Epic Love Stories or at Least Really Good Ones
by LilaToster | created - 27 Aug 2014 | updated - 04 May 2020 | PublicA list of love stories that have touched me in one way or another and overall great movies. For some of them you might need to take out your handkerchief.
In no particular order except for "The Fault in Our Stars" which is my number one right now and the reason why I made this list.
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1. The Fault in Our Stars (2014)
PG-13 | 126 min | Drama, Romance
Hazel and Gus are teenagers who meet at a cancer support group and fall in love. They both share the same acerbic wit and a love of books, especially "An Imperial Affliction", so they embark on a journey to visit an author in Amsterdam.
Director: Josh Boone | Stars: Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Nat Wolff, Laura Dern
Votes: 401,356 | Gross: $124.87M
Impossible not to shed a tear, both the book and the movie are amazing
2. Listen to Your Heart (2010)
Not Rated | 102 min | Drama, Music, Romance
A singer/songwriter falls in love with a girl who can't hear the music she inspires him to write.
Director: Matt Thompson | Stars: Alexia Rasmussen, Kent Moran, Cybill Shepherd, Shirley Knight
Votes: 4,814
3. Meet Joe Black (1998)
PG-13 | 178 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Death, who takes the form of a young man killed in an accident, asks a media mogul to act as his guide to teach him about life on Earth and, in the process, he falls in love with the mogul's daughter.
Director: Martin Brest | Stars: Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Claire Forlani, Jake Weber
Votes: 265,062 | Gross: $44.62M
4. The Notebook (2004)
PG-13 | 123 min | Drama, Romance
An elderly man reads to a woman with dementia the story of two young lovers whose romance is threatened by the difference in their respective social classes.
Director: Nick Cassavetes | Stars: Gena Rowlands, James Garner, Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling
Votes: 620,848 | Gross: $81.00M
5. Brokeback Mountain (2005)
R | 134 min | Drama, Romance
Ennis and Jack are two shepherds who develop a sexual and emotional relationship. Their relationship becomes complicated when both of them get married to their respective girlfriends.
Director: Ang Lee | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger, Michelle Williams, Randy Quaid
Votes: 382,592 | Gross: $83.04M
6. Never Let Me Go (2010)
R | 103 min | Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi
The lives of three friends, from their early school days into young adulthood, when the reality of the world they live in comes knocking.
Director: Mark Romanek | Stars: Keira Knightley, Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield, Izzy Meikle-Small
Votes: 153,365 | Gross: $2.43M
7. The Time Traveler's Wife (2009)
PG-13 | 107 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Henry DeTamble, a librarian, possesses a unique gene that lets him involuntarily travel through time. His wife, Claire Abshire, finds it difficult to cope with it.
Director: Robert Schwentke | Stars: Eric Bana, Rachel McAdams, Ron Livingston, Michelle Nolden
Votes: 157,974 | Gross: $63.41M
8. Notting Hill (1999)
PG-13 | 124 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A set of circumstances makes Anna Scott, a famous actress, fall in love with William Thacker, owner of a bookstore in Notting Hill. But the paparazzi's fascination with her complicates their bond.
Director: Roger Michell | Stars: Hugh Grant, Julia Roberts, Richard McCabe, Rhys Ifans
Votes: 342,588 | Gross: $116.09M
9. One Day (2011)
PG-13 | 107 min | Drama, Romance
After spending the night together on the eve of their college graduation, Dexter and Emma are shown each year on the same date to see where they are in their lives. They are sometimes together, and sometimes not.
Director: Lone Scherfig | Stars: Anne Hathaway, Jim Sturgess, Patricia Clarkson, Tom Mison
Votes: 168,029 | Gross: $13.84M
10. Tuck Everlasting (2002)
PG | 90 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy
A young woman meets and falls in love with a young man who is part of a family of immortals.
Director: Jay Russell | Stars: Alexis Bledel, Jonathan Jackson, Sissy Spacek, William Hurt
Votes: 25,367 | Gross: $19.16M
11. A Walk to Remember (2002)
PG | 101 min | Drama, Romance
Two North Carolina teens, Landon Carter and Jamie Sullivan, are thrown together after Landon gets into trouble and is sentenced to perform community service.
Director: Adam Shankman | Stars: Mandy Moore, Shane West, Peter Coyote, Daryl Hannah
Votes: 221,469 | Gross: $41.28M
12. Before Sunrise (1995)
R | 101 min | Drama, Romance
A young man and woman meet on a train in Europe, and wind up spending one evening together in Vienna. Unfortunately, both know that this will probably be their only night together.
