Night And Fog Analysis

Superficially speaking, one can say that the film Night and Fog is a comparison between several pieces of footage of the atrocities that took place in the Auschwitz concentration camp during the Holocaust and footage of that same place about a decade later. The director of this film, Alain Renais, uses actual black and white footage of the conditions of Auschwitz that was filmed by Nazi officials in 1933. In addition, he used his own (color) footage of Auschwitz several years after the camp was no longer in use and the war was over. The constant switching between black and white old footage and what was at the time current color footage could just be understood as the director attempting to show the audience the difference between the situation during the war and after the war. Although this observation is clear, this is only touching the surface and it is likely that there is more to Renais’ choice to use real black and white footage as instead of having actors reenact the horrors. There’s a …show more content…
Despite this, the color footage gives a much more modern feel. It makes it easier to believe that everything is fine now regardless of the unfortunate events. It tries to symbolize and give the illusion of life and progress; however, even with the color, the land still looks very much dead and grim. Because the majority of people see in color, the color footage is also easier to relate to our lives. However, because most people don’t see in black and white, it provides another disconnection between what is perceived as reality and fantasy. It is possible that color footage can make viewers remember better because there is more detail to absorb, unlike with black and white footage where details aren’t as easy to decipher. Renais could have purposely used color footage in order to have viewers remember the current image of Auschwitz as opposed to the previous image filled with cadavers and walking