Top 5

Re:Top 5 black and white movies made after 1970

JimBell — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 06:44:06 GMT

Due to the fantiastic respone to my previous posing, I must say that this is a great question Ris asked about b & w movies made when there was no longer any fashionable reason to make them. Anyone who has seen an Ansel Adams photograph (we all have, right?) knows that black and white can--may--convey something that colour cannot.

In Clerks, the b & w worked beautifully for the security camera look. But in Good Night and Good Bye the b & w bought the movie leeway it did not deserve--the movie presented itself as profound when it actually took the easy way out and avoided tougher questions.

Is a B & W movie any the less if you remember it in colour? I always remember The Man Who Wasn't There in b & w, but Paper Moon . . . sad to say I lost a substantial bet a few days after seeing this pic when I said it was in colour . . . well, I saw it in colour!!! But it does raise artistic and aesthetic questions about the role b & w plays in the movie. I'd say that Paper Moon, like Cider House Rules, could be made in colour. But The Man Who Wasn't There demands b & w not just for the film noir homage but for the theme of the picture itself.

Re:Top 5 black and white movies made after 1970

mercurial — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 05:11:46 GMT

Entirely in B&W:

1.) Angel-A

2.) Ed Wood

3.) Clerks

4.) Man Bites Dog

5.) Swoon

Runner-Ups: Paper Moon, Pi

Partially B&W:

1.) American History X

2.) Sin City

3.) Zentropa, or Europa (depending on your country)

4.) Pleasantville

5.) Memento

Runner-Up: Renaissance, The Blair Witch Project

Re:Top 5 black and white movies made after 1970

Risselada — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 17:18:45 GMT

mysterywriter:

I'm just going to throw in Pyscho, one of my favorites and still scary enough to raise the hair on my back. Also all those old mysteries, such as Charlie Chan and those of that ilk. And the serial movies, such as Boston Blackie. None of those would be helped by color.

Hmm, none of those were made after 1970 though. Although Psycho was in 1960 when color could have been feasible.

Re:Top 5 black and white movies made after 1970

mysterywriter — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 20:59:09 GMT

I'm just going to throw in Pyscho, one of my favorites and still scary enough to raise the hair on my back. Also all those old mysteries, such as Charlie Chan and those of that ilk. And the serial movies, such as Boston Blackie. None of those would be helped by color.

Re:Top 5 black and white movies made after 1970

Smooth_J — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 23:25:19 GMT

My picks...

1. The Man Who Wasn't There

2. Pi

3. Schindler's List

4. Good Night, and Good Luck.

5. Sin City

Pretty conventional, but I've still got a lot to see...and I would also like to add Memento to that list, but that's really only half in black and white, so it doesn't really count completely I guess.

Re:Top 5 black and white movies made after 1970

leeroy711 — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 20:32:49 GMT

1. Schindler's List

It may be cliche but I still think this may be the greatest film ever made.

2. Pi

The first Aronofsky film and it's better every time I watch it

3. The Man Who Wasn't There

The Coen brothers with cinematographer Roger Deakins proved b&w can have some of the most beutiful shots ever

4. The Elephant Man

The only Lynch film I ever fell in love with

5. Ed Wood and Good Night & Good Luck tie

I could probably tie several more with 5th place but these are the ones that seem to stick out in my mind.

Re:Top 5 black and white movies made after 1970

asnakeofjuly — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 05:59:49 GMT

Thinking of just 5 is difficult, but here it is (not really in any particuar order):

1. Manhattan

2. Eraserhead

3. Schindler's List

4. Pi

5. A Snake Of June

Re:Re:Re:Top 5 black and white movies made after 1970

joem18b — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 20:52:15 GMT

The guys on this week's Scene Unseen podcast were talking about how much they liked "La Haine" (Hate) (1995).

Also at least partly in black and white (can't remember which parts) was "Living in Oblivion" (1995), which I thought was terrific.

Re:Re:Top 5 black and white movies made after 1970

tmoney — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 14:31:12 GMT

Abby I feel the same way. I really liked stranger than paradise, yet disliked ghostdog and broken flowers, so that is why i have stayed away from coffee and cigarettes.

Re:Top 5 black and white movies made after 1970

indieabby88 — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 22:47:26 GMT

Has anyone mentioned "Coffee and Cigarettes" yet? I really liked that movie, and it's probably one of the few Jarmusch films I've seen that I can say I've enjoyed.

Re:Re: Top 5 black and white movies made after 1970

magnus — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 21:59:13 GMT

Yeah, my list also includes Manhattan and Good Night, and Good Luck, but I think also that Mutual Appreciation is a fantastic movie.

