We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy. Hollywood loves a fairytale ending—and what better medium to deliver that than the romance movie? Since the invention of film, stories about people falling in love have captivated audiences across the world. What separates a good romance movie from a great one is its ability to reveal the transformative, intangible, and utterly human conditions of love.
That can be as true for something as light-hearted as a contemporary rom-com like Pretty Woman as it is for a historical period drama like Portrait of a Lady on Fire. Ahead, we compiled a list of the 75 best romance movies in cinematic history.
No romantic movies list is complete without at least one title starring rom-com queen Julia Roberts. In Pretty Woman , Roberts plays Vivian, a young sex worker who is hired by businessman Edward Lewis Richard Gere to accompany him to high-profile events for his job. In the process, both Vivian and Edward realize that what started as a simple business transaction may actually be a deeper connection.
Watch Now. As the title implies, One Day tracks the events that take place on the same day over the course of several years in the intertwined lives of former-classmates-turned-best-friends Emma Anne Hathaway and Dexter Jim Sturgess. Spanning major milestones, separate relationships, and a lifetime of friendship, Emma and Dexter keep finding ways to come back to each other.
The Sound of Music is more than just a musical set amid the idyllic backdrop of the Austrian Alps. As Maria and the Captain Christopher Plummer butt heads over the right way to rear his family, the two eventually find common ground with each other.
