Sign-In
Cart
High Contrast Hollywood
Paperback
Publisher Price: $24.00
Publisher: Sticking Place Books
Published: Oct 20 2025
Pages: 176
Weight: 0.40
Height: 0.38 Width: 5.00 Depth: 8.00
Language: English
Black-and-white cinema effectively died out almost overnight in the mid-1960s. But in the face of a decade of serious competition from colour and widescreen-not to mention visual fads like 3D-black-and- white cinematography remained innovative and even experimental as it reached what looked like its endpoint. The evidence from a host of films from the mid-1950s onwards was that black and white cinematography was also still improving. It still had places to go, new techniques to exhibit.
High Contrast Hollywood revisits the groundbreaking black-and-white films from the period when the format was first under siege, in the 1950s, to those scarce but bold monochrome movies of the 1970s and '80s, made when black-and-white had long since become a cinematic relic of the past. It chronicles how the resilient medium fought back during the Technicolor and CinemaScope age (1953-62), in films such as Blackboard Jungle (1955), Marty (1955), The Apartment (1960) and Psycho (1960), and details how black and white came back into fashion, thanks to the influence of the French New Wave, in striking adult- oriented 1960s movies such as Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), Seconds (1966) and In Cold Blood (1967).
High Contrast Hollywood also explores how black-and-white film became the format of choice for avant-garde, iconoclastic and maverick directors, in Peter Bogdanovich's The Last Picture Show (1971), Bob Fosse's Lenny (1974), Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein (1974), David Lynch's The Elephant Man (1980), Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull (1980) and Francis Coppola's Rumble Fish (1983). Finally, it celebrates the continued power of black and white as it crossed over from celluloid to digital filmmaking, still able to captivate viewers in offbeat and uncompromising films, from Ed Wood (1993) to Sin City (2005).
1 different editions
Also available
Also from
Upton, Julian
Shocking and Sensational: The Stories Behind Famous True Crime and Scandal Books
Upton, Julian
Paperback
Also in
General Drama
Freeing the Natural Voice: Imagery and Art in the Practice of Voice and Language (Revised & Expanded)
Linklater, Kristin
Paperback
Book Meets World: The Definitive Inside Story of the Hit Sitcom Boy Meets World
Friedle, Will
Fishel, Danielle
Strong, Rider
Hardcover
Funny Business: The Old-School Wedding Crashers and Knocked-Up Virgins Who Changed Comedy Forever
Singer, Matt
Hardcover
How to Succeed in Musical Theatre Without Really Dying: The Actor's Guide to Booking Work and Building a Career That Lasts
Mendez, Lindsay
Oliver, Ryan Scott
Paperback
The NEW Comedy Bible: The Ultimate Guide to Writing and Performing Stand-Up Comedy
Carter, Judy
Paperback
The Golden Girls Cookbook: More Than 90 Delectable Recipes from Blanche, Rose, Dorothy, and Sophia
Styler, Christopher
Hardcover
Drama Projects for the Middle School Classroom: A Collection of Theatre Activities for Young Actors
Young, Rebecca
Paperback
Essentials of Screenwriting: The Art, Craft, and Business of Film and Television Writing
Walter, Richard
Paperback
Drama Teacher's Survival Guide--Volume 2: Activities, Exercises, and Techniques for the Theatre Classroom
Johnson, Margaret F.
Paperback
Fawlty Towers: Fawlts and All: A 50th Anniversary Celebration of the Nation's Beloved Sitcom
Cleese, John
Hardcover
Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream for Kids: 3 Short Melodramatic Plays for 3 Group Sizes
Kelso, Brendan P.
Paperback
Scoundrels, Villains, & Knaves: Disneyland, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Popular Culture
Nolte, Foxx
Paperback
A Century of Music Under the Stars: A History of the Mann Center for the Performing Arts and Robin Hood Dell
The Mann Center for the Performing Arts
McCarthy, Jack
Hardcover
Large Print Dot To Dot Book For Senior: 50 Large Print Easy Dot To Dot Nature Scenes, Flowers, Butterflies &, Animals, dinosaur, .. & Birds And More (
James S Wagner Dot Book House
Paperback
The Cool Ruler-The Incredible Life Story of Gregory Isaacs(Message, Missteps and Mastery of a Musical Maestro)
Price, Peter
Paperback
Drama Teacher's Survival Guide--Volume 1: A Complete Handbook for Play Production
Johnson, Margaret F.
Paperback
The Men Who Would Be King: An Almost Epic Tale of Moguls, Movies, and a Company Called DreamWorks
Laporte, Nicole
Paperback
An Introduction to the Art of Theatre--Student Text: A Comprehensive Text -- Past, Present, and Future
Cassady, Marsh
Paperback
Rhinoceros and Other Plays: Includes: The Leader; The Future Is in Eggs; It Takes All Kinds to Make a World
Ionesco, Eugene
Paperback
Live from New York: The Complete, Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live as Told by Its Stars, Writers, and Guests
Shales, Tom
Miller, James Andrew
Paperback
The Theatrical Adventures of Edward Gorey: Rare Drawings, Scripts, and Stories
Verburg, Carol
Hardcover
The Official Rocky Horror Late Night Double Feature: The 50th Anniversary Two-Volume Collector's Edition
O'Brien, Linus
O'Brien, Richard
Hardcover
Champions for the Arts: Lessons and Successful Strategies for Engaging Diverse Audiences
Walker-Kuhne, Donna
Paperback