Black & White Comedy in a Color World: Frances Ha

Although color film technology was available since the early 1930s, black & white and color films both co-existed in theaters until color would dominate filmmaking by the early 1970s. Yet monochrome film would still occasionally be used for feature films, resulting in some of the most-esteemed titles of the last fifty years (RAGING BULL, SCHINDLER’S LIST & ERASERHEAD among them).

While in modern times black & white is often deployed to suggest past periods or austere seriousness, some of the color era’s most-striking comedies have also been shot in the process. We’ll discuss what black & white brings to the comic tone of these films as well as examine the careers and artistic interests of the directors and their collaborators. Following the films we’ll enjoy an open class discussion.

This week, we’ll be screening FRANCES HA (2012, dir. Greta Gerwig, 86 min., U.S.).

Other films to be screened:
THE PLOT AGAINST HARRY (1971, dir. Michael Roemer, 81 min., U.S.). on January 26 | REGISTER
PAPER MOON (1973, dir. Peter Bogdanovich, 102 min., U.S.) on February 2 | REGISTER
SIDEWALK STORIES (1989, dir. Charles Lane, 97 min., U.S.) on February 9 | REGISTER
LA VIE DE BOHÈME (1992, dir. Aki Kaurismäki, 103 min., Finland) on February 23 | REGISTER
COMPUTER CHESS (2013, dir. Andrew Bujalski, 92 min., U.S.) on March 2 | REGISTER