A few months ago my DVD player stopped working, so to replace it I got a Blu-ray player. I’ve seen classic movies like Casablanca on DVDs or DVD rentals, but well, seeing them on Blu-ray, wow. Right now I have The Big Sleep, The Maltese Falcon, and Double Indemnity. Sweet Smell of Success is next on my list. What should be next?
The Third Man. Black and white cinematography doesn’t get any better.
the 1935 version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
A few of Harold Lloyd’s films are on Blu ray.
So are some screwball comedies like Bringing Up Baby and The Philadelphia Story.
The Hustler with Paul Newman is available on blu-ray. Highly recommend.
Also I’m sure there are many classic Alfred Hitchcock movies on blu-ray as well.
There is a home video release of Citizen Kane with a commentary track by Roger Ebert, which is very interesting. I think at one point he called it the Star Wars of its day, in that the film is full of special effects.
Some exceptional British black & white movies:
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
The Cruel Sea (1953)
Goodbye Mr Chips (1939)
The Winslow Boy (1948)
There are a number of black and white films that have been released on 4K that have received very good reviews. Dr. Strangelove, It’s a Wonderful Life, Schindler’s List are a couple.
Definitely agree as to The Third Man, It’s A Wonderful Life and Dr. Strangelove, and just about any Buster Keaton movie. He could really act - he wasn’t just a supremely-gifted physical comic. Oh, and the Marx Brothers!
Metropolis is melodramatic and a bit cheesy to modern eyes, but is still worth a look as a sf classic.
Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps and Notorious are both terrific spy dramas. Highly recommended.
Went the Day Well? is a great film - filmed during WW2! - about a small British village staving off Nazi subversion.
I will confess I was underwhelmed by The Cruel Sea. I love the book, and the movie was but a pale imitation of it IMHO.
Should also have mentioned Paper Moon. A beautifully-filmed, pitch-perfect comedy about a conman and his (maybe) daughter traveling out west during the Depression. A longtime favorite in our family.
From the Criterion Collection - https://www.criterion.com/shop/browse/list - I would recommend (in alphabetical order):
The Atomic Submarine (1959)
The Baron of Arizona (1950)
Blonde Venus (1932)
Bob le Flambeur (1956)
Branded to Kill (1967)
Classe tous Risques (1960)
A Colt is my Passport (1967)
Cruel Gun Story (1964)
Detour (1945)
Le Doulos (1962)
The Fabulous Baron Munchausen (1962)
The Fallen Idol (1948)
Gilda (1946)
Green for Danger (1946)
The Hidden Fortress (1958)
I Married a Witch (1942)
The Innocents (1961)
Island of Lost Souls (1932)
The Killers (1946)
The Killing (1956)
Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
Ministry of Fear (1945)
The Naked City (1948)
Night and the City (1950)
Night of the Hunter (1955)
Onibaba (1964)
Panique (1946)
Pick-up on South Street (1953)
Rififi (1955)
The Steel Helmet (1951)
The Sword of Doom (1966)
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933)
Three Outlaw Samurai (1964)
Un Carnet de Bal (1937)
The Wages of Fear (1953)
Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai, of course, and most of his other black and white movies.
I love the look of silent films on Blu-ray. It might be the celluloid film, but they have a beautiful sharpness and texture. Nosferatu, Phantom of the Opera have great restored versions. You can’t go wrong with the Buster Keaton collections and a new Laurel and Hardy collection just came out.
Don’t forget W.C. Fields!