14 Greatest Romance Films Of All Time

Romance is at the heart of almost every Hollywood film. It's difficult to find a major Hollywood film that doesn't have a love story as either the main storyline, or at least a minor subplot. So why is it that films that focus primarily on their romantic elements are so often framed as less serious, less legitimate cinematic efforts? It's a reflection of a society that judges things that women like as frivolous and things that men like as art, where romance pictures are derisively called "chick flicks."

Still, not every romance film is made equal, and, just like every other genre in Hollywood, they vary significantly in terms of quality. At their worst, they're lazy and formulaic, barely mustering up enough effort to build a compelling meet-cute between their two leads. But at their best, like the films on this list, they capture something emotionally evocative about the human condition, that we are not built just to eat and drink and sleep, but to love.

It's easy enough to make a movie that features a sweet love story, but with "If Beale Street Could Talk," Barry Jenkins created one that drips romance from every pore. From the gorgeous, moody lighting to the smooth, evocative, string-filled score by Nicholas Britell, all elements of the film work together to capture the power and energy of the love between Tish (KiKi Layne) and Fonny (Stephan James). 

Based on a novel by James Baldwin, "If Beale Street Could Talk" explores the relationship of childhood friends-turned-lovers in 1970s Harlem, and their efforts to fight a charge that will see Fonny sent to jail for a crime that he didn't commit. Their unwavering devotion to one another sees them through hardship after hardship, and is echoed by the powerful support for the couple from Tish's mother Sharon, a performance for which Regina King won Best Supporting Actress at the Academy Awards.

War romances are often centered around two main concepts: the loving and devoted couple cruelly separated by the war, with the husband heroically fighting so that he might have a chance to see his beloved again; and the couple who see their relationship crumble as they are kept apart, with either or both finding solace in the arms of another. "Vacation from Marriage" (or, as it was called during its initial UK release, "Perfect Strangers") somehow manages to be both.

Robert Donat and Deborah Kerr play a bit of a fuddy duddy couple from London. He is a mild-mannered office drone who can't work up the nerve to ask for a richly deserved raise, she a dowdy housewife with a persistent cold. But then the war comes, and changes everything. They both enlist to support their country, and find to some great surprise that they feel far more emotionally fulfilled in service than they ever did at home. "Vacation from Marriage" addresses the very real gulf created by war between two people who are unquestionably altered by their experiences (something many couples would have been dealing with when this film came out in 1945) and the question of how they can ever move forward when they barely recognize one another anymore.

Borne out of betrayal and ending in loneliness, "In the Mood for Love" does not perhaps follow the obvious strictures of a Hollywood love story. Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung star as neighbors who discover that their respective partners are having an affair with one another. Initially, they merely commiserate with one another. But before long, they begin to develop feelings for each other, feelings that they struggle to act upon. 

Outwardly reserved but with simmering passion beneath the surface, "In the Mood for Love" is a moody, powerful exploration of romance never allowed to blossom. Although their grand love story is left unconsummated, we are never left in doubt of the depth of their emotions, allowing director Wong Kar-wai to build a tale as beautiful as it is melancholic and bittersweet. "In the Mood for Love" is not just a hallmark of Asian cinema: it also influenced a generation of Hollywood filmmakers, with Sofia Coppola in particular noting its influence on "Lost in Translation."

Have you ever seen a more unfairly beautiful couple than Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour? Seriously, it makes sense that their love would defy the laws of time and space: the universe just needs these two together. Christopher Reeve plays a writer on a vacation at a lakeside resort, desperate for inspiration. But when he sees a portrait of an actress from the turn of the century, he is driven to distraction, enthralled with her beauty. 

He's so obsessed that he finds a way to travel back in time through self-hypnosis for a chance at a glimpse of her in the flesh. Their romance is hazy and atmospheric, almost as though it was merely part of a dream. But like any dream, it can't last forever. Still, their brief moment of connection is incredibly powerful, so much so that it lingers through eternity until they are reunited in the great beyond. 

It's almost impossible to put into words the impact that "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge" had on Indian audiences when it was first released. It came out in 1995, and as of 2021, is still running in theaters in India, making it a contender for the longest continuously playing film in history. "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge” would make stars out of its two lead actors, Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, who played an unlikely romantic pairing in one of the ultimate enemies-to-lovers arcs. 

Khan plays Raj, a wealthy, happy-go-lucky young man raised by an indulgent father, while Kajol is Simran, a far more practical daughter of conservative parents who is initially unimpressed by his charms. Both have grown up in London, but, before settling down (Simran into an arranged marriage, and Raj into a business career) they both embark on separate European tours that will inadvertently throw them into each other's path. Their chemistry is undeniable, and the snow-capped mountains of Switzerland provide a perfect backdrop for their romance to unfold. With humor and classic Bollywood musical numbers, "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jeyenge" and its two stars earn every inch of their record-breaking success.

The single greatest thing about "Portrait of a Lady on Fire" is its depiction of the unique love between two women. In fact, it stands out because of how distinctly feminine it is — something you don't even notice until a guy shows up for one scene, and you realize that for the past hour or so, you've just been watching women vibing in the complete absence of men. 

Marianne is a painter, who has been hired to befriend Héloïse, reluctant to sit for a portrait that will be sent to her future husband, and surreptitiously take her likeness. Instead, they form an intimate bond with one another, making their inevitable separation all the more devastating. Aside from the romance, which is artfully done and deeply felt, "Portrait of a Lady on Fire" captures the terror of being betrothed to a man you have never met, especially after being raised in a convent and surrounded by women your entire life, and the powerlessness of having your fate decided for you. 

It's a film that only a woman could make this beautifully resonant, and Celine Sciamma cements her reputation as one of the leading directors of modern French cinema with her work here.

In many films, the trope of the love triangle can become tiresome — mostly because there's usually a clear winner amongst the suitors, and we're all just biding our time until the protagonist finally makes the obvious decision. But one of the many reason why "Casablanca" is such a great romance is that you really can't tell which way Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) is going to go. On the one hand, you have Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid): Ilsa's husband, a freedom fighter and member of the Czech resistance for whom Ilsa has tremendous warmth and overwhelming admiration. When he leads the band at Rick's Cafe Americain in a rousing chorus of La Marseillaise, the look on her face as she gazes at him is one of deep and solemn love.

Then you have Rick himself, the reluctant hero played by Humphrey Bogart in what is maybe his best performance. Rick is a self-avowed neutral party, shouting from the rooftops that he's just trying to run a business. Empty words: both his established partisan past and his actions within the film betray his principles. The relationship between Rick and Ilsa is lustful in a way that was undoubtedly a matter of concern for the censorship office. Their connection is powerful, so much so that "Casablanca" has remained a romantic cinematic icon for nearly eighty years.