Black-and-white movies might be easy to dismiss as a thing of the past, but some of the most forward-thinking science fiction stories were told through the medium that still hold up today. Early films were in black and white due to the limitations of the time period, but many monochromatic films have held up over time, still venerated as classics despite their lack of color. The science fiction genre is no outlier here, with many black-and-white sci-fi movies still being well worth watching today.

It’s always interesting to see how people of the past imagined the future, and seeing such ideas in an outdated medium altogether adds a certain charm to the experience. In many cases, the limitations of these early science fiction films are a huge part of their charm today, keeping them relevant even decades later. It’s no wonder many modern films are still in black-and-white after seeing how well certain older films have held up, even in an arena as reliant on visual mastery as science fiction.

8

The Thing From Another World (1951)

An Interesting Foundation For A More Famous Classic

Today, The Thing is widely renowned as the crown jewel in horror filmmaker John Carpenter’s filmography, despite getting a frosty reception at the time of its release. It may shock many of the movie’s fans to know that the story is actually based on a short science fiction novella, тιтled Who Goes There?, that had already been adapted for film once before.

Though it takes its own creative liberties, 1951’s The Thing from Another World is perhaps more faithful to the book compared to Carpenter’s gory re-imagining. Here, the alien found underneath the ice of an Antarctic research base is actually more of a plant-based villain, looking more like a leafy Frankenstein’s monster than a formless shapeshifting organism.

It’s amazing how well black-and-white footage can help the aging process of outdated special effects, with the bone-chilling glare of the creepy villain still managing to be genuinely spooky over half a century later. Anyone who takes the time to thaw out The Thing from Another World will be refreshingly surprised by how scary it still is.

7

The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)

Crafted Some Iconic Imagery That Few Recognize The Origin Of

The alien invasion flick is a time-honored tradition in science fiction film, and the subgenre might not be what it is today without the efforts of The Day the Earth Stood Still. This ominously-тιтled masterpiece deals with the sudden appearance of extraterrestrial life before the world’s governments. Notably, the aliens’ arrival is punctuated by the nuclear stand-off of the Cold War, something that was actively ongoing when the film was released in 1951.

It’s amazing how boldly The Day the Earth Stood Still comments on the fickle nature of humanity in the wake of impending nuclear annihilation at a time in which global tensions were at an all-time high. The alien effects might seem silly by today’s standards, but that doesn’t keep the film from unveiling a prescient political message that’s still relevant so many years into the future. It’s a shame the 2008 remake wasn’t able to live up to the enduring appeal of the original.

6

Return Of The Fly (1959)

An Ominous Warning On The Dangers Of Technology

Once again, The Fly is an amazing foundation to what would become one of the most iconic horror remakes of all time. The film is a brilliant expression on the dangers of technology, telling the iconic story of a scientist obsessed with perfecting experimental teleportation technology only to be turned into a monster by a literal fly in the ointment.

Though they may have been eclipsed by the remake, the original sequels, filmed in black-and-white, still hold up remarkably well. The practical effects are helped a lot by the monochromatic color palette compared to the in-color original film, making The Fly itself and the other horrific half-human creations introduced in the sequel stand out all the more.

Vincent Price is excellent as always, and helps lend some credence to the grounded human elements of the story, which take up the majority of the runtime. An always-relevant story of man’s hubris leading to his downfall, Return of the Fly‘s black-and-white cinematography arguably outshines its predecessor.

5

Metropolis

A Stunning Glimpse Into A Robotic Future

It’s always interesting to see science fiction movies explore future years that have long since come and gone. Metropolis is still one of the most visually striking of these early speculative science fiction films, in spite of, or perhaps because of, its simple-but-effective black-and-white look. Directed by the famed German expressionist Fritz Lang, the story set a precedent for sci-fi stories forever with its depiction of an advanced, hyper-capital society still reliant on the toil of an exploited working class.

Not only is Metropolis one of the first feature-length science fiction films ever made, but it pushed the boundaries of the genre in terms of being taken seriously with its thought-provoking political commentary. On top of that, it’s still a beautiful work of art almost a full century later, with the iconic female android still being one of the most prominent images in sci-fi history. Much of the genre as it exists today owes a lot to Metropolis, still a captivating film in its own right.

4

Godzilla (1954)

Re-Invented The Giant Monster Movie

Godzilla may not have invented the giant monster movie, but considering the impact the King of Monsters has had on cinema since his debut in 1954, it may as well have been. The many decades of Godzilla films out there began with the original Godzilla, which explored the rampaging тιтan’s origin story as a pre-historic lizard re-awakened and mutated by human nuclear testing.

It’s up to the Japanese government to struggle to find a response to the gargantuan creature’s rampage, crafting an even more terrifying weapon in the process. Godzilla is still paced remarkably well for the year it came out, doing human drama shockingly well considering how far such plot elements would fall off in later films.

The miniatures and stunt work in the original Godzilla suit are still great fun to watch, totally revolutionizing how giant monsters were depicted in film before the advent of CGI. Just as dark and brooding with its ominous message as it is with the black-and-white cinematography, Godzilla is still considered a masterpiece for a good reason.

3

A Trip To The Moon (1902)

The Very First Real Science Fiction Film

In the eyes of many, A Trip to the Moon is considered to be the very first science fiction movie ever made, released as a short feature all the way back in 1902. The lean plot consists of a gun club that builds a mᴀssive cannon to shoot themselves to the moon, where they battle a kingdom of alien monsters. Feeling more like a dreamy play than a film, A Trip to the Moon is still shockingly unique well over a full century after its creation.

A Trip to the Moon is still loaded with an imagination few films can match today. While certain cuts of the film are blessed with areas of color thanks to a crude, early form of rotoscoped animation literally painted over the celluloid, the lack of color helps glaze the entire experience in a fae haze that makes it all the smoother to swallow. If nothing else, it’s a fascinating time capsule depicting a moon landing long before humanity ever reached such heights.

2

The Creature From The Black Lagoon (1954)

Perhaps The Best-Aged Of The Classic Universal Monster Movies

Of all the iconic Universal monster movies, The Creature from the Black Lagoon is easily among the most science fiction leaning, not to mention one of the best aged. The plot concerns a group of scientists who embark on a perilous journey deep into the Amazon to uncover evidence of some unique species of creature, only to get more than they bargained for when the violent aquatic humanoid attacks. At first, it might be tempting to dismiss the simple B-movie as cheap thrills with little to say.

However, compared to most Universal monster movies, The Creature from the Black Lagoon actually has something to say. The story bears some heavy themes of environmentalism and gender relations, with the slimy Gillman’s suggestive targeting of beautiful human women raising eyebrows very intentionally. The black-and-white footage of the daring underwater stunt work and practical effects is still quite impressive today, and even manages to unleash the occasional jumpscare that might take a modern viewer off-guard.

1

Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1956)

A Creepy Metaphor For The Red Scare

As far as 50s black-and-white monster movies go, it’s hard to beat the timeless appeal of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Famously, the film oversees the alien invasion of a small American town by the ominous “pod people”, alien organisms that slowly and insidiously replace human populations with eerie doppelgängers.

The 70s remake is great in its own right, but there’s something about the black-and-white filming that keeps the original so timeless. It’s amazing how well the creepy performances of the various actors embodying the pod people still are so many decades later, with the iconic screech of human discovery being a blood-curdling sound.

Looking deeper, the cult-like fervor of the villains represent a clear metaphor for the creep of communism that was so feared at the time, but there’s another layer to dissect regarding the isolation and breakdown of human relationships. Invasion of the Body Snatchers is one incredibly well-aged science fiction movie that certainly isn’t burt by being in black and white.