CASABLANCA - Love, war, intrigue… all woven into the tapestry of a movie is perhaps what makes ‘Casablanca’ stand out as one of those timeless classics. It speaks about love, marriage and infidelity. The tried and tested recipe for the perfect romance.
Casablanca (1942) is an American romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid and featuring Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre. Set during World War II, it focuses on a man torn between, in the words of one character, love and virtue. He must choose between his love for a woman and helping her and her Resistance leader husband escape from the Vichy-controlled Moroccan city of Casablanca to continue his fight against the Nazis.
WHEN HARRY MET SALLY - Can a man and a woman be just friends? The debate has run for ever. This movie traces the life of two friends through college to their adulthood. Have you a tale to tell too?
When Harry Met Sally… is a 1989 romantic comedy film written by Nora Ephron and directed by Rob Reiner. It stars Billy Crystal as Harry and Meg Ryan as Sally. The story follows the title characters from the time they meet on a cross-country carpool ride, through twelve years or so of chance encounters in New York City. The film raises the question “Can men and women ever just be friends?” and advances many ideas about love that have become household concepts now, such as the “high-maintenance“ girlfriend and the “transitional person”
PRETTY WOMAN - He needs a woman to escort him to an event and she is ready to live the good life.
Vivian is a prostitute who meets her knight in shining armour, Edward while at work. He sweeps off her feet and the rest is history
Pretty Woman is a 1990 romantic comedy film.
The film centers on the titular character, down-on-her-luck prostitute Vivian Ward (Julia Roberts) who is hired by a wealthy businessman and corporate raider, Edward Lewis (Richard Gere) to be his escort for several business functions, and their developing relationship.
BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S - For a man, a woman becomes mystery when they can’t read her. This is just what happens to a struggling writer Paul Varjak who moves in next door to a pretty and quirky neighbour Holly Golightly. She flits through parties with poise and when alone she is pretty much vulnerable. This girl is something any man will look for.
Breakfast at Tiffany’s is a 1961 American film starring Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard, and featuring Patricia Neal, Buddy Ebsen, Martin Balsam, and Mickey Rooney. It was directed by Blake Edwards and released by Paramount Pictures.
DIRTY DANCING - Baby heads off to holiday camp and finds her life changed forever. Johnny Castle sweeps her off her feet literally with sensuous dance moves. Dancing is a great way to rekindle your romance!
Dirty Dancing is a 1987 romance film. Written by Eleanor Bergstein and directed by Emile Ardolino, the film features Jennifer Grey, Patrick Swayze, Cynthia Rhodes, and Jerry Orbach. The story details the moment of time that a teenaged girl crosses over into womanhood both physically and emotionally, through a relationship with a dance instructor during a family summer vacation. Around a third of the movie involves dancing scenes choreographed by Kenny Ortega (later famous for High School Musical), and the finale has been described as “the most goosebump-inducing dance scene in movie history”.
SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE - What if you never met someone but you knew they were your soul mate? Well, this movie shows how a couple can be united by the universe because of a karmic connection.
Sleepless in Seattle is a 1993 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Nora Ephron. Based on a story by Jeff Arch, it stars Tom Hanks as Sam Baldwin and Meg Ryan as Annie Reed.
The film was inspired by An Affair to Remember and used both its theme song and clips from the film in critical scenes. The climactic meeting at the top of the Empire State Building is a reference to a reunion between Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr in An Affair to Remember that fails to happen because the Kerr character is struck by a car while enroute. At one point, some of the characters discuss Affair, with Sam commenting that it sounds like a “chick movie.”
ROMAN HOLIDAY - Meet Princess Ann, stressed out from her daily work routine. She runs away on a holiday to Rome where she meets a journalist, Joe Bradley, and ends up falling in love. Why not go on this exciting trip with this couple?
Roman Holiday is a 1953 romantic comedy. The film introduced American audiences to Belgian-born actress Audrey Hepburn, who won the Academy Award for Best Actress. Gregory Peck and Eddie Albert co-starred. The movie was directed and produced by William Wyler. It was written by John Dighton and author Dalton Trumbo. As Trumbo was on the Hollywood blacklist, he was not credited; instead, Ian McLellan Hunter fronted for him. Trumbo’s name was finally digitally added to the film’s credits when it was released on DVD in 2003.
TITANIC - A woman’s heart can carry her man’s love forever. Rose meets Jack on board the ill-fated Titanic and despite their social differences, fall in love. Though their romance was short-lived their romance lives on.
Titanic is a 1997 American romantic film directed, written, co-produced and co-edited by James Cameron about the sinking of the RMS Titanic. It features Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater, and Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, two members of different social classes who fall in love aboard the ill-fated voyage of the ship. The main characters and the central love story are fictional, but some characters (such as members of the ship’s crew) are based on real historical figures. Gloria Stuart plays the elderly Rose, who narrates the film in a modern day framing device.
GHOST - How deep a man’s love for a woman can be is what this movie is all about. Sam and Molly are happy till he is murdered. He comes back as a ghost to ensure she is protected. Doesn’t this sweet tale tug at your heart?
Ghost is a 1990 romantic fantasy film starring Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, Tony Goldwyn and Whoopi Goldberg, written by Bruce Joel Rubin and directed by Jerry Zucker. It was nominated for multiple Academy Awards, including Best Picture, winning for Best Original Screenplay, as well as Best Supporting Actress for Whoopi Goldberg.
THE READER - A passionate and secretive affair between young Michael and a much older Hanna is what this romantic flick is all about. Watch how he saves her from a life of imprisonment.
The Reader is an Academy Award-nominated and BAFTA, Golden Globe Award-winning 2008 British drama film based on the 1995 German novel of the same name by Bernhard Schlink. The film adaptation was written by David Hare and directed by Stephen Daldry. Ralph Fiennes and Kate Winslet star along with the young actor David Kross. It was the last film for producers Anthony Minghella and Sydney Pollack, who both died before it was released. Production began in Germany in September 2007, and the film opened in limited release on 10 December 2008.
