Hoping to separate romance from romantic comedy and even with that intention, there are a few in my list below that wobble towards “rom-com”. I was looking at a Rotten Tomatoes list of Top 100 and realized there are a LOT of films I haven’t seen or need to see again.

Here is a short list of favorites that come to mind, and yes, they are all over the road in many ways–great films vs. just entertaining, wrenching, sweet, etc.

Top Hat* (1935) (I’m a huge Fred fan, but this is extra good.)

Gone with the Wind* (1939)

La Belle et la Bête* (1946)

The African Queen*(1951)

Roman Holiday (1953)

To Have and Have Not (1944)

Love Story (1971) (Note, I haven’t seen this since I was a kid but I remember balling my eyes out)

Harold and Maude* (1971)

The Goodbye Girl (1977)

A Room with a View* (1985)

Ladyhawke *(1985)

Dirty Dancing* (1987)

When Harry Met Sally (1989) — not one of my favorites but a “should see” — it sure made a splash when it came out

Ghost *(1990)

Reality Bites (1994)

Bridges of Madison County* (1995)

City of Angels (1998)

Boys Don’t Cry (1999)

Safety Not Guaranteed *(2012)

I’ve seen Say Anything (1989) on quite a few lists. Not sure if that’s romance or rom-com. Haven’t seen it since 1989. Would clump in with the other John Cusack greats Better Off Dead (1985) and The Sure Thing (1985). The Latter two are in my all-time-favorite group, and I’ve seen them both so many times, I can recite them just about to entirety.

Confession: I’ve never seen Titanic. Was told the shaky cam would make me nuts so I didn’t see it in the theater, then I tried it once and wasn’t up for it. I’ve heard such mixed things about it, I’m leaving it alone for now. That being said, it is on just about every list so maybe it would float YOUR boat.

On my short list to see:

Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)

Brokeback Mountain (2005)

Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)

My apologies for the wonky format of this post. I’ve wrestled with it for a while now and just don’t have the patience to start all over. Cupid and the list are not compatible.

That aside, what are your favorites that you could watch again and again?