As this year’s awards race heats up, the category with perhaps the most interesting set of possible nominees is cinematography, as an old, but notable style has started to see a resurgence: black and white. Although the style faded from prominence once color became more widely used, there have always been a few films throughout the decades to keep black and white alive. During the ’80s, there were films like Francis Ford Coppola’s Rumble Fish and David Lynch’s The Elephant Man, while the ’90s featured films like Schindler’s List, Clerks, Pi, Ed Wood and Pleasantville. Now, there’s a new generation of filmmakers using black and white cinematography to add deeper meaning to their films.
In its initial existence, black and white cinematography was simply the norm because color film stock hadn’t been invented yet. Later, it persisted because it was a cheaper option. While it still remains a cheaper option, regardless of budget, many filmmakers have gravitated to it more recently—including this year’s awards contenders. Buzzy films including Joel Coen’s The Tragedy of Macbeth and Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast make this the perfect time to explore the modern meaning of black and white cinematography.
In attempting to evoke an older era of filmmaking or paying respects to an art style, many filmmakers use black and white to give their films a sense of authenticity. When looking back at Gary Ross’s Pleasantville, the black and white cinematography and muffled audio quality excellently portrays ’50s era sitcoms it emulates, like Leave it to Beaver. It makes the titular show that feuding siblings David (Tobey Maguire) and Jennifer (Reese Witherspoon) get sucked into feel like an authentic trek into the past. The black and white imagery in the 2005 adaptation of Frank Miller’s Sin City stems from the comics and retains its identity, fitting well with co-director Robert Rodriguez’s description of the film as more of a translation than an adaptation.
Aside from its lowered framerate to emulate the sped-up movements of silent films (which were made before framerates became standardized and can contain variable framerates within a single film) and pure silence, Michel Hazanavicius’ The Artist’s ability to bring viewers back into the era of silent films wouldn’t be possible without Guillaume Schiffman’s cinematography. Although filmed in color, the adjustments made to the lighting and movement blend excellently with the added black and white to give The Artist the kind of shading and visual depth that defines silent films. It’s no wonder The Artist made Oscar history, with its Best Picture win being the first for a black and white film in the category since Schindler’s List (1993) and the first win for a silent film since the very first winner, Wings (1927).
Last year’s Oscars saw a pair of black and white films, David Fincher’s Mank and Robert Eggers’ The Lighthouse, duke it out for Best Cinematography. The visuals of Eggers’ isolated psychological horror centered on two lighthouse keepers are meant to emulate 19th century photography and Eggers and cinematographer Jarin Blaschke continually went the extra mile in achieving this. Not only was The Lighthouse shot with black and white 35mm film, giving it an older photographic look, but vintage 1930s Baltar lenses were used to create the film’s aesthetic to authentically captures the atmosphere of 1890s New England.
As for Mank, Fincher and cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt ended up stealing away the Oscar from The Lighthouse. Given that Mank captures the story of Herman J. Mankowitz as he becomes inspired to write Citizen Kane, it makes sense that Fincher and Messerschmidt took note of that film’s cinematographer Gregg Toland’s work but didn’t necessarily want to copy and paste it. Rather, Mank was shot with Fincher’s preferred RED camera in its monochromatic mode and certain old-school filming tactics from the era, like shooting night scenes during the day, were used to create a blend of modern and old-school filmmaking that makes Mank visually like an Orson Welles film traveled to the present.
Filmmakers have also seen black and white cinematography as a way to create striking color contrasts. When done correctly, having small dashes of color burst out of black and white worlds creates eye-catching visuals that deepen the thematic potential. As David and Jennifer’s modern views begin to shift the titular show’s oppressive ’50s “nuclear family”-centric culture, Pleasantville’s moments of color create awe-inspiring visuals. The scenes of Mr. Johnson’s (Jeff Daniels) completed mural or David helping Betty (Joan Allen) apply makeup are absolutely iconic for their striking color contrast and deepen the film’s themes about social and political oppression.
Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List has one of the most iconic moments of color contrast. It takes place in a key moment, when Schindler (Liam Neeson) sees a girl in a red coat walking though a scene of devastation and tragedy. The use of color in the girl’s coat excellently contrasts with the bleak devastation around her to symbolize innocence amongst the horrors and destruction—a notion that’s also emphasized in candle flames flickering in color.
This year, we’ve seen a few black and white films with some interesting displays of color contrast. Wes Anderson’s comedic ode to journalists, The French Dispatch, utilizes black and white and color contrast uniquely in each story. Within his first story about an imprisoned artist, Anderson mostly keeps things black and white, really only allowing color to come from Moses’s (Benicio del Toro) paintings, distinguishing them visually and therefore more impactful. As for the other two, Krementz’s (Frances McDormand) epic about young revolutionaries is mostly shown in color to make their efforts for the future feel present while Roebuck Wright’s (Jeffrey Wright) piece on a police chef’s heroic actions is mostly kept black and white, as his retelling takes viewers into the past.
Branagh’s Belfast also has some splashes of color within its black and white story of a tight-knit Belfast community being torn apart by The Troubles in Northern Ireland. The films and plays the film’s central working class family attends are shown in brightly vivid color, making these fleeting moments of escapism a striking contrast to the otherwise bleak and chaotic world they’re living in.
Rebecca Hall’s directorial debut, Passing, has the most unique color contrast—even though it doesn’t use color at all. The film tells the story of two African-American women reuniting as one of them “passes” as white. Cinematographer Eduard Grau utilizes high contrast black and white cinematography to give Passing its strong visual storytelling. While Clare’s images (Ruth Negga) have an incredibly bright look when she’s trying to pass for white, Rennie (Tessa Thompson) is given darker shades and this stark contrast allows for “passing” to be seen and understood on a surface level. It’s visual storytelling at its finest and it allows the themes about race and identity to connect with viewers right from the start.
Like Hall and Grau did with Passing, many filmmakers in this year’s awards races have seen the potential for black and white cinematography to add to the themes of their films by creating an atmosphere or giving ideas visual representation. The Tragedy of Macbeth’s black and white cinematography is not only an easy awards frontrunner because every frame shot by cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel is a visual masterpiece, but it’s perfect for Coen’s adaptation of Macbeth. Elements of abstract fantasy and the darker, power-hungry mentality of this version of Macbeth (Denzel Washington) collide perfectly through the black and white images, making for some stunning visual storytelling that every Shakespeare adaptation needs.
However, of all this year’s black and white films, the film with the most impactful cinematography is undoubtedly Mike Mills’ life-affirming C’mon C’mon. Robbie Ryan’s black and white cinematography is the perfect connective tissue between interviews of children from different cities across the US and the parallel exploration of life that their interviewer, radio journalist Johnny (Joaquin Phoenix) goes through in reconnecting with his nephew, Jesse (Woody Norman). With the color drained out, the conversations about struggles and the beauty of life aren’t shown visually, but rather through real conversation that makes the different views and perspectives come off more authentically. Yet, mixed with the music, incredible performances, and thought-provoking dialogue, the black and white still manages to feel a little fantastical and opens your mind to let C’mon C’mon‘s grounded exploration resonate with you on a deep emotional level.
Personally, C’mon C’mon is the perfect encapsulation of effectiveness and the new meaning black and white has had in the modern era of film and this year looks like a true game-changer for the future of black and white films. It looks like black and white films are going to have a huge presence in all awards categories, with Belfast being a Best Picture frontrunner with Tragedy of Macbeth and C’mon C’mon still in the conversation while Passing stands a good chance of taking Adapted Screenplay. All this success certainly bodes well for continual resurgence of black and white.
