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Maxirad
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Would even an older color movie fare better with today’s youths than a black-and-white movie?
When it comes to watching pre-1990 movies, are today's youths more receptive to color movies than black-and-white movies?
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Annie
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I don’t think the color or lack thereof makes much difference. Most older teens would probably prefer the Maltese Falcon to Snow White.
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Mike_from_NJ
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I think there are two factors to consider with older black-and-white movies:
- They tend to unfold at a much slower pace.
- Sometimes acting then was what I call “ACTING!” which doesn’t bear much subtlety or nuance.
We watch The Andy Griffith Show almost every night on MeTV, and it is in black and white.
Keep in mind that you can make any TV show or movie black and white — just turn off the color.
I used to have an old B&W TV set in my bedroom, connected to a digital converter box. Steampunk TV! Interesting lifestyle piece. It got put away, for lack of space and lack of use.
Keep in mind that you can make any TV show or movie black and white — just turn off the color.
I used to have an old B&W TV set in my bedroom, connected to a digital converter box. Steampunk TV! Interesting lifestyle piece. It got put away, for lack of space and lack of use.
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Jbrady
Guest
If you are talking about a film made today, it is unlikely that a younger audience is going to be enthused about seeing a film in black and white as about seeing one in color. Color is now the default, and a filmmaker would have to have a serious artistic reason to justify the use of black and white. That is more likely to be the case with art films rather than entertainment movies.
However, when there is a good artistic reason, black and white can be quite entertaining, too. One of my favorite non-serious films is Wasting Away, about a group of kids who think they are fleeing a worldwide zombie apocalypse. When the film is shown from their point of view, it is in color. But when it is shown from the “zombie’s” point of view, the film is in black and white. Spoiler alert:
It turns out that the kids are the zombies, and everyone else is normal
It’s done really effectively.
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Gyro
Guest
I think access to the dramatic heart of a movie has to do with something called the “suspension of disbelief.” As our culture shifts away from the verities of virtue, so too does our ability to believe in transcendent realities. Our movies tell the story of that change.
People of a certain age will watch films like “It’s a Wonderful Life,” or “How Green Was My Valley” with a level of attention and involvement that today is reserved for biting and caustic color films like “The Joker.” The audience for the older black and white films is dying out just like the audience for Silent films has disappeared.
For the modern audience, versed as they are with cynicism and suspicion, the aforementioned black and white films are rather saccharine and unbelievable; even worthy of dismissal. That’s because society, over the years - and especially with the advent of internet technologies - has taught us how to doubt, how to maintain our personal distance, and how to disregard narratives that demand a moral framing that might interfere with the newer digitized cultural norms. It is easier to believe in the Marvel Universe than it is to believe in a sweetly painted vision of a 19th century Welsh coal mining town on the brink of disaster or the portrait of a good man trying to make sense of his life when all seems lost in late-Depression era America. Modern audiences just can’t seem to suspend their disbelief that there really can be a sliver of hope for a broken world where love - and God - are invoked as fervent truths in the cinematic art. Soft focus cinematography and beautifully cast shadows can’t cut it anymore. They can’t compete with the digitized hard-edged bleakness and acidic color of today’s film world.
People of a certain age will watch films like “It’s a Wonderful Life,” or “How Green Was My Valley” with a level of attention and involvement that today is reserved for biting and caustic color films like “The Joker.” The audience for the older black and white films is dying out just like the audience for Silent films has disappeared.
For the modern audience, versed as they are with cynicism and suspicion, the aforementioned black and white films are rather saccharine and unbelievable; even worthy of dismissal. That’s because society, over the years - and especially with the advent of internet technologies - has taught us how to doubt, how to maintain our personal distance, and how to disregard narratives that demand a moral framing that might interfere with the newer digitized cultural norms. It is easier to believe in the Marvel Universe than it is to believe in a sweetly painted vision of a 19th century Welsh coal mining town on the brink of disaster or the portrait of a good man trying to make sense of his life when all seems lost in late-Depression era America. Modern audiences just can’t seem to suspend their disbelief that there really can be a sliver of hope for a broken world where love - and God - are invoked as fervent truths in the cinematic art. Soft focus cinematography and beautifully cast shadows can’t cut it anymore. They can’t compete with the digitized hard-edged bleakness and acidic color of today’s film world.
