Romance Movies: The 40 Best of All Time

Romance movies. If you’re looking for the best you have come to the right place. In this article we take an in-depth look at some of the best romance movies of all time.

I don’t know about you, but I think that we appreciate romance movies because we are quite literally in love with love. I’m sure we can all think of someone we know who enjoys curling up on the couch with a good blanket, a snack, and/or someone they adore. It becomes even better if you do it while watching a romantic love story play out on the screen.

All things considered, you’re in the right place if you’re looking for some romantic inspiration. Considering how diverse love is, and what it means to different people from all kinds of places, you should keep on reading for our list of the best romance movies of all time.

Read through and choose one- preferably one you haven’t seen before. Settle in to enjoy some of the greatest loves through the ages.

Browse our write-up and then cuddle up with that special someone with a movie of your choice.

The Notebook

The Notebook is a 2004 romantic drama film directed by Nick Cassavetes and based on the novel of the same name by Nicholas Sparks. The film stars Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams as a young couple who fall in love in the 1940s. The film was a commercial and critical success, grossing over $115 million worldwide and receiving several Academy Award nominations, including Best Actress for Rachel McAdams.

Titanic

Titanic is a 1997 romantic drama film directed, written, and co-produced by James Cameron. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet as members of different social classes who fall in love aboard the ill-fated RMS Titanic. Titanic was a massive box office success, grossing over $2 billion worldwide, and went on to win 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Romeo + Juliet

Romeo + Juliet is a 1996 romantic drama film directed by Baz Luhrmann and based on William Shakespeare’s play of the same name. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes as the titular star-crossed lovers. Romeo + Juliet was a commercial success, grossing over $145 million worldwide, and received Academy Award nominations for Best Art Direction and Best Cinematography.

The Princess Bride

The Princess Bride is a 1987 romantic comedy fantasy film directed by Rob Reiner and based on the novel of the same name by William Goldman. The film stars Cary Elwes and Robin Wright as a young farmhand and princess who fall in love despite the objections of her father. The Princess Bride was a commercial success, grossing over $30 million worldwide, and has since become a cult classic.

West Side Story

West Side Story is a 1961 musical romantic drama film directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. The film is an adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name, which itself was inspired by Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet. West Side Story starred Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer as the titular lovers from rival gangs in New York City. The film was a critical and commercial success, grossing over $43 million worldwide and winning 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

The Fault in Our Stars

The Fault in Our Stars is a 2014 American romantic drama film directed by Josh Boone, based on the novel of the same name by John Green. The film stars Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort as two teenage cancer patients who fall in love after meeting at a cancer support group. The film was a critical and commercial success, grossing over $307 million worldwide.

Brokeback Mountain

Brokeback Mountain is a 2005 American romantic drama film directed by Ang Lee, based on the short story of the same name by Annie Proulx. The film stars Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal as two cowboys who fall in love while working together herding sheep in Wyoming. Brokeback Mountain was a critical and commercial success, grossing over $178 million worldwide.

Top 5 Classic Romance Movies

Gone with the Wind (1939)

“Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn” that the South is often romanticized, and it is probably because of this film. In fact, Gone With the Wind is one of the most popular movies of all time. Adapted from the 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell, this film tells the tale of a turbulent romance against the backdrop of the American Civil War and the Reconstruction era.

Casablanca (1942)

There’s a reason this is considered one of the best films of all time. Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman are enchanting and genuinely funny in this epic set in Morocco during WWII. If you haven’t seen Casablanca, take the time to do it; a href=”https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034583/”>as one viewer says, “The thing that makes Casablanca great is that it speaks to that place in each of us that seeks some kind of inspiration or redemption. On some level, every character in the story receives the same kind of catharsis, and their lives are irrevocably changed.”

Singin’ in the Rain (1952)

Achieving 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, this is of the greatest and most successful musicals ever made. Set during the transition from silent film to the “talkies,” Don and Lina are actors whose newest film is remade into a musical. Don’s voice is perfectly fine, but Lina’s is not. Enter aspiring actress Kathy Selden to dub over Lina’s shrill in order to save the movie and their careers, with just a dash of love along the way.

Roman Holiday (1953)

Roman Holiday features Audrey Hepburn in her first starring role. She plays a princess who decides to go sightseeing on her own in Rome, where she meets a newspaperman who doesn’t reveal that he knows her true identity.

