Sentence Correction

Black-and-white movies are as visually impressive than full-color movies are as creating interesting imagery depends mostly on whether the director has a deep understanding of cinematography.

A. than full-color movies are as creating interesting imagery depends mostly on whether the director has a deep understanding of cinematography
B. as full-color movies as creating interesting imagery depends mostly on whether the director has a deep understanding of cinematography
C. as full-color movies are as creating interesting imagery depends mostly on whether the director has a deep understanding of cinematography or not
D. as full-color movies are as creating interesting imagery depends mostly on if the director has a deep understanding of cinematography
E. as full-color movies are as creating interesting imagery depends mostly on whether the director has a deep understanding of cinematography

OA: E
Source: Economist

[spoiler]I feel that B is correct. There is no need to add 'are', as in choice E.
Economist claims the following:
"Although this answer choice corrects the original Comparative mistake by replacing than with as, it is stylistically flawed as it omits the verb are from the second half of the Comparative structure.
Since there's another answer choice that corrects the original mistake but preserves the verb are, it is preferable to this one. Look for it!"

Does the GMAT test for that difference between B & E?? [/spoiler]
Any Expert comment for above.

B: Black-and-white movies are as visually impressive as full-color movies.
Here, the intended comparison is crystal clear:
Black-and-white movies are as visually impressive as full-color movies [are visually impressive].
The words in brackets are omitted but implied.
No other interpretation is possible.
The official justification for choosing E over B is insufficient.
I would ignore this SC.