Mad Max: Fury Road features some truly epic action, but that isn't the only reason audiences are turning out for director George Miller's latest. The film is a visual treat as well. Instead of creating a film that is dark and desaturated, like many other post-apocalyptic films, Miller's Fury Road stands out.
It's for that reason it is interesting to hear that the movie was also imagined as a black and white film. In fact, Miller himself says the black and white Fury Road is actually the best version of the movie in an interview with /Film.
"One thing I've noticed is that the default position for everyone is to de-saturate post-apocalyptic movies," Miller says. "There's only two ways to go, make them black and white - the best version of this movie is black and white, but people reserve that for art movies now. The other version is to really go all-out on the color. The usual teal and orange thing? That's all the colors we had to work with. The desert's orange and the sky is teal, and we either could de-saturate it, or crank it up, to differentiate the movie. Plus, it can get really tiring watching this dull, de-saturated color, unless you go all the way out and make it black and white."
Miller goes on to say that not only will a black and white version be included on the film's home release, fans will also have the option of watching the film without color and (almost) no sound. Just moving pictures and the film's score. No color. No sound.
So much of the fun of Fury Road are the popping visuals and the bombastic sound effects, as cars explode and that crazy, flaming guitar guy does what he does best. To watch it without either one of those things would definitely make for an interesting experience. As for it being the best version of the movie, we'll just have to take Miller's word for it.
Check out our issue #1 review for the DC Comic Mad Max miniseries, which dives into the backstories of the film's numerous characters, for more Mad Max: Fury Road goodness. And if you're looking for a more humorous take on the apocalypse, you can watch how one YouTuber combined the wasteland of Mad Max with the high stakes competition of Mario Kart here.
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