Will black-and-white dominate Best Cinematography?
Sunday, November 7, 2021 at 5:53PM 
I don't know about you, but I love how démodé film styles are slowly making a comeback. Black-and-white cinematography and Academy aspect ratio, for instance, have become something of a fad. I'd love for it to persist until the techniques go beyond boutique indie distributors and prestige awards bait, returning, at long last, to the forefront of mainstream moviemaking. Sure, it's a bit of a pipe dream, but one can hope. At the very least, AMPAS is enamored by the trend. Their last Best Cinematography winner, Mank, was in silvery monochrome and, for the past three years, there's been at least one black-and-white film nominated in the category. Considering the prominent contenders of the season, this year will surely prolong the tendency.
Indeed, we might even have a majority of black-and-white movies in the Best Cinematography lineup. Don't believe it? Check this out…
While a roster of nominees made up exclusively of black-and-white or partially black-and-white movies is nearly impossible with productions like Dune in the race, there are enough strong contenders this year to justify such an anomaly. Indeed, reading the early reactions to a bunch of prestige adjacent flicks, one notices an overwhelming love for their lensing. We'll see if that adoration continues as the films are seen by wider audiences, starting this month with the releases of The French Dispatch, Passing, Belfast, and C'mon C'mon. Later in December, there's also The Tragedy of Macbeth. Right now, the Branagh and Coen films appear to be the likeliest nominees, but the others are true possibilities. What an exciting year for those of us who love black-and-white.
Here's a sample of these contenders' beauty:
BELFAST
Director of Photography, Haris Zambarloukos
C'MON C'MON
Director of Photography, Robbie Ryan
THE FRENCH DISPATCH
Director of Photography, Robert D. Yeoman
PASSING
Director of Photography, Eduard Grau
THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH
Director of Photography, Bruno Delbonnel
Which of these movies do you think will get a Best Cinematography nod?
Reader Comments (7)
If these images are truly representative of the films, otherwise sight unseen I rank them
1. The Tragedy of Macbeth
2. Passing
3. The French Dispatch
4. C'mon C'mon
5. Belfast
Black and white cinematography has become a novelty for directors to easily evoke nostalgia when a film is set in an earlier time. Is it necessary? Nope.
Let’s go back 50 years. Cinematographer Robert Surtees received two Oscar nominations for nostalgic stories. The Last Picture Show was in black and white while Summer of ‘42 was in color. Both 1971 films were lauded for evoking the past, albeit in different techniques.
Surtees explains, “From the technical standpoint, I still insist that black-and-white is much more difficult than color. For example, in an actual interior, if you pan from a well-lighted figure to an area that is dark but too cramped to place lights where you really want them, you can just flatten that area out and get by. But in black-and-white, if you want a shadow, you've got to put it there, man. You can't depend upon fill light to take care of it. You really have to model the subject with light instead of counting on the colors for separation.”
I contend that few films use black and white as an artistic choice. One obvious exception is Manhattan. Director Woody Allen and cinematographer Gordon Willis use black and white to divide the screen into defined space. The eye is then led to what is significant. There is a shot, beloved by many, of Allen and Keaton in silhouette at the planetarium. Exquisite, the sequence contains a large black shadow that crosses the frame. The filmmakers trust the audience to embrace the beauty of the image, not merely the picture of the actors.
That said, the reprinted images of The Tragedy of Macbeth have fired my desire to see the work of five time Oscar nominee for cinematography Bruno Delbonnel.
I have seen none of these, but of the screenshots selected here PASSING looks the strongest. The French Dispatch less so.
I suspect The French Dispatch would have been a far more enjoyable film in color. The black and white cinematography diluted Wes Anderson's normally incredible production design.
I had no idea The French Dispatch was in black and white, and now I'm kind of disappointed. One of the best things about Wes Anderson films is his use of color. He seems to have an eye like no other. Eh, I still sample it but I'll probably wish the whole time there was a color version of the movie.
As for Belfast, maybe the black and white images will tone down the considerable beauty of the main stars? But I imagine Balfe & Dornan are just as striking in black and white.
I hope the images for Macbeth aren't entirely representative. Who wants to look at lone hooded figures standing around delivering speeches drearily for a couple of hours?
@Dave, don't worry! Although there are many black-and-white sequences in the film, much of the film is in beautiful colour. And even within the B&W sequences are breathtaking full-colour flourishes.
From these shots, I'd back Passing. Although kind of the breadth of what's captured in the light in C'mon C'mon is something (from those expansive shots to Phoenix's hair).