Black and white movies are classics. They have stood the test of time and are still considered to be some of the best movies ever made. Below you will find a list of iconic black and white movies that every film buff should see at least once in their lifetime:
Raging Bull
Raging Bull is a 1980 American biographical drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert De Niro. It tells the story of middleweight boxer Jake LaMotta, portrayed by De Niro, in his early 20s and his ascension into the world of boxing.
The supporting cast includes Joe Pesci, Cathy Moriarty, Frank Vincent, and Nicholas Colasanto, and this film is based on La Motta’s autobiography Raging Bull: My Story.
The film follows La Motta from his early days as an unknown club fighter through his success as a world champion in the first half of the 1940s to his self-destructive behavior during many years at the end of his career. The score was composed by Carmine Coppola (father of Francis Ford Coppola) with original music provided by Italian composer Ennio Morricone—his first American work after having composed spaghetti western soundtracks for Sergio Leone.
Casablanca
Casablanca won three Academy Awards (Best Picture; Best Director; Best Screenplay), as well as earning five other Oscar nominations (Best Actor—Humphrey Bogart; Best Actress—Ingrid Bergman; Best Supporting Actor—Paul Henreid).
It set a record for being the most-attended film at the time of its release at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall.
Before this movie was made in the 1940s it was already played out on stage by Lawrence Riley in 1914. This shows how old some stories can be when they are made into movies or plays again with different actors playing different roles than before but still having similar plots/storylines
Schindler’s List
In 1993, Steven Spielberg directed Schindler’s List, an epic black and white World War II drama about Oskar Schindler (played by Liam Neeson). The film won 7 Oscars, including Best Picture. In the movie, Schindler risks his life to save more than 1,000 Jews from being killed by Nazis during the Holocaust in Poland.
In order to save lives and make money at the same time, he hires Polish Jews who are able-bodied enough to work as well as some who are disabled or elderly so they can be granted “work permits” that allow them access to his factories in Krakow. Once there they work long hours making pots and pans for armament companies; not only do these jobs provide food but also give hope that other Jews will survive due to their foresight in hiring these people.
