Shortly after last summer’s release of Mad Max: Fury Road, there had been a lot of chatter on the web about a black and white version of the film. It was rumored to be included on the Blu-Ray release, but when the film arrived on home video, we only got the theatrical (and beautifully colorful) version. Bummer, huh?
But last week, Fury Road director George Miller revealed to the LA Times that fans should expect to see this black and white version, after all! How will we see it? “Not in cinemas,” Miller answered. As to why it didn’t end up on the first home video release, Miller simply said, “There wasn’t enough room.” However, Miller implied that Warner Bros. intends to release a home video double dip that contains the de-colorized version. “[It’ll end up] on another version with commentary and other features.”
Director Frank Darabont did something similar by de-colorizing his Stephen King adaptation The Mist, which ended up as a feature on the film’s special edition DVD. It was crazy effective, with many fans (myself included) preferring the black and white version. Fury Road could end up the same way, but only if Warner Bros. decides to release it. In the wake of the film’s successful Oscar campaign (10 nominations), that seems ever more likely.