh Sudhakaran. 🙏🏾

[@AlexWalkerSmith]

I was skeptical about the Noir version of Logan, but about a quarter of the way through I realized I was far more engaged than I was when I watched it in color. I actually switched to color halfway through just to compare a scene, and the color version felt "cheap", so I switched back and finished the movie in black and white. Well worth it.

[@curtdilger6235]

Black and white film is conceptually closer to the magic lantern, and the idea that a film is a shadow cast on the wall. The idea that so much movie magic can be conveyed by a flickering shadow is a fundamental part of its appeal, whether we actively perceive this or not. Thanks, your videos are always a pleasure. Regards

[@wolfcrow]

You’re welcome!

[@rockykelley]

Fantastic channel. Your work is so well done on all levels. Congratulations

[@wolfcrow]

Thank you so much 😀

[@benjaminbjrklund743]

Watch Ida and Cold War. probably the best show black and white movies of modern times

[@Atalanta1313]

I wish TV's had a setting so I could watch old shows in B&W like I originally did.

[@erwinkruger-haye2698]

Drop the saturation to zero….

[@dominiclapinta8537]

I had an idea years ago, to watch films and movies on black and white, and it was an experience. Some even looked more believable realistic on black and white, like Excalibur, the shadow, the illusionist. And this was before I found out that other people had begun doing this same thing. And it's easy to watch any movie in black and white. Just turn down the color in the menu of the TV.

[@thermalegoogle]

Dude they absolutely need to release a black & white version of Star Wars, it looks unbelievably good. And this is coming from someone who loves the colors of Empire Strikes Back.

[@BigBlobProductions]

I shot a short in Black and White earlier this year. I forgot how much fun it is to light black and white images!

[@OldDood]

I love to watch films in B&W. Especially older films. This is why I enjoy watching Turner Classic Movies (TCM).

[@Jordan_Greenough]

Batman in black and white would be the sickest movie ever!

[@adrianswriting]

Rashomon is often mentioned when thinking about Kurosawa's black and white films, but for me, Yojimbo and Seven Samurai is the most memorable. Apart from Kurosawa's brilliant direction, I think they are perfect in black and white because they are bleak, like Film Noir, but also their sound/music, particularly in Yojimbo, fits their black and white visuals. For another excellent use of black and white and matching score, try The Big Combo, directed by Joseph Lewis and John Alton as the cinematographer. Rather than sparse Japanese music (often pentatonic, the 'black and white' of musical scales), it uses blaring, edgy jazz music. Another classic black and white film is Coppola's Rumblefish, which uses a percussion soundtrack, performed by Stewart Copeland of the Police. Perhaps the answer to making a successful black and white film is to choose a soundtrack that is as stripped down as the black and white visuals.

[@eddyjuillerat835]

The case of «SIn City» gives us a clue: contrast and creative lighting. Watch the french, italian or russian 40s and 50s films. They are masterieces of cinematography, they rely on really great light setups.

[@bastiangugu4083]

I love B&W films, watched many over the years. I'm sure I wouldn't have watched Sin City, if it was in colour. This film needed its stylized look. For me, B&W has something of a heightened realism, like some animation films have. I can decode the image much faster and concentrate on details. Working with shapes, like manga does, often heightens the connection to the characters and scene. Sadly, I didn't see it, but the B&W version of Godzilla Minus One seems to be great. And you're right, the next Batman would be great in B&W. They could use designs from the old animated show.

[@BriannadaSilva]

This is a really interesting perspective, mainly because it is different from my own! As a director with a graphic design background, color is extremely important to me, and plays deeply into my creative approach. Color theory is a powerful tool for evoking emotions, and it can be a great opportunity for symbolism (which is where I geek out the most). But black and white is still beautiful. I did my latest short film in black and white for budgetary reasons, and I'm proud of how it looks... but I doubt I'll use b&w filmmaking again just because color is superior to me (when I have the resources to do it properly, that is). To each their own!

[@alanorlando]

I’m a big advocate for black and white films

[@symbolic9558]

I can't see the appeal of B&W version of The Red Shoes, Singing in The Rain and Vertigo.

[@cydelegs]

The thing is, all those movies still look great & communicate the same when you take out the colour.

[@firehorseweddingphotograph3995]

Loved the B&W version of Logan, Raiders and of course the Netflix series, Ripley which is a B&W masterpiece.

[@EmpireMP]

Oh, Lord Wolfcrow.... thank you for talking me out of shooting my next film in B & W!

[@AlexGeo925]

Hey, I really enjoy the way you home in on details i didn't spend much time thinking, but most of all, i like the way you tell your stories. I'll go get my color fix on another one, these vids are pretty interesting..

