Is black-and-white film dead?

Nowadays, it seems that getting people to accept black and white films has become quite challenging. Even when you express a preference for them, you may be questioned and accused of pretending to be profound.

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Double Indemnity

However, in reality, when the transition from black and white films to color films initially took place, almost everyone criticized it, claiming that color would ruin the sophisticated quality of black and white. It was just a matter of inertia.


To this day, we are well aware that countless astonishing color films have emerged since then, just as we have had many gems in black and white.

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▲"Laura"

A good film is a good film, and it never loses any brilliance simply because it is in black and white. If you cannot enter the world of black and white films, you will miss out on many great works.

Orson Welles' Citizen Kane is renowned and masterful, hailed as a “monument of modern cinema.”

Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times, City Lights, The Great Dictator... They intertwine comedy and tragedy, touching our heart deeply.

Hitchcock's Psycho, Billy Wilder's Witness for the Prosecution... They keep the audience on the edge of their seats.

Audrey Hepburn's Roman Holiday and Vivien Leigh's Waterloo Bridge beautifully capture the essence of love and its bittersweet regrets.

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Roman Holiday

There are many more that can't be elaborated on one by one. With limited colors, they create infinite meanings, all deserving the description of “unparalleled in the world.”

The magic of black and white films not only existed in the last century, but also the new era. Directors have started creating new visual languages and exploring new aesthetic pursuits within black and white imagery.

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▲ "Roma"

This year, the Korean film "The Novelist's Film" which was black-and-white also won the Best Film Nomination and Jury Prize at the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival this year.

The novelist Junxi visits a bookstore to meet his junior, taking a solitary walk where he encounters a filmmaker couple and an actress. He convinces the actress to participate in a film, and within the dreamlike and enigmatic dynamics of the characters, black and white cinematography creates an immersive and profound portrayal of memories within the mundane.
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Amidst the tide of color films, they stand out with their exquisite black and white visuals, meticulously crafting stories and winning the spotlight.

Lacking color, black and white films, on the contrary, shed their burdens and effortlessly take the stage, conquering all with great prowess.

Why is black and white?

You may find it hard to believe, but black and white films indeed achieve heights that color films cannot match, and that is the realm of shades of gray.

In black and white films, the use of shades of gray reaches its pinnacle. The emotional expression and atmospheric changes of the visuals often rely on them.

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The Big Combo

Suspense, thriller, tension—these most thrilling scenes are portrayed in black and white films through the manipulation of shades of gray and the movement of light and shadow, evoking shifting emotions and depicting the fragmentation of human nature in a vivid and compelling manner.

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▲In The Captain, when the protagonist puts on the uniform and turns around, he has already become someone else entirely.

If presented in color, it would probably be mundane and far less impactful compared to this extreme contrast.

In addition, the cinematography and composition of black and white films are meticulously crafted, with a keen attention to lighting and camera movement, making them visually stunning upon closer examination.

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The Captain
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The Big Combo

Intense lighting, dark shadows, and striking contours—black and white make the visuals highly artistic, allowing people to calmly appreciate the pure allure of light and shadow.

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Psycho

The use of depth of field is exceptionally eye-catching, often mentioned in film textbooks.

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Citizen Kane features a classic use of depth of field. In the foreground, the mother signs the contract that will determine Kane's future. In the middle ground, the father helplessly watches, and in the background, an oblivious Kane happily plays.

Abstract expressions like dreams, nightmares, and hallucinatory memories appear even more distinctive in black and white.

The black and white depiction of surreal dreams is incredibly stimulating, revealing the chaotic nature of the protagonist's state of mind.

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Das Kabinett des Doktor Caligari

When it comes to conveying emotions, black and white films are not inferior to color films; in fact, they excel in leveraging the contrast between black and white to achieve remarkable results.

For example, have you noticed that when the protagonist gazes into the camera in a black and white film, their eyes are so captivating that they seem to delve into the depths of the soul?

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▲In Ivan's Childhood, you can feel Ivan's intense hatred towards the Nazis through his gaze alone.
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▲NoThe final shot of Norman's smile in "Psycho" leaves a lingering sense of unease in our heart.

On the other hand, in certain fixed themes such as massacres and wars, black and white itself becomes an integral part of the content. It enhances the feelings of despair and suffocation, making it easier to provoke deep contemplation in the audience about war. Schindler's List is a perfect example where the entire film is designed in black and white, except for the selective use of color for emphasis, such as the red coat and vibrant dresses. It is justified to have the entire film in black and white because it is the contrast between black and white that makes that red color all the more visually striking and emotionally impactful.

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Schindler's List

The black in black and white


When it comes to black and white films, we cannot ignore film noir, as it represents the unique charm of black and white cinema.

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The Big Heat, The Big Sleep, Sunset Blvd

Film noir doesn't have a universally accepted definition; rather, it is a distinct style characterized by its intensity. It often explores crime themes and draws heavily from detective novels and crime fiction, featuring disillusioned male protagonists and cunning femme fatales.

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Double Indemnity

These films are infused with an undissolvable sense of dark fate, and throughout the viewing experience, a constant undercurrent of injustice can deeply resonate with the audience. Watching film noir requires a certain emotional detachment, as getting too emotionally involved can make it difficult to escape its grip.

The classic film noir era is considered to span from the early 1940s to the late 1950s, a time marked by anxiety, failure, and a prevailing sense of pessimism that left a deep imprint on people's minds. Renowned masters of the film industry during that period, including Orson Welles, Howard Hawks, Billy Wilder, and John Huston, favored the film noir style to portray the turbulence of society and the alienation between individuals.

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Howard Hawks and John Huston


Film noir rarely had happy endings. Its predominant emotions were melancholy, disillusionment, despair, pessimism, evil, and guilt. Ominous background music, tilted camera angles, suggestive dialogue, and reflective voice-overs were commonly used elements in film noir to emphasize its enigmatic and distorted portrayal of human nature.

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Out of the Past and Laura


Some common plot devices included amnesia, murder, traps, characters falling victim to their own weaknesses, and innocent ordinary people becoming sacrifices, all steeped in an atmosphere of despair and paranoia.

High contrast lighting and a prevalence of flashbacks infused scenes with a sense of madness that could be chilling even without explicit violence. Film noir captivated audiences with its engrossing narratives, well-paced tension, and meticulous control over the viewer's attention.

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Kiss Me Deadly


It may sound painful, but it has garnered a large following because of its authenticity, thought-provoking nature, satisfaction, and ability to leave a lasting impact. By magnifying evil and laying bare the complexities of human nature, it shattered the facade of everyday pretenses and revealed the hidden dark side of humanity.

Its weighty and profound nature makes it endlessly thought-provoking. After each viewing, it feels like undergoing a spiritual therapy session, a rebirth after experiencing purgatory, offering a peculiar kind of solace for the soul.

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▲Film noir presented in color : Chinatown, Blade Runner, Mulholland Drive

Although color films later incorporated elements from film noir and became known as "neo-noir," delivering remarkable results, I still believe that black and white films triumph in this genre.

Black and white is authentic and cool. The intense gray, the gloomy black, and the piercing white are better suited to convey the sense of moral decay in film noir.

Of course, it has not "died" at all. With the passage of time, it has only become more enduring and resilient.

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