So the list made to a real list:

Manhattan - great movie. I loved it. One of Woody Allen's best. I don't know why it was black and white ... I actually think it's weird. But cool though.

Good Night, and Good Luck - another great movie.

Mutual Appreciation - great great great movie. I loved it.

Re: Top 5 black and white movies made after 1970

enaretea — Tue, 15 May 2007 07:35:31 GMT

This is my first post in the Top 5 group. My Top 5 have so far been given by other posters.

1. Manhattan (B/W = romanticism)

2. Schindler's List (B/W=starkness and nakedness)

3. Lenny (B/W=reality)

4. Good Night, and Good Luck. (B/W=nostalgia)

5. The Elephant Man (B/W=darkness)

Re: Top 5 black and white movies made after 1970

chesterfilms — Tue, 15 May 2007 02:58:31 GMT

1. Raging Bull - , Raging Bull weaves brutality and beauty into heavily character driven story. In the early years of the blockbusters Raging Bull proved that important and personal filmmaking will always inspire others to create.

2. Manhattan - One of the greatest openings in film history.

3. Schindler's List - I love it, but I can't watch it very much.

4. The Elephant Man - One of David Lynch's most accessible films. John Hurt gives one of the great performances in film history.

5. Overlord - The fact that this film was made in 1975 is unbelievably amazing. It looks like it was shot during the war. They have seamlessly inter-cut real WWII footage with this film to make it sudo-documentary looking. Shot by John Alcott (A Clockwork Orange, Barry Lyndon, The Shining), Overlord is one of the best looking WWII films I have seen. It's in my top 10 War films ever

Re: Top 5 black and white movies made after 1970

JimBell — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 06:23:04 GMT

I have trouble remembering what movies were in B&W and what in colour. As Stumbling on Happiness reminds us, this is because the human memory works by storing things in short-hand and then reconstructing them when dragged from memory. The colour of a film is not often paramount for me, so when I drag a movie from my old memory vaults, I sometimes automatically colourize it. So although Schindler's List is a great movie, I have colourized it.

But there are three movies I always see in B&W:

The Man Who Wasn't There--the shadows carry so much weight, and the grey tones actually reflect the colourless tone of protagonist

Clerks--like someone else wisely said, it has the security camera look that really adds to the humour

Good Night and Good Luck--although I had negative things to say about the thematic argument in the movie, I have nothing but good things to say about the music and the soft black and white--both were significant in recreating the 50s milieu.

Jim Bell

Re: Top 5 black and white movies made after 1970

Risselada — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 04:20:33 GMT

BigJeffLebowski:
5. Lenny

Huh, I've never seen the movie Lenny. I'd heard of it but never even realized it was in black and white. Would you recommend really listening to some recordings of Lenny Bruce before actually seeing the movie to get prepared?

BigJeffLebowski:
No one really brings this up when they mention the film, but I think the monetary restraints on the original Clerks (black and white, stationary camera) give the film a certain security-camera feel that really helps the juxtaposition of the mundane and the outlandish, and is part of the reason Clerks is able to assimilate the two so well.

You say this is never brought up, but I thought I actually heard Smith himself claim that was the effect in mind even when he was shooting it. I could be mistaken though. I've definitely heard that security camera type of angle discussed before though.

BigJeffLebowski:
And shouldn't we have special mention for films that either spot-color or switch between black and white and color for more than simply flashbacks? For instance: Rumble Fish, American History X, Pleasantville, Memento, Wings of Desire, Zelig, The Notorious Bettie Page?

The movie If.... also switchs between color and black and white, and although it was commended by critics as some kind of artistic choice, it turns out it was merely due to their budget forcing them to swtich to black and white stock at a certain point in the shoot.

Re: Top 5 black and white movies made after 1970

Risselada — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 04:13:26 GMT

forrest_gump:

1. The schindlers list
2. Casablanca
3. Roman holiday
4.The bicycle thief
5. Two woman

Except Casablanca all these films are my all time favourite films...Till today i sometimes get confused about the depth of Casablanca...till this very moment i dont know why i liked this movie!!

Hmmm, it seems like Schindler's list is the only one that was actually made after 1970. Unless there are alternate versions of these films made later that I was not aware of.....

Re: Top 5 black and white movies made after 1970

Risselada — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 04:12:31 GMT

HairyLime:
Not sure what the criteria here is, just based on beautiful cinematography, or just happens to be in black in white, or black and white that works well in the telling of the story?

I was just thinking of movies that were good that also happened to be in black and white, for whatever reason. But I'm sure particularly good used of the medium could only help that overall personal assessment of the film.

