# Modern day B&W movies? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 29, 2006, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-day-b-w-movies/374599 "2006-09-29T11:30:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2006, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-day-b-w-movies/374599/21 "2006-09-29T15:10:13Z")
[QUOTE=randwill] Shadows and Fog Stardust Memories Manhattan Broadway Danny Rose [/QUOTE] It seems Woody Allen has made more use of B&W in his films than any other recent director. ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2006, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-day-b-w-movies/374599/22 "2006-09-29T15:17:57Z")
_The Man Who Wasn’t There_ Was _Shadow of the Vampire_ in black and white? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2006, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-day-b-w-movies/374599/23 "2006-09-29T15:21:06Z")
> [@](#): > > Was Shadow of the Vampire in black and white? Sorry, no. Nifty color wallpaper under the opening credits, too. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2006, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-day-b-w-movies/374599/24 "2006-09-29T17:01:35Z")
_Clerks_ - Kevin Smith’s first feature length film _Drive_ - Jefery Levy’s first feature length film _Following_ - Christopher Nolan’s first feature length film _My Best Friend’s Birthday_ - Quentin Tarantino’s first feature length film _She’s Gotta Have it_ - Spike Lee’s first feature length film _Stranger Than Paradise_ - Jim Jarmusch’s first feature length film If you want to be taken seriously as an indie director, you’ve got to go Black & White your first time. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2006, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-day-b-w-movies/374599/25 "2006-09-29T23:18:21Z")
Another Woody Allen – **The Purple Rose of Cairo** Peter Jackson’s **Forgotten Silver** ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2006, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-day-b-w-movies/374599/26 "2006-09-29T23:34:59Z")
[QUOTE=The Scrivener] Another Woody Allen – **The Purple Rose of Cairo** Peter Jackson’s **Forgotten Silver** [/QUOTE] Although the films within those films are in B&W, those titles themselves are not. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-day-b-w-movies/374599/27 "2006-09-30T00:53:40Z")
Jim Jarmusch’s [Dead Man](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112817/) which gives us Johnny Depp in an _interesting_ plaid suit, and Iggy Pop in a prairie dress and bonnet. Good times, weird flick… I think it makes a fabulous double feature with [Ravenous](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0129332/) but then again I’ve been told I’m a sicko by persons of reputable judgement… 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-day-b-w-movies/374599/28 "2006-09-30T00:57:15Z")
The dreary and overrated _Raging Bull_. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-day-b-w-movies/374599/29 "2006-09-30T01:08:10Z")
[The Last Picture Show](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0067328/) (1971) ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-day-b-w-movies/374599/30 "2006-09-30T01:08:45Z")
When the subject of B&W films comes up, I always like to recall the bit [_The Big Picture_](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0096926/) (1989) in which Kevin Bacon plays a young filmmaker whose idealism is slowly chewed up and spit out by Hollywood. He’s telling a group of studio execs about his dream project, and adds that he wants to make it in B&W. One of the execs claims it’s not possible, because modern projectors can’t show B&W film. It’s a very funny way to demonstrate the exec’s clueless (or lying) obstructionism. (For non-technically minded Dopers, a film projector, just like a film camera, will project whatever film is put in it.) ---
**Author:** ![Fionn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Fionn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fionn)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-day-b-w-movies/374599/31 "2006-09-30T04:01:21Z")
**Go Fish** was made in black and white to save money. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-day-b-w-movies/374599/32 "2006-09-30T04:43:40Z")
**Sin City** …_almost._ ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-day-b-w-movies/374599/33 "2006-09-30T10:42:08Z")
I’m not sure where the cutoff lies, but [In Cold Blood](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0061809/) (1967) was pretty late in the B&W game. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-day-b-w-movies/374599/34 "2006-09-30T11:09:36Z")
The first one that cam to my mind was _Paths of Glory_. (1957) ---
**Author:** ![yelimS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/54ee81/32.png) [@yelimS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yelimS)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-day-b-w-movies/374599/35 "2006-09-30T13:16:25Z")
[Begotten](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101420/). About as weird as it gets, too. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-day-b-w-movies/374599/36 "2006-09-30T15:41:21Z")
:smack: And had I actually learned to read, I would have seen it was mentioned in the OP itself. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-day-b-w-movies/374599/37 "2006-09-30T17:27:10Z")
**Feature Production in the U.S.** **Color / B & W** 1940: 16 / 460 1945: 22/ 328 1950: 61 / 322 1951: 78 / 312 1952: 108 / 216 1953: 144 / 200 1954: 157 / 80 1955: 138 / 98 1956: 134 / 139 1957: 99 / 203 1958: 91 / 164 1959: 80 / 96 1960: 77 / 74 1961: 72 / 78 1962: 67 / 60 1963: 76 / 60 1964: 80 / 58 1965: 88 / 50 1966: 115 / 24 1967: 136 / 7 1968: 170 / 9 1969: 171 / 4 1970: 227 / 1 ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-day-b-w-movies/374599/38 "2006-09-30T17:57:50Z")
Thanks for the data, **Walloon**. Here’s a graph to make the trends clearer: [http://www.LFexaminer.com/BWcolor.jpg](http://www.LFexaminer.com/BWcolor.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-day-b-w-movies/374599/39 "2006-09-30T18:00:58Z")
[QUOTE=SmartAleq] Jim Jarmusch’s [Dead Man](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112817/) which gives us Johnny Depp in an _interesting_ plaid suit, and Iggy Pop in a prairie dress and bonnet. Good times, weird flick… I think it makes a fabulous double feature with [Ravenous](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0129332/) but then again I’ve been told I’m a sicko by persons of reputable judgement… 😛 [/QUOTE] I hated, hated, hated that movie! Arrrgh, thanks ever so much for reminding me of those two hours of my life I’ll never, ever see again. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-day-b-w-movies/374599/40 "2006-09-30T18:47:59Z")
**Swoon**. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-day-b-w-movies/374599.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-day-b-w-movies/374599.md?page=3)