Director: Richard Linklater | Stars: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy, Andrea Eckert, Hanno Pöschl
Votes: 339,682 | Gross: $5.54M
13. Before Sunset (2004)
R | 80 min | Drama, Romance
Nine years after Jesse and Celine first met, they encounter each other again on the French leg of Jesse's book tour.
Director: Richard Linklater | Stars: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy, Vernon Dobtcheff, Louise Lemoine Torrès
Votes: 288,100 | Gross: $5.82M
14. Before Midnight (2013)
R | 109 min | Drama, Romance
We meet Jesse and Celine nine years on in Greece. Almost two decades have passed since their first meeting on that train bound for Vienna.
Director: Richard Linklater | Stars: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy, Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick, Ariane Labed
Votes: 172,281 | Gross: $8.11M
15. Keith (I) (2008)
PG-13 | 95 min | Drama, Romance
Natalie, head of her curriculum activities in high school and riding on a tennis scholarship for college, gets Keith as her Chemistry lab partner. As Natalie can be uptight, Keith proves to be the opposite, even while hiding a secret.
Director: Todd Kessler | Stars: Elisabeth Harnois, Jesse McCartney, Margo Harshman, Ignacio Serricchio
Votes: 37,400
16. Sweet November (2001)
PG-13 | 119 min | Drama, Romance
A workaholic executive, and an unconventional woman agree to a personal relationship for a short period. In this short period she changes his life.
Director: Pat O'Connor | Stars: Keanu Reeves, Charlize Theron, Jason Isaacs, Greg Germann
Votes: 94,618 | Gross: $25.29M
17. Atonement (2007)
R | 123 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
Thirteen-year-old fledgling writer Briony Tallis irrevocably changes the course of several lives when she accuses her older sister's lover of a crime he did not commit.
Director: Joe Wright | Stars: Keira Knightley, James McAvoy, Brenda Blethyn, Saoirse Ronan
Votes: 300,064 | Gross: $50.93M
18. Serendipity (2001)
PG-13 | 90 min | Comedy, Romance
A couple search for each other years after the night they first met, fell in love, and separated, convinced that one day they'd end up together.
Director: Peter Chelsom | Stars: John Cusack, Kate Beckinsale, Jeremy Piven, Bridget Moynahan
Votes: 121,438 | Gross: $50.29M
19. Kate & Leopold (2001)
PG-13 | 118 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
An English Duke from 1876 is inadvertently dragged to modern day New York where he falls for a plucky advertising executive.
Director: James Mangold | Stars: Meg Ryan, Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Breckin Meyer
Votes: 89,116 | Gross: $47.12M
20. Penelope (2006)
PG | 104 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
A modern romantic tale about a young aristocratic heiress born under a curse that can only be broken when she finds true love with "one who will accept her as one of their own."
Director: Mark Palansky | Stars: Christina Ricci, James McAvoy, Reese Witherspoon, Richard E. Grant
Votes: 66,256 | Gross: $10.01M
21. The Vow (2012)
PG-13 | 104 min | Drama, Romance
A car accident puts Paige in a coma, and when she wakes up with severe memory loss, her husband Leo works to win her heart again.
Director: Michael Sucsy | Stars: Rachel McAdams, Channing Tatum, Sam Neill, Jessica Lange
Votes: 205,088 | Gross: $125.01M
22. Restless (I) (2011)
PG-13 | 91 min | Drama, Romance
The story of a terminally ill teenage girl who falls for a boy who likes to attend funerals and their encounters with the ghost of a Japanese kamikaze pilot from WWII.
Director: Gus Van Sant | Stars: Mia Wasikowska, Henry Hopper, Ryô Kase, Schuyler Fisk
Votes: 18,409 | Gross: $0.16M
23. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
PG-13 | 166 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Tells the story of Benjamin Button, a man who starts aging backwards with consequences.
Director: David Fincher | Stars: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton, Julia Ormond
Votes: 696,152 | Gross: $127.51M
24. Weekend (II) (2011)
Not Rated | 97 min | Drama, Romance
After a drunken house party with his straight mates, Russell heads out to a gay club. Just before closing time he picks up Glen but what's expected to be just a one-night stand becomes something else, something special.
Director: Andrew Haigh | Stars: Tom Cullen, Chris New, Jonathan Race, Laura Freeman
Votes: 32,876 | Gross: $0.46M
25. Titanic (1997)
PG-13 | 194 min | Drama, Romance
A seventeen-year-old aristocrat falls in love with a kind but poor artist aboard the luxurious, ill-fated R.M.S. Titanic.
Director: James Cameron | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Kathy Bates
Votes: 1,281,687 | Gross: $659.33M
26. The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)
PG-13 | 103 min | Drama
Charlie, a 15-year-old introvert, enters high school and is nervous about his new life. When he befriends his seniors, he learns to cope with his friend's suicide and his tumultuous past.
