Curated List
A Black-and-White Primer
Eight black-and-white films, made between 1928 and 1960
Eight black-and-white films made between 1928 and 1960, from France, Italy, the United States, Japan and Sweden. The earliest is a silent. Colour processes were available when the other seven were made; black and white nonetheless remained standard practice in each of these industries, largely on grounds of cost.
- 01
Bicycle Thieves
Ladri di biciclette · 1948
Vittorio De Sica
De Sica's 1948 film, photographed by Carlo Montuori entirely on the streets of Rome in available light, with no studio work.
- 02
Tokyo Story
東京物語 · 1953
Yasujirō Ozu
Ozu's 1953 film, photographed by Yūharu Atsuta. Interiors are lit evenly and diffusely, with little strong contrast between light and shadow.
- 03
Seven Samurai
七人の侍 · 1954
Akira Kurosawa
Kurosawa's 1954 film, photographed by Asakazu Nakai largely in the flat light of overcast weather. Its final battle was staged in mud under artificial rain.
- 04
The Seventh Seal
Det sjunde inseglet · 1957
Ingmar Bergman
Bergman's 1957 film, shot in about thirty-five days and photographed by Gunnar Fischer. It took the special jury prize at Cannes that year.
- 05
Citizen Kane
1941
Orson Welles
Welles's first feature, from 1941. Gregg Toland asked to shoot it, and the closing credits put his name on a single card with the director's, which was almost unheard of.
- 06
Breathless
À bout de souffle · 1960
Jean-Luc Godard
Raoul Coutard shot Godard's 1960 debut on high-speed stock made for stills photography, spliced into long rolls, so that the Paris streets could be filmed in available light.
- 07
The Road
La strada · 1954
Federico Fellini
Fellini's 1954 film, photographed by Otello Martelli, its exteriors shot in central Italy in winter; waste ground and overcast light set the tone throughout.
- 08
The Passion of Joan of Arc
La passion de Jeanne d'Arc · 1928
Carl Theodor Dreyer
Dreyer's 1928 film, photographed by Rudolph Maté and built largely from close-ups. The cast wore no makeup, which was unusual at the time.