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FiveLinden
Guest
Humans see in black and white in low light (e.g. at night). So it’s natural for humans to accept black and white photos and movies.
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Thom18
Guest
I was going to mention the Maltese Falcon myself. Aside from the Twilight Zone, that’s the first black and white production that comes to my mind.
I’m 22. I don’t watch many shows or movies at all, but black and white is actually a plus from me (depending on the genre).
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TK421
Guest
The sound quality and soundtrack selection is is much, much worse than being in black and white. Some of the background music in old movies is headache-inducing at times.
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TK421
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The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) was a silent movie and absolutely one of my favorites of all time, but the “Voices of Light” soundtrack was later added in the 1990s so it’s not something that splits into my skull.
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Jbrady
Guest
The Maltese Falcon probably could have worked in color, perhaps, but one Bogart film that wouldn’t, and actually didn’t, work in color is Casablanca. In the 1980’s, Ted Turner bought the rights to the film and had it colorized and shown on TV. It was awful, even though the colorization itself was technically pretty good for the time.
On the other hand, what would be the point of watching a film like Barry Lyndon in black or white. Considered the most visually breathtaking film ever made, every frame is a piece of art, and never has a more stunning color film been made since. Even by today’s standards, the film is far, far, far ahead of its time.
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Annie
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I had never heard of Barry Lyndon, but now I see where the BBC/ITV got the idea of making their scenes look like classical art.
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Jbrady
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It’s a must watch if you are into films. But make sure you watch it on a day when you are totally relaxed and patient, and have all the time in the world. If you ever have the chance to see it on the big screen, jump, whatever the price. Sell a kidney, if you have to. Or even two or three! (Not your own, of course)
Another visually stunning film is Lawrence of Arabia. Guest starring every single grain of sand in Arabia. Whoever thought that tan could have sooooooooo many different shades and hues, and all of them be captivating.
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Annie
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I don’t like movies about bad guys becoming worse. I’m sure there is some literary value, but I don’t know what it is.
Lawrence of Arabia is beautifully shot, I agree, but it never struck me as artistic the way Barry Lyndon and certain British works do. They need art terms to express them, like chiarascuro.
Lawrence of Arabia is beautifully shot, I agree, but it never struck me as artistic the way Barry Lyndon and certain British works do. They need art terms to express them, like chiarascuro.
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Allegra
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I typically show The Wizard of Oz to my kindergarten music students near the end of the year. Even though they grew up with all the computer animated reality in films, its kind of refreshing that they still gasp in delight when Dorothy opens the door.
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Jbrady
Guest
They would also gasp in delight if you told them that Judy Garland does not open the door, and that the whole scene is filmed in full color. The inside of the house was painted sepia, and a body double dressed in a sepia dress with sepia make-up opens the door and steps back, allowing Judy Garland in the blue dress to walk through the door into OZ. Nifty, ain’t it?
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0Scarlett_nidiyilii
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I would posit that this is the theme of Gone With The Wind.
While Scarlett is not a “bad guy”, she is selfish and amoral, and makes increasingly immoral decisions as the story goes on.
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0Scarlett_nidiyilii
Guest
Some of the old silent films dealt with incredibly edgy topics like abortion and child molestation.
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hvizsgyak
Guest
My young adult children (28 and 24 yrs old) would only watch one black and white tv show - The Three Stooges. For some reason they enjoyed the humor. But even though they watched that show, they didn’t watch it very often because they truly disliked outdated shows and movies and music. And they had many friends who felt the same way. Can you believe my kids never watched The Wizard of Oz. I’ve tried numerous times for them to watch and they have no desire. I tried to get them to watch Abbot and Costello, The Twilight Zone, My Favorite Martian, The Honeymooners, The Munsters, The Addams Family and so on. I even tried older colored films such as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Mary Poppins, Its A Mad Mad Mad Mad Mad Mad World, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie(sp), Journey To The Center Of The Earth and so on. Nothing. They liked how the newer shows looked more realistic. Oh, they did watch one other black and white film - Young Frankenstein. Go figure. 
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