1960年代的台灣瀰漫著現代主義的氣息，在國內外政經局勢的影響下，台灣的藝文界人士試圖在中國傳統與西方現代間尋找出路。在現代電影方面，當時甫從義大利留學回國的白景瑞，成為媒體爭相追問電影現代化議題的焦點人物。由於白景瑞是畫家、藝文記者和電影導演的多重身分，使得他得以透過平面媒體和電影作品，同時闡述他對藝術與現代生活的看法。本文將分析白景瑞在1960年代報紙上所發表的相關言論以及他所拍攝的電影，試圖呈現出白景瑞對現代性的概念即在於「創新」，而這種創新主要表現在三個方面：對台灣當下都會生活景況的表現、結合當時有志於創新的藝文工作者以及對電影技術與敘事結構的革新。

Modernism was prevailing in Taiwan in the 1960s. Under the changing political and economic circumstances, artists tried to seek a way out of cultural debates between Chinese tradition and Western modernity. With regard to modern cinema, Bai Jingrui, who came back from Italy with a filmmaking diploma in 1963, became a media sensation and freely and openly expressed his thoughts about modern cinema. Being a painter, an arts journalist and a film director, Bai was in a unique position to represent the relationship between arts and modern life through the newspapers and his filmic works. This paper explores both director Bai's critics and movies in the 1960s and concludes that his idea about modern cinema in effect lies in innovation. His endless pursuit of 'doing things differently' shows in the following three aspects: the representations of urban life in contemporary Taiwan, co-working with artists who at that time were ambitious in creating something new and different, and the innovation in filmic techniques and narrative structure.