We asked: What are the most romantic movies of all time? You voted en masse (1,728 votes cast) and answered with these guilty pleasures, tear-jerkers and even some legitimately critic-proof films! This whole exercise has helped us programme our own personal Valentine’s Day movie marathons, so big thanks for keeping the passion in our relationships alive. Though we also suspect some of these choices may set a pretty high bar for future conduct…
1. The Notebook (2004)
The winner by a South Carolinian country mile. This Nicholas Sparks adaptation paired the unknown Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams in humid, sweaty, Southern USA, for an epic romance that spans decades. Cynics call it saccharine, but the story of a love – tested through war, social differences and illness – produces tears from the hardest of hearts.
“I want you. I want all of you, forever, everyday. You and me… everyday.“ -Noah
2. Titanic (1997)
Winner of 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture and famously Best Song, Titanic prompts, among other things, the desire for loved-up couples to take selfies with outstretched arms at the bow of any boat. If Romeo + Juliet (which surprisingly missed the Top 10, coming in at 20th) hadn’t secured DiCaprio’s position as Hollywood’s heartthrob, then Titanic did. Like The Notebook, the romance involves a rich woman and a free spirited man. Unlike The Notebook, their union is cemented in the back of a steamed-up car with a sweaty hand.
“You jump, I jump.” -Jack
3. Love Actually (2003)
The rom-com mega-movie with an all-star cast, from the makers of Bridget Jones, Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting Hill. Love Actually delivers interlaced vignettes on love in all its forms; romantic, unrequited, maternal, adulterous and first – making it a one-size-fits-all heartstring tugger.
“If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaky feeling you’ll find that love actually is all around.” -Prime Minister
4. Gone with the Wind (1939)
The legendary romantic war epic and poster child of Hollywood romanticism, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Margaret Mitchell. Follows Scarlet O’Hara (Vivien Leigh), the manipulative daughter of a plantation owner, who must utilise her charms when faced with poverty. Says Roger Ebert: “Scarlett’s lusts and headstrong passions have little to do with myths of delicate Southern flowers, and everything to do with the sex symbols of the movies that shaped her creator, Margaret Mitchell”.
“Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.” -Rhett
5. Dirty Dancing (1987)
What goes better with romance than dancing? Dirty dancing? Yes, sexy dancing. This ’80s classic pairs straight-laced Baby (Jennifer Grey) with dance instructor Johnny (Patrick Swayze). As fate would have it, Johnny’s dance partner is unable to perform and Baby must step up to the challenge; undergoing a transformation from a shy, two-left-footed, rhythmically challenged girl into this:
“Nobody puts Baby in a corner.” -Johnny
6. The Princess Bride (1987)
This post-modern fairy tale classic is positively swimming in romance, with the relationship between its two mega-babe leads (Cary Elwes and Robin Wright both dazzling) able to hook kids and adults alike. Never has true love quite conquered all like it does here, thanks to their chemistry, the audience’s emotional investment and the sparkling writing of William Goldman.
“As…. You….. Wiiiiiiiiissssshhhh” -Westley
7. Pretty Woman (1990)
One the great rom-coms with dapper Richard Gere, a successful corporate mogul, and Julia Robert as Viv, a call-girl turned glamorous socialite. The Cinderella-esque love story has plenty of schmaltz, but is sparked by a sharp script and two performers in their prime with chemistry to burn.
“I want the fairy tale.“ -Viv
8. Ghost (1990)
Swayze’s in the mix again, this time as a gone-too-soon spirit who lovingly haunts Demi Moore and helps her out with pottery. One of they weepiest movies here, Ghost taps into the most fundamental of human longings that even some dated special effects can’t detract from. Even more surprisingly, neither can Whoopi Goldberg.
“He’s in between worlds. You know it happens sometimes that the spirit gets yanked out so fast that the essence still feels it has work to do here.” -Molly
9. Before Sunrise (1995)
Before the boy from Boyhood was able to talk, writer and director Richard Linklater made this passionate depiction of love at first night. Wandering around the streets of Vienna is romantic in itself, but for Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) their perfectly matched personae ignite a connection that burns intensely over the course of a night – and through two equally successful sequels set nine years (Before Sunset) and 18 years (Before Midnight) down the road.
“Isn’t everything we do in life a way to be loved a little more?” -Celine
10. When Harry Met Sally (1989)
A third rom-com rounds out your Top 10, proving romance can be as funny as it can be moving. Rob Reiner and Norah Ephron’s benchmark film is a romance between friends. Sally (Meg Ryan) and Harry (Billy Crystal – surely the least romantic man on the list) have loneliness, divorce and extra-marital affairs in common, and see their mateship mature into something else.
“I’ll have what she’s having.” -Lady next to an orgasming Sally
Runners-up: Casablanca, Sleepless in Seattle, An Officer and a Gentlemen, Notting Hill, Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind, Amelie, Doctor Zhivago, Brokeback Mountain
