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Nicolas Cage stars as Spider-Man in Prime Video's Spider-Noir. | Source: Prime Video
Prime Video's new series, Spider-Noir, aims to cure superhero series fatigue and was released on May 27th and is currently enjoying a wave of rave reviews from critics and fans alike, boasting an impressive The aggregate rating is 91% on Rotten Tomatoes. .
In the film, Nicolas Cage plays Ben Reilly, also known as Spider-Man, multiverse A Depression-era Spider-Man living in New York City. This character was introduced in the Marvel comics' Spider-Man Noir and later appeared in the 2018 film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. He's quite different from Peter Parker (Spider-Man's space mission was a pleasant surprise, but we don't expect Cage's arachnid hero to ever go to space), and isn't yet part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
«"Spider-Noir" is eight episodes full of good-old-fashioned fun, featuring pulp-novel villains like Molten Man, Tombstone, Sandman, Electro, and the villainous crime boss Silvermane, played by veteran actor Brendan Gleeson ("Braveheart," "Harry Potter franchise").
But one of the most appealing aspects is the ability to view episodes in either true-hue full color or authentic black-and-white—an interesting feature that provides a completely different experience depending on the viewer's preference.
We caught up with renowned cinematographers Darran Tiernan (Penguin, Westworld) and Peter Deming (Evil Dead 2, The Cabin in the Woods), the cinematic geniuses behind this two-stage experiment, to find out how it evolved during production.
«"It was originally going to be a black-and-white show, but very quickly the question arose: 'Can we do a color version?'" Tiernan tells Space.
«"I think it was Nick and Oren [Uziel] who said to the studio, 'Why not have both?' There were always some concerns about the black-and-white look. But it's a film noir. So our challenge was: how do we create two versions that could coexist? We did a lot of testing and discussions. Then it was a matter of synchronizing the departments so they knew what the cameras and lighting rigs looked like.".
«"When we were shooting color versions, we usually did color first and then black and white, and there were certain scenes that would evoke completely different emotional responses from me, even though it's the same scene, the same actors, the same lines, the same composition.".
Choose either version or both versions of Spider-Man: Noir from Prime Video! | Source: Prime Video
Deming recalls Nicolas Cage commenting on the decision, emphasizing the market's resistance to black-and-white interpretation.
«"People either gravitate toward it or avoid it," he adds. "He wanted the show to reach as wide an audience as possible, and he thought that if there was a color version, those who didn't like black and white would watch it. Now there's an adult version and a more kid-friendly color version that's more reminiscent of comics or graphic novels. That's never been done before, and I think it's working.".
Inspired by the nostalgic roots of comic books, Spider-Man Noir's atmospheric shots were deliberately constructed and composed to mimic the look of classic comic book panels.
«And all those incredible film noirs that gave us so many exciting ways to see a scene,« Tiernan notes. »Sometimes they had very limited resources, and they could create drama and action just by how the camera was positioned. It’s definitely a mix of beautiful compositions and interesting comic book angles, but also a huge influence from film noir. You can look to films that I love and that influenced me, like Stanley Kubrick’s The Killing, Orson Welles« Touch of Evil, and The Lady from Shanghai. The list goes on and on, they were so inventive, so you had so much freedom, and that was part of the storytelling.».
Other cinematic influences were drawn from this dark source of Hollywood noir history.
«"Also 'The Third Man' or 'Sweet Smell of Success,'" says Deming. "It's also kind of a vicious circle. I think film noir borrowed a bit from comics, but then developed them further, and then returned to graphic novels. So they kind of feed off each other, and that's why the black-and-white and color versions work. Because they both have their own stylistic backgrounds that aren't imposed by filmmakers or designers. The color version has a comic book foundation, and the black-and-white version is definitely noir. It was a great creative outlet, and I hope it opens up more projects like this to creative people who can support them and trust them.".
Created by Oren Uziel, Spider-Noir is currently streaming on Prime Video, with all episodes available on the platform.
Watch Spider-Man Noir on Amazon Prime Video:
Amazon Prime: $14.99 per month or $139 per year. Amazon Prime Video: $8.99 per month.
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