1. Raging Bull
Speaking of really feeling folly and pain. Raging Bull is a perfect testament to that since it is the life story of a broken and brutal man. Martin Scorsese uses the black and white photography in Raging Bull much in the same way that Welles did in Citizen Kane but also takes it one step further. Scorsese's film uses the boxer, Jake Lamotta, to bring the viewer the closest to real pain and suffering than any other movie ever made. This film is also a bit of a technicality because there is one small section towards the middle of the second act where a colourized bit of film is shown. The small scene is of a scratchy home movie and actually proves that Raging Bull works better in black and white because seeing the colours creates a jarring moment that actually serves to take the viewer out of the film a little bit. Scorsese was able to use all of his influences to create an un-paralled masterpiece, influence a generation of filmmakers and also elevate film as an artform with Raging Bull. Thanks so much for reading and I'd love to hear your favorite black and white movies in the comments.