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Entertainment March 30, 2020
What these films lack in color, they make up for in their timeless stories.
The best black and white movies in cinema have defined the line of real-life SEPARATION and CONTROVERSY.
Opinions differ about what are the best black and white movies depending on the time period, length, genre, and creators attached. Films from the classic Hollywood days lack color but maintain audience attention with their deep artistic value.
As a horror and thriller buff, I tend to lean more towards these themes and the storylines that uncover the truth inside the minds of the characters and premise.
Spoilers ahead!
DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE (1931)
Based on the 1886 novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, this film is one of the best black and white movies as it dives into the human consciousness and questions psychological components between the mind and body – known as the theory of Dualism.
A great man and doctor question the link between the human mental state in connection to our physical being. Ingesting a concoction that he developed, his mind shifts breaking barriers and unleashing is inner unfiltered and animalistic self – Mr. Hyde.
Jekyll then starts to transform despite having not taken his new serum. Little by little, he continues to lose control of himself, and Mr. Hyde terrorizes the city of London.
The film then poses this question: was Mr. Hyde something that the serum created? Or, could it be that this monster was within Dr. Jekyll the whole time? Most importantly, how do you stop something so evil that is still a part of you?
This story and film is a top choice as it not only showcases innovative film techniques and impeccable acting for the early thirties but an incredibly deep concept:
Are the mind and body separate or are they one?
This mid-twenties film shows the lack of balance between social classes, presenting them in two different worlds. The lower-class workers are shown moving in robotic ways to represent that they are and have never been truly human. Their struggle provides the super-rich a privileged life of luxury in a worry-free futuristic utopia.
Those born into the superior class are unaware of the underworld that keeps the city running. Freder, the son of the master of Metropolis, learns about the ludicrous living situations of the lower class. He befriends a teacher from the underground with a sea of children and they go at odds with the founder to restore the dynamic and peace between the separate worlds.
This film takes a deep topic of the views of social class and the split between their lifestyles. It represents controversy between the idea that the working class must obey and serve the wealthy.
The best black and white films from these eras identify connections and topics relevant in the eyes of their audiences. Although these pieces are decades old, they remain timeless in a day of mindfulness, therapy, political struggle, and unionizing of the lower and middle classes.
These films ask the questions: are we split in half or carrying the weight of others on our backs?
The answer is, perhaps, a little of both.