Some Like it Hot (1959)

Marilyn Monroe owns the screen as Sugar Kane, a member of an all-girl band set to perform for a couple of weeks in Florida. She befriends two struggling musicians who end up disguised as women. While it looks like they will all be friends forever, Joe finds himself falling for Sugar while Jerry tries to get rid of a millionaire bachelor who can’t seem to take no for an answer. Some Like it Hot is a superb choice for a romantic movie with a lot of action and comedy.

Top 5 Romantic movies from the ‘60s

West Side Story (1961)

West Side Story is an adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name, which was inspired by Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. West Side Story starred Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer as the titular lovers from rival gangs in New York City. If you like movie musicals, stylized gang fights, and stories based on Romeo and Juliet, then West Side Story is the movie for you!

Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961)

So what aboutBreakfast at Tiffany’s? In this one, Audrey Hepburn is the original Manic Pixie Dream Girl, Holly Golightly. She is a country bumpkin-turned-wild party girl living out her New York City fantasy, doing all sorts of unusual things. Yes, it’s a romance movie, but it’s also a movie about what it means to invent yourself.

Paris Blues (1961)

Paul Newman and Sidney Poitier are the leading men of this 1961 romantic drama that follows the professional and personal struggles of two aspiring American musicians trying to make it in France. Paris Blues stirred up a lot of controversy for its progressive portrayal of interracial relationships, reminding us that the days of Jim Crow weren’t actually that long ago.

My Fair Lady (1964)

Featuring Audrey Hepburn again, My Fair Lady is based quite closely on George Bernard Shaw’s play Pygmalion. This musical follows the tale of a snobbish linguist who bets that he can turn a rough-and-tumble flower girl into a high-society lady. She’s Audrey Hepburn so, naturally, she pulls it off.

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? (1967)

Unsurprisingly, some things about this movie are super problematic today. For one thing, the minor characters are pretty offensive stereotypes. That said, this 1967 romantic comedy was ground-breaking for its time. . . when White Joanna Drayton brings her Black fiancé home to her wealthy liberal parents for the first time, they have to reconcile their libertarianism with their reservations about interracial marriage.

Top 5 Romantic movies from the ‘70s

Harold and Maude (1971)

This is a deeply strange, ultimately charming love story about a morbid young man who falls for a much, much older woman. If you want to understand Wes Anderson’s whole aesthetic, watch this movie. Harold and Maude is about a death obsessed, Tim-Burton-character-come-to-life young man and a 79-year-old ray of sunshine named Maude. They meet at a funeral, and become inseparable. They go on adventures, fall in love, and share in the splendor of life’s little moments

The Way We Were (1973)

Told via flashback, The Way We Were is a love story about two polar opposites who wind up in a relationship: Katie, a politically-active Jewish woman played by Barbra Streisand, and Hubbell, an easy-going WASP played by Robert Redford. Their relationship is passionate and challenging and they almost go all the way, but don’t.

Claudine (1974)

A single working mother of six in Harlem, Claudine seemingly has no time for romance. Claudine tells the story of how love can grow even in the hardest of times after a chance encounter with the neighborhood garbage collector makes her eager to experience love again.

The Good Bye Girl (1977)

The Goodbye Girl is a romantic comedy a struggling actor who’s also struggling to make things work with a dancer and single mother who has some attachment issues. Like many romances, it starts with the two characters hating each other, only to find themselves falling in love. It’s a bittersweet movie that revolves around the chemistry between Dreyfuss and Mason.

Grease (1978)

Another great love story and musical combined, Grease is the one where Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta have famous chemistry. Set in the 1950’s, it’s all about romance between the token bad boy and the purest good girl. They meet on the beach, fall in love, and Danny thinks Sandy moves back to Australia at the end of the summer. When he finds out she’s enrolled in his own Rydell High, he has got to reconcile his bad-boy reputation with the sweet, romantic guy she met on the beach.

Top 5 Romantic Movies from the ’80s

An Officer and a Gentleman (1982)

An Officer and a Gentleman lifts you up where you belong. Settle in and watch Zack Mayo complete his work at a Navy Officer Candidate School to become an aviator with the help of a tough Gunnery Sergeant and his new girlfriend.

