Best Romantic Movies of All Time, Ranked for Filmmakers

In what seems to be a perfectly tailored role, Tom Cruise’s performance as Jerry Maguire lands among his best work. Through moments of defeat, love, and persistence, the film has coined some of the most quotable phrases in movie history. Besides the high romantic quotient, it also landed spots on our lists of the best football movies and the best sports movies of all time.

Screenwriter and director Cameron Crowe creates a charmingly entertaining film that dives deeper into themes of success, authenticity, and identity. Jerry Maguire shows that although love can drive people insane, it can also keep us grounded.

Michelle Williams, Ryan Gosling and Faith Wladyka (their film set daughter) actually lived together in a house in Pennsylvania for a month while filming Blue Valentine to create real relationships that they would bring to the film.

Director and writer Derek Cianfrance encouraged entirely improvised scenes in which he gave direction to both Gosling and Williams individually. The result is a relationship unfolding and unraveling right in front of you. Grab that pint of ice cream and a box fill of tissues, this one’s a tear jerker.

Sometimes romances are expressed physically and not just in that way. La La Land landed at the Oscars with nominations across the board due to its charming screenplay, stellar performances, and beautiful music and choreography. The film is colorful, vibrant, and full of life from the production design, costumes, and cast.

Damien Chazelle’s direction creates a magical tone that sings and dances its way into the hearts of the audience. The fantastic chemistry between lead actors Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone create an electric performance on screen.

Great Romantic Movies

36. Pride and Prejudice (2005)

Set against the vast landscapes of Wyoming and Texas, Brokeback Mountain is a romantic Western like no other. The movie is also ranked number one on our list of best adapted screenplays for good reason. Brokeback Mountain follows two men, a ranch hand and a cowboy, as they endure the trials and hardships of forbidden love.

Director Ang Lee beautifully pervades both the endurance and fragility of love throughout the film. Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal’s performance are revelations in the realm of romance. Both passionate yet tragic, Brokeback Mountain is in a category of its own among other good romance movies with some of the most romantic quotes to boot.

40 Best Romantic Movies of All Time

34. From Here to Eternity (1953)

There are few things more relatable than a childhood romance and a youthful rebellion. Moonrise Kingdom combines the two in classic Wes Anderson fashion. Colorful, whimsical, yet full of depth and emotion, this coming of age story tugs at the heart strings that made you never want to grow up.

Wes Anderson’s notorious directing style seems to be the only way this youthful love story could have been told. This is definitively one of Anderson's best movies to date.

Two Bill Murray films back-to-back can only confirm the validity of this list. This time, however, Murray plays a fading movie star working in Tokyo. As he finds an unexpected companion in a woman at the hotel played by Scarlett Johansson, the two become lost in Tokyo together.

Sofia Coppola, one of the best female directors in the business, takes her time telling this story as to not let the charming details of a blossoming romance go unnoticed.

Best Love Movies Ever

31. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night

It can be a common reaction to be weary of a film that is made in black and white after the 1960s, but don’t be fooled. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night is bursting at the seams with style and visual depth. In fact, the dark, horror, Western, romance tone that the film has going for it would likely not be as effective had it not been for the stunning chiaroscuro lighting and the black and white cinematography.

Also ranked on our list of best vampire movies, A Girl Walks Home Alone breaks beyond standard horror genre conventions to produce something truly creative. Director Ana Lily Amirpour brings a style evocative of David Lynch meets a Spaghetti Western film to the screen in this romantic horror.

Top Romantic Movies List

30. In the Mood for Love (2000)

Set against the backdrop of 1960s Hong Kong, In the Mood for Love is a love story that develops unlike most. Director Wong Kar-wai actually had a little more than a full script outline when production began, working and figuring out the story with the actors scene to scene.

The performances, production design, music, and writing harmonize to create a romantic, yet melancholic tone throughout the film that is as engaging as it is heartbreaking.

Michel Hazanavicius’ black-and-white, silent film The Artist is a testament to old Hollywood and how its techniques have lasted through time. This visually and auditorily unique romantic comedy capitalizes on its restrictions with charming performances, dances, and music.

The film itself is shot at a slightly lower frame rate (22 frames per second) without a single zoom shot because that was how Hollywood films were made in the film’s time period. Director Michel Hazanavicius does everything he can to create a unique, nostalgic film experience for a modern audience.

In preparation for his role in the film, Daniel Day-Lewis spent time living in the wilderness, hunting, fishing, and living off the land as his character in the film would have. Daniel Day-Lewis’ notorious loyalty to method acting made for a completely captivating performance in The Last of the Mohicans.

This love story set against the French and Indian War in the 1750s is breathtaking in both scale and detail.

Writer and director David O. Russel spent five years and twenty five rewrites before actually directing Silver Linings Playbook. In that time, he figured out how to develop a brilliant screenplay that balances emotion, comedy, and romance around two fragile characters both suffering from mental illness.

Both Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence deliver incredible performances with an undeniable chemistry. Not to mention we see Robert De Niro in full power as both a loving father as well as a vulnerable human being with faults of his own.

