Classic Carnforth film - Brief Encounter - proves black and white movies are cool again

According to a new survey, over half of Gen Z and millennial Brits (54 per cent) enjoy re-watching classic black and white films, with 64 per cent disagreeing with the notion that only older generations enjoy films with no colour.

And the survey reveals a list of the classic movies which are back in fashion, including Schindler’s List (32 per cent), the 1946 tearjerker, it’s a Wonderful Life (33 per cent) and Hitchcock blockbuster Psycho (29 per cent).

Other favourite black and white films to emerge were To Kill a Mockingbird (20 per cent), the Elephant Man (18 per cent), Young Frankenstein (15 per cent), Citizen Kane (12 per cent), 12 Angry Men (11 per cent), Doctor Strangelove (nine per cent), Raging Bull (nine per cent) and Brief Encounter (nine per cent).

The research commissioned by LG Electronics found those who enjoy watching movies in black and white are more likely to be seen as artistic (45 per cent), cultured (44 per cent) and as impressive film buffs (38 per cent).

Overall, 62 per cent of those surveyed like to be thought of as a person who enjoys black and white films.

Over a fifth of the British nation (21 per cent) say that they love them, while 52 per cent appreciate a fantastic flick in black and white.

From The Lighthouse (2019), The French Dispatch (2021) and Roma (2018), to Belfast (2021), film and tv producers are increasingly playing with more monochrome styles.

Forty-three per cent of black and white film fans enjoy how the lack of colour helps to create an atmosphere that feels separate from real life.

And 36 per cent admit they cannot get enough of the aesthetic, while 26 per cent find that their eye is drawn to different things than you wouldn’t notice in a standard colour film.

But while 57 per cent say black and white helps them to focus better on the content of a film, 38 per cent cannot help but feel disappointed if a film starts and it’s in black and white.

*The research involved 1,500 UK based Britons.