Splash (1984)

Here we have The Little Mermaid’s original live action film Splash, in which business guy Tom Hanks falls in love with a mermaid played by Daryl Hannah. It’s very 1980s, but Hanks is, as always, instantly lovable. Madison the mermaid is trying to reclaim the boy she fell in love with. That boy jumped off a boat near Cape Cod when he was 8. Now, he is a man who can’t commit to his girlfriend, does the brunt of the work for his playboy brother, and fears he’ll be alone for the rest of his life. Trying to navigate love, trust, and other stuff, this fairy tale has more to offer than you think.

The Princess Bride (1987)

Dirty Dancing (1987)

One of just three movies to be included in the first round of Netflix’s The Movies That Made Us docu-series, Dirty Dancing tells the story of Baby and her fateful trip to the Catskills where she meets resort worker Johnny. Their relationship sparks scenes that are still fresh in the mind of every ’80s kid, from the lift in their dance scene to the iconic “Nobody puts Baby in a corner” moment.

Maurice(1987)

This is an LGBTQ+ film that movie audiences weren’t ready for in the ’80s. Based on E.M. Forester’s classic novel and produced by Merchant Ivory, it stars Hugh Grant as Clive Durham, a wealthy socialite obsessed with his friend Maurice (James Wilby). They ultimately break things off for the sake of appearances, and Maurice goes on to marry a woman. Clive pines for him all the rest of their days. Performed with quiet conviction and emotion, the film remains under-seen.

Top 5 Romantic Movies from the ‘90s

Edward Scissorhands (1990)

Johnny Depp plays the soft-spoken, artificially-animated product of a scientist opposite Winona Ryder, the teenage daughter of a kind suburban woman who takes him in after his creator’s untimely death. The first collaboration between Johnny Depp and Tim Burton, Edward Scissorhands is a magical modern fairy tale with gothic overtones and a sweet core storyline.

Romeo + Juliet (1996)

Romeo + Juliet is a 1996 romantic drama film based on William Shakespeare’s play of the same name. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes as the titular star-crossed lovers. Romeo + Juliet was a commercial success, grossing over $145 million worldwide, and received Academy Award nominations for Best Art Direction and Best Cinematography.

Titanic (1997)

10 Things I Hate About You (1999)

Hands down one of the best teen romance movies of the decade, 10 Things I Hate About You stars Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles as reluctant romantic interests. The movie is a cleverly disguised Shakespearean adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew.

Anyone who didn’t get a chance to see this movie when it came out probably caught it in a very cool teacher’s English class during a Shakespeare unit. This modern repackaging of the centuries-old tale is an ingenious way to get teenagers to engage with a story that is written in antiquated and at times alienating language.

But I’m A Cheerleader (1999)

With Natasha Lyonne and Clea Duvall’s relationship at the heart of the film, the actresses personify the sweet chemistry of first love. But I’m A Cheerleader is a feel-good movie for the LGBTQ+ community from a time when love stories were conventional and heterosexual; LGBTQ+ themes were uncommon. The deadpan humor and campy set design helped make this one a cult classic.

Top 5 Romantic Movies from the ‘00s

The Notebook (2004)

The Notebook is a romantic drama film based on a novel by Nicholas Sparks. The film tells the story of a young couple from the 1940s who are forced to separate due to their different social backgrounds. They continue to stay in touch by writing letters to each other every day for over 30 years. The Notebook is a beautiful and heartbreaking film about lasting love that will stay with you long after you’ve seen it.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind breaks all the rules for romances, starting after the central couple has already broken up. Joel is still reeling from heartbreak and seeks out a procedure that will erase Clementine from his memory. The resulting trip through his mind and memories of his past with Clementine result in something more poignant than a straightforward rom-com could provide.

Brokeback Mountain (2005)

Atonement (2007)

Most of Joe Wright’s Oscar winner belongs to Briony, an aspiring writer atoning for a lie she told when she was 13. In Atonement, this love-and-wartime film belongs to the romance between Robby and Cecilia. He is a housekeeper’s son and she is the daughter of wealthy family; the two are torn apart by truth and fiction.

