Black and White in Modern Day Movies
Shooting in Black & White is a dying art, but there are still some movies out there not afraid to use it and make it look brilliant, or give an Indie film that artistic grunge look. So here is a list of movies from 1970 and beyond that have benefitted from being shot in B&W.
List activity
16K views
• 165 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
152 titles
- StarsAndrew ScottDakota FanningJohnny FlynnA grifter named Ripley living in New York during the 1960s is hired by a wealthy man to bring his vagabond son home from Italy.I know it's not a movie, but Zaillian creates a unique black and white noir-ish thriller of the infamous fictional character, Ripley (top performance from Andrew Scott), with stylistic framing compositions and lighting reminiscent of a Caravaggio painting, plus a sinister tone that forces the viewer into the mind of a life grifter...
- DirectorDemetri MartinStarsRachael BeameAdam LowittRon LynchFrom his thoughts on aggressively scented trash bags to desk jobs in hell, Demetri Martin returns with a new stand-up special.Stand-up dry comedy with a difference, utilising the visual medium to perfection, and all in glorious black and white…
- DirectorYorgos LanthimosStarsEmma StoneMark RuffaloWillem DafoeAn account of the fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter, a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter.Truly amazing black and white moments...
- DirectorBradley CooperStarsCarey MulliganBradley CooperMatt BomerThis love story chronicles the lifelong relationship of conductor-composer Leonard Bernstein and actress Felicia Montealegre Cohn Bernstein.First half is a masterful work of black and white...
- DirectorYandy LaurensStarsRinggo Agus RahmanNirina ZubirAlex AbbadBagus, a screenwriter, reunites with his high school friend and crush, Hana, who is still grieving from the loss of her husband. He wants to convince her to fall in love once again, just like in the movies.A movie within a movie, within a movie! Something to that effect in this little B&W gem...
- DirectorPablo LarraínStarsJaime VadellGloria MünchmeyerAlfredo CastroAfter living 250 years in this world, Augusto Pinochet, who is not dead but an aged vampire, decides to die once and for all.Larraín has come up with a creative tour-de-force cinematic style in black and white, about the horrendous tale of Augusto Pinochet (and even throwing in the other evil partner-in-crime, Margaret Thatcher), including the hypercritical church and other evil doers in this delicious biting dark satire of vampires and greed...
- DirectorIvan SenStarsSimon BakerRob CollinsNatasha Wanganeen'Limbo' follows the investigation of a twenty year-old outback cold case murder by jaded detective Travis Hurley.Ivan Sen creates a meditative black and white ambiguous thriller, very reminiscent of Michelangelo Antonioni's The Passenger and The Red Desert, with mystic landscape sounds of Coober Pedy and characters lost in vacant long shots of the outback desert...
- DirectorHilmar OddssonStarsÞröstur Leó GunnarssonKristbjörg KjeldHera HilmarThe death of Jon's mother forces him to take on a journey with her corpse in the backseat to fulfill her last wish. Bresnef the dog comes along and this trip will be the gamechanger Jon never dreamt of.A bleak road movie with a difference...
- DirectorAntoine FuquaStarsWill SmithBen FosterCharmaine BingwaA runaway slave forges through the swamps of Louisiana on a tortuous journey to escape plantation owners that nearly killed him.Interesting use of B&W with hints of color appearing in blood, fire and green plant life!
- DirectorMichael GiacchinoStarsGael García BernalLaura DonnellyHarriet Sansom HarrisFollows a lycanthrope superhero who fights evil using the abilities given to him by a curse brought on by his bloodline.Impressive directorial debut from music composer, Giacchino, who approaches visual storytelling like the magical music he creates, with every shot (note) synchronized with the character's emotions, all in splendorous black and white giving it a 1940s horror feel that reminds one of a Jacques Tourneur film...
- DirectorAndrew DominikStarsAna de ArmasLily FisherJulianne NicholsonThe story of American actress Marilyn Monroe, covering her love and professional lives.Director Dominik has proven to be an auteur of cinema with this fragmented visual essay on Marilyn Monroe's tormented soul, mixing stunning black and white with color...
