An editorial by Brooks Rich
200 posts. Wow. We made it. For the 200th post I want to do something I've had in the back of my head since the blog was started. I want to look at the visual medium of black and white film. Some of the most beautiful films in history are in black and white and I am going to give my opinion on the five most gorgeous. Keep in mind I am not ranking these by content but by their looks, so don't be mad when Casablanca isn't on here. It started as ten but I was repeating myself, especially when it came to the film noirs and sweeping epics.
There will be a second list ranking the most visually stunning modern black and white films, as that's a separate category. It's tough to rank them against the early black and white films.
5. Seven Samurai
Kurosawa's sweeping epic starts our list at number five. This film is huge and Kurosawa's stunning black and white cinematography lends to that. Not only are the locations huge and well used, but Kurosawa uses his mastery of movement, a trait often found in his films, to make the film feel even more epic. The movement of the characters lets scenes transition smoothly into each other, giving Seven Samurai a sense of realness. The set pieces are of course impressive but it's how skilled Kurosawa was with the camera that gives this film it's epic feel.
4. Nosferatu
A classic of the German Expressionist movement. Nosferatu is here for it's stunning use of light and shadow, all done as FW Murnau experimented with the medium of film. Orson Welles deserves credit for his work with camera angles and lighting but the true pioneer is Murnau and his work with Nosferatu. In two years this film will be a hundred years old and it still holds up. It's camera work and lighting still make it feel like an unreal nightmare. Out of all the films on this list, Nosferatu is probably the most unsettling. The entire horror genre owes a debt of gratitude to Nosferatu and Murnau's cinematography is a huge part of that.
3. The Third Man
Again I could have maybe put Citizen Kane here to represent film noir, even though it's not film nor a lot of elements from Citizen Kane would be used in film noir later, but I have to go with Carol Reed's 1949 masterpiece The Third Man. Of course we have the use of light and shadow, a standard in the noir genre, but at times the film has a gothic look. Lots of influence from German Expressionism here, especially when we go down into the sewers. Reed brilliantly used the post war Vienna setting, making the city feel like another character. I plan on covering this film in it's entirety at one point. If for some reason you've never seen The Third Man, correct that immediately.
2. Night of the Hunter
So you've heard me mention the influences of German Expressionism a few times in this list now. Whether it's the actual German Expressionist film of Nosferatu or Carol Reed being influenced by it in The Third Man. It's a heavily referenced film genre, especially from the 1930s to 1950s. Night of the Hunter uses the same Expressionist tricks as The Third Man but director Charles Laughton's use of sets and lightning make the film feel like a dream at times. Night of the Hunter plays like a fairy tale and the film's look expresses that. The Southern countryside takes on a gothic quality, making Night of the Hunter one of the first Southern gothic films. This is another one you should track down immediately if you have never seen it.
1. Ivan's Childhood
I have covered this film before. This is a strictly personal choice for number one and I'm sure others could argue for any of the other films to be the number one choice. But I find Ivan's Childhood to be the most gorgeous black and white film of all time. Andrei Tarkovsky makes a World War II ravaged Russia look beautiful. He finds the beauty in this harsh and dead landscape. The word I would use to describe the look of this film is ethereal. It might have hints of Expressionism and even some noir influences, sort of, but Ivan's Childhood mainly has a look that's all it's own. Tarkovsky's main weapon is his camera placement, choosing how to frame the characters in the harsh dead landscape, making them appear larger than life or insignificant. Cinephiles who have somehow missed this film should track it down immediately.
200 posts. Wow. We made it. For the 200th post I want to do something I've had in the back of my head since the blog was started. I want to look at the visual medium of black and white film. Some of the most beautiful films in history are in black and white and I am going to give my opinion on the five most gorgeous. Keep in mind I am not ranking these by content but by their looks, so don't be mad when Casablanca isn't on here. It started as ten but I was repeating myself, especially when it came to the film noirs and sweeping epics.
There will be a second list ranking the most visually stunning modern black and white films, as that's a separate category. It's tough to rank them against the early black and white films.
5. Seven Samurai
Kurosawa's sweeping epic starts our list at number five. This film is huge and Kurosawa's stunning black and white cinematography lends to that. Not only are the locations huge and well used, but Kurosawa uses his mastery of movement, a trait often found in his films, to make the film feel even more epic. The movement of the characters lets scenes transition smoothly into each other, giving Seven Samurai a sense of realness. The set pieces are of course impressive but it's how skilled Kurosawa was with the camera that gives this film it's epic feel.
4. Nosferatu
A classic of the German Expressionist movement. Nosferatu is here for it's stunning use of light and shadow, all done as FW Murnau experimented with the medium of film. Orson Welles deserves credit for his work with camera angles and lighting but the true pioneer is Murnau and his work with Nosferatu. In two years this film will be a hundred years old and it still holds up. It's camera work and lighting still make it feel like an unreal nightmare. Out of all the films on this list, Nosferatu is probably the most unsettling. The entire horror genre owes a debt of gratitude to Nosferatu and Murnau's cinematography is a huge part of that.
3. The Third Man
Again I could have maybe put Citizen Kane here to represent film noir, even though it's not film nor a lot of elements from Citizen Kane would be used in film noir later, but I have to go with Carol Reed's 1949 masterpiece The Third Man. Of course we have the use of light and shadow, a standard in the noir genre, but at times the film has a gothic look. Lots of influence from German Expressionism here, especially when we go down into the sewers. Reed brilliantly used the post war Vienna setting, making the city feel like another character. I plan on covering this film in it's entirety at one point. If for some reason you've never seen The Third Man, correct that immediately.
2. Night of the Hunter
So you've heard me mention the influences of German Expressionism a few times in this list now. Whether it's the actual German Expressionist film of Nosferatu or Carol Reed being influenced by it in The Third Man. It's a heavily referenced film genre, especially from the 1930s to 1950s. Night of the Hunter uses the same Expressionist tricks as The Third Man but director Charles Laughton's use of sets and lightning make the film feel like a dream at times. Night of the Hunter plays like a fairy tale and the film's look expresses that. The Southern countryside takes on a gothic quality, making Night of the Hunter one of the first Southern gothic films. This is another one you should track down immediately if you have never seen it.
1. Ivan's Childhood
I have covered this film before. This is a strictly personal choice for number one and I'm sure others could argue for any of the other films to be the number one choice. But I find Ivan's Childhood to be the most gorgeous black and white film of all time. Andrei Tarkovsky makes a World War II ravaged Russia look beautiful. He finds the beauty in this harsh and dead landscape. The word I would use to describe the look of this film is ethereal. It might have hints of Expressionism and even some noir influences, sort of, but Ivan's Childhood mainly has a look that's all it's own. Tarkovsky's main weapon is his camera placement, choosing how to frame the characters in the harsh dead landscape, making them appear larger than life or insignificant. Cinephiles who have somehow missed this film should track it down immediately.
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