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The Girl on the Train

Black-and-white scope

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In re-reading Guardian critic Peter Bradshaw's comments about Control that ran last May, I was reminded that a lot of the enjoyment I took from Anton Corbijn's film was due to the soothing visual bathwater effect of watching any film shot in black-and-white widescreen (2.35 to 1), which is perhaps my favorite mode of all.

"Corbijn's movie is shot in a stunning high-contrast monochrome," Bradshaw wrote, "perversely turning...grimness into grandeur. It effortlessly revives a British cinematic style that you might call beautiful realism, reaching back to Christopher Petit's Radio On, and further back to Tony Richardson's The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner and A Taste of Honey.

Corbijn developed his love of black-and-white from his photography and music-video background, but credit should also go to Control's cinematographer Denis Lenoir (The Clearing, Demonlover).

To me, any film shot in monochrome "scope" -- a format that has all but disappeared -- is reason enough to pop for a ticket or a rental. I'll sometimes rent DVDs of somewhat mediocre films (i.e., The Longest Day) if they've been shot this way. I'm even tempted to watch the newly remastered version of Jailhouse Rock (an otherwise so-so, in-and-out Elvis Presley film) because of Robert J. Bronner's monochrome scope lensing. But you have to know which films have been shot this way -- DVD jacket covers never tell you.

Woody Allen's (and particularly Gordon Willis's) Manhattan is one of the more glorious manifestations. Other top-of-my-head faves are Robert Rossen's The Hustler, Francois Truffaut's Jules et Jim and Shoot the Piano Player, Jack Clayton's The Innocents, Joseph Losey's The Damned, Robert Wise's The Haunting, Jack Cardiff's Sons and Lovers, Akira Kurosawa's High and Low, Luis Bunuel's Diary of a Chambermaid, Michelangelo Antonioni's L'Eclisse, Martin Ritt's Hud, etc.

Black-and-white has been commercially dead for decades. Philistine tastes in movies have long stipulated that everything made for theatrical has to be in color -- it's a settled issue. My kids have always hated monochrome films, and even now they'll groan slightly if I pop one into the DVD player. Black-and-white scope is doubly perverse in this sense, I suppose, but I so miss it. For this reason I can't wait for the Control DVD to come out early next year so I can buy it and keep it forever.

Whitty on Kidman, Cruise, "Invasion"<< previous | next >>NY Film Festival lineup

Posted by Jeffrey Wells on August 15, 2007 at 7:43 AM

comment #1

Walter Sobchak says ...

Any word on if the movie was shot on black and white stock or color stock and then monochromed in post?

John Frankenhiemer's "The Train" with Burt Lanchaster is another great example. I heard somewhere that it was the last U.S. studio film shot that way until "Manhattan".

Posted by Walter Sobchak at August 15, 2007 9:17 AM

comment #2

T. S. Idiot says ...

Patrice Leconte's The Girl on the Bridge, with Jean-Marie Dreujou as DP, is another beautiful B&W widescreen. Available only on VHS or region 2 DVD.

Posted by T. S. Idiot at August 15, 2007 9:18 AM

comment #3

lazespud says ...

I'll bet it's almost certain that it was filmed in color and converted in post. The reason I say this is because if I remember right, Jeff's favorite director Spielberg filmed Schindler's List in Black and White, but the famous scenes of the girl with the red jacket, necessitated some different kind of stock in the release reals, and the transition between the two types of stock played havoc at the cinemas...

Anyway, it was my recollecation that he insisted on BW film stock, but it was very expensive at the time.

Has any ever seen the irish film the "General" from about 10 years ago? Pretty good movie, but I remember seeing it in black and white. And then about a year later I saw it on TV again and it was in black and white... but then I realized... nope, it was heavily desaturated color. I honestly couldn't remember if the first time I saw it it was in BW... after reading IMDB I realized they basically released two versions....

Posted by lazespud at August 15, 2007 9:25 AM

comment #4

Spacelamb says ...

