Even though the golden era of black-and-white romance movies is decades away, shooting in monochrome never lost its relevance. For much of film history, black-and-white was the standard. The transition to color filmmaking began in the 1930s, and by the late 1950s, most Hollywood productions were being shot in color. By the mid-1960s, new black-and-white releases were less a budgetary choice than an artistic one.
Over the past two decades, the Academy has nominated nine black-and-white films for Best Cinematography. There are a few reasons why directors still turn to monochrome: genre convention associated with the past, classic cinema, and creative storytelling focused on raw values and composition rather than details and palettes that may take away from the story.
The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
#Music #Horror #English
Directed by: Rupert Julian
The Phantom of the Opera is the blueprint for the modern movie monster, the tortured antihero, and the Gothic romance that straddles horror and heartbreak.
The story follows a rising young singer and the masked figure haunting the catacombs beneath the stage of the grand Paris Opera House. Lon Chaney’s performance, made even more powerful by self-applied makeup that shocked 1920s audiences, manages to be both scary and deeply emotional, all without him saying a word. Silent film skeptics, take note: The Phantom of the Opera still holds up. It’s eerie, elegant, and strangely moving.
Beyond its horror legacy, Phantom is a romantic movie packed with layered themes: unrequited love, the cruelty of beauty standards, and the dangerous mix of genius and isolation. It’s also a tribute to the power of performance itself, blurring the line between theater and reality with operatic flair.
The 39 Steps (1935)
#Crime #English #Classic
Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
This movie was a massive hit in its day, ranking among the top box office successes in Britain in 1935, and it’s since become one of the most critically praised British films ever made. The legacy is massive: It was voted the 4th-best British film of the 20th century by the British Film Institute.
The 39 Steps (1935) might just be the most charming spy thriller filled with espionage, wit, and romantic tension. The story kicks off in a music hall where a perfectly ordinary man, Richard Hannay, finds himself tangled in a mysterious spy ring. What follows is a wild cross-country chase across Scotland, involving handcuffs, highland inns, mistaken identities, and the driest British banter you could ask for. There’s a woman, of course—Madeleine Carroll’s Pamela—who’s smart, skeptical, and impeccably dressed no matter the chaos around her. It’s tightly scripted, visually stylish, and surprisingly sexy in that old-Hollywood, all-eyes-and-suggestions kind of way.
If you’re tired of bloated thrillers with too many car chases and not enough charm, The 39 Steps is the perfect antidote. The dialogue sparkles, the pacing never lags, and Hitchcock’s direction gives it all a playful edge. The 39 Steps helped shape the entire “wrong man on the run” genre.
It also features one of the most satisfying final scenes Hitchcock ever filmed before his Hollywood years.
The Cranes Are Flying (1957)
#War #Drama #Romance #Russian
Directed by: Mikhail Kalatozov
The Cranes Are Flying (1957) might not be the first title that comes to mind when you think of wartime love stories, but it honestly should be. The only Soviet film to ever take home the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 1958, and directed by a Georgian cinematographer, it is a visually unforgettable story about a young couple torn apart by World War II.
Starting from the moment the war breaks out, we watch Veronika and Boris, two lovers who find their world upended as Boris volunteers to serve on the front lines. What happens next isn’t about war action, it is a story told through the eyes of those left behind, with all the confusion, heartbreak, and moral gray areas that come with it.
Cinematographer Sergey Urusevsky’s groundbreaking use of handheld shots and long takes was way ahead of its time, and it gives the film a raw, emotional energy you rarely see in older romance movies, on a par with visual sets from directors like Hitchcock, Wells, and Kubrick.
Samurai Rebellion (1967)
#Action #Drama #Music #History#Japanese
Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
Sometimes, the bravest thing you can do is refuse.
That’s the quiet power at the heart of Samurai Rebellion, a slow-burning tragedy from Masaki Kobayashi, known for his fierce critiques of the samurai code and oppressive power structures. It’s not just a tale of one man against the system—it’s a family drama, a love story, and a study in loyalty stretched to its breaking point.
Set during Japan’s peaceful Edo period, the film follows Isaburo Sasahara, a once-feared swordsman now sidelined by bureaucracy and domestic disappointment. But when his son is forced into a politically motivated marriage with their clan lord’s discarded mistress, Isaburo finds new purpose.
This is a samurai film where the sword stays sheathed for much of the runtime, but that tension builds beautifully. When violence does erupt, it’s not stylized or glorified. The final act contains some of the most emotionally devastating duels in Japanese cinema, and not only because of the choreography.
What makes it worth your time? The visual style which is stark and deliberate. There’s poetry in the empty spaces, the way Kobayashi frames stillness, like waiting for a pot to boil over.
Incident Light (2015)
#Drama #Romance #Spanish
Directed by: Ariel Rotter
Incident Light (La luz incidente) is a quiet, deeply felt black-and-white drama from Argentina about grief, memory, and the tricky path forward after loss. Luisa, a young widow raising twin daughters, finds herself torn between holding onto the past and dealing with the attention of a persistent new suitor.
Directed by Ariel Rotter and beautifully shot by Guillermo Nieto, the film leans into its stillness—long silences, careful framing, and small gestures say more than words. Domestic spaces feel heavy with emotion, and Erica Rivas anchors it all with a quietly powerful performance that never overstates, but lingers with you long after.
Incident Light has been widely praised for its formal precision and layered storytelling. It screened at major festivals, following Rotter’s Berlinale success with The Other, and remains a strong example of contemporary Argentine cinema’s power to turn the intimate into the universal.
Focus On the Contrasts With Black and White Romance Movies on UVOtv
Black-and-white cinema strips away distraction and puts story, expression, and contrast at the forefront. Director Bong Joon-ho once said of the black-and-white version of Parasite, “I think it may be vanity on my part, but when I think of the classics, they’re all in black and white.” While not all classics are monochrome, there’s something undeniably powerful about choosing this palette.
Ready to explore? Discover a curated selection of black-and-white movies on UVOtv, free to stream, no subscription required.
