I present to you the definitive short list of all time best romantic movies. 

What makes a truly romantic movie?  What are the best romantic films of all time?  None are if you don’t get romance.  A true romantic comes in various types. Lonely and yearning to content and appreciative; a romantic person can be hard to find.

Expressing love is a hard act when you don’t feel it.  And to feel it you must have a moral compass inside you pointing your emotional heart towards genuine acceptance of the person you care about.   If you have that compass, you are a romantic.

Perhaps you are a married man.  You know the right attitude it takes to love a woman. Your happiness comes from making her happy. You forgive the unforgivable, you accept her for what she is, not what you want her to be, and you know that were she not there, you’d be incomplete.   You are a romantic.

You’re a woman perhaps.  You miss having  a man to come home to.  You miss that time where at the end of the day, he is there.  You are a romantic at heart.   Let me tell you, with the right man, every day is Valentine’s day.   Don’t watch these movies alone either, but if you care to form a collection of perfect romantic movies, these will NOT let you down.   

Here are movies that honestly make sense as all time romantic films. 

Casablanca – The absolute classic love story.  What is perfect about it is that it ends the way real life treats you.  He doesn’t get the girl in the end, and he will always love her. I know that feeling all too well. They will always have Paris. 

Breakfast at Tiffany's – A story about a man that tames a wild and beautiful female creature.  She is the epitome of what most women are.  She wants more than what any real man can give, but she knows only real love comes from a real man.  Not a rich man without a soul.

The Notebook – A story about two people that know each other so well, that nothing can keep them apart. Sincere love is always rewarded.  But it has to on both sides.

Waterloo Bridge – Here is one no one will know.  It’s about a woman that was picked up and loved by a perfect gentlemen.  He was her prince taken away by the war and thought to have been killed in action.  Her soul is broken and she gives up on life. The end is purely Shakespearean in nature. I loved this story at 20, and still do.

Wuthering Heights – Here is one that I identify with immensely.  Heathcliff was written off as a loser early in life only to return a changed man. His heart was broken so badly that he exacted revenge by becoming a somebody.

A Little Romance – Set in Paris, two young innocent early teen children rely on a legend told by an old man (Sir Laurence Olivier)  to seal their love forever.   This is one my true most personal romance stories. 

Pride and Prejudice – And here we have a story where two bright lights in the Universe overcome the stigma of “position” and are rewarded with everlasting love.  Pick almost any version and they deliver.

Somewhere in Time – If you have ever fallen asleep at night and found the person of your dreams only to awake in the morning to find they were too perfect to hold onto? This tearjerker is about just that.  You want so badly for this to work out, you want pure willpower to make that age old adage come true, “Love conquers all.”  I couldn’t have been more heartbroken at the end.  Think of this as a film for anyone that lost that perfect love and they know they will never get them back.

I have another personal favorite that doesn’t fit in to the purely romantic story concept. But it is none-the-less very heartfelt and has an element of romance that perhaps only the lonely can truly appreciate.

Local Hero

A story about a single man that is utterly incomplete and knows it.  He is sent to a quiet Scottish town to buy it for his huge oil company.  But he is almost immediately swept up in the seaside and falls in love with another man's wife from afar. In the end his love for the ocean pulls his heartstrings. You have to be a single guy that finds solace in the beach to understand.

I agree so many other movies are romantic, from Gone with the Wind, An Officer And A Gentleman, Out of Africa, and  There are other modern day stories like Ghost, City of Angels, Notting Hill, Pretty Woman, Moonstruck, The Lakehouse and of course the masterpiece Titanic which to me is more of a story within a story.  I didn’t go into romantic comedies, there are just too many. OK, I’ll mention a few, One Fine Day, Better off Dead, Barefoot in the Park, and Four Weddings and A Funeral and even Groundhog Day. 

There are also a few period piece romance titles that stand out for me. 

A Room With A View

Legends Of The Fall

The Last of the Mohicans

The Great Gatsby

Sweetland

There is in fact one romantic film I’ve yet to see and will.  It is Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. It’s been filmed at least 8 times but I plan to read the book first.  It is a typical Russian romantic tragedy but Tolstoy’s writing style makes it a masterpiece I’ve heard.  

My personal list are can't miss.  I hope you enjoy them.  I hope you find someone to love.  It is the greatest feeling knowing you have someone that will never let you down.  It is the saddest feeling to have loved and lost.  People really have died of broken hearts. Love is that powerful. Be lucky in love.