Almost 35 years ago, production designer David Gropman worked on a Merchant Ivory World War II-era drama called “Mr. & Mrs. Bridge,” in which the opening sequence was in black and white. He still remembers watching dailies to that sequence and hearing director James Ivory exclaim, “What have I been waiting for all these years? It works so much better in black and white!”
“He was right,” Gropman said, laughing. “And I have longed to do a black-and-white film since then.” He finally got his wish with “Ripley,” Steven Zaillian’s Netflix limited series based on the Patricia Highsmith novel “The Talented Mr.