Black and white movies

I'm sorry, I just saw the article!

Psycho did it for me-- I still check the bathrooms of hotels for lurking stabbers... :-)

Does that count? I guess it was too early. And thank you for saying ONLY 50 years ago. That makes me feel much better!

Before technicolour or other forms of colour were used in the original shooting of a movie, many movies that might have been more entertaining could have been in colour, but certainly not all. I cannot imagine how much effectiveness a movie like The Wizard of Oz might have lost if in b&w. However, many black and white movies were colourized, much to the chagrin of certain Directors. See my Classic Cinema seed from last March:

http://sbuzzc76.newsvine.com/_news/2010/03/11/4005677-film-directors-see-red-over-ted-turners-movie-tinting

Now, if a movie were a musical, for instance a Busby Berkely type with squads of young women dancing down a big winding staircase, colourizing could be advantageous, but in the case of where a Director is an expert at creating deep drama, such as the shadows and dark scenes in The Third Man, by using black and white, it would be not just inappropriate, but criminal to colourize it.

As Isabella pointed out, Schindler's List would have lost its dramatic effect if shot in colour. It did help to focus the attention on the little girl with the red dress, to represent with one young child the cruel horror created by the Nazis. By using colour at the end, it brought the story to the present, very effectively.

If they ever colourize Casablanca, I will give up entirely.

My favorite Lana Turner movie was colorized, but the only way to see it is black and white. The sense of tragedy is lost, somehow transformed into a newspaper story on the human interest page rather than engaging the audience in the state of willful suspension of disbelief. The movie was Madame X.

Merle, this one is really difficult - before I'd got to the end of your article I'd already cited the movies mentioned by many of the commentaries below. The only ones that springs to mind are Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid - The New York scenes with the three protagonists in exile where they use music and fast black and white film footage to move the story along - very atmospheric and reminiscent of late 1800's old world charm. Then of course the final death scene in black and white still photography, somehow sanitizing the brutality of the scene. McKenna's Gold also springs to mind - The Omar Sharif character's dream sequence with his aspirations of living the life of a european multi-millionaire. Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez's fantastic Sin City, beautifully stylised with its effective use of black and white imagery with splashes of color for dramatic effect. And Dead Again - black and white footage used in the flashback sequences.

Citizen Kane, The Third Man, Casablanca, and Raging Bull were good movies shot in B&W. One movie that should've been filmed in B&W was Taxi Driver. It would've made it more grittier.

Nosferatu, one of my favorites. Birth of a nation, Napoleon

Plan Nine from Outer Space! You may ask can this movie possibly be improved on but, take my word for it, the color version is even better than the b&w version!

Ha ha. As you know, anything would improve that movie. Was it not one of the prime choices for the worst movies of all time? It was at least considered a cult movie due to its being so bad it's good.

Arsenic and Old Lace, It's a Wonderful Life, and Young Frankenstein.

Rumble Fish is one of my favorite B&W movies. It's a Coppola film that he made in the early 80's, right after The Outsiders-- same author, S.E. Hinton wrote the book--but most people haven't heard of or don't acknowledge it. Like the Outsiders, it has a great cast of now well-known actors before anyone knew who they were....Matt Dillon, Mickey Rourke, Diane Lane, Chris Penn, Nicolage Cage, Laurence Fishburne.....also has Dennis Hopper. it's a little abstract, and certainly not for everyone. But I really enjoy it.

Movie directors were very wise. Black and white were used for special effects. It's a lost art now. Yet It's easier on the eyes. But can you imagine The Sound of Music in black and white?

I like both. Most of the times, as I remember back on certain movies I couldn't tell you if they were done in color or not. I do remember if the movie was good or not though.