MovieChat Forums > The Big Job (1965) Discussion > Shot B&W rather than Colour

Shot B&W rather than Colour

posted 8 years ago by Fugitive_Bill
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I love this film, every time it shows up as the mid-day or 2am movie, I can't help myself from giving it another view.

But what bugs me, as film was made (released) in 1965 it could have easily been filmed in colour - or 'color' for the Americans.

Why go to all the expensive of making a feature film only to save a few thousand dollars on film stock.

Or was there another reason for it being made in Black and White?
Or perhaps colour film stock was way more expensive than I think?

Whatever the case, I still love this classic Syd James film, who is surrounded with a bunch morons including the police constable

-B!LL!

[–] John-367 8 years ago

There was a difference in cost but not so much that it would make a huge difference on a film with a reasonable budget.

In 1965 - or 1964 when the film was probably shot - there was no particular pressure to shoot in colour on a film where it wouldn't have added anything much to its audience appeal. Audiences were used to b/w films and while it would have been unusual to film an epic in monochrome by that date many filmmakers preferred to shoot dramas, thrillers etc in b/w for aesthetic and atmospheric reasons. Filming in colour for realism wasn't a concern - in fact many people thought of b/w as being more suitable for realistic stories.

By about 1965 though sales to American TV were starting to be dependent on being in colour and The Big Job was the last Peter Rogers production in b/w even though most of his films for the previous five years had been in b/w.
For the same reason, within a year or two almost no feature films were shot in colour though many filmmakers would have liked to retain the option.