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Celebrating 100 reviews with 100 reasons to love black and whiteApr 24 '06 (Updated Apr 26 '06) Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line Yep, that's three digits! For my 100th review on Epinions.com, I decided to do something interesting and fun. Hope you enjoy the fruits of this happy labor of mine. Being a young adult into classic movies is no easy task, believe me. Especially when it comes to my belief that black and white is superior to color. Naturally, at my age (18), I have many a friend whom either refuses or is skeptical about watching movies in black and white. Of course I understand such prejudices- I myself used to have them- but over time, I have changed my opinions. Ever since cinema came into an art form in the late 19th century, black and white has existed and, for a long time, was the only way to see the world in cinema (I don’t count tinting as anything different, since the original film stock is still black and white. And don’t even get me started on colorization). Black and white used to be common place, but is now a novelty that is all but extinct. Watch a black and white movie and compare it to a color one, though. The black and white movie has more fun. It’s more expressionistic. Black and white movies are home to shadows, to partially obscured faces, to dark backgrounds with a single lit window shining out. With no color on them or on any of the characters, the seediest people and events happen in this gray, mysterious world seen on film. On the DVD of The Third Man, Peter Bogdanovich- a director and Orson Welles’ biographer- once said that Welles’ called black and white ‘The actor’s friend’, and Welles also defied Bogdanovich to name a great performance in color. Knowing Welles’, he was probably half or mostly jesting. Still, if one takes his words literally, they’ll find that he’s probably right. Actors in black and white movies cannot rely on looks or physical appearances, instead having to use the force of their personalities, their charisma and strong characterizations to grab the audience. Name some of the legendary actors of the cinema: Bogart, Brando, Welles, Chaplin, Keaton, Cagney, Grant, Gable, Fonda (Henry), Douglas (Kirk), Lancaster, Olivier and so on. What do they have in common? A good number of their performances- or at least a number of the greatest, most revered ones- were shot in black and white. Not to say that all of them made just black and white movies, but more people fondly remember Brando for On the Waterfront then for The Island of Dr. Moreau, right? Black and white, for me, also has that magical, interesting quality to it. We see color all of the time, so seeing a movie in color isn’t that interesting. But black and white? There’s something different, something novel. You’d be amazed about the depth and richness that can be found in something that seems to look so bland. The ironic thing about black and white is that, for me, it’s actually more colorful then color, whether if you’re interested in the cinematography or in the acting or, perhaps, in the wholesome value of it. Still not convinced? I have taken upon myself to organize a list of one-hundred movies in black and white (With links to reviews that I have written). I have not seen all of them and do not consider all of those I have seen to be personal favorites. They do have one thing in common, though: They’re well known, reputable and acclaimed movies that are all filmed in two contrasting colors (One or two of them do make limited use of color, but not enough to be considered full color movies). 12 Angry Men (1957)
A Streetcar Named Desire
Ace in the Hole (The Big Carnival)
All About Eve
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
Angels With Dirty Faces
The Apartment
The Battle of Algiers
Beat the Devil
The Best Years of Our Lives
The Big Heat (1953)
The Big Sleep (1946)
The Birth of a Nation
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Citizen Kane
City Lights
Dr. Strangelove
Frankenstein (1931)
Freaks
From Here to Eternity
The General (1927)
The Gold Rush (1925)
Grand Illusion
The Grapes of Wrath
The Hidden Fortress
High Sierra
The Hustler
Intolerance
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
It Happened One Night
It’s a Wonderful Life
Judgment at Nuremberg
The Killing
La Strada
Laura
The Longest Day
The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)
The Maltese Falcon
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
Metropolis
Modern Times
Monsieur Verdoux
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
My Darling Clementine
Night of the Hunter
Nosferatu (1922)
Notorious
Out of the Past
Paths of Glory
Psycho (1960)
The Public Enemy
Raging Bull
Safety Last
Scarface (1932)
Schindler’s List
Seven Samurai
Shadow of a Doubt
Some Like it Hot
Sunrise
Sunset Boulevard
Swing Time
The Thing from Another World
Throne of Blood
To Have and Have Not
Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Un Chien Andalou
White Heat
Young Frankenstein
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by jeff_wilder78 by Stephen_Murray
