We are reaching a numerical milestone of 25 continuous weeks of publication. I would like to thank each and every one from the 49 countries across 6 continents who found something interesting to read here. This edition is a celebration of love and features 25 of the most romantic movies I have ever seen.
25. The Yellow Handkerchief (Japan, 1977) [ IMDB: 7.2, Rotten Tomatoes: 79%]
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAOl7Ii-TKI
The Best Line: Too many to mention. Not really. I don’t know Japanese.
The Plot: Three unrelated people take a road trip, one of them an ex convict who is on his way to meet his wife for the first time after his release from the prison.
Where is the romance: Some endings are truly sensational. This is one such ending.
24. Roman Holiday (1953) [ IMDB: 8.1, Rotten Tomatoes: 98%]
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIFo0txAvuE
The Best Line: “Tell you what. Why don’t we do all those things, together?”
The Plot: A princess enjoys her day in anonymity with an American newsman and falls for him.
Where is the romance: Everywhere, except in the end.
23. Atonement (2007) [ IMDB: 7.7, Rotten Tomatoes: 83%]
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWPZDi723Eo
The Best Line: “Had they let me, every day, I would have been there every day.”
The Plot: A young girl changes the love story of her sister.
Where is the romance: In the book in the movie.
22. An Affair to Remember (1957) [ IMDB: 7.3, Rotten Tomatoes: 87%]
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFWwFfRvClM
The Best Line: “There must be something between us, even if it’s only an ocean.”
The Plot: A playboy meets the love of his life on a ship. They decide to meet six months later at the Empire State building.
Where is the romance: When you want Cary Grant to know what you know, in the last scene of the film.
21. Titanic (1997) [ IMDB: 7.6, Rotten Tomatoes: 88%]
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCy5WQ9S4c0
The Best Line: “Where to, Miss?” “To the stars!”
The Plot: An aristocrat lady falls in love with a poor artist on the doomed maiden voyage of the Titanic.
Where is the romance: In the tragedy.
20. When Harry Met Sally (1989) [ IMDB: 7.6, Rotten Tomatoes: 88%]
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8DgDmUHVto
The Best Line: “When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.”
The Plot: Harry and Sally have been friends for a long time. It takes time for them to realize that they were meant to be together.
Where is the romance: For such an out and out sugary romance, the most memorable scene is the one in the restaurant.
19. Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (India, 1995) [ IMDB: 7.8, Rotten Tomatoes 94%]
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1U9SpwJ9TCs
The Best Line: ” Iss ladke se zyaada pyar tujhe koi aur nahi kar sakta” (No one can love you more than this boy).
The Plot: After Raj met Simran, love was never the same.
Where is the romance: Mustard fields got the biggest makeover in terms of reputation. After Raj met Simran, mustard fields were never the same.
18. The Apartment (1960) [ IMDB: 8.4, Rotten Tomatoes: 93%]
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4OXm9-E8OQ
The Best Line: “That’s the way it crumbles.. cookie-wise.”
The Plot: The girl of his dreams is seeing his married boss.
Where is the romance: It is about finding true love and the triumph of the underdog.
17. Gone With the Wind (1939) [ IMDB: 8.2, Rotten Tomatoes: 96%]
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mM8iNarcRc
The Best Line: “You should be kissed and often; and by someone who knows how.”
The Plot: A woman loves someone so blindly that she is not able to see the man who loves her the most.
Where is the romance: In the roughness.
16. Doctor Zhivago (1965) [IMDB: 7.9, IMDB: 85%]
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAWrXTn5Www
The Best Line: “There’s an extraordinary girl at this party.” “I know. I’m dancing with her.”
The Plot: Doctor Zhivago is in love with two women and in the background is the Russian Revolution.
Where is the romance: All the scenes at railway stations, especially the last one.
15. Annie Hall (1977) [IMDB: 8.2, Rotten Tomatoes: 98%]
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBzHphcc2Jw
The Best Line: “That is the most fun I’ve ever had without laughing.”
The Plot: The compelling romance of a comedian and a singer.
Where is the romance: Love fades but the idea of love is intact.
14. Slumdog Millionaire (2008) [ IMDB: 8.0, Rotten Tomatoes: 94%]
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIzbwV7on6Q
The Best Line: “I knew you’d be watching.”
