Some completely missed the mark
Over the past decades, black-and-white films have become less and less common. But when looking back at the history of cinema, it's still a medium that enchants audiences with a nostalgic air, and which sets a mood that we find in numerous masterpieces. From horror to drama and romance, monochrome features are still giving us some of cinema's best moments.
Ready to dive into the best black-and-white movies of all time? Then click through this gallery!
This wartime tale is truly a work of art, which focuses on an American expatriate who must choose between his love for a woman and continuing his fight against the Nazis. The film was nominated for eight Oscars, winning for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay.
This coming-of-age drama follows a young boy's childhood in Belfast, Northern Ireland, at the beginning of The Troubles in 1969. It received seven Academy Awards nominations, and won for Best Original Screenplay.
Written and directed by Alfonso Cuarón, this Academy Award-winning film depicts the life of a middle-class family’s maid in Mexico City in the 1970s.
Starring Gloria Swanson, this Hollywood classic follows an aging silent movie star who’s ready for her comeback. It was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, and won three.
This 2005 neo-noir crime anthology film by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez found its black-and-white inspiration in the comic book of the same name.
Orson Welles’ nonlinear mystery remains to this day one of the greatest films ever made. It won the 1941 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, and was nominated for a further eight Oscars.
With seven Academy Awards under its belt, Steven Spielberg’s Holocaust drama is one of the highest-ranked movies of all time. He chose to film it in black and white because for him the Holocaust was life without light, and the symbol of life is color.
Starring Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe, 'The Lighthouse' tells the story of two lighthouse keepers who get trapped on a remote island after a tumultuous storm. The film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Cinematography.
Directed by Mel Brooks, this hilarious black-and-white spoof on Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein' is an homage to classic Hollywood monster movies. The film was up for two Oscars.
This 2012 comedy-drama by Noah Baumbach tells the story of a 27-year-old struggling woman who apprentices for a dance company, although she’s not a dancer.
Directed and starring Woody Allen, with Diane Keaton, Meryl Streep, and Mariel Hemingway, 'Manhattan' was shot in black and white as an homage to Allen’s cinematic memories of the titular location. The film was up for two Academy Awards.
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, 'Rebecca' was the director's first American project. The romantic-psychological thriller stars Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine. It won the Academy Awards for Outstanding Production (i.e. Best Picture) and Best Cinematography – Black and White, and was nominated in a further nine categories.
Also known simply as 'Dr. Strangelove,' this Stanley Kubrick film satirizes the Cold War fears of a nuclear conflict between the Soviet Union and the United States. It was nominated for four Oscars.
Martin Scorsese’s 1980 drama stars Robert De Niro as a boxer with a self-destructive personality, which destroys his relationship with his family. The film was nominated for eight Academy Awards, and scored a win for Best Actor for De Niro.
This Oscar-winning classic stars the iconic Bette Davis, who plays a 40-year-old stage actress whose glory days are threatened by a newcomer named Eve.
Directed by and starring George Clooney, this Oscar-nominated film focuses on 1950s-era broadcast television. It portrays the conflict between radio and television journalist Edward R. Murrow and US Senator Joseph McCarthy.
The 2013 movie follows an elderly Montana resident and his son as they try to win a million-dollar prize on a trip to Nebraska. It was nominated for six Academy Awards.
This historical drama, directed by Paweł Pawlikowski, chronicles the Cold War in Poland and France during the 1940s through the 1960s. The film received three Oscar nominations.
This 1998 film by Gary Ross features a combination of colors and black and white. Tobey Maguire and Reese Witherspoon star as two 1990s teenagers who accidentally get placed into a 1950s TV show that lacks color. 'Pleasantville' received three Oscar noms.
The Swedish historical fantasy film by Ingmar Bergman is a cinema classic that follows a disillusioned knight returning from the Crusades to play a game of chess with Death.
‘Mank’ chronicles the life of screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz and his battle with director Orson Welles over the screenplay credit of ‘Citizen Kane’ (1941). The film won two Oscars, including for Best Cinematography, and was nominated for another eight.
Starring Vincent Cassel, this French crime drama chronicles the lives of three friends from a poor immigrant neighborhood in the suburbs of Paris.
Starring Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga, 'Passing' is about a black woman in 1920s New York who reconnects with a former childhood friend who passes as white and is married to a racist man.
This cult classic stars Johnny Depp as filmmaker Ed Wood. It follows his life in the 1950s when he created some of his most well-known works.
Based on Harper Lee's 1960 Pulitzer Prize–winning novel of the same name, this drama focuses on lawyer Atticus Finch, who defends a black man against a false r a p e charge. The film won three Academy Awards, including Best Art Direction – Black-and-White.
Widely considered as the film that changed the genre, Alfred Hitchcock’s monochromatic horror movie is arguably his most famous work, and for all the right reasons. The film was nominated for four Oscars.
This French comedy drama is not only black and white, but it's also a silent film. The story takes place in Hollywood, and focuses on the relationship between a rising young actress and an older silent film star as silent cinema starts to disappear. The film won five Academy Awards, including for Best Picture.
Starring Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd, and Cloris Leachman, this critically acclaimed coming-of-age drama tells the stories of Texas high schoolers learning to navigate their desires and dreams of escaping the small town they grew up in. The film won two Oscars, and was nominated for a further six.
This iconic romantic comedy helped launch Spike Lee’s film career. Ahead of its time, the film centers the artist Nola Darling, who is juggling her friends, work, and three romantic relationships.
This 2007 biographical film chronicles the life of Ian Curtis, singer of the English post-punk band Joy Division. It was made in black and white to reflect the band's mood of the era.
Sources: (Variety) (Harper's Bazaar) (Time Out) (Culture Trip)
The best black-and-white movies of all time
Looking at monochromatic magic
MOVIES Cinema
Over the past decades, black-and-white films have become less and less common. But when looking back at the history of cinema, it's still a medium that enchants audiences with a nostalgic air, and which sets a mood that we find in numerous masterpieces. From horror to drama and romance, monochrome features are still giving us some of cinema's best moments.
Ready to dive into the best black-and-white movies of all time? Then click through this gallery!