I Don’t Like Black & White Movies, But These 10 Are Masterpieces From Start to Finish

Like many movie fans, when it comes to the cinematic experience, I greatly prefer stories in color, something that’s enriched film since the days of fantasy like The Wizard of Oz and Gone With the Wind. As with virtually every other person my age, being raised in an era when black-and-white releases are virtually non-existent, it took me some time to warm to the experience. Since broadening my horizons into older and more experimental cinema, it’s hard to deny that some black-and-white films are indisputable masterpieces.

Not only is black and white cinema the norm for most pre-1960 productions, but it’s also become a favorite of modern independent and artistic filmmakers. Sometimes, it can be used to set the mood for a story, even immersing modern audiences in a more classic style of cinema. Whether you’re discovering older films or coming across movies that use black and white as an artistic choice, these movies are cinematic excellence.

10

Clerks Captured The Mood Of Mid-90s Youth Brilliantly

Now Streaming On Hoopla

Clerks follows Dante Hicks, a young convenience store clerk who spends his days hanging out with his best friend, Randall Graves, who works at the video store next door. When he gets called in to work one of his days off, a frustrated Dante finds himself living out one of the worst days of his life, from a fight with his girlfriend to embarrassment at a funeral. With one mishap and irritation after another, audiences are shown a funny, exaggerated day in the life of a ’90s retail worker.

The debut film of director Kevin Smith, Clerks began the iconic ViewAskewniverse, introducing viewers to characters like Dante, Randall, Jay and Silent Bob.

The debut film of director Kevin Smith, Clerks began the iconic ViewAskewniverse, introducing viewers to characters like Dante, Randall, Jay and Silent Bob. The movie does a brilliant job of capturing the vibe of ’90s youth culture and is packed full of what would soon become cultural touchstones of the decade’s comedy scene. When looking at Smith’s career, he stands out as one of the few directors who came out with a modern classic, arguably making his magnum opus on day one.

9

The Day The Earth Stood Still Is A Groundbreaking Science Fiction Movie

Streaming On CultPix, Hoopla And FXNow

The Day the Earth Stood Still begins when an alien starship touches down in Washington DC, with its passenger, Klaatu, and a robot, Gort, exiting. When a soldier mistakenly fires on Klatau, he’s taken to a hospital, where the government detains him in the hopes of learning from him. When he escapes, he heads to a local boarding house and rents a room from its owner, the widowed Helen Benson, and befriends her young son, Bobby. Living among humans, he begins to understand the best and worst of Earth, leading to his warning that, to be accepted into the community of planets, humanity must change its violent ways.

The Day the Earth Stood Still helped usher in an age of more thoughtful, socially conscious science fiction, pushing viewers to question how humans treat one another. The film has remained an influential classic, inspiring modern masterpieces like James Cameron’s The Abyss. The film is at its best through Klaatu innocently coming to terms with humanity, seeing it at its best and worst, sending the message that we could be capable of so much more than war and prejudice.

8

Dr. Strangelove Is Political Satire At Its Finest

Streaming On Criterion Channel

Set at the height of Cold War tensions, Dr. Strangelove begins with the revelation that an unstable American general has ordered a nuclear strike on Russia. With the bomber pilots on their way and communications shut off, the President assembles his national security council at the Pentagon and frantically attempts to prevent the attack. As he coordinates with the Russian Premier, American troops storm the base housing the irrational general, who’s holed up with a nervous RAF officer on exchange.

Dr. Strangelove has remained one of the greatest works of satire ever created, highlighting the madness of the Cold War Mutually Assured Destruction policy. With Peter Sellers taking on several hysterical roles, the film’s thoughtful and funny script, coupled with the cast’s deadpan gallows humor, makes it a cornerstone of classic cinema.

7

The Maltese Falcon Is The Definitive Hardboiled Detective Movie

Rent On AppleTV, Amazon Video, Fandango At Home And Spectrum

The Maltese Falcon focuses on Sam Spade, a hardboiled San Francisco private eye, as he’s approached by a client, Ruth Wonderly, who wants him and his partner, Miles Archer, to track down her missing sister. Claiming her sister is on the run with a man named Thursby, Archer takes the case and goes looking for the man. Later, however, police inform Spade that both Archer and Thursby have been murdered, and suspect him of foul play. When Wonderly returns, now with a different name, she ropes Spade into a conspiracy surrounding the search for a missing treasure, the Maltese Falcon.

The de facto face of classic hardboiled Noir, The Maltese Falcon remains one of the most significant and enthralling detective movies ever made. John Huston masters everything great about Golden Age crime cinema, and Humphrey Bogart established himself as the face of the classic private eye by embodying Spade. Based on the treasured novel by Dashiell Hammett, the film has aged incredibly well and keeps the audience guessing at every turn until the full story finally comes into focus.

6

The Lighthouse Channels The Horror Of HP Lovecraft

Streaming On Max, Cinemax On AppleTV, Cinemax On Prime Video And Plex

The Lighthouse focuses on a pair of lighthouse-keepers alone on an island; the older, more erratic Thomas Wake, and the younger, less experienced and more serious Thomas Howard. Despite starting out friendly, the relationship between the men begins to disintegrate as they’re plagued by strange happenings and odd dreams, with mistrust and paranoia driving them apart.

