To me, there is something creepy about a black and white film that seems to be lost in color.
it really depends on the movie for me, I like both, but I do tend to watch more Black and White movies simply cause their not filled with
the vulgarity of todays movies.
It depends what it is. Most of my fave movies are newer in color. I get what you mean tho. A B/W Old Dark House type seems a bit creepier than in color. I think it has to do with shadows and atmosphere. A good example would be The Bat. And even if it was available there would be NO way I would watch a "colorized" Uni movie.
There is simply something magical about a black and white movie when it comes to horror for certain. When I watch a black and white horror film it just takes me back to a long forgotten era of "gods and monsters".
However. Bram Stokers Dracula, the upcoming Wolf Man, Jackson's Kong, From Hell, Sleepy Hollow and others are meant to be in color and I don't think they would be as effective in black and white.
As others have already said, it depends on the film and when it was made.
If anyone however prefers color monsters try checking out the opening sequence of Frankenstein meets the Wolf Man and I believe you will admit that the black and white gives an overall very eerie atmosphere to the film.
It really depends on the movie. If a movie is modern or for whatever reason was orignally released in color..then so be it. I love watching the classics in b&w the way they were intended...and colorization to me is just a sin.
To put it another way, for 2 years now I have owned A Christmas Carol (Alister Simm) I bought it on dvd all happy that it has 2 discs...one color, the other original.....I have no even flipped the plastic partition over to even see the colorized disc...........keep em classic!
No preference -- basically, I like a film the way it was made. "Bride of Frankenstein" and "Maltese Falcon" look great in B&W -- "Adventures of Robin Hood" is gorgeous in Technicolor -- they are what they are.
Black and white for me. The classics (Universal and others) belong in black and white. It reminds me of a bygone era when things were much simpler and the movies were entertaining because they were character and story driven and not a bunch of gory effects done by a guy who wants to show you what he can do with a computer. Real stars that made quality movies and a lot of them not some kid who makes one film and thinks he is a star.
I am a B&W type, but cannot deny that movies like The Blob were outstanding in color....
For the most part, if it was done in BW keep it, it works that way. Same with color.
The Lugosi Dracula only works in BW as does Night of the Living Dead IMO.
A few others have said it for me: I like to view a movie as it was filmed. I'm not totally against colorization tho for one reason, it shows that someone cared enough & took the time to help preserve a classic film.
B & W just comes off as being creepier, more atmospheric. But as so many others have said, it depends on the movie. All I ask is it be well written.
I usually trust the filmmaker's intent. Color movie film did not become readily available until the late 1930s. Until then, if a director wanted color, he had to tint the film. The early directors worked with the technology they had.
Later, black and white film was used by many smalltime film makers because it was cheaper. However many directors preferred to work in black and white as an aesthetic choice. The post World War II Film Noir movement was an example. Light and shadow was more easy to control and the directors used it to express the mood they desired.
Color, has its place and many great movies were made in color. John Huston and Alfred Hitchcock both made excellent movies in color and in black and white. They chose what worked best for them.
So. I take the movies as they come.
Still not convinced that Ted Turner's Crayolaizing of old movies was a good idea, though.
Depends on the movie...
Quote from: Fester on June 30, 2009, 02:38:21 AM
Still not convinced that Ted Turner's Crayolaizing of old movies was a good idea, though.
Love Ted for his work to preserve movies, but this short lived aspect was about as good of an idea as spray on hair. :)
For me it depends if I'm watching alone or with my Grandsons.It seems that they prefer the classics more then the new stuff thats out there now ;D
It doesn't matter for me. I watch the Universal Classic Monsters or I watch A Nightmare on Elm Street or Friday the 13th. The only thing is, if a film was originally in black and white, chances are I'll enjoy the black and white version over a colorized version. I have seen colorized versions of such films as Night of the Living Dead and A Christmas Carol, and those colorizations were done very well, but I think when it comes to old films like the Universal Monsters, the black and white aspect adds something to the feel and character of the film. These are films of a particular era.
We have many film franchises today such as Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, and Alien and Predator. The Universal Monsters was the original film franchise, and I think that being from the era they were from, the black and white really gives them a particular "flavor" that might be lost if the studio ever decided to colorize them.
I Like Both.
I like both. If a film was originally done in B&W, I don't want to see it colorized. And vice versa!
I think the old B&W movies have a certain atmosphere due to the feeling or understanding that they're from an earlier time, from my childhood. So there's more of a nostalgia factor going. Plus, some things just work better in B&W. However, there are plenty of atmospheric, creepy monster movies in color. Lemora, for example. So yeah, I like both.