2006-06-19 21:03:11 · 27 answers · asked by Lleh 6 in Entertainment & Music ➔ Movies
Wow ... first of all - George C. Scott is NOT in 12 Angry Men. Though that is a good movie. Certainly not the best. You see the trick involved after watching it once, and its never really the same after that.
Elephant Man had no romantic component. How can you have a great black and white movie without romance?
Roman Holiday and It's A Wonderful Life are both fantasies. Black and white is a reality intensive medium - these movies are disqualified.
Schindler's List is good - but that is really a documentary masquarading as a movie. It can't be the best movie when it is an almost 100% piece of non-fiction. Art always surpasses simple history.
Which brings us to the two best answers: Citizen Kane, and Casablanca.
Citizen Kane is a movie makers movie. Wells expanded the things a camera could do technically. The interspirsing of shots, editing, cuts to here and there are what that movie is all about. But the story - and, indeed the acting (look how Frankenstein-esque Wells looks when he has his hysterical fit of destruction in his wife's bedroom -- indeed the acting) is second rate. I defy anyone who knows anything about cinema to honestly say that Joseph Cotton is a good actor -- and he is the key to the entire movie! Rent Citizen Kane and rent The Third Man and watch them both the same night. I believe you will enjoy The Third Man more.
Which brings us to Casablanca. Its not really a great movie. The plot has holes. What it has is a great performance by Bogart ... and ... Ingrid Bergman's face. Casablanca has Ingrid Bergman making the difficult decision of sacrifice in the face of a great war. Take Ms. Bergman's face from that picture, and we would not even care about it.
But Casablanca has many great things ... a great conflict against the backdrop of a great war. It has the greatest actor of that era - Bogart ... so the winner is ... "To Have and Have Not" - another Bogart movie. Bogart is again up against the Nazies in WWII. He is an underdog. But the romance is uplifting, the Nazi's are more ferocious, and the ending is much more believeable. In addition, this is the movie where Bogart met Lauren Bacall (Bogie and Bacall). She is 19, he is in his early 40s. They met, and fell in love, while this movie was being filmed. They got married and had a great marriage until Bogart's death. They found "true love" on the set of this movie! The chemistry between these two - on film - is blinding. So ... this is the best movie - because it has ... great plot ... great acting ... great supporting actors (there are like 5 of them) ... great comedy ... great music (Hoagy Carmichael) GREAT GREAT sexual tension ... AND ... the delicious and gossipy Hollywood backstory: this is where Bogie met Bacall - and everyone lived happily ever after.
Rent Casblanca and rent To Have and Have Not -- you will respect the former, but love the latter.
(Lastly, first runner up goes to ... "A Hard Day's Night", starring The Beatles! A movie (directed by Richard Lester) that spawned the entire MTV music video experience. A simply fantastic film showing you the genius of The Beatles (listen for the words "clean" and "buf-fet" (rhyming with "big bet")), before they took over the world. Its a truly historical and important film, and blissful fun from beginning to end.)
2006-06-19 21:36:28 · answer #1 · answered by robabard 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I'd say, George A. Romero's 1960's film, Night of the Living Dead. House of Wax is a good black and white film too. Also, the psychological thriller, Gaslight.
2006-06-19 21:18:36 · answer #2 · answered by J. McCoy 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In my opinion, I might say "How to Kill a Mockingbird" as the best black and white movie.
2006-06-19 22:10:09 · answer #3 · answered by marbieisback 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Schindler's List
2006-06-19 21:05:40 · answer #4 · answered by red headed step child 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's A Wonderful Life
2006-06-19 21:05:17 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Anatomy of a Murder - classic George C. Scott and Jimmy Stewart when they where both younger
12 Angry Men - another good George C. Scott classic
My apologies, but he IS in 12 Angry Men, only it's the 1997 remake, not the original...
2006-06-19 21:08:20 · answer #6 · answered by eagle5953 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Casa Blanca, love the old black and white movies.
2006-06-20 09:10:09 · answer #7 · answered by Lady Rhianan 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't care for black and white, but sin city was great. I know it has some color, but its a good movie.
2006-06-20 00:57:38 · answer #8 · answered by kim_rodgz 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Elephant Man
2006-06-19 21:07:58 · answer #9 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The best black and white according to me is 'Roman Holiday'!
2006-06-19 21:08:27 · answer #10 · answered by Lady_Marmalade 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