22 Best Black-and-White Movies of All Time

By Vlad Zakh · August 10, 2026

Arthouse slow and atmosphericthought provoking

Color became the default long ago, yet directors keep choosing black and white on purpose. Some of these films had no other option: Casablanca, Citizen Kane, Psycho, Dr. Strangelove. Others went monochrome by choice decades later, like Schindler’s List, Roma, Belfast and The Lighthouse. The look strips out distractions, and the shadows end up doing a lot of the storytelling.

Dr. Strangelove (1964) 01

Dr. Strangelove (1964)

IMDb ★ 8.3 RT 98% Metacritic 97

A rogue general's nuclear strike order sends the president's cabinet into absurd, doomed crisis talks.

Directed by Stanley Kubrick · 1h 35m · Rated PG

Nominated for 4 Oscars14 wins & 11 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Sony Pictures Core Amazon Channel · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd
Psycho (1960) 02

Psycho (1960)

IMDb ★ 8.5 RT 97% Metacritic 97

A secretary's impulsive theft leads her to a motel run by a deeply disturbed young man.

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock · 1h 49m · Rated R

Nominated for 4 Oscars8 wins & 14 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Netflix, Peacock Premium, AMC Plus Apple TV channel, AMC+, Netflix Standard with Ads, Peacock Premium Plus · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd
Citizen Kane (1941) 03

Citizen Kane (1941)

IMDb ★ 8.2 RT 99% Metacritic 100

Orson Welles's directorial debut: a reporter investigates the private life behind a media tycoon's dying last word.

Directed by Orson Welles · 1h 59m · Rated NR

Won 1 Oscar16 wins & 13 nominations

Where to watch

Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd
Casablanca (1942) 04

Casablanca (1942)

IMDb ★ 8.5 RT 99% Metacritic 100

A cynical nightclub owner has to choose between the woman he loves and doing the right thing during the Second World War.

Directed by Michael Curtiz · 1h 42m · Rated PG

Won 3 Oscars18 wins & 12 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd
12 Angry Men (1957) 05

12 Angry Men (1957)

IMDb ★ 9.0 RT 100% Metacritic 97

One juror holds out against eleven others and slowly gets them to question a murder verdict they'd already settled on.

Directed by Sidney Lumet · 1h 37m · Rated NR

Nominated for 3 Oscars16 wins & 12 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Hulu, fuboTV, MGM+ Amazon Channel, Philo, MGM Plus Roku Premium Channel, MGM Plus · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd
Schindler's List (1993) 06

Schindler's List (1993)

IMDb ★ 9.0 RT 98% Metacritic 95

Essential and difficult, and still one of the most important films ever made.

Directed by Steven Spielberg · 3h 15m · Rated R

Won 7 Oscars91 wins & 49 nominations

Where to watch

Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, FlixFling · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd
Belfast (2021) 07

Belfast (2021)

IMDb ★ 7.2 RT 86% Metacritic 75

A young boy's childhood in Belfast is upended by the outbreak of the Troubles.

Directed by Kenneth Branagh · 1h 38m · Rated PG-13

Won 1 Oscar63 wins & 259 nominations

Where to watch

Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, FlixFling · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd
Mank (2020) 08

Mank (2020)

IMDb ★ 6.8 RT 83% Metacritic 79

A blacklisted screenwriter races to finish the script that becomes Citizen Kane.

Directed by David Fincher · 2h 12m · Rated R

Won 2 Oscars65 wins & 270 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads

▶ Trailer Letterboxd
The Lighthouse (2019) 09

The Lighthouse (2019)

IMDb ★ 7.4 RT 90% Metacritic 83

Two lighthouse keepers slowly lose their minds together on an isolated rock.

Directed by Robert Eggers · 1h 49m · Rated R

Nominated for 1 Oscar33 wins & 139 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd
Roma (2018) 10

Roma (2018)

IMDb ★ 7.6 RT 96% Metacritic 96

A black-and-white memory piece about the domestic worker who raised Cuaron's own family.

Directed by Alfonso Cuarón · 2h 15m · Rated R

Won 3 Oscars256 wins & 230 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads

▶ Trailer Letterboxd
Ida (2013) 11

Ida (2013)

IMDb ★ 7.4 RT 95% Metacritic 91

A novice nun learns a family secret just before taking her vows, shot in stark black and white.

