For those celebrating a quiet Valentine's Day at home, here are some romantic films for a variety of moods.
Classic favorites
Casablanca (1942) -- Perhaps the greatest love story ever committed to film, starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman.
Gone With the Wind (1939) -- Starring Vivien Leigh as the beautiful and scheming Scarlett O'Hara and Clark Gable as her soul mate, Rhett Butler.
Roman Holiday (1953) -- This romantic comedy stars Audrey Hepburn as the bored Princess Anne, and Gregory Peck as the newspaper reporter who angles for an exclusive interview.
ADVERTISEMENT
From Here to Eternity (1953) -- Set on an army base in Hawaii in the days before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, starring Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr.
An Affair to Remember (1957) -- Terry (Deborah Kerr) and Nickie (Cary Grant) meet and fall in love on a ship traveling across the Atlantic Ocean. Both engaged to other people, they say goodbye, but agree to meet in six months if their feelings remain the same.
History, adventure and romance
Doctor Zhivago (1965) -- Omar Sharif is the poet and doctor Yuri Zhivago, who is married to his childhood sweetheart, but carries on a passionate affair with the beautiful, troubled Lara during the Russian Revolution.
Out of Africa (1985) -- As a young wife largely abandoned by her husband, Meryl Streep interacts with the native population and falls in love with an aristocratic hunter (Robert Redford).
The English Patient (1996) -- This beautifully filmed movie flashes back and forth between the love affair of Count Laszlo Almasy and a married woman in North Africa and an abandoned monastery in Italy, where a Canadian nurse cares for Almasy, after being horribly burned in a plane crash.
Shakespeare in Love (1998) -- A fun imagining of the young William Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes), who struggles with writer's block until he meets a rich young woman (Gwyneth Paltrow) who disguises herself as a man in order to play the lead in Shakespeare's new play.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) -- In pursuit of a stolen jade sword and seeking to avenge the murderer of his master, the great Chinese warrior Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun Fat) enlists the help of Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh). Their barely acknowledged love for each other forms the heart of this fantastic martial arts drama.
ADVERTISEMENT
Offbeat romances
The Princess Bride (1987) -- This comedy, a tongue-in-cheek version of a classic fairy tale, tells the story of Wesley (Cary Elwes), a poor stable boy who returns from adventures at sea to rescue his true love.
Say Anything (1989) -- This charming movie about an improbable match -- between the sweet, unambitious kickboxer (John Cusack) and the beautiful, sheltered valedictorian of his high school class (Ione Skye) --undoubtedly caused countless teenage girls (and many women) to long for someone to serenade them with a boombox.
When Harry Met Sally (1989) -- A modern classic for romantic comedy lovers, this movie follows two college classmates (Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan) into adulthood, exploring the question: Can men and women really be friends?
Out of Sight (1998) -- The movie's most talked-about scene takes place in the trunk of a getaway car, where a federal marshal (Jennifer Lopez) is locked with a bank robber and prison escapee (George Clooney), only to have sparks fly.
Source: History.com
