75 Beautiful Black & White Films

In chronological order, here are 75 films from 1940 onwards which make superb and atmospheric use of black and white photography. Taking their cue from German expressionist cinema, the chiaroscuro style of film noirs became an important aesthetic element in competing with the rise of technicolour. By the late 1960’s, black and white was only really used for budgetary reasons or as a particular stylistic approach, generally a direct homage or recreation of an era. A perfect black and white film is worth ten colour films in my opinion.