blackandwhite

Black and white movies have such a charm. We are used to big fancy special effects and it's like a breath of fresh air to see a nice black and white movie where all the talent of the director is about showing emotions, back in a time when you had to be a good actor to be in a film and when the story mattered more than the promotion fuss ... Movies whith humour, romantic close shots on angelic faces, profound topics ... Talent was essential, and no matter what kind of movie it was : romance, comedy, horror or whatever, a bad movie had no chance to be a success ... well, less chance than now. I am sometimes so disapointed when I sit in those dark rooms, ready to enjoy what I was told to be a great film, and I find myself watching what we call in French a "navet" ( a turnip) : it's an expression to call a bad film ;o)

Here is a very poor but quality selection of black and white movies that are well worth seeing ( in my opinion) .

This movies is very famous and when you see it you understand why . It's what I call an intelligent movie .I think the director Orson Welles is a genius cos it keeps us waiting for the answer to the end, and it illustrates something that I truly believe in : details, elements of childhood are tremendously important and can strike us again years and years later when they seemed forgotten forever ...

I'm sorry those pictures have been coloured but the original movies are in black and white, I promise ! Anyway, everybody knows that Alfred Hitchcok is a very good director, so there's not point going on and on about him . This is my favourite movie of his, taken from Daphne Du Maurier's novel ... And if you like details, suspense , this is for you !

Hitchcok again ... Forget about the silly remakes of this one : the original version is the best ! God knows how frightened I was when I first saw it a few years ago ! Somehow the face of that man during the final scene is scarier than any ketchup party in modern movies ( i.e Scream 1, 2, 3, 4, 5... oh did they have that many ?)

This movies dates from 1943, it is part of the anti-nazi propaganda in the US . I don't know who the director is, and it doesn't star any famous actor or actress, but it's a very good movie. It's the story of an American woman who married a German guy in NY . They go to Germany for holidays and that guy becomes a nazi and decides to leave his wife since she doesn't want to stay in Germany. But he wants to keep their child . His father finally convinces him to leave the child to his mother threathening him to reveal that his mother was a full jew ! The big nazi realizes he's a jew ... Just see it .

This one stars Shirley Temple ! The sweetest little girl America has ever born ! It's funny, it's very cute ! She's so talented, she sings, she dances, she acts, she's amazing, you wouldn't believe such a young child could be so talented ! I am a fan ! You can also see Little Princess, or Curly Top, but I think Captain January definitely is the best !

A movie based on the childhood of Helen Keller who was born blind and deaf, and therefore couldn't speak properly either . But someday a teacher comes and looks after her and after a long battle, the child learns to communicate. It's a very interesting movie , very well done and with excellent actors ...