favorite Black & White films (in part because they're B&W)

[BruceH]

And, of course, there's that old crowd-pleaser, Eraserhead (1977).

[Christiern]

I forgot to mention a wonderful film, "Stop!", made in 1970 by the late Bill Gunn. It was a frustrating experience for hims (as were other films). Filmed in Puerto Rico, it focuses on two couples and takes place over a weekend. It's a pretty heavy emotional trip in black and white, except for the last scene, where—on the morning after a emotionally drenching night, the characters are having breakfast. The camera, which has been prying all weekend, moves around the table until one of the characters puts out her hand and says "stop!" In the middle of the table, there is a single rose in a vase—it is red and the represents the film's only color. Very effective. BTW, one of the two women is black (as was Bill) but there is nothing in the script about that—she is, simply, black. I recall Bill's frustration when, after seeing the rushes, the white Warner Bros guys in Hollywood asked/told Bill to have her bare her breasts. He was furious and, I'm happy to say, refused the request. This did not sit well with the Warner Bros execs, who refused to release the picture. I don't think it was ever released.

Anyone here ever hear of it? Ever hear of Bill (among other accomplishments, he wrote "The Landlord," "The Angel Levine," and wrote/directed "Ganja and Hess.") His experiences with that last one is were horrendous. Bill started as an actor—he was in "Sound and Fury" w. Ethel Waters—his parents toured w. Bessie Smith. We collaborated on a mini-series based on Alberta Hunter's life. I sorely miss him. But now I'm getting carried away—sorry.

[BruceH]

I forgot to mention a wonderful film, "Stop!", made in 1970 by the late Bill Gunn. It was a frustrating experience for hims (as were other films). Filmed in Puerto Rico, it focuses on two couples and takes place over a weekend. It's a pretty heavy emotional trip in black and white, except for the last scene, where—on the morning after a emotionally drenching night, the characters are having breakfast. The camera, which has been prying all weekend, moves around the table until one of the characters puts out her hand and says "stop!" In the middle of the table, there is a single rose in a vase—it is red and the represents the film's only color. Very effective. BTW, one of the two women is black (as was Bill) but there is nothing in the script about that—she is, simply, black. I recall Bill's frustration when, after seeing the rushes, the white Warner Bros guys in Hollywood asked/told Bill to have her bare her breasts. He was furious and, I'm happy to say, refused the request. This did not sit well with the Warner Bros execs, who refused to release the picture. I don't think it was ever released.

Anyone here ever hear of it? Ever hear of Bill (among other accomplishments, he wrote "The Landlord," "The Angel Levine," and wrote/directed "Ganja and Hess.") His experiences with that last one is were horrendous. Bill started as an actor—he was in "Sound and Fury" w. Ethel Waters—his parents toured w. Bessie Smith. We collaborated on a mini-series based on Alberta Hunter's life. I sorely miss him. But now I'm getting carried away—sorry.

Never heard of the film, Chris, but it sounds very interesting.

[BillF]

Today I saw Somers Town, a recent film in B&W by British director, Shane Meadows. 'Fraid it wasn't as good as Meadows' last offering, This Is England.

Edited August 26, 2008 by BillF

[kinuta]

Two quite recent worthy B&W's are 'Control', already mentioned, and 'Overlord'. 'Overlord' isn't a newly made film but I saw it for the first time recently. I couldn't get over the pristine stock footage that is extensively used in a very skillful way.

[jostber]

The 400 Blows

Wouldn't have picked you as the porn type.

Gotta say it's it's the worst ever translation of a french movie title.

From IMDB:

The title of the film comes from the French idiom "faire les quatre cents coups", meaning "to raise hell".

[BillF]

The 400 Blows

Wouldn't have picked you as the porn type.

Gotta say it's it's the worst ever translation of a french movie title.

From IMDB:

The title of the film comes from the French idiom "faire les quatre cents coups", meaning "to raise hell".

If 400 Blows is porn, then so are Howard's End and Hard Times

[BruceH]

The War Game by Peter Watkins.