Guillermo Del Toro Reveals A Black & White Cut Of Nightmare Alley Exists
The director of Nightmare Alley, Guillermo Del Toro, reveals that an “astounding” black-and-white version of the upcoming neo-noir film exists.
You Are Reading :Guillermo Del Toro Reveals A Black & White Cut Of Nightmare Alley Exists
Nightmare Alley director, Guillermo Del Toro, reveals that a black-and-white version of the upcoming neo-noir film exists. Nightmare Alley marks Del Toro’s first directorial feature since 2017’s Oscar-winning film The Shape of Water and was one of the myriad films delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film boasts an ensemble cast that includes Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Toni Collette, Willem Dafoe, Rooney Mara, Ron Perlman, Mary Steenburgen, David Strathairn, and Richard Jenkins, in what would be his second collaboration with Del Toro following his Oscar-nominated turn in Shape of Water.
Nightmare Alley is based on the 1946 novel of the same name by William Lindsay Gresham. The story takes place in New York in the 1940s and examines the lowest depths of showbiz, substandard carnivals and its dwellers who comprise of low-level hustlers and scheming grifters. The plot focuses on Stan Carlisle (Cooper), an ambitious con artist, as he colludes with corrupt psychiatrist Dr Lilith Ritter (Blanchett), who proves to be increasingly dangerous to him as their partnership progresses. The film is set to be released theatrically on December 17, 2021.
While speaking to IndieWire in a recent interview about his forthcoming film, Del Toro revealed the existence of a black-and-white edition of the film which he “hopes can be seen” by audiences one day. He continued to explain that while the movie was shot in color, he still filmed it as if it were a noir. He mentioned that the black-and-white cut doesn’t look like a desaturated version of the film but “exactly” like a 1940s feature film, labelling it as “astounding.” Read what he had to say below:
“There is a version of the movie [in black and white] which I hope can be seen. It’s not a movie where you turn the color off. The movie is almost like a serigraph in black and white that then has another layer of color. If you saw the movie in black and white, it’s not like you just turned the color off. It looks exactly like a movie from the 1940s in a way that is astounding.”
Gresham’s novel was first adapted in 1947 as a film starring the legendary American actor Tyrone Power and is currently regarded as a classic from the iconic film noir era of the 1940s and 1950s. Del Toro will be wanting his movie to garner identical success, but even more so with his black-and-white version if it ever comes to light. The fact that he shot the film as a noir suggests that he always had two editions of the film in mind. There have been times recently where the monochromatic look has been utilized for color films, most notably for Korean director Bong Joon-ho’s Oscar-winning film Parasite. However, with Nightmare Alley’s story set in a bygone period where noirs were prevalent and all the rage in the industry, it would only help the Mexican director’s cause to share a similar version of the film.
Nightmare Alley opened to generally positive reviews from critics, especially for Bradley Cooper’s performance with many calling it his career-best. The trailers coupled with the early reviews indicate that Nightmare Alley, like many of Del Toro’s past films, is destined to be a modern classic and one of the front runners come awards season. The black-and-white version of the film could enhance the experience even further and fans of the celebrated filmmaker would undoubtedly be hoping that the above-mentioned edition of Nightmare Alley sees the light of day sooner rather than later.
Link Source : https://screenrant.com/nightmare-alley-black-white-version-del-toro-confirm/