10 Best Black-And-White Movies From The Last 25 Years

5. Sin City

Setting the bar for graphic novel adaptations insanely high, critics of Sin City tend to fall into two categories: those who appreciate the visual playfulness and its role in telling such an ultra-violent story, and those who see this visual severity as the most pretentious way to gloss over the fact that it's telling such an ultra-violent story. Either way, the inky pulpiness of Sin City made a strong impression. The two-tone visuals somehow make the aforementioned scenes of outrageous savagery more disturbing, maybe because the absence of traditional, crimson-colored gore invites the audience to watch without putting their hands over their eyes. The flash-bang speed with which Robert Rodriguez tears through scenes of grim vengeance would perhaps be too much to handle without the visual restraint. In fact, Rodriguez appears to take no small amount of wicked glee in delivering the carnage not normally seen in comic book movies through the off-kilter lens of film noir (albeit with a glossier approach more fitting of the source material). It's like he knows he's getting away with something that he shouldn't be. And let's not forget the incredible cast, who, despite their name recognition, wasn't exactly considered an all-star ensemble at the time of this film's release. Yes, there were some big gets (Elijah Wood was hot off The Lord of the Rings and Bruce Willis is Bruce Willis) but most of the cast list was comprised of up-and-comers (Rosario Dawson, Clive Owen, Jessica Alba) and those considered washed-up (Mickey Rourke, Powers Boothe, Michael Madsen). But it's a testament to the directing and the screenplay that any combination of those actors could have carried the movie by themselves.