David Fincher’s “Mank” premiered worldwide on Netflix Friday following a limited theatrical release in November.
Capturing the events behind screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz’s development of the 1941 film “Citizen Kane,” “Mank” uses its greyscale imagery to reflect the time period in which it’s set. Fincher made the choice to mirror the films of the “Citizen Kane” era by filming in black and white. Read Variety’s cover story on “Mank” here.
Though nearly all movies had switched over to color by the early to mid-1960s, since then directors from Woody Allen and Steven Spielberg to Spike Lee and Alexander Payne have turned to black and white to capture their creative visions. Whether chosen for aesthetic or storytelling reasons, every year a few movies continue to film in monochrome to set their mood. Here are 20 modern-era movies whose filmmakers made the choice to shoot in black and white.