The Look of Frances Ha

Of the many qualities that distinguish Noah Baumbach’s Frances Ha, one that immediately stands out is the glistening black-and-white cinematography. By choosing to shoot in monochrome, Baumbach, with the help of director of photography Sam Levy, makes New York City—and in one memorable visit, Paris—both romantic and gritty, vibrant and melancholy. In this excerpt from an interview on our new special edition of the film, filmmaker and author Peter Bogdanovich and Baumbach discuss the artistic and practical advantages of black and white, and Baumbach talks about shooting digitally for the first time.