Great B&W photography, I agree. Although also unqualified as a critic, I'll venture to say the acting and directing were terrific as well. After seeing Andrew Scott play Ripley, I watched the 1999 movie. Matt Damon came across as a shallow grinning teenager. Don't overlook the 50's noir movies as another source of good B&W photography.
Bill, I agree with your assessment as to the acting and directing, but even if one doesn't agree, I think the photography speaks for itself... and also serves as inspiration for us.
I agree whole heartedly with Mr Iverson in the comments below and would add Stanley Kubrick’s film “Paths of Glory” which I first watched in a film history class. The quality of the B&W was amazing , Like it was shot on Kodak Pan X. I to am ready to watch Ripley again with my finger over the pause button so as to linger over the numerous scenes that displayed all the photographic skills and beauty that Lester points out.
I saw this and figured it was just a rehash of the Matt Damon version. But the tickler caught my eye. So I started watching and almost immediately the use of black and white endeared me to this film. The black and white really contributes to the success of this film on multiple levels. Somewhat film noir in its presentation and acting I was expecting Humphrey Bogart to make a cameo, lol. The creators of this series deserved awards for their artistic prowess. And I thought the acting was outstanding!
The first thing about Ripley that grabbed me was the B&W cinematography - - it is spectacular. I wholly agree with the comment that any screen shot would be welcome on my wall as a fine print. I thought the whole production was outstanding.
.. hey - sounds delicious.. am a shooter - school of Nestor Almendros myself.. & W Eugene Smith - so dyin to check ‘Ripley out - am also ‘writing for camera’ here within my site - and spotlighting some fave cinematic Short Works i know of - you’ll know them like you’d know Koyaanisqatsi
Have a nasty glimmering Ripley might ‘influence me.. show me ideas (‘every day I go to school’ - an elderly house painter once told me..) Yes ! I will steal ‘fresh approaches.. embrace surprising lens & camera movement.. gracias amigo ! 🦎🏴☠️🎬
Will definitely check out Ripley. What you wrote is exactly how I felt about many of the episodes of Game of Thrones. You could pause on almost any frame and have something worth printing and hanging. Even if the storyline was not your cup of tea (it was mine) it was visually magnificent.
yes.. Thrones of course.. would add The Great ! ps.. deployed YouTube.. took in a great sampling.. blowaway production - Matt Damon & the scenarios thereof haha.. I love much of his stuff of course.. but the two films are entirely different creatures.. Am no fan of the story .. a bitter tale actually & shades of Saltwire eh ergh .. What I saw so far astonished me - will jump into more more more.. ! .. who mentioned Pan X haha ! Exactly.. ! 🦎🏴☠️
The costume designer gets a bit of credit. The main characters were typically dressed for B&W imagery. Ripley was in a white shirt much of the time. Nonetheless, I’ve recommended this to all my photographer friends and it’s queued for a second viewing. It’s a gorgeous film.
I, too, have been captivated by the stunning noir cinematography of this series and I have been gushing its praises to anyone who would listen. I fear, however, that the appreciation of the monochrome genre is shared by ever fewer people. All the more nice to be part of a community that appreciates and supports the continued exploration of monochrome photography.
Your observations were right on the mark though I found it difficult watching it on a less than perfect LCD screen. B&W deserves its true medium and not a facsimile of RGB.
Thank you for the recommendation. It was certainly an awesome B&W presentation. Often i froze the image on the screen so i could take my time looking at it. I was struck by the range of images from breathtaking landscapes to abstracts of electrical lines crossing a wall with a hand and arm extending into the photo. Outstanding!
Taiyo, I'm so glad you appreciated the nuances. I plan to watch it again this summer, this time actually turning off the sound and freezing some frames so I can savor the artwork.
Great B&W photography, I agree. Although also unqualified as a critic, I'll venture to say the acting and directing were terrific as well. After seeing Andrew Scott play Ripley, I watched the 1999 movie. Matt Damon came across as a shallow grinning teenager. Don't overlook the 50's noir movies as another source of good B&W photography.