[@jedgould5531]

Will that tripod rotate the shoe 90 degrees?

[@videosuperhighway7655]

So glad I came across this. I always loved B&W even shooting digital I grade B&W. Got a Canon Cinema camera, started grading B&W and really enjoy working this way. At least this video explains it 😂

[@cydelegs]

I love well done black & white, a huge proportion of my personal loved movies are filmed this way and so many have been visually dazzling discoveries. I find it so very weird and disconnecting to realise most people seem to consider it a chore, even people who grew up watching mostly black & white, I think of them as traitors haha. I like well done colour film as well but it always comes down to skin tones for me.

[@cjpreach]

I clicked on this video because I love great B&W films.

[@71lizgoeshardt]

I love B&W films, but it might be because I grew up watching old movies. My parents loved all the old stuff.

[@42crazyguy]

I've never experience 'getting tired' of color film. I think that's just like your opinion man.

[@davidmouser596]

Its not better than colour but it does show the difference more clearly between good & bad films as there is no colour to hide behind.

[@HenryLoenwind]

Not even a mention in passing of Werewolf by Night after harping on Marvel for a good bit at the end? Looks like you missed it...

[@FIlmXFilms]

Berserk panels in a Wolfcrow video - pleasant surprise!

[@fullcontactgeek]

No mention of the b&w editions of Fury Road or the Snyder Cut of Justice League?

[@griffinhamill761]

One other thing is that we often don’t get b&w films today because people know there is color. That’s a shame. Films shot in b&w today, need to have an aesthetic reason for it. 1994’s Ed Wood was emulating the period in which it took place (50’s) and was perfect stylistic choice not only because Wood made films in b&w but it also put you in that bizarro world.

[@2hdude]

Parasite is a great movie whose criterion release includes a black and white re-master. worth the watch!

[@coeus2604]

Odd how the b+w version of fury road wasn’t mentioned

[@HhbwubAvybsb]

Godzilla minus one minus color and Parasite South Korean movie also have B&W version too . I love B&W look

[@williamclark247m]

Ripley is a masterpiece for real

[@jeff__w]

Black and white seems genre-appropriate for _Schindler’s List_ if only because the films and videos we associate with that topic and period are invariably in black and white. That aside, to me, black and white has, paradoxically, both a spareness and a lushness that color doesn’t. By spareness, I mean we’re obviously cued by the blacks and whites but we’re not distracted by, say, that vivid blue or that bright orange. By lushness, I mean the velvety blacks of _film noir_ or the glistening whites of any snowy scene or maybe the pristine whites of Ingrid Bergman’s various outfits in _Casablanca._ I tend to view black and white as a _plus,_ whereas I’m pretty neutral about color.

[@cladladd]

Literally any animated film…….

[@MrGeek2112]

Additionally, we have more rods than cones & see in higher resolution in greyscale than in color. Facial characteristics are pre-processed by the retina & pre-cortical ganglia, without conscious perception of color.

[@RobiticDuck]

watching Terminator Salvation in black and white. It looks great with all the Terminator metal ect.

[@kiminthemix4251]

I love Black and White

[@diethermanicat]

Transforming them to black and white is good as long as each shots are well-lit and contrasty when shot on color. Series like Ozark and movies like live action Little Mermaid will be terrible in B&W since they're murky to begin with.

[@wolfcrow]

You'd be surprised what can be achieved in grading in black and white!

[@erwinkruger-haye2698]

The Netflix series Ripley is stunning in BW and the mostly fixed cameras create so much tension…..it just would not have liked as good in colour….every photographer should watch Ripley

[@jedgould5531]

Why the tiny keyboard ? Driving me nuts.

[@ryanartward]

Im one of those people who turns the saturation to zero on my tv at times.

[@RH1812]

Manhattan. That section of Dune Part 2. The Man Who Wasn’t There. Any Ealing movie.

[@smkh2890]

After a short while watching i am no longer aware that its in B+W !

[@DFaustmann]

B&W is more imagination to me, its more mystic and abstraction. I don’t want realism, I have more than enough realism in my ordinary days. Film is entertainment and more to me.

[@RDaMyth]

I can't imagine Casablanca in anything but black and white.

[@johnchamberlain5435]

I have noticed that black and white film does not look right on color television screens, perhaps of the limited dynamic range, or the almost imperceptible color pixels along sharp boundaries.

[@iainodlin]

Of course, so many modern films have their color fucked up beyond repair by the Teal-and-Orange processing applied as liberally and mindlessly as pitch correction in music that it's a relief to watch them in honest black-and-white.

