TOP TEN Most Romantic Movies EVER!!!

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February is all about LOVE so what better time to recap some of the BEST and ROMANTIC movies made.  And why not, with the Oscars around the corner. Whether it’s boy-meets-girl, boy-meets-boy or ogre-meets-princess, it’s always ALL ABOUT LOVE. This is the 1st of 3 Thursday’s Top Ten list to be devoted to the Best of Romantic Movies... The lists are in chronological order. …by the way, anyone having a party???

1. Gone With The Wind (1939) How many of us swooned over Clark Gable in the role of Rhett Butler; his portrayal of a rich, handsome and best of all “a bad boy” had the ladies in the theaters sighing and crying as he swept Scarlett up in his arms and carried her up the stairs.
2. Casablanca (1942) Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall brought the chemistry of their off-screen romance to their chemistry-infused but not-to-be love affair of the movie.  The lines,  “Of all the gin joints in town, why did you come here”? and “Here’s looking at you kid”  entered our lexicon 70 years ago and are still with us.  All that and set in an exotic (to Americans) land and in the midst of a war.  We’ve all had what we sure was a “meant to be” love affair – how many of you married that person?
3. An Affair To Remember (1957) Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr…you almost don’t have to say anything else.  His voice, his looks, his manners and a shipboard romance to boot, charmed Terry McKay and every other woman since.  An unfulfilled love affair between soul-mates.  Do NOT see the remake, none of the above applies.
   
4. Breakfast At Tiffany’s (1961) Who could imagine that a novella by Truman Capote (of all people) would become the must-see movie for young women all over the country and often a pre-requisite at fashionable bridal showers! George Peppard as the sensitive writer and Audrey Hepburn as the fragile soul hiding behind the party-girl exterior.
5. Dr. Zhivago (1965) What could be more romantic than a doomed love affair played out against the back-drop of a  Revolution and a Russian one at that.  Omar Sharif and Julie Christie carry on in the midst of the beautiful and bleak Russian countryside and all the while our hearts and minds are humming along to Lara’s Theme, the movie’s signature song (and for me, my wedding song in 1968).
6. The Sound Of Music (1965) On the eve of a world war, a former nun and a widower with kids – now there’s an unlikely but winning combination for romance and a true story too!  Christopher Plummer and Julie Andrews sing their way through love and who among us doesn’t know “…do a dear, re a spot of  golden sun…”.  As for me (again) my first date with my future husband was going to see this movie in Hartford, CT.
7. Bonnie And Clyde (1967) With a tagline, “They’re young, …they’re in love, …and they kill people”, this offbeat romance shocked audiences with more graphic violence than had been seen before in a mainstream movie.  Ahh, but Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty were so gorgeous you had to love them and feel a pang or two over their ill-fated romance and doomed lives.
8. Love Story (1970)You may not want to admit it but this saccharin and yet another unlikely and doomed romance won our hearts and the phrase, “Love means never having to say you’re sorry” lives on.  Preppy Ryan O’Neil and beautiful Ali MacGraw were perfectly cast in this “class”ic tale of lovers from both sides of the tracks.
9. The Way We Were (1973) Along the same lines as #8, our 9th pick throws a very preppy writer, Robert Redford ooooohhhh, and a sassy left-wing activist, Barbra Streisand together.  Opposites attract but they probably shouldn’t live together and this was a case of principles overriding love – how sad in a way.  I wanted to see them together just because – although I knew she was way too smart for him and in the long run their love would have died a long and painful death.
10. Grease (1978) It’s so easy to romanticize an era when you are at least 20 years beyond it and so the 50’s seemed like a fun time especially when greaser John Travolta met up with exchange student, Olivia Newton-John.  Based on a hit Broadway musical, the movie was a smash hit and surpassed The Sound of Music as the highest grossing musical of its day.

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