- DirectorKenneth BranaghStarsJude HillLewis McAskieCaitríona BalfeA young boy and his working-class Belfast family experience the tumultuous late 1960s.Branagh weaves a humorous and heartfelt semi-autobiographical story about growing up in Belfast during the '69 upheaval - filled with family love and heartbreak, religious political division, and the joys of Hollywood movies - all told in a black and white that added an emotional depth...
- DirectorMike MillsStarsJoaquin PhoenixGaby HoffmannWoody NormanWhen his sister asks him to look after her son, a radio journalist embarks on a cross-country trip with his energetic nephew to show him life away from Los Angeles.Black and white magic occurs when there is the perfect ingredient of cast and story...
- DirectorJacques AudiardStarsLucie ZhangMakita SambaNoémie MerlantÉmilie meets Camille who is attracted to Nora, who crosses paths with Amber. Three girls and a boy - they're friends, sometimes lovers and often both.The lives of 13th District inhabitants cross paths as they first search for sexual fulfillment until love is the answer in this wonderful observation on modern urban living...
- DirectorJoel CoenStarsDenzel WashingtonFrances McDormandAlex HassellA Scottish lord becomes convinced by a trio of witches that he will become the next King of Scotland, and his ambitious wife supports him in his plans of seizing power.We all know the story, so turn down the volume and be swept away by the nightmarish visual splendor, aided by the black and white cinematography and expressionist sets that are enhanced by the powerhouse performances...
- DirectorRebecca HallStarsTessa ThompsonRuth NeggaAndré Holland"Passing" follows the unexpected reunion of two high school friends, whose renewed acquaintance ignites a mutual obsession that threatens both of their carefully constructed realities.Creative use of black and white photography in a 4:3 framing to tell to great effect this delicate period piece drama...
- DirectorSam LevinsonStarsJohn David WashingtonZendayaA director and his girlfriend's relationship is tested after they return home from his movie premiere and face each other's turmoil during one long night.Supreme dialogue delivered by the perfect two header cast, and the B&W photography is very effective...
- DirectorDavid FincherStarsGary OldmanAmanda SeyfriedLily Collins1930s Hollywood is re-evaluated through the eyes of scathing social critic and alcoholic screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz as he races to finish the screenplay of Citizen Kane (1941).Oldman is superb, and Fincher managers to capture the cinematic style of the greatest film ever in black and white...
- DirectorRadha BlankStarsRadha BlankPeter KimOswin BenjaminRadha is a down-on-her-luck NY playwright, who is desperate for a breakthrough before 40. Reinventing herself as rapper RadhaMUSPrime, she vacillates between the worlds of Hip Hop and theater in order to find her true voice.The perfect Black and White drama...
- DirectorLav DiazStarsJoel LamanganPiolo PascualShaina MagdayaoMadmen control Manila in 2034 after massive volcanic eruptions have plunged Southeast Asia into darkness.Every Lav Diaz film is a black and white splendour...
- DirectorRobert EggersStarsRobert PattinsonWillem DafoeValeriia KaramanTwo lighthouse keepers try to maintain their sanity while living on a remote and mysterious New England island in the 1890s.Something strange on the lighthouse rock with Dafoe and Pattinson playing into Eggers' madness...
- DirectorIsabel CoixetStarsNatalia de MolinaGreta FernándezSara CasasnovasIn 1901, Elisa Sanchez Loriga took on the identity of Mario Sánchez to marry her lover of fifteen years, Marcela Gracia Ibeas.A taboo love at the turn of the 20th century that met harsh challenges, told with tenderness and in effective black and white...
- DirectorPawel PawlikowskiStarsJoanna KuligTomasz KotBorys SzycIn the 1950s, a music director falls in love with a singer and tries to persuade her to flee communist Poland for France.Another Pawlikowski black and white visual treat in 4:3 framing and an epic love story on a small scale...
- DirectorAlfonso CuarónStarsYalitza AparicioMarina de TaviraDiego Cortina AutreyA year in the life of a middle-class family's maid in Mexico City in the early 1970s.Another Cuarón visual treat that is simple but yet so effective...
- DirectorLav DiazStarsPiolo PascualShaina MagdayaoBituin EscalanteA young and fearless doctor opens a clinic for a poor community in a remote village of the Phillipines. However, she disappears without a trace. Her husband, a poet and teacher seeks the truth of her vanishing.