Re: Top 5 black and white movies made after 1970

BigJeffLebowski — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 18:35:04 GMT

Manhattan's my favorite film, so that's obviously going to have to be my number one. Beyond that, though, the question must be raised: how much can the mere aesthetics of the film affect our selections? There are some black and white films which are beautifully shot, but are not as good as a Jarmusch or Clerks. Trying to focus on the film itself, I'm going to have to say:

1. Manhattan (and also Stardust Memories and Broadway Danny Rose by Allen)

2.The Last Picture Show

3. Raging Bull

4. Pi

5. Lenny

These are all films which I think are superb upon their own merits, but the fact that they are in black and white adds a new dimension.

No one really brings this up when they mention the film, but I think the monetary restraints on the original Clerks (black and white, stationary camera) give the film a certain security-camera feel that really helps the juxtaposition of the mundane and the outlandish, and is part of the reason Clerks is able to assimilate the two so well.

I really agree with everyone who said Man Bites Dog, Ed Wood, Good Night and Good Luck, The Man Who Wasn't There, and the David Lynch films, but we are limited to five...

And shouldn't we have special mention for films that either spot-color or switch between black and white and color for more than simply flashbacks? For instance: Rumble Fish, American History X, Pleasantville, Memento, Wings of Desire, Zelig, The Notorious Bettie Page?

Re: Top 5 black and white movies made after 1970

HairyLime — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 18:24:16 GMT

1967 was the first year the Academy did not have seperate categories for Color & Black and White. They started it in 1939. Gone With The Wind won color and Wuthering Heights won B&W.

Re: Top 5 black and white movies made after 1970

forrest_gump — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 16:47:36 GMT

1. The schindlers list

2. Casablanca

3. Roman holiday

4.The bicycle thief

5. Two woman

Except Casablanca all these films are my all time favourite films...Till today i sometimes get confused about the depth of Casablanca...till this very moment i dont know why i liked this movie!!

Re: Top 5 black and white movies made after 1970

HairyLime — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 14:47:12 GMT

Not sure what the criteria here is, just based on beautiful cinematography, or just happens to be in black in white, or black and white that works well in the telling of the story?

Manhattan - a lot of great design and camera angles throughout, and fit the main character's outlook of the city (Woody has done a few other great b&w films, Stardust Memories, Broadway Danny Rose, Zelig)

Eraserhead - actually prefer over Elephant Man, a lot of great use of texture, light and dark, and would not have been nearly as creepy in color.

Raging Bull - absolutely gorgeous cinematography throughout, those boxing scenes, the bloody water cascading over LaMotta's torso (although there was some color 8mm film thrown in the picture in the middle)

Love the all the Jarmusch films, but it seems they are either b&w for 'arts-iness' sake or to save money and most are quirky for the most part, and less beautiful to look at (although Dead Man has its moments) -- seems to be the norm for small indie films that you dabble in b&w at some point, Spike Lee's 'She's Gotta Have It', Kevin Smith's 'Clerks' etc

Ed Wood was great, Young Frankenstein too, but both seem to be striving to recreate a lost period in film history, instead of trying to break new ground in the use of b&w. Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid would also fit here.

Anyone know when they stopped giving separate oscars for bw and color cinematography, that might give a better cut off date for when b&w stopped being quite so prevalent. I'd actually go back a bit further, maybe to 60?

Dr. Strangelove, Whose Afraid of Virginia Woolf - both beautifully shot and well past when most movies were released in color.

Re: Top 5 black and white movies made after 1970

Risselada — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 21:33:17 GMT

Windbreaker:
Curse this 1970 cutoff!!! Were there really that many above-average B&W flicks make after 65?

Not necessarily. 70 was a pretty arbitrary round number. If you got some that were from after 65 go ahead and share them. I'd be interested.

Re: Top 5 black and white movies made after 1970

Windbreaker — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 20:34:15 GMT

Curse this 1970 cutoff!!! Were there really that many above-average B&W flicks make after 65? Can I be a smartass and include half of Memento?

1. The Man Who Wasn't There

2. Ed Wood

3. Following

4. Young Frankenstein

5. [...brain fart...]

Re: Top 5 black and white movies made after 1970

Jymkata — Sat, 09 Dec 2006 02:43:53 GMT

Man, it's hard to think of them isn't it? These are the 5 I liked the most (where the style served te story and didn't just call attention to itself)

1. Young Frankenstein - A parody so good that it has become part of the legend. I still chuckle when I think of Peter Boyle singin' "Puttin on the Riz". How did Mel Brooks make this comaedy masterpiece and then make such lackluster comedy later on? What knockers! ....Oh, thank you doctor.

