When we watch a movie, it can have a strange effect on us. It can make us laugh or cry or feel for the characters in it. There are certain films, that when we watch them, become a part of our soul. No movie can do this like a romance movie. Whether the characters live happily ever after, or they forever lose the one that they love, these movies touch our hearts and stay with us for years after we watch them. Below are the the top ten most romantic movies of all time. Some of which have lasted over decades and are to us “this classics”, others of which have just recently captured our hearts. This list is compose of the more serious love stories, check out the top romantic comedies if you're looking for more laughs. Go over these romance films and tell us what you think. We welcome all comments and suggestions, please comment intelligently. If you think other romance movies belong on this list, please list the movies and explain why they are romantic.
10 Ways to Fall in Love:
#1: Casablanca (1942), directed by Michael Curtiz, is considered to be the most romantic movie of all time. It is the story of how Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), an incredibly cynical night-club owner, discovers that his ex-lover who abandoned him for no good reason (or so he thought) Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman), and her new husband Victor, a resistance leader, are staying in his club. Because the Germans are chasing her husband, Ilsa has come to beg Rick for some transent letters that have come into his hands so that she and her husband may escape Casablanca and so that he may continue in his noble fight against fascism. This movie shows the painful truth that no matter how much you love someone, sometimes you have to let them go.
#2: Doctor Zhivago (1965), based on the novel by Boris Pasternak, is the second most romantic movie of all time. It is about the Doctor/Poet Yury Zhivago (Sir Alec Guinness) who during the tumultuous times of the Russian Revolution and the Russian Civil War that immediately followed, is torn between the love he has for his wife, and love he feels for the woman who inspires his poetry, Lara (Julie Christie). This movie shows a man's life of agony because he must choose between fidelity for the woman he married and built a life with and passion he feels for the woman who inspires him.
#3: Gone With the Wind (1939), is a movie based on a novel by Margaret Mitchell, that takes place during the Civil War and Reconstruction in the deep south. It is a story about the difficult love between a selfish, manipulative woman Scarlet O'Hara (Vivien Leigh) and the man that she won't admit that she loves, Rhett Butler (Clark Gable). This story ends with her driving away the man the loves and with his delivery of one of the most famous departing lines of a movie, “Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn”.
#4: The Notebook (2004), is the story about an old man (James Garner) who reads a story to an old woman (Gena Rowland) in a nursing home, who cannot remember who she is, about two teenagers (Ryan Gossling, Rachel McAdams) that fall into a love so deep and strong that it can conquer anything and help them endure any and all pain that life can bring them. It is not until the end of the story that the old woman realizes that the story is about her and the man who reads to her everyday. This movie shows that a true love can have a bond that is stronger than any force on earth.
#5: West Side Story (1961) is a play on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet set in the 1950's where two rival gangs, the white Jets and the Puerto Rican Sharks, fight to keep Tony (ex jet leader played by Richard Beymer) and Maria (younger sister to the current leader of the Sharks, played by Natalie Wood) apart. This musical, set in New York City, is a classic story of the tragedy that can occur when out-siders interfere in the love lives of those they think they are protecting, but who they end up hurting. Before these two lovers can really be together, they are torn apart by bitter rivalry and their love is cut short by a heartbreaking end.
#6: Slumdog Millionaire (2008) is the story of an 18 year old orphan, Jamal Malik, you arrested by the police in Mumbai after he plays “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” and is one questions away from earning 20 rupees. In order to prove that he did not cheat, he tell the police of his rough childhood and every experience that he had that helped him to know the answers to the questions on the game show. Even though he grew up in the slums of Mumbai, he does not really have an interest for becoming rich. His main goal in winning is to prove to the girl the he loves that he is good enough. This movie shows the important lesson that love is worth fighting for, and nothing worth having is easy to obtain.
#7: Moulin Rouge (2001), starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor, is a love story focused around a poet, Christian, who comes to Paris to be a writer in 1899 and a courtesan,Satine who wants to be a proper actress, that fall in love as he writes a musical for the night-club Moulin Rouge where she works. Their love is strong, but another man also desires Satine, the Duke who also happens to be the patron of the club and whom without the club would shut down. The Duke is a jealous man and will do anything to keep Satine to himself. In order to be together, Satine and Christian hide their love, but this secret becomes harder and harder to keep and a force that was even stronger than love, takes its toll on poor Satine.
#8: Romeo and Juliet (1968) is Shakespeare's classic tale of tragedy that befalls teenage lovers because of a bitter family war that has been around since before they were born. The Montegues and Capulets attempt to keep the two young lovers apart, but each side ends up suffering from several losses. Only after the young lovers are found at their tragic end do the families realize how petty the age old fighting between the families was. This movie embodies the belief that love is worth any consequence it may bring and it shares the lesson that love brings more good than hate ever could.
#9: Brokeback Mountain (2005) is the story of two men, a rodeo cowboy and a ranch hand, who forge a 19 year long love affair and bond that is developed in the summer of 1963 when both men are hired as ranch hands to herd sheep on Brokeback Mountain. This unique bond lasts through their marriages, their having children and through society's view on what should and shouldn't be in a testament of the power and endurance of love.
#10: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) is a movie that was adapted from a 1920's story by author F. Scott Fitzgerald about a man who is born in his eighties who gets younger as time goes on. The story also focuses around Daisy's (Cate Blanchett) and Benjamin's (Brad Pitt) relationship as she grows older and he grows younger and how they meet in the middle when in their forties and finally match up. They share a special bond and a special love that lasts their entire lives, though they are going in different directions.
What other romance movies need to be on the most romantic movies of all time list? List your favorite romance movies and tell us why you think they are the best. Please do not list romantic comedies here because that belong on another list. We all have differences of opinions and there is no right or wrong when selecting a movie. This list is not based on my opinions alone, but the opinions of many viewers who enjoy watching people fall in love.
