MovieChat Forums > The Apartment (1960) Discussion > 8.3 is good for IMDb..but why was this f...

8.3 is good for IMDb..but why was this film in Black & White?

posted 9 years ago by kurtbrian14
11 replies | jump to latest

The Sheepman was filmed in color three years earlier, so why was this film shot in B/W?

I'm an old guy, so I know that Hugh Hefner outlined a 'Playboy Philosophy' and published it prior to 1960 (when I was born). So why does anyone else get the impression this film was based on that lifestyle viewpoint before the screenplay was written?

This film won awards and recognition, so isn't it interesting that a film about sex (and the Doris Day films also), captured the American imagination at this time period? Even the non-Playboy audience members seemed to like it.

[–] RobbieCalifornia 9 years ago

It's perfect in black and white. I can't even imagine this film in color.

Some movies are better in black and white, and this is one of them. It isn't film noir exactly, but it's close.

Great movie.

[–] kurtbrian14 9 years ago

Back when people put film in their cameras, some photographers made that argument with still shot photos.

You do realize the B & W argument is controversial?
lol

[–] qdude440 9 years ago

Color film was available even in the 1930s. Yet some movies to this day still shoot in B/W. Generally it's an artistic decision, although in the early days of color film it was usually more an economic decision as well.

[–] Strazdamonas 8 years ago

Thats mostly because in the 30s color film would cost a fortune to film on. as it got cheaper it got more popular and eventually took over. Now only the artsy-fartsy crowd uses black and white as a form of fashion statement.

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Resistance is impolite, Friendship is mandatory.

[–] mddaunt 9 years ago

Billy Wilder almost always used black and white. I think he was just more comfortable with it. And it saved money in the budget for other things. And audiences didn't seem to mind it so much in those days.

Nowadays, it's an "artistic statement" to film in B&W, but in the late 50s/early 60s it was still pretty common.

I don't know what I am talking about. You probably don't, either.

[–] aciolino 9 years ago

This film was in black and white because you are clueless dolt.

[–] Strazdamonas 8 years ago

Thats a very poor explanation, given that he probably wasnt even born when the movie was filmed. I think the clueless one here is you, so why dont you be wise and be silent when you got nothing to say?

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Resistance is impolite, Friendship is mandatory.

[–] aciolino 8 years ago

Buffoon, not only was I alive but I have a clear memory of seeing the film IN THE THEATER. You continue to embarrass yourself. But, why stop now?

[–] Strazdamonas 8 years ago

Im not talking about your age, but about the OP, whom you blamed for this movie being in black and white. Perhaps reply only if you learned some basic reading comprehension.

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Resistance is impolite, Friendship is mandatory.

[–] John-367 8 years ago

Black and white films were made in great numbers - around 50% at this time - until towards the middle of the 1960s. Many filmmakers thought that b/w was most appropriate for darker and/or more realistic subjects - colour being the main choice for films with a lighter tone and/or more spectacle. Although The Apartment was a comedy it was a bleak one.
The big sudden shift towards pretty much all colour came when the US TV networks converted to colour and started to favour buying colour films. From then on it was a rare English-speaking mainstream commercial film which wasn't in colour. Foreign language films were still often made in b/w as they wouldn't be likely candidates for a US network TV sale anyway.
Cost, incidentally, was not usually a deciding factor for mainstream films with a reasonable budget. Far cheaper films than The Apartment were shot in colour well before 1959.

[–] TheArgentinian (7070) 4 years ago

There's a doc on this movie. Someone says that it was for the mood, color would have made this movie too cheerful-