(500) Days Of Summer (2009)

Screen-rant labels this film as “a whip-smart subversion of the usual rom-com tropes, but only if you don’t fall for Tom’s charms. Since it’s told from Tom’s perspective, it can be easy to identify with his point of view and feel bad for him, but he acts selfishly and unreasonably throughout his relationship with Summer. He goes into the relationship with rose-tinted glasses, knowing that she’s not into the whole “love” thing, and then resents her for not totally changing her personality to suit his fantasy of her.”

Top Romantic Movies from ‘10s

The Kids Are All Right (2010)

The Kids Are All Right follows Nic and Jules, a married couple who have each had children using the same male donor. When their kids wish to meet their biological father, his insertion into their family life causes trouble; he begins an affair with Jules, and Nic feels left out of her own family through his interference with her children. This LGBTQ+ film walks the line between drama and comedy; it will make you laugh and make you cry.

The Fault in Our Stars (2014)

Carol (2015)

Carol is an LGBTQ+ film that depicts a love story between two women. Perfectly balanced between passion and restraint, Carol is perhaps one of the greatest romances to come out in recent years. Despite the depiction of the struggles gay women faced in the 1950s, the story ends on an uplifting, romantic note for Carol and Therese.

Moonlight (2016)

A narrative spanning several decades, Moonlight is many things: It’s soaring, it’s heartbreaking, it’s incredibly romantic. A young African-American man grapples with his identity and sexuality while experiencing the everyday struggles of childhood, adolescence, and burgeoning adulthood. Though his journey is paved in adversity, featuring identity and sexual confusion, this really is a story of a life time.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)

One very necessary ingredient in a successful love story? Passion. And the passion simmering beneath the surface of Céline Sciamma’s award-winning romance is just begging to ignite. A meditation on liberation through art, Portrait’s narrative unfurls between a Brittany artist and the alluring bride-to-be she’s been tasked with painting. You can look, but don’t touch, but if you touch? Don’t feel.

Top 5 Romantic Movies from 2020-2022

Sylvie’s Love (2020)

When a young woman meets an aspiring saxophonist in her father’s record shop in 1950s Harlem, their love ignites a sweeping romance that transcends changing times, geography, and professional success. Sylvie’s Love is an ode to classic Hollywood romance with a hugely significant difference. The cast is predominately Black and the love story is about two black characters set during a time when representation was pretty nonexistent.

The Grand Bolero (2021)

During the Covid-19 lockdown in Italy, a gruff middle-aged pipe organ restorer struggles to control her obsessive attraction to her new 20-year-old mute assistant. One review on Rotten Tomatoes says this film is “Well-conceived, Gabriele Fabbro unveils potent performances from Vitale and Mancini in this intriguing, sensual, disturbing thriller. This is his first feature film, but it certainly won’t be his last.”

The Worst Person in the World (2021)

A Norwegian romantic comedy that brought home all kinds of accolades, The Worst Person in the World chronicles four years in the life of Julie, a young woman navigating the troubled waters of her love life. As she struggles to find her career path, she has to take a realistic look at who she really is.

I’m Your Man (2021)

In order to obtain research funds for her studies, a scientist accepts an offer to participate in an extraordinary experiment: for three weeks, she is to live with a humanoid robot, created to make her happy. Discussing imperfect love, I’m Your Man is clever, humorous, and incredibly unique.

Lady Chatterly’s Lover (2022)

Critics say that this is “Arguably the best screen version of this oft-adapted tale, Lady Chatterley’s Loversets itself apart with solid acting and a refreshingly frank treatment of the story’s mature themes”. Marrying Sir Clifford Chatterley, Connie’s life of wealth and privilege seems set as she takes the title of Lady Chatterley. Yet this idealistic union gradually becomes an incarceration when Clifford returns from the First World War with injuries that have left him unable to walk. When she meets and falls for Oliver Mellors, the gamekeeper on the Chatterley family estate, their secret trysts lead her to a sensual, sexual awakening. But as their affair becomes the subject of local gossip, Connie faces a life-altering decision: follow her heart or return to her husband and endure what Edwardian society expects of her.

We all know that Love is patient and love is kind. However, truth be told, it can also be a blow to the ego, a punch in the gut, and a royal pain in the ass. Just look to the best romance movies for proof of that; everything from the timeless classics and great romances to contemporary tales on love and lust explores romantic love from many perspectives, and in shifting nuances still relevant today.