2. The General - John Boorman's best film since Point Plank and the film that should have got Brendan Gleeson an Oscar

3. The Last Picture Show - What a great farewell for the wonderful Ben Johnson

4. Veronika Voss - This Fassbinder is my favorite from his trilogy - lots of experiments with shading

5. Kafka - I know it had some color scenes at the end and I know it bombed, but it stayed with me and I liked it.

Re: Top 5 black and white movies made after 1970

Risselada — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 20:18:20 GMT

Here's a few other's that are pretty good, maybe worth mentioning.

Eraserhead

Tales from the Gimli Hospital

Le Final Combat

The General, 1998.

Re: Top 5 black and white movies made after 1970

SkyPilot — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 06:48:08 GMT

1. Schindler's List (except for that bit with the red coat)

2. Dead Man

3. Good Night & Good Luck

4. Ed Wood

...I'm also having trouble with this... but it's a good discussion topic, Risselada

Re: Top 5 black and white movies made after 1970

pippin06 — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 02:16:52 GMT

I'm going to respectfully disagree, but then again, I tend to relax my critical eye when it comes to movies that remotely resemble teen flicks. Please see the Forever Young group to verify that position. Pleasantville isn't the greatest cinematic masterpiece, but it is not horrible. At least, I don't think it's horrible. It's sort of quirky and charming and satirical, though I will say that I only reached that conclusion after I sat down and actually paid attention to it. It's not dark and brooding like some of these other choices. It's a thoughtful movie about hope, belief, and illusion. And the visual effects are actually quite stunning.

I wasn't fond of Sin City. Lots of style. I think the story gets lost in the style.

I haven't seen enough post-70 b&w's to make a list of 5, I've decided. I would put Clerks and Good Night, and Good Luck on my list, though.

Re: Top 5 black and white movies made after 1970

tmoney — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 21:37:21 GMT

yeah that Pleasantville comment was a joke. I thought it was pretty horrible. Sin City was borderline, it could go either way. Hmm, so i guess i only have a top 4 for now.

Re: Top 5 black and white movies made after 1970

Risselada — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 21:16:55 GMT

tmoney:
What, you mean besides Pleasantville? 1. The Elephant Man 2. Pi 3. Man Bites Dog 4. Dark Days 5. Sin City But I have to admit, I can probably count on two hands how many black and white films since 1970 that I have seen.

Mand Bites Dog and Dark Days are ones I thought of as well.

No, I wouldn't count Pleasantville because there is color in it. I'm actually surpised you guys mentioned that one. I've never sat down and watched it, but I put it in one time when I was working at a video store and caught a lot of it. It seemed pretty horrible to me.

I also wouldn't count Sin City for the same reason. It has color in it. Even though I wished I could count it.

I guess technically The Man Who Wasn't There was shot in color, but the final product is all in B&W, so I would count that.

Re: Top 5 black and white movies made after 1970

pippin06 — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 18:45:35 GMT

tmoney:
What, you mean besides Pleasantville? 1. The Elephant Man 2. Pi 3. Man Bites Dog 4. Dark Days 5. Sin City But I have to admit, I can probably count on two hands how many black and white films since 1970 that I have seen.

Hey, me too about counting on two hands. That's why I am having trouble with this list.

Does Pleasantville count? I was totally going to put that on my list, if so.

Re: Top 5 black and white movies made after 1970

tmoney — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 18:01:26 GMT

What, you mean besides Pleasantville?

1. The Elephant Man
2. Pi
3. Man Bites Dog
4. Dark Days
5. Sin City

But I have to admit, I can probably count on two hands how many black and white films since 1970 that I have seen.

Top 5 black and white movies made after 1970

Risselada — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 16:44:39 GMT

What are your favorite black and white films made after a time when color had become the norm? Since I'm not sure exactly when that was (that could be an interesting thing to discuss here as well), I'm going to say 1970.

I can actually think of a lot more than 5, so I'm going to say more than that, but I think that's fair and allowable.

1. I'm clumping all of Jim Jarmusch's B&W films together, which is nearly half of them I think: Stranger Than Paradise, Down by Law, Dead Man, Coffee and Cigarettes.

2. The Man Who Wasn't There. The Coen brothers' tribute to film noir.

3. The Elephant Man. My favorite Lynch film (even though I've only seen three).

4. Ed Wood. It HAD to be in B&W.

5. OK, I can't pick 5, so these all tie for 5th. Clerks, Pi, Young Frankenstein, Raging Bull, Following, Good Night, and Good Luck.

Ok, I have a few more I'd like to mention, but I'll hold off for some discussion. There are several that I'm expecting a lot of people to list.