The cinematographer of The White Ribbon, Christian Berger, on ‘modern black and white’ -
Berger admits he can’t quite describe the style or mode that he has dubbed “modern black and white”, but told Art Beat they [he and director Michael Haneke] wanted to use the abstraction of black and white without adopting the other aesthetic implications that go with old film stock.
Indeed, the end result feels inexplicably modern: a clear, crisp contrast with a more richly layered scale of gray tones than the conventional black and white of the past. Berger filmed “White Ribbon” in digital color negative, removing the color in post-production.