Does anyone remember the feeling of watching vintage movies? Era when there was no VFX, no colourful graphics, to appeal to the eye of audiences, no stunts, but a story with strong plots, great music and remarkable acting, which kept everyone on tenterhooks.
We have picked-up 5 black and white vintage movies to catch up on to reminisce simpler times and cinema on OTT:
- Mughal-E- Azam- First movie that comes to your mind when you talk about the black and white era is the evergreen movie, Mughal-E-Azam. One of the epic and a historical love stories till date. Movie is about a love story between a Mughal Prince called Salim played by Dilip Kumar, Anarkali, a court dancer played by Madhubala, and Prithviraj Kapoor, who plays Salim’s father and emperor Akbar. The film is widely considered to be a milestone of its genre, earning praise from critics for its grandeur and attention to detail. Film scholars have welcomed its portrayal of enduring themesThis movie is available on Amazon Prime Video
- The Stranger: An American movie featuring Edward G Robinson, Loretta Young and Orson Welles. The movie revolves around a war crimes investigator called Wilson, played by ( Edward G Robinson), who travels Connecticut, a city in North-Eastern part of the United States, to hunt a Nazi war criminal. The Nazi war criminal played by Orson Welles as Charles Rankin, who disguised himself as a school teacher in a prep school. The movie offers mystery, and the cat and mouse chase between the two keeps you hooked on and anxious.The movie is available on Netflix and Amazon Prime.
- Shree 420: This movie is about a simple and carefree boy Ranbir Raj, played by Raj Kapoor. A boy who moved to the city of dreams Bombay (now known as Mumbai) in search of work. Wandering the streets of Bombay, Ranbir Raj encounters Vidya, played by Nargis, who is a school teacher. The movie shows how a simple man from the countryside is manipulated by a modern society. Even now, the audience can resonate with the story. Apart from the brilliant acting and strong storyline, the movie produced iconic songs like pyaar hua ikraar hua, mud mud ke na dekh and mera joota hai Japani. You can stream the movie on Amazon Prime Video.
- It’s a Wonderful Life: This movie is considered to be Britain’s favourite Christmas film. The movie is directed by Frank Capra, starring James Stewart, playing George Bailey. Geroge decides to end his life, but is intervened by an Angel named Clarence Odbody, played by Henry Travers. The Angel tries to explain to George how important he is to everyone, and goes into a flashback and shows how others lives would have been if he was never born. It’s a simple movie and showcases that every life matters. The movie can be streamed on Amazon Prime Video.
- Naya Daur: A remarkable classic Bollywood movie of golden era directed by one of the greatest directors of all time, B.R. Chopra. The movie showcases the battle between “man vs machine”. Story revolves around a tonga puller, Shankar, played by Dilip Kumar, resident of a small village. The movie illustrates the constant conflict between the villagers and the ideology of the owner’s of the woodworking factory of rebuilding the village with better transport services, which would end up making the majority of the villagers redundant. The movie is available on Amazon Prime