His new, Denzel-led Macbeth is in black-and-white with a 1.19:1 asp. ratio, a la *really* early (1890s) films and classics such as Sunrise (1927) and M (1931), as well as The Lighthouse recently (soon all the cool kids will be doing it).
The Coens' The Man Who Wasn't There (2001) was also B&W but in standard wide-screen 1.85:1.
"presumably good for Psycho's longevity."
I like that turn of phrase, swanstep.
There remains this undercurrent in discussions of the "younger generation" that they simply cannot or will not watch black and white films -- either old ones or new ones.
I'm not sure if this is true...certainly studios rarely back b/w films (this began when "Color TV" was invented for widespread use back in the 60's -- people forget that TV HAD to be black and white for its first decade-plus.)
But great B/W films are often great because they are in black and white.
In fact, I'm reminded that Psycho stands alone because ALL of its offshoots were in COLOR: Psychos II, III and IV; the Van Sant remake; Bates Motel. All of these color films leave Hitchcock's film unique and untouched --- truly a VISION in black and white, unimaginable otherwise(attempts to colorize a few scenes on YouTube strike me as failed.)
Even as Psycho in black and white stands forever aside from its color successors....The Exorcist, Jaws, The Godfather, Alien...all color films followed by color sequels.
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Meanwhile, this new Macbeth is the first "Coen BROTHER Film" -- a rather earth-shaking consideration, yes? Made only by ONE Coen brother, Joel. I'm not sure how equal the division of labor was between Joel and Ethan Coen, but is this the future for them? As someone has written, if Ethan Coen is getting out of filmmaking, the Coen franchise may just be heading into the sunset along with QT (after "one more film.")
An era is ending right before our eyes...
Like Powell and Pressburger. Powell's career - which was already declining - really went downhill after the duo parted ways in 1957. The film Peeping Tom (the OTHER famous psycho-killer movie frorm 1960) was the final nail in the coffin.
shareB&W doesn't mean just Joel Coen this Awards season. Rather there's also Belfast (the Oscars front-runner from Kenneth Branagh), C'mon C'mon (Joaquin Phoenix starrer from Mike Mills), Passing (Rebecca Hall's directorial debut), and Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch has significant segments in b/w. And there are several more B&W releases in documentary and foreign film categories. wow.
Also, not in B&W but certainly B&W-adjacent is Nightmare Alley (2021), Guillermo del Toro's remake of Edmund Goulding's fascinating/shocking 1947 noir-'50s-Wilder/Kazan anticipating thriller of the same name, available on youtube here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXEkWRti5Qs
I'd guess that a lot of people are going to driven back to watch or (like me) rewatch Nightmare Alley (1947) by Del Toro's film, and, let's face it, Del Toro's going to be hard pressed to better the original. If he *has* then Del Toro may be in the right place and time to pick up some more top Oscars. The trailer for Nightmare Alley (2021) looks pretty good:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q81Yf46Oj3s
It's got such 'the sort of starry, medium budget movie Hollywood no longer makes' vibes that, even if it *doesn't* improve on the original movie, NA 2021's going to get some noms I'd guess.
December 1, Wednesday 10:35 AM ET
Sounds like contrast shadowing is becoming a popular effect in films again. This allows small details to "pop" in the background, creating a more atmospheric presence in an otherwise smaller space where color with a smaller budget would not give the illusion of a larger set.
~~/o/
B&W doesn't mean just Joel Coen this Awards season. Rather there's also Belfast (the Oscars front-runner from Kenneth Branagh), C'mon C'mon (Joaquin Phoenix starrer from Mike Mills), Passing (Rebecca Hall's directorial debut), and Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch has significant segments in b/w. And there are several more B&W releases in documentary and foreign film categories. wow.
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Wow, indeed. Perhaps it is time to re-evaluate where b/w is , as a moviemaker's choice.
First of all, audiences are so fragmented nowadays that even if NO "young people" go to b/w movies, they can still turn a profit with an older audience, or an "art" audience that accepts b/w. And there are streaming services everywhere -- TV doesn't depend on the allure of "color television" anymore -- the TV is a box that can bring everything in.
With these factors in place, whoever is greenlighting things these days -- all of them -- are evidently OK with OKing black and white projects.
For the record, I think it is too bad that Anthony Perkins didn't get to direct Psycho III in b/w. It is the smartest of the sequels and it would have been cool to have it as the only OTHER b/w Psycho derivative.
Here's a cool "black and white movie" from 2005: Sin City by Robert Rodriguez. Cool in general, and the copious blood in the movie would often spill and splash in a garish WHITE on black surfaces so that one wasn't sickened at all.
I wrote:
First of all, audiences are so fragmented nowadays that even if NO "young people" go to b/w movies, they can still turn a profit with an older audience
I CLARIFY:
Maybe this isn't that true. Maybe PLENTY of "young people" (the world over) are fine with b/w nowadays...
December 7, 2021 Tuesday 3:20 PM ET
From my experience, I was exposed to black and white films at a very young age (I was born during the 90s); it simply never felt out of place to enjoy those kinds of movies. With greater access to this format, any kind of market, however niche, has an audience to thrive on despite any differences in the way people watch stuff they're familiar with or accustomed to (habit, experienced, or learned).
~~/o/
ecarle wrote:
Maybe this isn't that true. Maybe PLENTY of "young people" (the world over) are fine with b/w nowadays...
you responded:
December 7, 2021 Tuesday 3:20 PM ET
From my experience, I was exposed to black and white films at a very young age (I was born during the 90s); it simply never felt out of place to enjoy those kinds of movies. With greater access to this format, any kind of market, however niche, has an audience to thrive on despite any differences in the way people watch stuff they're familiar with or accustomed to (habit, experienced, or learned).
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I belatedly return to say that I am VERY pleased to read that response from a younger person. I know for a fact that generalization can give a skewed view of reality -- it is unfortunate that many in Hollywood BELIEVE that younger generations won't watch b/w and thus some b/w films simply didn't get greenlit modernly.
I also believe that is changing ...streaming and other venues allow movies to be whatever colors the directors want them to be, and greenlit accordingly.
Psycho (the original) is a "black and white memory" as is Casablanca, as is Citizen Kane, as is On the Waterfront. That is the world those movies live in.
Thought: Hitchcock's Vertigo is pretty much the most lush color film he ever made , aside from To Catch a Thief, which won an Oscar for its color cinematography. And yet...I can ENVISION a black-and-white Vertigo...nourish, a San Francisco in the Maltese Falcon b/w tradition...
The headline for the NYTimes's review of Tragedy of Macbeth (2021) is a keeper:
The Thane, Insane, Slays Mainly in Dunsinaneshare
Ha.
I am reminded -- actually in preparation to a later response on the West Side Story remake on another thread, that Denzel Washington back around the time he made The Manchurian Candidate remake(2003 or 4) said "if they can remake MacBeth over the centuries, we sure as heck can remake The Manchurian Candidate."
I'm not sure that's the proper analogy, but for THIS thread I note: it looks like Denzel has gone on and done Macbeth as promised!
Unless they've changed it?