I haven't seen a B&W movie since starting photography. The B&W movie which really does stick in my mind, though, is "Citizen Kane." I read a web page about the photography which was introduced in the movie, and it was suprising how many new things they tried.
"It's the way to educate your eyes. Stare. Pry, listen, eavesdrop. Die knowing something. You are not here long." - Walker Evans
The first Bogart/Bacall movie, wasn't released for a couple of years. When they got ready to release it, they decided to re-shoot some of the scenes. In one scene a detective ages 2 years between one cut away and the next. Think how good you have to be, to splice scenes together that were shot days, and even in this case years, apart and not have it look like the lighting changed.
With my own interests in filmmaking growing all the time, I find myself watching a lot of films now - more than I ever watched few years ago. Great cinematography is not dead or dying by any means - it's just something you have to spend a bit of time looking for, that's all. You won't find it in the vast majority of mainstream flicks. It is out there, though, and I think worth looking for.
Right now my two favorite DP's are Christopher Doyle and Kazuto Sato. Sato works with Japanese director SABU and worked on two of my favorite films - Monday and Drive. Both are new-school Japanese films and follow a logic and style you pretty much won't find elsewhere. If you're not a foreign films nerd, though, you're probably unaware of his work. The man whose work you've seen the effects of, whether you've seen one of his films or not, is Christopher Doyle. Doyle seems to churn out at least 10 films a year, being driven by passion for what he does. Some of you may have already seen trailers for it, but in the next few months there should be coming out in the US a film out of Hong Kong called Hero. [Side note/peeve: while Tarantino is the man behind getting the film released in the US, he had nothing to do with making it, so resist the urge to credit him with anything on this. It's all Zhang Yi-Mou] Hero takes place at the beginning of the Qin Dynasty and stars the likes of Jet Li and Maggie Cheung, among others. The movie site can be found here. Anyhow, even though I tend to completely dislike the Crouching Tiger wire fighting stuff, this has got to be one of the most gorgeous films I have ever seen, visually speaking. I will recommend that everyone with the least big of interest go out and see this when it's in the theatres here.
Doyle's work really has widespread influence, though. He pretty much reinvents his style every few years, and my take on that is that he pretty much has to, since after a few years so many people are ripping off his style. You see echoes of his cinematography in films from all over the world. Some of it is color, some of it is B&W. He's done a lot with director Wong Kar Wai (to whom some of you might remember Sofia Coppola giving a shout out at the Oscars). Obviously, I am slightly obsessed, but I think rightly so. I wouldn't see any problem with a person considering him the greatest living cinematographer.
Good cinematography is definitely out there. If you don't know where to look or just don't like the style, a lot of older films may seem to indicate that cinematography is a bit of a lost art. There are lots of films with really fantastic camerawork from all over the last 100 years, but I don't see the talent pool as having dried up one bit. And thankfully, sometimes the really beautiful films make it to mainstream and become huge successes. Just look at Amelie.
I definitely look at films (and every other visual medium from anime to oil painting to graffiti) and consider them in the context of my own work and vice versa. Comparative study of these things can give you perspective, inspiration, and a whole lot more. And the value of comparison is undeniable regardless of whether you're shooting B&W or color and regardless of whether the things you're looking at are B&W or color. Meaningful comparison can be had across the color gap.
In the world of film, the thing I'm really looking forward to seeing is the project photographer Gregory Crewdson is said to be working on. While many have criticized his work for being boring (which I cannot deny is the case sometimes, but in my opinion primarily with his earlier work), the technique he is doing this film with is something to take notice of. Essentially, lighting is tied to the camera in such a way that as the camera moves during a shot, the lighting moves with it. And if you've seen some of his more recent work, you can probably get a feel for the kind of lighting that will be involved. Apparently the particular technique he's using has never been used on nearly this large a scale. And regardless of whether or not it turns out to be an utterly pretentious art film, it's likely to at least be of visual interest. I'm definitely looking forward to it.
"The Man Who Wasn't There" was shot in color and desaturated.
A great looking contemporary black and white film: Dead Man directed by Jim Jarmusch; 1996 release. With a great soundtrack by Niel Young. Don't be put off by Johnny Depp in the lead role.
I reciently aquired a 16mm movie projector with sound. The kind they used in school when I was young. I really would like a real movie to watch outside this summer. Anyone know where I could get a black and white copy of African Queen?
I have heard that B&W films are mostly shot on color stock, these days. It is a matter of economics, as color stock is cheaper than getting a batch of B&W custom made.
I agree that Chris Doyle is one of the most interesting DP's working today. He works in Hong Kong (most closely associated with director Wong Kar-Wai), but did a couple of Hollywood films in 1999: Psycho remake, and Liberty Heights.
He is a wonderful visual stylist. Those interested can also check out his book of still photographs: A Cloud in Trousers.
I have not yet seen Doyle's only directorial foray, Away With Words. I have heard it is visually interesting, but rather unintelligable.
Those interested in the development of cinematography should make an effort to see the documentary: Visions of Light.
Away With Words is absolutetely gorgeous and very fascinating, but indeed is rather bewildering at times if you're looking for a plot or something to that end. I just got a copy on eBay. I'll put up with the lack of coherent story for the sake of the visuals. Definitely something worth having around if you're a total visual addict. Apparently there's a documentary about Doyle out there somewhere. A friend of mine is currently trying to convince a television station somewhere into sending him a copy, as it seems to be essentially nonexistant in both legit or bootleg DVD markets.
Two of the more interesting things of his I've picked up recently are Motel Cactus and Happy Together. Both thoroughly gorgeous, though not for those sensitive about sexual content.
One other indie Asian film worth checking out if you're into that sort of thing is called Dragon Heat. It has a very different sort of style to it. I liked it, but with a big grain of salt and while indulging the art-flick fan in me. I get the feeling a lot of people would flat out dislike it. Interesting visual fodder, though.
Don't you think that the reason all the old movies look so great is due to the fact that no one keeps collections of all the crappy ones? I doubt that many of the bad films of today will survive to be put into the library collection forty years from now.
That's usually a pretty good answer to anything along the lines of "Why isn't X as good as it used to be?" For the most part, the worthless crap churned out in every industry and art form is forgotten ten years after the fact, if not sooner. While there are times when there's more good going on than at other times, for the most part it's always as good a it's ever been. Sometimes we just need a few years to realize this.
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