Bill, I agree with your assessment as to the acting and directing, but even if one doesn't agree, I think the photography speaks for itself... and also serves as inspiration for us.
I agree whole heartedly with Mr Iverson in the comments below and would add Stanley Kubrick’s film “Paths of Glory” which I first watched in a film history class. The quality of the B&W was amazing , Like it was shot on Kodak Pan X. I to am ready to watch Ripley again with my finger over the pause button so as to linger over the numerous scenes that displayed all the photographic skills and beauty that Lester points out.
I'm with you. I plan to watch is again, this time savoring the images that I especially love.
I saw this and figured it was just a rehash of the Matt Damon version. But the tickler caught my eye. So I started watching and almost immediately the use of black and white endeared me to this film. The black and white really contributes to the success of this film on multiple levels. Somewhat film noir in its presentation and acting I was expecting Humphrey Bogart to make a cameo, lol. The creators of this series deserved awards for their artistic prowess. And I thought the acting was outstanding!
The Bogart reference is apt. The entire production was minimalist as far as the acting.
The first thing about Ripley that grabbed me was the B&W cinematography - - it is spectacular. I wholly agree with the comment that any screen shot would be welcome on my wall as a fine print. I thought the whole production was outstanding.
.. hey - sounds delicious.. am a shooter - school of Nestor Almendros myself.. & W Eugene Smith - so dyin to check ‘Ripley out - am also ‘writing for camera’ here within my site - and spotlighting some fave cinematic Short Works i know of - you’ll know them like you’d know Koyaanisqatsi
Have a nasty glimmering Ripley might ‘influence me.. show me ideas (‘every day I go to school’ - an elderly house painter once told me..) Yes ! I will steal ‘fresh approaches.. embrace surprising lens & camera movement.. gracias amigo ! 🦎🏴☠️🎬
Will definitely check out Ripley. What you wrote is exactly how I felt about many of the episodes of Game of Thrones. You could pause on almost any frame and have something worth printing and hanging. Even if the storyline was not your cup of tea (it was mine) it was visually magnificent.
yes.. Thrones of course.. would add The Great ! ps.. deployed YouTube.. took in a great sampling.. blowaway production - Matt Damon & the scenarios thereof haha.. I love much of his stuff of course.. but the two films are entirely different creatures.. Am no fan of the story .. a bitter tale actually & shades of Saltwire eh ergh .. What I saw so far astonished me - will jump into more more more.. ! .. who mentioned Pan X haha ! Exactly.. ! 🦎🏴☠️
I've not watched Game of Thrones, but several colleagues have recommended it. I may take it up as a summer project!
100000% agreed
The costume designer gets a bit of credit. The main characters were typically dressed for B&W imagery. Ripley was in a white shirt much of the time. Nonetheless, I’ve recommended this to all my photographer friends and it’s queued for a second viewing. It’s a gorgeous film.
Agree with you about the costuming. The entire production shines.
I, too, have been captivated by the stunning noir cinematography of this series and I have been gushing its praises to anyone who would listen. I fear, however, that the appreciation of the monochrome genre is shared by ever fewer people. All the more nice to be part of a community that appreciates and supports the continued exploration of monochrome photography.
Michael, such a nice sentiment. This is truly a very special community. We comment every day on how passionate and mindful our subscribers are.
Your observations were right on the mark though I found it difficult watching it on a less than perfect LCD screen. B&W deserves its true medium and not a facsimile of RGB.
Thank you for the recommendation. It was certainly an awesome B&W presentation. Often i froze the image on the screen so i could take my time looking at it. I was struck by the range of images from breathtaking landscapes to abstracts of electrical lines crossing a wall with a hand and arm extending into the photo. Outstanding!
Taiyo, I'm so glad you appreciated the nuances. I plan to watch it again this summer, this time actually turning off the sound and freezing some frames so I can savor the artwork.
What a visual treat this was. Absolutely loved every minute of it. Will rewatch it for sure.