In the fantasy and adventure realm of romantic films, it would be impossible to leave The Princess Bride out of the conversation. With performances from Andre the Giant, Mandy Patikin, and Robin Wright, the film is a heartwarming hit for kids and parents alike. The Princess Bride script is filled with wit, charm, and romance.

Whether it’s a film that’s a staple to your childhood or your first time viewing it, The Princess Bride will make you feel like a kid being read the best bedtime story ever.

While Up may not fall under the typical animated romantic story, the first ten minutes of the film will have your eyes watering more than any fairy tale could. Beyond capturing love within the development of a romantic relationship, Up explores how love can outlast the course of a person’s life, affecting those involved far beyond any length of time. 

Following the Pixar storytelling formula, with colorful and vibrant animations, give life to the inspiring and hilarious Up screenplay. No matter if you are young or old, this movie will resonate with you.

As a low budget indie-film shot over the course of thirty-one days, Juno far exceeded any expectations when it became the highest-grossing film of all Best Picture nominees of 2008.

Audiences throughout the country resonated with both Michael Cera and Ellen Page’s charming performances of a couple navigating high school with a teenage pregnancy.

With only five minutes of the film having no musical score at all, Beauty and the Beast makes for an extremely melodic and enchanting love tale. The movie is full of some of the most classic Disney musical numbers and even ranks on our list of the best animated movies of all time.

Although Disney just released a live action Beauty and the Beast movie in 2017, there is something about the classic animation that adds to the magic and charm of the story.

Oftentimes comedies can be a uniquely effective vessel for relating to audiences of all walks of life. Groundhog Day does this by exploring the human condition through a snarky news reporter played brilliantly by Bill Murray. The clever screenplay also helped land Groundhog Day a spot on our list of the best comedy movies of all time.

The story is simple, precise, yet delivers on multiple levels of emotion under an incredibly unique premise.

Best Romantic Movies of All Time

19. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

This Danny Boyle film is epic, powerful, and exhilarating. The vibrant and gritty setting of Mumbai is often offset by the nonlinear fashion of the film as it jumps in time to India’s version of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire.” The film is tense with drama yet covers its emotional bases with a lovely romantic through-line.

Ben Affleck directs and stars in one of the best crime movies alongside Jeremy Renner who arguably steals the show. Intense, dramatic, and epic, The Town will have you on the edge of your seat till the credits roll.

The romance in the film gives this what could have been another average heist movie emotional depth and relatability.

Shot in the final days of World War II, Brief Encounter plays on the uncertainties of the times. This 1940s love story is passionate, complicated, and painfully believable.

Director David Lean's depiction of doomed love makes the film’s characters’ inner conflicts all the more tangible as we invest more and more into their blossoming romance.

Top Romantic Movies of All Time

13. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 

Director Ang Lee’s second appearance on this list is for his inimitable Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Lee delivers a clever, poetic, and stunning film that entails action, drama, and beautiful cinematography. The film also lands on our list of best action movies of all time, making it a great compromise on movie night for romance and action lovers alike.

The movie thrusted Lee into the ranks of elite filmmakers and rightfully so. The film is a dance between intense action sequences and emotionally dramatic moments between characters.

Top 10 Romantic Movies

10. Gone With the Wind (1939)

One of the most famous scenes of the film, and potentially the '80s, has Patrick Swazye and Jennifer Grey crawling towards each other on the floor — but this was not actually a part of the scene. The two were actually warming up for the scene, but director Emile Ardolino liked it so much he kept it in the final cut.

This type of fun and chemistry between the two leads is radiant throughout the film and is irresistible to any audience. Filled with memorable dance numbers and one of the best original songs in film history, Dirty Dancing has made its way into history books.

This science fiction love story is beautifully executed by director Spike Jonze. Jonze makes the idea of love between a human being and artificial intelligence completely accessible. Spike Jonze’s filmmaking purveys themes of loneliness and isolation that demands empathy.

Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johansson (through voiceover) flex their emotional range in this modern romance. Not to mention the score for the film is composed amazingly and uniquely by Arcade Fire.

Jim Carrey Best Romantic Movies

4. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

It is very rare for every single star to align in the creation of a film. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is one of the few films that does this while also being completely innovative and unique in a genre fatigued by clichés and convention. It even puts a twist on the meet cute.

Charlie Kaufman’s best screenplay found a match made in heaven when it fell into the hands of French director Michel Gondry. The film's inventiveness can be found in every detail of production from writing, to production design, to cinematography, to editing. Co-stars Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet find themselves in roles completely uncharacteristic to their career. Both prove their incredible range as Joel and Clementine.

40 Best Romantic Movies of All Time

3. When Harry Met Sally (1989)

It is no surprise that James Cameron, director and adventurer extraordinaire, went on 12 deep sea dives to the remains of the real sunken Titanic in preparation for the making of the film. We've come to expect those extremes in all of Cameron's best movies. The experience was incredibly emotional and inspirational for him. The result is one of the highest grossing films of all time.

Casablanca is objectively one of Hollywood’s most classic love films for a reason. In Casablanca's incredible screenplay, the romance, characters, and story have only improved with age. Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman deliver career-defining performances that continue to influence actors over 70 years later. What can only be described as a quintessential love story, Casablanca will continue to captivate and win the hearts of audiences for years to come.