Director: Stephen Chbosky | Stars: Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, Ezra Miller, Paul Rudd
Votes: 548,436 | Gross: $17.74M
27. Remember Me (I) (2010)
PG-13 | 113 min | Drama, Romance
A romantic drama centred on two new lovers: Tyler, whose parents have split in the wake of his brother's suicide, and Ally, who lives each day to the fullest since witnessing her mother's murder.
Director: Allen Coulter | Stars: Robert Pattinson, Emilie de Ravin, Caitlyn Rund, Moisés Acevedo
Votes: 155,834 | Gross: $19.07M
28. Now Is Good (2012)
PG-13 | 103 min | Drama, Romance
A teenage girl dying of leukemia compiles a list of things she would like to do before passing away. Topping the list is her desire to lose her virginity.
Director: Ol Parker | Stars: Dakota Fanning, Josef Altin, Jeremy Irvine, Paddy Considine
Votes: 35,044
29. Safe Haven (I) (2013)
PG-13 | 115 min | Drama, Romance, Thriller
A young woman with a mysterious past lands in Southport, North Carolina where her bond with a widower forces her to confront the dark secret that haunts her.
Director: Lasse Hallström | Stars: Julianne Hough, Josh Duhamel, Cobie Smulders, David Lyons
Votes: 116,633 | Gross: $71.35M
30. About Time (I) (2013)
R | 123 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
At the age of 21, Tim discovers he can travel in time and change what happens and has happened in his own life. His decision to make his world a better place by getting a girlfriend turns out not to be as easy as you might think.
Director: Richard Curtis | Stars: Domhnall Gleeson, Rachel McAdams, Bill Nighy, Lydia Wilson
Votes: 386,270 | Gross: $15.32M
31. The Spectacular Now (2013)
R | 95 min | Drama, Romance
A hard-partying high school senior's philosophy on life changes when he meets the not-so-typical "nice girl."
Director: James Ponsoldt | Stars: Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley, Kyle Chandler, Jennifer Jason Leigh
Votes: 161,443 | Gross: $6.85M
32. In Your Eyes (2014)
Not Rated | 106 min | Fantasy, Romance
Two seemingly unconnected souls from different corners of the United States make a telepathic bond that allows them to see, hear and feel the other's experiences, creating a bond that apparently can't be broken.
Director: Brin Hill | Stars: Michael Stahl-David, Zoe Kazan, Mark Feuerstein, David Gallagher
Votes: 32,043
33. Hideaways (2011)
88 min | Fantasy, Thriller
James Furlong, motherless, discovered an extraordinary gift by accident which caused the death of his father and his grandmother.
Director: Agnès Merlet | Stars: Rachel Hurd-Wood, Harry Treadaway, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Susan Lynch
Votes: 2,858
34. Remember Sunday (2013 TV Movie)
TV-PG | 96 min | Drama, Romance
A lonely waitress meets a handsome, quirky jewelry store clerk who had a brain aneurysm and thus has short-term memory loss.
Director: Jeff Bleckner | Stars: Alexis Bledel, Zachary Levi, Merritt Wever, Barry Shabaka Henley
Votes: 12,195
35. Soldier's Girl (2003 TV Movie)
R | 112 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
The true story of the price a young soldier paid for falling in love with a transsexual night-club performer.
Director: Frank Pierson | Stars: Troy Garity, Lee Pace, Andre Braugher, Shawn Hatosy
Votes: 7,242
36. Love Actually (2003)
R | 135 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Follows the lives of eight very different couples in dealing with their love lives in various loosely interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London, England.
Director: Richard Curtis | Stars: Hugh Grant, Martine McCutcheon, Liam Neeson, Laura Linney
Votes: 531,789 | Gross: $59.70M
This is not a love story, it's a movie about love and a personal favorit
37. Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)
R | 123 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
A depressed musician reunites with his lover. However, their romance, which has already endured several centuries, is disrupted by the arrival of her uncontrollable younger sister.
Director: Jim Jarmusch | Stars: Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska, John Hurt
Votes: 108,218 | Gross: $1.88M
38. The Way He Looks (2014)
Not Rated | 96 min | Drama, Romance
Leonardo is a blind teenager searching for independence. His everyday life, the relationship with his best friend Giovana, and the way he sees the world change completely with the arrival of Gabriel.
Director: Daniel Ribeiro | Stars: Ghilherme Lobo, Fabio Audi, Tess Amorim, Lúcia Romano
Votes: 27,680 | Gross: $0.10M
39. The Best of Me (2014)
PG-13 | 118 min | Drama, Romance
A pair of former high school sweethearts reunite after many years when they return to visit their small hometown.