Demonlover has fantastic cinematography, so this looks good.

Posted by Spacelamb at August 15, 2007 9:29 AM

comment #5

gruver1 says ...

Wells to Sobchak: Frankenheimer's "The Train" wasn't shot in b & w scope -- the aspect ratio was either 1.66 to 1 or 1.75 to 1. It was the last big-budget action film shot in black and white.

Posted by gruver1 at August 15, 2007 9:30 AM

comment #6

Howlingman says ...

It's been a while since I've seen IN COLD BLOOD but I remember it being B&W and 2.35:1 -- anyone know if that's correct?

Posted by Howlingman at August 15, 2007 9:36 AM

comment #7

pm123 says ...

How about "Andrei Roublev" by Tarkovsky - cinematography by Vadim Yusov? Doesn't get any better than that...

Posted by pm123 at August 15, 2007 9:39 AM

comment #8

Walter Sobchak says ...

Thanks for the info, Wells... haven't seen The Train in awhile...
"In Cold Blood" (again, not sure if it's scoped) looks amazing... saw it on the big screen not too long ago...

I do know that the Coen's "The Man Who Wasn't There" was shot in color. From what I heard it was either shown in color or released in on video in color in other parts of the world... a friend worked for BV international home video (Disney) a couple years ago and told me that it was either released in color on DVD or at the very least they used color stills on the packaging in an attempt to trick them ferners into thinking the film was in color...

I actually had a friend back in '94 who's girlfriend was very proud of herself for sucking it up and going to "Schindler's List"... difficult because of the subject matter? the length? No, not that.... she just generally made it a rule to avoid black and white movies ("too old-timey-looking") but decided to make the brave exeption for this one because, like, "everyone says it's so good and stuff"...(!!!!!)

Posted by Walter Sobchak at August 15, 2007 9:47 AM

comment #9

bagelfilm says ...

THE ELEPHANT MAN by Freddie Francis

Posted by bagelfilm at August 15, 2007 10:14 AM

comment #10

VoiceOfReason says ...

I have never agreed more with JW than I do right now.

Posted by VoiceOfReason at August 15, 2007 10:16 AM

comment #11

Pelham123 says ...

"HUD" - James Wong Howe

Posted by Pelham123 at August 15, 2007 11:25 AM

comment #12

kingofnails says ...

A few years ago LACMA had a retrospective of B&W films in scope. What a great experience. I saw La Dolce Vita, The Apartment, Manhattan, and Hud.

Posted by kingofnails at August 15, 2007 11:30 AM

comment #13

T. Holly says ...

Buy it and keep it forever until you lose it, that's what I say.

What? a black and white cartoon?
http://www.sonypictures.com/classics/persepolis/

Posted by T. Holly at August 15, 2007 11:40 AM

comment #14

Howlingman says ...

HE readers are awesome. What a great list. I realize now much of my experience watching these films came with the early-ish days of home video and on regular TV -- totally blanked that THE ELEPHANT MAN was scope -- and I just confirmed IN COLD BLOOD was also(Conrad Hall).

Posted by Howlingman at August 15, 2007 12:59 PM

comment #15

bmcintire says ...

THE TRAIN is 1.66. Sadly, my memory had DEAD MAN as being shot in scope, but no - 1.85.

Posted by bmcintire at August 15, 2007 1:30 PM

comment #16

The Hoyk says ...

Some more recent (but lesser seen) B&W scope outings have been 13 (TZAMETI), SUTURE, and Luc Besson's LE DERNIER CONFLICT. If I'm not mistaken, wasn't his recent ANGEL-A B&W scope as well?

I think what happened with THE GENERAL was that Boorman was obligated to shoot the film in color, but prevailed to get B&W prints in theatres. However, the DVD used his desaturated color version. Or at least, I think the most recent DVD is only the color version; maybe the initial ones went out both color and B&W.

Posted by The Hoyk at August 15, 2007 2:33 PM