Zack Snyder's Justice League: See it in Black and White

Zack Snyder's Justice League, streaming on HBO Max since late March, is pretty good, but it's also four hours long, and sometimes it's really slow, because Zack don't give a fuck.   Snyder makes superhero movies that are difficult, and I guess I respect that, but there are very few four hour movies that can be considered required viewing.  Far be it from me to criticize anyone's decision to pass on this.

However, if you're going to see it, I think you should see it in black and white.   HBO is also streaming the "Justice is Gray" edition.   Weird title, but for me, the gorgeous black and white transforms a sometimes painful four hour watch into pure comfort TV.  I've watched it over and over.   Everything that is ponderous and overdone about Snyder's style is muted, somehow easier to take.   The slow pace seems stately, and dignified.

Now, I'm older than a lot of fans.  I spent the first twelve years of my life (1958-1970) in front of a black and white television, and I may experience black and white differently than someone who doesn't have the comforting associations with childhood.

Yet there are aspects of the experience that I'm certain will translate for anyone.  The wild array of characters and settings, (from Themyscira  to Atlantis, to Star Labs, to Gotham City), the crazy costumes, the eternal villains, and so on, it all fits together visually so much better in monochrome.  

On a good TV the visual detail is stunning.  We tend to associate black and white with faded prints from the forties and fifties.   The experience of a truly sharp black and white image may come as a surprise.  Last year I started streaming Perry Mason episodes from the late fifties.  The episodes were shot on film, and on my 55 inch Panasonic, the detail was amazing.  In the courtroom scenes, I could see the grain in the the wood, the weave of the suits.  

Of course, the great thing is that we have a choice.    I'll admit that I'm more excited by the way this is being released than by the actual film, which, I'll say it again, is pretty good.   The uncompromising length, the choice of formats, it all bodes well for future releases.   I am not so crazy about the black and white that I would choose to eliminate the color option altogether.  

The color isn't bad, either.  The original theatrical release, which was completed by Joss Whedon after Zack Snyder suffered a family tragedy, had a bright color palette that was dominated by orange.   The colors in the Snyder cut are much more subdued.   Since the film looks so good in black and white, and the two color versions are so dramatically different, it makes me wonder if Justice League was originally shot in black and white.