The Plot: A game show is his only hope for finding his long lost love.
Where is the romance: Every question brings him close to his love.
13. Before Sunrise (1995) [IMDB: 8.0, Rotten Tomatoes; 100%]
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9v6X-Dytlko
The Best Line: “Isn’t everything we do in life a way to be loved a little more?”
The Plot: A man and woman meet on a train and spend an evening together in Vienna.
Where is the romance: If they did not make ‘Before Sunset’, you would still be thinking about the possibilities.
12. Breathless (France, 1960) [ IMDB: 7.9, Rotten Tomatoes: 96%]
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJFFy3soy9Y
The Best Line: “Informers inform, burglars burgle, murderers murder, lovers love.”
The Plot: A murderer and a girl escape and hide in Italy.
Where is the romance: In the ambiguity.
11. Wall-E (2008) [ IMDB: 8.5, Rotten Tomatoes: 96%]
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alIq_wG9FNk
The Best Line: “Computer, define ‘dancing’.”
The Plot: A robot goes in search of his love.
Where is the romance: The moment when WALL-E falls in love with Eve.
10. Notting Hill (1999) [ IMDB: 6.9, Rotten Tomatoes: 83%]
The Best Line: ” I’m also just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.”
The Plot: The unlikely romance of a superstar and a bookseller.
Where is the romance: In the park.
9. Lost in Translation (2003) [ IMDB: 7.8, Rotten Tomatoes: 95%]
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYAS92XPvIM
The Best Line: “Can you keep a secret? I’m trying to organize a prison break. I’m looking for, like, an accomplice”
The Plot: Two lonely people bond in Tokyo.
Where is the romance: You can feel it. You can only feel it.
8. The English Patient (1993) [ IMDB: 7.3, Rotten Tomatoes: 84%]
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPKpU14Kqqw
The Best Line: “This… this, the hollow at the base of a woman’s throat, does it have an official name?”
The Plot: A spy and a married woman have a passionate affair.
Where is the romance: In the cave.
7. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (France, 1964) [ IMDB: 7.7, Rotten Tomatoes: 98%]
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7bhJkQd1T4
The Best Line: “People only die of love in the movies.”
The Plot: The tragedy of lovers separated by war which leads them to take life altering decisions.
Where is the romance: The most practical film on love.
6. Before Sunset (2004) [ IMDB: 8.0, Rotten Tomaotes: 95%]
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvFosXeqmDg
The Best Line: “You can never replace anyone because everyone is made up of such beautiful specific details.”
The Plot: They meet again after nine years, this time in Paris.
Where is the romance: Everywhere.
5. It Happened One Night (1934) [ IMDB: 8.2, Rotten Tomatoes: 98%]
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALmnUBqbhuo
The Best Line: “I don’t know very much about him, except that I love him.”
The Plot: The mother and father of every romantic comedy ever made.
Where is the romance: In it and in all the movies made later using the same template.
4. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) [ IMDB: 8.4, Rotten Tomatoes: 93%]
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0ywpOFLHMY
The Best Line: “I’ve never felt that before.”
The Plot: A couple undergo a procedure to erase each other from their memories when their relationship turns sour, but it is only through the process of loss that they discover what they had to begin with. (From IMDB)
Where is the romance: When you know that some things are meant to be.
3. Cinema Paradiso (Italy,1988) [ IMDB: 8.4, Rotten Tomatoes:96%]
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2-GX0Tltgw
The Best Line: “Whatever you end up doing, love it.”
The Plot: Love and heartbreak in post war Italy.
Where is the romance: In the music.
2. Brief Encounter (1945) [ IMDB: 8.1, Rotten Tomatoes: 90%]
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGDCTlVWduk
The Best Line: “This misery can’t last… Not even life lasts very long.”
The Plot: They meet by chance, they fall in love and ……
Where is the romance: Too many to mention.
1. Casablanca (1942) [IMDB: 8.7, Rotten Tomatoes: 97%]
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLU41jUnWM4
The Best Line: “We’ll always have Paris.”
The Plot: Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into his.
Where is the romance: Whenever Ingrid Bergman is on screen.
couldhavebeenacontender 