<P> In a black & white pre-credits opening sequence in the 2006 Bond film, Casino Royale, a young James Bond (played by Daniel Craig) gains his licence to kill and status as a 00 agent by assassinating the traitorous MI6 section chief Dryden at the British Embassy in Prague, as well as his terrorist contact, Fisher, in a bathroom in Lahore . The remainder of the film starting with the opening credits is shown in color . </P> <P> Since the late 1960s, few mainstream films have been shot in black - and - white . The reasons are frequently commercial, as it is difficult to sell a film for television broadcasting if the film is not in color . 1961 was the last year in which the majority of Hollywood films were released in black and white . </P> <P> Some modern film directors will occasionally shoot movies in black - and - white as an artistic choice, though it is much less common for a major Hollywood production . The use of black - and - white in the mass media often connotes something "nostalgic" or historic . The film director Woody Allen has used black - and - white a number of times since Manhattan (1979), which also had a George Gershwin derived score . The makers of The Good German (2006) used camera lens from the 1940s, and other equipment from that era, so that their black - and - white film imitated the look of early noir . </P> <P> In fact, monochrome film stock is now rarely used at the time of shooting, even if the films are intended to be presented theatrically in black - and - white . Movies such as John Boorman's The General (1998) and Joel Coen's The Man Who Wasn't There (2001) were filmed in color despite being presented in black - and - white for artistic reasons . Raging Bull (1980) and Clerks (1994) are two of the few well - known modern films deliberately shot in black - and - white . In the case of Clerks, because of the extremely low budget, the production team could not afford the added costs of shooting in color . Although the difference in film stock price would have been slight, the store's fluorescent lights could not have been used to light for color . By shooting in black - and - white, the filmmakers did not have to rent lighting equipment . </P>

When did black and white photos come out