Director: Michael Hoffman | Stars: James Marsden, Michelle Monaghan, Luke Bracey, Liana Liberato
Votes: 77,488 | Gross: $26.76M
40. The Theory of Everything (2014)
PG-13 | 123 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
Stephen Hawking gets unprecedented success in the field of physics despite being diagnosed with motor neuron disease at the age of 21. He defeats awful odds as his first wife Jane aids him loyally.
Director: James Marsh | Stars: Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, Tom Prior, Sophie Perry
Votes: 482,420 | Gross: $35.89M
A true love story
41. Love, Rosie (2014)
R | 102 min | Comedy, Romance
Rosie and Alex have been best friends since they were 5, so they couldn't possibly be right for one another...or could they? When it comes to love, life and making the right choices, these two are their own worst enemies.
Director: Christian Ditter | Stars: Lily Collins, Sam Claflin, Christian Cooke, Jaime Winstone
Votes: 155,707 | Gross: $0.02M
42. The Age of Adaline (2015)
PG-13 | 112 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
A young woman, born at the turn of the 20th century, is rendered ageless after an accident. After many solitary years, she meets a man who complicates the eternal life she has settled into.
Director: Lee Toland Krieger | Stars: Blake Lively, Michiel Huisman, Harrison Ford, Kathy Baker
Votes: 203,490 | Gross: $42.48M
43. Me Before You (2016)
PG-13 | 110 min | Drama, Romance
A girl in a small town forms an unlikely bond with a recently-paralyzed man she's taking care of.
Director: Thea Sharrock | Stars: Emilia Clarke, Sam Claflin, Janet McTeer, Charles Dance
Votes: 287,499 | Gross: $56.25M
The book is amazing and the movie is really good too, impossible not to shed a tear
44. Some Freaks (2016)
Not Rated | 97 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A charming romance develops between a boy with one eye and an overweight girl, though when she loses her weight after going to college, their relationship is tested in devastating ways they never dreamed would happen.
Director: Ian MacAllister McDonald | Stars: Thomas Mann, Lily Mae Harrington, Ely Henry, Lachlan Buchanan
Votes: 2,080
A beautiful movie about two outsiders finding love.
Everyone is beautiful in one way or another and everyone deserves to be loved.
45. Outlander (2014– )
TV-MA | 60 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Claire Beauchamp Randall, a nurse in World War II, mysteriously goes back in time to Scotland in 1743. There, she meets a dashing Highland warrior and gets drawn into an epic rebellion.
Stars: Caitríona Balfe, Sam Heughan, Sophie Skelton, Richard Rankin
Votes: 179,263
46. This Is Us (2016–2022)
TV-14 | 45 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A heartwarming and emotional story about a unique set of triplets, their struggles, and their wonderful parents.
Stars: Milo Ventimiglia, Mandy Moore, Sterling K. Brown, Chrissy Metz
Votes: 159,394
47. The Shape of Water (2017)
R | 123 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
At a top secret research facility in the 1960s, a lonely janitor forms a unique relationship with an amphibious creature that is being held in captivity.
Director: Guillermo del Toro | Stars: Sally Hawkins, Octavia Spencer, Michael Shannon, Doug Jones
Votes: 447,907 | Gross: $63.86M
48. The Restaurant (2017– )
TV-14 | 60 min | Drama
Stockholm, the day of peace in Europe 1945. A spontaneous kiss between two strangers, during the celebration at Kungsgatan, will have major consequences.
Stars: Hedda Stiernstedt, Charlie Gustafsson, Anna Bjelkerud, Adam Lundgren
Votes: 5,694
49. Life Itself (2018)
R | 117 min | Drama, Romance
As a young New York City couple goes from college romance to marriage and the birth of their first child, the unexpected twists of their journey create reverberations that echo over continents and through lifetimes.
Director: Dan Fogelman | Stars: Oscar Isaac, Olivia Wilde, Annette Bening, Mandy Patinkin
Votes: 24,697 | Gross: $4.10M
50. A Star Is Born (2018)
R | 136 min | Drama, Music, Romance
A musician helps a young singer find fame as age and alcoholism send his own career into a downward spiral.
Director: Bradley Cooper | Stars: Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper, Sam Elliott, Greg Grunberg
Votes: 419,798 | Gross: $215.29M
51. Normal People (2020)
TV-14 | 28 min | Drama, Romance
Follows Marianne and Connell, from different backgrounds but the same small town in Ireland, as they weave in and out of each other's romantic lives.
Stars: Paul Mescal, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Desmond Eastwood, Aislín McGuckin
Votes: 91,244
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