Any film maker possessed of any level of competence places the visual appearance of their film at the very top of the priority list and rightly so. Films are images first and foremost and the look of those images can not only sell the film but also conjure just the effect the director wishes to convey. Yes, there are such elements as script, acting, editing, sets, costumes, score and many others, but if the film doesn't look as it should, nothing will come off quite as well as it should.
For many years, black and white photography was the dominant mode for film making. In the late sixties, color started to dominate and filming in black and white became a courageous choice (and one that was usually a hard sell to producers and studio heads).
