20 Great Movies That Make Masterful Use of Color

Created by Igor_Brynner.

Favorited 2 times, disliked 0 times, added to 1 watchlist.

Back in the 1990’s there was a considerable cultural stir within the film community. Several companies, notably one owned by mogul Ted Turner, were indulging in a process called colorization. Simply put, this process took films created in black and white and added color to them (much as old post cards had once been colored). This was done in an effort to interest younger viewers in older films and thus make them more commercial. Many, many film buffs were appalled.

Most of those who spoke out against the process took the tack of exalting monochromatic photography, admittedly beautiful but considered by some to be somewhat passé in the modern film era. As part of this campaign, many of the colorization opponents condemned any use of color in film. Maybe a certain something did get lost when films went almost completely to color, but this argument was facile. The great, and wise, director-writer John Huston noted that color could be a great tool in the hands of a film maker who knew how to use it and what to do with it. And he should have known since he used color to great effect in many of his films.

What the anticolorization crowd missed was the fact that color in some form or another has existed almost has long as cinema itself. Indeed, the first color motion picture was released in 1912. The perfected three-strip Technicolor process didn’t arrive until 1935 but that still gave film makers many years in which to use it. The process was costly and thought to work best for musicals, comedies, big, spectacular films such as Gone with The Wind or special projects such as the animated films of Walt Disney.

However, after World War II, a more modern wave of thought started to creep into world cinema. Many noted directors started to use color as another means by which to effectively tell stories as part of their visual styles. Like the use of black and white, this was a creative decision—and that was what colorization was infringing upon.

Below are a number of outstanding examples of how skillful film makers can use color to superb effect.