The Lighthouse channels the tone of HP Lovecraft into a creepy, bizarre dark comedy, one that plays into themes of isolation and the effects it has on a person’s psyche. Both Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe turn in one of the most intense performances of their careers, leaving the audience disturbed, entertained, and thoroughly scared. Through his use of black and white, director Robert Eggers makes the film feel perfectly antiquated, almost feeling like a lost relic of a bygone time.

5

Sin City Is The Perfect Comic Book Adaptation

Streaming On Kanopy And Hoopla

In the 1990s, Frank Miller launched his Sin City comic book universe, channeling the best of old-school crime magazines into a fresh, hard-boiled pulp universe. In 2005, he teamed up with directors Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino to adapt his stories into an anthology movie. The film opens with the tale of John Hartigan, a rough Sin City detective who takes on a sadistic child killer and is framed for his crimes, driving him to revenge after release.

Thanks to Frank Miller being at the helm, Sin City is one of the greatest, most accurate comic book movie adaptations in history. A gritty crime story with a non-stop string of instantly iconic characters, the film is one big love letter to old-school action-thrillers, paying homage to the likes of Dirty Harry. As one of the best action movies of the last thirty years, stars like Bruce Willis, Clive Owen, and Mickey Rourke gave audiences a morally ambiguous tale of justice and revenge for modern cinema.

4

Psycho Gave Birth To The Slasher Sub-Genre

Streaming On Netflix

In 1960, Alfred Hitchcock delivered what many of his fans consider the defining work of his career in Psycho. The film begins when a young woman, Marion Crane, steals from her employer and goes on the run, turning to the remote Bates Motel for refuge from a storm. While there, she meets the manager, a shifty young man named Norman Bates, who runs the motel with his mother. However, when Marion is murdered, her sister employs a private detective to get to the bottom of it, turning the motel into a veritable killing ground.

For any slasher fan, no film was as important in paving the way for Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, and others as Psycho.

Psycho isn’t just a great standalone horror movie but effectively the progenitor of the slasher sub-genre, with Hitchcock’s brilliant use of suspense and Bernard Herrmann’s iconic score immortalizing it. Anthony Perkins turned in such a strong performance that his career never surpassed it, and countless horror movies made since have paid homage to it in their own way. For any slasher fan, no film was as important in paving the way for Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, and others as Psycho.

3

Young Frankenstein Is Easily Brooks’ Wittiest Film

Not Available For Streaming Or Rent

Since 1974’s Blazing Saddles, Mel Brooks has been a master of comedy, particularly the parody genre. In 1979, he turned in his magnum opus in Young Frankenstein, which pokes fun at the classic Universal Monsters heyday. The film focuses on Frederick Frankenstein, the embarrassed grandson of Victor, as he travels to Transylvania to see his ancestor’s castle. While there, he meets Igor, also the grandson of the original, who offers his services as his assistant. Initially reluctant to be associated with his grandfather’s work, Frederick begins to believe he too can reanimate the dead. When the pair work to create the latest monster, things go hysterically wrong.

While Blazing Saddles might be the slapstick comedy of Brooks’ career, Young Frankenstein has as much claim to being his greatest movie. One of the most quotable comedies ever made, its use of irony, deadpan humor, and sarcasm makes for one of the best movie experiences there is. From the interplay between Igor and Frederick to the non-stop innuendo, the film is required viewing for any comedy or classic horror fan.

2

Schindler’s List Highlights The Horrors Of The Holocaust

Rent On AppleTV, Amazon Video And Fandango At Home

Set during the Second World War, Schindler’s List tells the true story behind Oskar Schindler’s efforts to use his business to keep as many Jews alive as possible, employing them to excuse them from the death camps. When the concentration camp falls under the rule of the brutal Amon Goth, Schindler begins to fear for the fates of those around him. With the war escalating around them, he works tirelessly to keep his workers safe, and the horrors they suffer are put on full display.

As one of the most significant war films ever made, Schindler’s List doesn’t hold back in its depictions of the unimaginable horror of the Holocaust. Throughout its over-three-hour runtime, viewers are shown the extremes Jews had to resort to stay alive, the inhuman conditions of the camps, and the hatred that defined Nazi Germany. It isn’t the easiest film to sit through, but everyone should see Spielberg’s film at least once, even if only to understand the atrocities of the Holocaust.

1

To Kill A Mockingbird Is The Ultimate Anti-Racism Story

Streaming On Hoopla And Plex

Set during the Great Depression, To Kill A Mockingbird focuses on siblings Scout and Jem Finch as they live with their upstanding father, Atticus Finch. A lawyer with a strong moral center, Atticus becomes the subject of controversy when he represents a black man, Tom Robinson, against the charge of rape of a white woman. Through the eyes of Jem and Scout, the audience is shown the courage of Atticus and bears witness to the prejudices and tensions of the impoverished South. Doubling as a story of family and influential legal drama, the film teaches its audience empathy, using the children to relate to the story.

Few movies in history have as strong a claim to “greatest drama of all time” as this masterpiece. The crowning jewel in Gregory Peck’s impressive Hollywood career, the story takes a stand against racism at a time when Jim Crow was on its last legs in the Deep South. In the decades since few characters have been as good a role model as Atticus Finch, and few dramas have captured the social conscience of To Kill A Mockingbird.