I have no problem with B&W films and I suspect my one quibble is really a bit unfair. This was a small, quickly shot film made on location - by which I mean not in a studio - and there probably was not time or budget to set up the lighting properly. But wouldn't it have been great if they'd shot this film with the sharpness and glamour of an old studio picture.
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I think it was the perfect black and white for the film, looks beautiful and I'm pretty sure Whedon wanted to have this balance/contrast with the script and landscape. There are some really stunning screenshots through the entire film.
Any old tear in the fabric of time is effortlessly re-cast as a prophecy of doom because human beings are drama queens
I do like B&W and believe it is the correct choice for some new films, including Much Ado. I'm just suggesting that a studio lit B&W on old film stock (if it can still be found) would have looked truly beautiful. I was thinking particularly how interesting it would be to light and film Amy Acker with the same attention to detail as Gail Russell was filmed in Angel and the Badman.
shareThat kind of B&W would be really interesting and definitely will help to have a different perspective of the film (for better) but also this was his passion project, he financed the film, it was made at his own home I think and the photography was a way to emphasize the "modern twist".
Any old tear in the fabric of time is effortlessly re-cast as a prophecy of doom because human beings are drama queens
I know what you're saying.
Look at The Hustler, Yojimbo/Sanjuro by Kurosawa from the 60s, and 12 Angry Men. The sharpness, the grain and the definition that real film offers can't be copied when you're shooting digital. It may be fine for most things, but it's like turning the B&W setting on in a camera. Instead of it having the benefits of shooting in real B&W, instead it just removes the color.
But being that this was a passion project and done at his house and on a severely restricted budget, I'm not going to fault him at all.