Tomorrow (May 27), Prime Video will release all eight episodes (hey, just like the number of a spider’s legs!) of Spider-Noir, the Spider-Man spinoff starring Nicolas Cage. And while subscribers to MGM+ got a sneak peek at the first episode yesterday (May 25), nobody subscribes to MGM+, so they’re unfortunately not able to answer a pretty simple question: should you watch Spider-Noir in black and white, or what Amazon is calling “True-Hue Full Color”?
I won’t waste a lot of time here, as Prime Video kindly supplied both versions of the show to critics (you can read more in our Spider-Noir review), because there’s actually only one acceptable answer: you have to watch the show in black and white.
The fact of the matter is, the show was shot in color — because, you know, the world is in color — but was lit and crafted to be released in black and white. It was star Cage who encouraged Prime Video to release both versions because of, uh, teens. In an interview with Sony (who produces the show), Cage explained, “It was actually one of my ideas to have them shoot it in color because I’m aware of teenagers, and I’m aware they don’t have that much experience with black and white.”
So if you watch the color version, to be clear, the costumes and lighting certainly pop in scenes. The color version is not the sort of black and white recolored, Technicolor version of a movie you might expect, but rather bold reds, greens, blues, etc. The color isn’t necessarily an afterthought, but it is pitched like a Broadway show in terms of the design, versus a movie or modern TV show.
The issue is when anyone goes outside. When they’re on a stage, it all looks okay. When they step onto the backlot, you can suddenly see the makeup caked on the actors, the flatness of the costumes… Honestly, it looks uncomfortably fake, and takes you right out of the scene.
Contrast that with the black and white version. While you might miss some things like a plotline about red markings on items of currency, the lighting looks gorgeous — and it looks more accurate to what the show is trying to convey. Rather than the 62-year-old man Cage is in real life, which is readily apparent in “True-Hue,” in black and white he’s the spitting image of Humphrey Bogart or other noir stars. A later episode properly conveys old Universal horror movies, and switching between the black and white and color is (forgive the pun) a stark contrast. Color does not work; the canted angles and bubbling potions in a lab only come to life when the frame is desaturated.
Look, nothing against Cage, but I think he’s undervaluing the artistic understanding of teenagers here, who — if they’re going to watch a show called Spider-Noir, can roll with the idea that it’s filmed like a 1930s film noir movie. Even the Spider-Man swinging and stunts look better in black and white, and helpfully contrast the small screen budget that can’t quite reach the heights of big-screen Spidey adventures. It’s the unreality of the black and white that, ironically, makes it more real.
So do yourself a favor: skip the “True-Hue Full Color” and stick to black and white. And if for whatever reason black and white doesn’t work for you? There’s a full-color Spider-Man adventure coming to the big screen in just two short months with Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
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