Nightmare Alley: black and white version to get very limited theatrical release

Director Guillermo del Toro‘s noir thriller Nightmare Alley is now in theatres – but next month, there is going to be a special release of the film that allow viewers to see it in black and white. This release of the film is being called Nightmare Alley: Vision in Darkness and Light… and unfortunately, it’s only going to be playing in four theatres in the Los Angeles area. Here’s the list of theatres and dates, courtesy of Deadline:

January 15-16: New Beverly Cinema
January 14-20: AMC The Grove
January 14-20: Landmark
January 21-23: Los Feliz Theater, American Cinematheque

Del Toro had this to say about the black and white version of Nightmare Alley:

Although we shot Nightmare Alley in color, we lit it as if it were black and white. You can see exactly the same level of design, and we wanted to give viewers this special vantage as a take of the classic noir genre that the film is part of.”

Cinematographer Dan Laustsen added:

When we designed and shot, we were always thinking color and black and white. The classic lighting I have used is an homage to all the incredible masters of cinematography who have inspired me.”

Based on a novel by William Lindsay Gresham (which was previously turned into a movie in 1947), Nightmare Alley is set in “a world of carnival hustlers and con men, telling the story of a mentalist who teams with a psychologist in order to swindle the rich.” Here’s the official synopsis:

When charismatic but down-on-his-luck Stanton Carlisle endears himself to clairvoyant Zeena and her has-been mentalist husband Pete at a traveling carnival, he crafts a golden ticket to success, using this newly acquired knowledge to grift the wealthy elite of 1940s New York society. With the virtuous Molly loyally by his side, Stanton plots to con a dangerous tycoon with the aid of a mysterious psychiatrist who might be his most formidable opponent yet.

The film stars Bradley Cooper as Stanton Carlisle, Cate Blanchett as Lilith, Toni Collette as Zeena, David Strathairn as Pete, Rooney Mara as Molly, and Richard Jenkins as the “dangerous tycoon”. Also in the cast are Willem Dafoe, Mary Steenburgen, Ron Perlman, Holt McCallany, Clifton Collins Jr., Tim Blake Nelson, Jim Beaver, and David Hewlett. 

Copies of Gresham’s novel Nightmare Alley can be purchased at THIS LINK. Del Toro wrote the adaptation with Kim Morgan. The film has been rated R for “strong/bloody violence, some sexual content, nudity and language.”