Best Romance Movies – 10 Most Romantic Films of All Times
Best romance movies are both “great love story” and comedies or works of morality. They have one thing in common – the strong, authentic feeling of the pair of main characters is in the foreground. Here is our ranking of the best films about love.
Love in cinema took off with the discovery that film can tell stories, and those about human feelings are certainly among the most interesting. In the silent period of cinema, melodramas, whose plot usually centered around unhappy love, but also screen adaptations of romance literature, were very popular. After the sound breakthrough, the characteristic film genre with a love plot became the musical, having two main varieties: “great love story” with a sad and “romantic story” with a happy ending. Later, romantic comedies became a popular genre associated with romance themes, although, of course, screen adaptations of literature are still a very important convention, but also biographical films or melodramas.
An important feature of romance movies is the display of related eroticism. The first kiss appeared in the cinema in 1896 in a several-second picture by James H. White, titled Mary Irwin Kiss. However, subsequent films continuing the theme of carnality and nudity began to fit into the trend of pornographic images, which in time became a separate genre. In America, the Hays Code effectively censored works in terms of morality and sex. It wasn’t until the 1960s and cultural changes that the taboo on erotica was broken and it took hold in cinema, with a special role in romantic movies.
Of course, not all romance films contain sex scenes. The cinema offers a wide selection of moving and outstanding pictures that portray the whole range of love sensations. From the shyness of a premarital encounter or the charm of forbidden fruit through the frenzy of desire to mature, deep relationships. Any of these shades can inspire a masterpiece for cinema. It all depends on the script, the ability of the director and the skill of the actors.
Best Romance Movies of All Time
1. “Wuthering Heights” (1992)
“Wuthering Heights” (1992), a movie directed by Peter Kosminsky, is a successful adaptation of Emily Bronte’s novel. The mystical and mysterious story of the unhappy love between Heathcliff (Ralph Fiennes) and Catherine (Juliette Binoche) is one of the most beautiful images of cinema. The fate of the couple, separated by inexorable social realities (she belongs to a wealthy family), casts a shadow over the lives of the lovers’ descendants. However, unfulfilled passion and the power of true affection is capable of surviving death and changing the world, Kosminsky says.
2. “Gone with the Wind” (1939)
“Gone with the Wind” (1939), on the other hand, was a spectacular screen adaptation of Margaret Mitchell’s novel. The movie was directed by George Cukor, Sam Wood and Victor Fleming, and starred actors who created one of Hollywood’s most famous couples: Vivien Leigh (as Scarlett O’Hara) and Clark Gable (as Rhett Butler). The multi-layered plot tells the story of the fate of families in the American South during and just after the Civil War. Against the backdrop of dramatic historical events pulsates the difficult yet incredibly passionate feelings of a capricious maiden and a dashing gentleman.
3. “The Piano” (1993)
“The Piano” (1993), a movie by the great director Jane Campion, is a moving and passionate story of love that is born in completely unusual circumstances. Ada (Holly Hunter) is married to a man she doesn’t know, Alisdair Stewart (Sam Neill), and together with her daughter arrives at her spouse’s home in New Zealand. Unexpectedly, the husband sells Ada’s beloved instrument – a piano. The woman, in order to get the object back, decides to give its new owner George (Harvey Keitel) playing lessons. However, it turns out that the man is more interested in the young woman than in music. “The Piano” tells the story of the power of human passions and art, which can sometimes be the only language that conveys the depths of the human soul.
4. “The Notebook”
Nick Cassavetes’ “The Notebook” (2004), nonetheless, is one of the most touching romance movies in the history of cinema. The film depicts the story of the youthful love between Allie (Rachel McAdams), a spinster from a wealthy home, and Noah (Ryan Gosling), a poor sawmill worker. A holiday feeling unexpectedly transforms into a great love, which can be destroyed neither by time, nor by social conventions, nor even by the mental illness of one of the partners. The memoir impresses with its authenticity – not for a moment does it cross the thin line between romanticism and kitsch.
5. “The Bridges of Madison County”
“The Bridges of Madison County” (1995) – a great romantic film by Clint Eastwood – is deeply memorable and touches all the senses. It is a story of love that unexpectedly meets two mature, completely different people. Francesca (played by Meryl Streep) in a small town leads a quiet life of a housewife, model mother and wife. Robert (Clint Eastwood), on the other hand, is a photographer constantly traveling the world. The meeting of these two results in great passion and deep, mature feelings. For, as Robert confesses, all the roads he has traveled in life have led to the one and only.
6. “Titanic”
James Cameron’s “Titanic” (1997) is one of the classic romance movies. The story of the tragic disaster of the famous Titanic is told through the prism of the brief but extremely intense love between a beautiful maiden from a good home, Rose (Kate Winslet) and a poor artist, Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio). This film, shot with great flair and sensitivity at the same time, moves the viewer and certainly deserves a permanent place among love storylines.
7. “Casablanca”
“Casablanca” (1942), directed by Michael Curtiz, is one of the cult classics. The unforgettable picture starring a pair of outstanding actors – Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart – is a melodrama about unfulfilled wartime love. During World War II, the mysterious and influential Rick, owner of a nightclub in Casablanca, allows his beloved and her husband to escape abroad, heedless of the dangerous consequences that await him. The film operates in the style of cinema noir – fog, night landscapes and the glow of street lamps add romance to the picture. In turn, the famous scene of the lovers’ farewell at the airport is one of the classics in the history of cinema.
8. “Ghost”
“Ghost” (1990) by Jerry Zucker tells the story of Molly (Demi Moore) suffering after the loss of her beloved Sam (Patrick Swayze). When the girl is threatened by danger, a man returns from beyond the grave to help her. The film combines different genres: it is a romance, but also a comedy and a drama. Undoubtedly, the item has stood the test of time. “Ghost” is a warm, touching story about love stronger than death.
9. “Roman Holiday”
“Roman Holiday” (1953), directed by William Wyler, is one of the classic American comedies of the 1950s. This was the golden age of the genre, and the film is the best proof of this. Roman Holiday depicts the story of an affair between the beautiful Princess Anne and a handsome American journalist. And everything takes place against the backdrop of the magnificent landscapes of the centuries-old city of Roma. Starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck.
10. “Silver Linings Playbook”
“Silver Linings Playbook”(2012) is a great, wise and touching film by David O. Russell. Pat Solitano (Bradley Cooper) is trying to return to a normal life after a stay in a psychiatric hospital, caused by the departure of his wife. The man meets Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), a girl who is struggling with mental problems after the death of her husband. The initial mutual dislike turns into a deep, though unconscious, affection between the two. Great acting performances, a well-conceived and tailored plot and a beautiful love story make “Silver Linings Playbook” a very worthwhile entry in the history of cinema.
