Thursday, June 13, 2002

Top 100 Romantic Movies

The American Film Institute released their latest list of top 100 movies, this time on Romance.
Here's the list:


AFI's TOP 100 ROMANCES

Rank Movie Year
1 Casablanca 1942
2 Gone with the Wind 1939
3 West Side Story 1961
4 Roman Holiday 1953
5 An Affair to Remember 1957
6 The Way We Were 1973
7 Doctor Zhivago 1965
8 It's a Wonderful Life 1946
9 Love Story 1970
10 City Lights 1931
11 Annie Hall 1977
12 My Fair Lady 1964
13 Out of Africa 1985
14 The African Queen 1951
15 Wuthering Heights 1939
16 Singin' in the Rain 1952
17 Moonstruck 1987
18 Vertigo 1958
19 Ghost 1990
20 From Here to Eternity 1953
21 Pretty Woman 1990
22 On Golden Pond 1981
23 Now, Voyager 1942
24 King Kong 1933
25 When Harry Met Sally . . . 1989
26 The Lady Eve 1941
27 The Sound of Music 1965
28 The Shop Around the Corner 1940
29 An Officer and a Gentleman 1982
30 Swing Time 1936
31 The King and I 1956
32 Dark Victory 1939
33 Camile 1937
34 Beauty and the Beast 1991
35 Gigi 1958
36 Random Harvest 1942
37 Titanic 1997
38 It Happened One Night 1934
39 An American in Paris 1951
40 Ninotchka 1939
41 Funny Girl 1968
42 Anna Karenina 1935
43 A Star is Born 1954
44 The Philadelphia Story 1940
45 Sleepless in Seattle 1993
46 To Catch a Thief 1955
47 Splendor in the Grass 1961
48 Last Tango in Paris 1972
49 The Postman Always Rings Twice 1946
50 Shakespeare in Love 1998
51 Bringing Up Baby 1938
52 The Graduate 1967
53 A Place in the Sun 1951
54 Sabrina 1954
55 Reds 1981
56 The English Patient 1996
57 Two for the Road 1967
58 Guess who's Coming to Dinner 1967
59 Picnic 1955
60 To Have and Have Not 1944
61 Breakfast at Tiffany's 1961
62 The Apartment 1960
63 Sunrise 1927
64 Marty 1955
65 Bonnie and Clyde 1967
66 Manhattan 1979
67 A Streetcar Named Desire 1951
68 What's Up, Doc? 1972
69 Harold and Maude 1971
70 Sense and Sensibility 1995
71 Way Down East 1920
72 Roxanne 1987
73 The Ghost and Mrs. Muir 1947
74 Woman of the Year 1942
75 The American President 1995
76 The Quiet Man 1952
77 The Awful Truth 1937
78 Coming Home 1978
79 Jezebel 1939
80 The Sheik 1921
81 The Goodbye Girl 1977
82 Witness 1985
83 Morocco 1930
84 Double Indemnity 1944
85 Love is a Many-Splendored Thing 1955
86 Notorious 1946
87 The Unbearable Lightness of Being 1988
88 The Princess Bride 1987
89 Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? 1966
90 The Bridges of Madison County 1995
91 Working Girl 1988
92 Porgy and Bess 1959
93 Dirty Dancing 1987
94 Body Heat 1981
95 Lady and the Tramp 1955
96 Barefoot in the Park 1967
97 Grease 1978
98 The Hunchback of Notre Dame 1939
99 Pillow Talk 1959
100 Jerry Maguire 1996


I've seen 42 of them. Havent thought about it in detail, but there could be a few movies which I liked that are not on the list.
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20 comments:

  1. chetanJune 13, 2002 at 2:49 AM

    One Fine Day isn't on the list :-(

    ReplyDelete
  2. jaceJune 13, 2002 at 6:56 AM

    I've seen six. Says a lot about what I do with my spare time — or don't.

    ReplyDelete
  3. minnJune 13, 2002 at 9:05 AM

    31.

    ReplyDelete
  4. kvkJune 13, 2002 at 4:53 PM

    49, I think, is my count. A few movies which are in my top list (and not in the AFI list):

    1. Before Sunrise
    2. A Room With A View/The Remains Of The Day
    3. Leaving Las Vegas
    4. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
    5. Badlands/True Romance
    6. Four Weddings & A Funeral
    7. When A Man Loves A Woman
    8. Amelie
    9. Forrest Gump
    10. Butterflies Are Free
    11. Il Postino

    I'm sure I'll think of more movies right after posting this ;-)

    Btw, the AFI list looks well balanced.

    ReplyDelete
  5. madhavJune 13, 2002 at 5:20 PM

    I agree with you on Four Weddings and Forrest Gump. Havent seen most of the others.

    Yes, the list does look well balanced. Surprising. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. madhavJune 13, 2002 at 8:57 PM

    I didnt say I liked Forrest Gump. I think its fairly good on the romance front. These are the top 100 Romantic movies, remember ?

    ReplyDelete
  7. mujibJune 13, 2002 at 9:26 PM

    Six, out of the eleven you listed.
    And I am sure you know which all. :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. manusbJune 13, 2002 at 10:51 PM

    8. And I had thought I was a fan. But I had *heard* of 30, if thats any good...:-D

    ReplyDelete
  9. oolanJune 14, 2002 at 4:27 AM

    I'd add Chasing Amy, Bitter Moon, Oru Vadakkan Veera Gatha and Kiss Of a spiderwoman to the list.