[@rainerloeser2742]

Black and white really brings out the expressions of actors faces much more realistic than color. Horror movies shot on black and white always look more frightning to the viewer. I support B/W any day. These days colored films tend to have washed out colors,

[@blubbblubber7442]

Some interesting points were made in the video and I do agree that B&W can achieve a very specific mood which colour simply cannot provide. However, in general I would still strongly disagree: most film (and pictures/comics) profit immensly from well done colour. There is just so much more symbolism and nuance to work with. To give just one very simple but powerful example: The golden hour is considered one of the most amazing lighting conditions for a reason. B&W can NEVER achieve the full beauty of a sunset and there are many more examples like this, especially when we talk about positive emotion. I think the admiration for B&W stems from its natural "heavyness" which is associated with high artistic value. I consider this viewpoint understandable but reductive.

[@mudgetheexpendable]

BATMAN in B&W could be *amazing* and game-changing for a creaky, old, uncool franchise. Like DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE breaking the "R" barrier.

[@randallburgess6393]

I feel at the basic level. The reason we want to see Films in colour is that when we watch a film, we want to escape into a different reality. We want to become part of the story of the film and in order to relate to that we need it to be in colour soit reflects what we see in every day life black-and-white take us out of that and it’s a constant reminder that this isn’t reality and we have trouble relating to it in the same way colour allows us to become part of the story of the film because that’s how we normally live in colour

[@chrisbutler8856]

I disagree. When we watch movies I think we want to feel like we are watching a story, not reality. Thats part of why super sharp digital sensor footage isnt immersive. It's too close to reality, like a sporting event. Films shot in the 80's and beforehand dont look like exact replications of reality, it signals to our brains we are watching a story. Black and white does a similar thing as those old films do.

[@martinriley106]

There are certain films that only work in black and white. Look at ‘Young Frankenstein’?

[@Atalanta1313]

when channel surfing, if I see a B&W movie, I stop. Because I am more likely to enjoy it.

[@johnbrill7909]

I can confirm the better reading of emotion. I had a job at a local newspaper for three years. Each year we would put together a "Graduation Tab" that had photos of all the kids graduating from the six local high schools. This tab would be inserted into the paper. I was responsible for putting together the Graduation Tab. Each high school would send us all their photos in Color (naturally) and I would have to not only turn them into Black and White. Not only that but I would have to tone each photo. The ancient printer would print more ink than was necessary. In order to have photos print accurately I had to pull about 30% off of the saturation of the black. This meant that I looked at a whole lot of photos of faces as I judged how much black to back off from. The point: As I did this I eventually realized that I could better read the expressions on the faces of the kids. I am Aspergers. The color information just creates more noise for my brain to filter out. It would be handy to be able to view the world in Black and White.

[@wolfcrow]

Very interesting take. Thanks for sharing!

[@Xeronimo74]

Se7en is also awesome in black and white

[@red_calla_lily]

My theory is that B&W movies are harder to watch. Humans see the world in colors, so we naturally use them to collect information about objects. I recognize a tree in B&W - in color though, I get an additional piece of information (green leaves) that makes it even easier to identify. You have to pay more attention to movies in B&W as there's not as much redundant information in the images. Then, there's the stereotype that these movies tend to be more "artistic" which often equals having a longer runtime and/or slower pace. That's probably my reason to avoid B&W movies. I like movies - but when I come home from work, my ADHD brain just refuses to work overtime. It wants something that is easier to digest, visually, which doesn't feel like a commitment.

[@asitpadhan636]

12 angry men, its a wonderful life iconic

[@AzureSymbiote]

It's true, I associate "art" movies with boredom. They don't appeal to me. I also disagree with the title.

[@FlameForgedSoul]

Not one frame or mention of Fury Road: Black and Chrome, really? Also going to push back slightly (and semi facetiously) and say color is probably the reason Wes Anderson has a career (The French Dispatch notwithstanding), so not _every_ film.

[@michaels.5878]

Young Frankenstein would have been odd in color.

[@Xeronimo74]

fascinating!

[@GaborGeorge]

Every film doesn't look better in black and white. Most films don't look better. Generally badly shot films look better in black and white because you suddenly added "style". Colour is a form of storytelling and one of my favourite parts of films. When filmmakers consciously choose the colour palette it always adds to the films. It's safer to shoot in black and white and it's the choice of low-budget filmmakers because they fear they can't control colour. Become a better filmmaker and control colours to tell your story. Black and white will never be mainstream again because apart from some film students, people don't prefer it to colour.