Directed by Paweł Pawlikowski · 1h 22m · Rated PG-13

Won 1 Oscar75 wins & 92 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Philo, MUBI, OVID, Chai Flicks · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014) 12

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014)

IMDb ★ 6.9 RT 96% Metacritic 81

A skateboarding vampire preys on the men of a bleak Iranian ghost town.

Directed by Ana Lily Amirpour · 1h 41m

9 wins & 23 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Kino Film Collection · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd
The White Ribbon (2009) 13

The White Ribbon (2009)

IMDb ★ 7.8 RT 85% Metacritic 84

A German village's string of unexplained cruelties hints at the fascism its children will grow into.

Directed by Michael Haneke · 2h 24m · Rated R

Nominated for 2 Oscars62 wins & 49 nominations

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd
Nebraska (2013) 14

Nebraska (2013)

IMDb ★ 7.7 RT 90% Metacritic 86

A son drives his confused, ageing father across the Midwest to claim a sweepstakes prize that isn't real.

Directed by Alexander Payne · 1h 55m · Rated R

Nominated for 6 Oscars29 wins & 171 nominations

Where to watch

Rent: JustWatch TV, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd
The Artist (2011) 15

The Artist (2011)

IMDb ★ 7.8 RT 95% Metacritic 89

A silent-era star's career collapses just as talkies make his young protegee a star.

Directed by Michel Hazanavicius · 1h 40m · Rated PG-13

Won 5 Oscars162 wins & 204 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Philo, Lionsgate+ Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd
Frances Ha (2012) 16

Frances Ha (2012)

IMDb ★ 7.4 RT 92% Metacritic 82

A struggling dancer drifts between apartments and friendships in black-and-white New York.

Directed by Noah Baumbach · 1h 26m · Rated R

1 win & 49 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Netflix, Philo, AMC Plus Apple TV channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+, Sundance Now · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd
Raging Bull (1980) 17

Raging Bull (1980)

IMDb ★ 8.1 RT 92% Metacritic 90

A boxer's paranoid jealousy destroys every relationship in his life outside the ring.

Directed by Martin Scorsese · 2h 09m · Rated R

Won 2 Oscars24 wins & 28 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Amazon Prime Video, MGM Plus, Amazon Prime Video with Ads · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Plex · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd
Manhattan (1979) 18

Manhattan (1979)

IMDb ★ 7.8 RT 93% Metacritic 83

A twice-divorced comedy writer's relationships tangle across a black-and-white love letter to New York.

Directed by Woody Allen · 1h 36m · Rated R

Nominated for 2 Oscars16 wins & 24 nominations

Where to watch

Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd
Rumble Fish (1983) 19

Rumble Fish (1983)

IMDb ★ 7.1 RT 77% Metacritic 63

A younger brother idolises his aimless, legendary older sibling in a stylised, noir-lit small town.

Directed by Francis Ford Coppola · 1h 34m · Rated R

3 wins & 4 nominations

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd
Clerks (1994) 20

Clerks (1994)

IMDb ★ 7.7 RT 90% Metacritic 70

Kevin Smith's two convenience-store clerks bicker through one absurd, plotless day of customers.

Directed by Kevin Smith · 1h 32m · Rated R

7 wins & 10 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Paramount Plus Essential · Rent: JustWatch TV, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd
The Man Who Wasn't There (2001) 21

The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)

IMDb ★ 7.5 RT 81% Metacritic 73

A quiet barber's blackmail scheme spirals into murder in a Coen brothers noir pastiche.

Directed by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen · 1h 56m · Rated R

Nominated for 1 Oscar25 wins & 43 nominations

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd
Ed Wood (1994) 22

Ed Wood (1994)

IMDb ★ 7.8 RT 92% Metacritic 71

A hopelessly earnest B-movie director makes cult schlock with Bela Lugosi in his final years.

Directed by Tim Burton · 2h 07m · Rated R

Won 2 Oscars27 wins & 33 nominations

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.

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Vlad Zakh

Vlad Zakh

Founder, Movieix

Founder of Movieix. He started the site because most recommendation pages felt like noise. Here, lists are sorted by who's in the film, where it's from and what mood you're in tonight.