    Two of the most adorable things :- hopeless love and dumped guys ;)

    ReplyDelete
  10. kvkJune 14, 2002 at 11:04 AM

    The Jenny/Forrest relationship worked (on screen) better for me than 'Love Story'. Though I wouldn't term the movie as romantic, those Jenny/Forrest scenes felt umm... special. And it gets better with each viewing :-)

    CTHD is again a special case. The Chow Yun-Fat/Michelle Yeoh romance(??) had its high points -- most notably, it is not expressed in words. It is subdued and has a melancholy feel to it. As Keats said, heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard are sweeter!

    ReplyDelete
  11. kvkJune 14, 2002 at 11:09 AM

    I would love to know your personal favourites though ;-) Maybe a top 5 for the teeming LJ millions, as Uncle Cecil would put it?

    ReplyDelete
  12. kvkJune 14, 2002 at 11:23 AM

    I knew you'd mention 'Chasing Amy' and 'Bitter Moon' ;-) The movies crossed my mind when I made my list. 'Chasing Amy' didn't work for me on a romantic level. The only thing I even remember from the movie is the Star Wars bashing. The romance (a guy falling for a lesbian) felt contrived; the dialogues/shots added the _unreal_ feeling. I admire it only for the comic writer angle.

    'Bitter Moon' is one hell of a movie. But another (important) criterion for a movie making to my list was -- would I watch the movie with a person I'm romatically involved with? Yeah, the bonding thing etc. 'Bitter Moon' lost out there.

    Haven't seen KOASW. This being the AFI list, I refrained from adding any Indian movies to my list ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  13. kvkJune 14, 2002 at 4:05 PM

    Some more movies suggested by a friend. Most of them would make it to my list too.
    12. Say Anything
    13. Wings Of Desire
    14. As Good As It Gets
    15. The Truth About Cats & Dogs
    16. Whole Wide World
    17. A Life Less Ordinary
    18. Bridget Jones's Diary
    19. Edward Scissorhands, and last but not the least...
    20. Contact

    I haven't seen 16 and 18 :-(

    My vote for the worst on screen romance goes to 'Hannibal'. How in the world could Clarice Starling and Dr. Hannibal Lecter fall in love?

    ReplyDelete
  14. jayasankarvsJune 15, 2002 at 5:32 AM

    Shrek! Shrek! Shrek!

    ReplyDelete
  15. oolanJune 15, 2002 at 2:05 PM

    I know it is futile to hard sell the charm of Chasing Amy to you. The debates over the phone notwithstanding, why would you bond with one of your 'romantic involvements' watching Leaving Las Vegas, but not Bitter Moon? Personally, I'd watch both. And just when I thought I was a morbid pervert, I came of know of an old bastard who bonded with his lucky girl watching both, in sequence. Misery bonds stronger than Fevicol, ma man.

    ReplyDelete
  16. mujibJune 15, 2002 at 10:45 PM

    "How in the world could Clarice Starling and Dr. Hannibal Lecter fall in love?"

    In the book, it kinda makes sense.
    I haven't seen the movie.

    Since we are at it, my list of missing movies (apart from the 20 you mentioned):

    • Murphy's Romance (pre-degree Sri Visakh favorite)
    • L.A. Story (one of the funniest)
    • The Horse Whisperer (it's long, but it's romance)
    • Broadcast News (it's all misguided romance in here, but enjoyable)
    • Children of a Lesser God (yeah, I was in love with Marlee Matlin)
    • The Last of the Mohicans (likewise with Madeline Stowe)
    • Hannah and Her Sisters (well, d-uh!)
    • There's Something About Mary (he's still in love with her after all those years; sweet)
    • Forget Paris (not a very good one, but has post-marital romance ;)
    • It Could Happen To You (yes, I am a sucker for feel-good "chick flicks" :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. mujibJune 15, 2002 at 10:55 PM

    I wholeheartedly agree.
    Hoo ha!

    P.S. Your icon is purrty.

    ReplyDelete
  18. kvkJune 17, 2002 at 10:09 AM

    You amaze me, dude! How could you compare LLV & BM? BM is all about lust, and nothing about love. In my dictionary, the two words have different meanings. In case I'm missing anything, please tell me which is the romance in the movie you're talking about?

    My personal experience is that comfort (as in 'a shoulder to lean on') bonds stronger than anything. Does that answer your question about LLV?

    ReplyDelete
  19. kvkJune 17, 2002 at 3:54 PM

    In the book, it kinda makes sense.
    I haven't seen the movie.

    I hope you're not serious. Why do you think it makes sense? I thought that the movie had a better ending -- Lecter rescues Starling (faithful to the book upto this point); Starling handcuffs Lecter; Lecter chops off his hand and escapes. The love angle was the only reason Jodie Foster turned down the role in spite of being offered a fat paycheck.

    Good list (I liked your rationale). But only 'Children of a Lesser God' would be in my list ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  20. madhavJune 19, 2002 at 10:03 PM

    I hope you're not serious. Why do you think it makes sense?....

    Sigh. Here we go again. I agree with Mujib 100%. The book was much better than the movie. It surely wasnt romantic, but it was sexy.

    Different folks for different strokes, eh ? ;-)

    ReplyDelete

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