Posted on 02/12/2011 9:19:45 AM PST by JoeProBono
"There's been a recent debate as to the validity of black-and-white films. Many of the youngsters say, "I just don't get it." Well, don't feel like the Lone Ranger young children. Ted Turner has similar thoughts on the supposed curse of black and white.
Whether one would like to admit it or not, the greatest films in history, to include horror, science fiction, suspense and drama, have been made in the breathtaking anti-color of black and white. According to film director John Carpenter in his inventive opus They Live, the reason films are now in color is because of an invasion of aliens during the 1950s. Nice going John, for you are not far from the truth.
I have compiled an unquestionable list made up of the 20 greatest black and white films in the history of mankind. And mind you, I have added a bonus of five Honorable Mentions. For those of you unacquainted, this list is as good a place to start as any. Enjoy some of the greatest films ever made, and they are all in glorious black and white."
Orson Welles and Charlton Heston in Touch of Evil, 1958
Some good choices, but you left off the best B&W film of all time.
The Maltese Falcon.
Paths of Glory? This list is junk without that movie. Most lists have it in the top 50 of all time, never mind limiting the list to black and white.
I watched 3 good film noirs over the weekend...ones probably very few people have heard of.
It would be very, very difficult to make a list of 20 of the best Black & Whites.
Like others here, I am shocked, shocked I tell you, that Casablanca wasn’t on your initial list.
The Last Picture Show
Author has ZERO credibility for even suggesting at the end that Citizen Kane would have been better in color. A significant part of the genius of CK is Welles’s use of lighting and cinematography to engross the viewer without the need for color. And for the film itself not being in the top 3 at the least is a sin against art. Apology not accepted.
You can’t leave out “The Third Man”, that brilliant morality tale set in a smashed, decaying Vienna. I guarantee the ferris wheel scene will have you on the edge of your seat.
The General, 1916 starring Buston Keaton
La Strada by Fellini, 3rd behind Citizen Kane and Casablanca
Great list!
12 Angry Men
It’s a Wonderful Life
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Miracle Worker
Thanks, some I hadn’t seen.
But, Stagecoach is missing. Casablanca is missing. And, the Maltese Falcon is missing. I could trade out some on your list for those.
Bump for reference.
“Touch of Evil” instead of “Citizen Kane”?...very brave! I cannot judge, I have not seed “Touch of Evil”, though I saw a Documentary on how it was made...NOW I have to see it.
But I will say I always thought the camera work on “Citizen” was mind-blowing, and several on this list are barely an indent on my mind in any way. (though my mind is probably too “dented” to impress at all anymore:)
Seven Samurai, Rashomon.
Ah, “Double Indemnity”. “I smell a rat, Walter.”
Sorry for all the posts, they’re just coming to me... Andrei Rublev.
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