Groundbreaking Romances
by ElMaruecan82 | created - 3 months ago | updated - 2 months ago | PublicThese movies pushed the boundaries of traditional romantic themes, exploring unconventional relationships and the complexities of love in innovative and thought-provoking ways.
Which one is your personal favorite?
After voting, you might discuss the list here
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1. Annie Hall (1977)
PG | 93 min | Comedy, Romance
Alvy Singer, a divorced Jewish comedian, reflects on his relationship with ex-lover Annie Hall, an aspiring nightclub singer, which ended abruptly just like his previous marriages.
Director: Woody Allen | Stars: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts, Carol Kane
Votes: 278,351 | Gross: $39.20M
A more realistic and complex portrayal of relationships, blending humor with introspection, with non-linear narrative and innovative storytelling to challenge the typical formula.
2. City Lights (1931)
G | 87 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
With the aid of a wealthy erratic tippler, a dewy-eyed tramp who has fallen in love with a sightless flower girl accumulates money to be able to help her medically.
Director: Charles Chaplin | Stars: Charles Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Florence Lee, Harry Myers
Votes: 196,021 | Gross: $0.02M
One of the earliest blends of comedy and romance making it a timeless and influential classic.
3. WALL·E (2008)
G | 98 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
In the distant future, a small waste-collecting robot inadvertently embarks on a space journey that will ultimately decide the fate of mankind.
Director: Andrew Stanton | Stars: Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, Jeff Garlin, Fred Willard
Votes: 1,200,143 | Gross: $223.81M
Minimal dialogue but all the power of animation for a poignant depiction of love between robots in a post-apocalyptic world.
4. Brief Encounter (1945)
Not Rated | 86 min | Drama, Romance
Meeting a stranger in a railway station, a woman is tempted to cheat on her husband.
Director: David Lean | Stars: Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard, Stanley Holloway, Joyce Carey
Votes: 44,219
A realistic portrayal of ordinary people's love with nuanced character development and innovative narrative structure devoid of any negative judgment toward infidelity.
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: 382,135 | Gross: $83.04M
For its exploration of a same-sex romantic relationship against the backdrop of societal norms and expectations.
6. Sayonara (1957)
Not Rated | 147 min | Drama, Romance
A US Air Force major in Kobe confronts his own opposition to marriages between American servicemen and Japanese women when he falls for a beautiful performer.
Director: Joshua Logan | Stars: Marlon Brando, Ricardo Montalban, Patricia Owens, James Garner
Votes: 7,695 | Gross: $26.30M
A love story between an American airman and a Japanese woman when cross-cultural relationships were taboo, addressing issues of racial prejudice and discrimination.
7. Moonlight (I) (2016)
R | 111 min | Drama
A young African-American man grapples with his identity and sexuality while experiencing the everyday struggles of childhood, adolescence, and burgeoning adulthood.
Director: Barry Jenkins | Stars: Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris, Trevante Rhodes, Alex R. Hibbert
Votes: 331,763 | Gross: $27.85M
Navigating themes of identity, masculinity, and love within the context of a non-traditional romance.
8. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
R | 108 min | Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi
When their relationship turns sour, a couple undergoes a medical procedure to have each other erased from their memories forever.
Director: Michel Gondry | Stars: Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Tom Wilkinson, Gerry Robert Byrne
Votes: 1,077,749 | Gross: $34.40M
Deep and thought-provoking exploration of memory, relationships, and the complexities of love, challenging conventional romantic narratives.
9. Her (2013)
R | 126 min | Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi
In a near future, a lonely writer develops an unlikely relationship with an operating system designed to meet his every need.
Director: Spike Jonze | Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, Scarlett Johansson, Rooney Mara
Votes: 669,428 | Gross: $25.57M
Innovative and prophetic exploration of human emotions and connections as a man falls in love with an artificial intelligence.
10. Amélie (2001)
R | 122 min | Comedy, Romance
Despite being caught in her imaginative world, Amelie, a young waitress, decides to help people find happiness. Her quest to spread joy leads her on a journey where she finds true love.
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet | Stars: Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz, Rufus, Lorella Cravotta
Votes: 794,094 | Gross: $33.23M
A whimsical and visually inventive portrayal of love and self-discovery with two lost souls turning into soulmates.
11. 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: 447,570 | Gross: $63.86M
An unconventional romantic relationship between a mute woman and an amphibious creature, challenging societal prejudices.
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: 339,193 | Gross: $5.54M
A realistic portrayal of a fleeting romantic encounter and its exploration of the impact that brief connections can have on our lives.
13. Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
R | 159 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A Manhattan doctor embarks on a bizarre, night-long odyssey after his wife's admission of unfulfilled longing.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Todd Field, Sydney Pollack
Votes: 375,008 | Gross: $55.69M
A navigation into the darker and more complex aspects of marriage and sexual desire.
14. Lost in Translation (2003)
R | 102 min | Comedy, Drama
A faded movie star and a neglected young woman form an unlikely bond after crossing paths in Tokyo.
Director: Sofia Coppola | Stars: Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Giovanni Ribisi, Anna Faris
Votes: 488,799 | Gross: $44.59M
A deep connection between two lonely individuals in a foreign land emphasizing the unspoken complexities of love.
15. A Patch of Blue (1965)
Unrated | 105 min | Drama, Romance
A blind, uneducated white girl is befriended by a black man who becomes determined to help her escape her impoverished and abusive home life by introducing her to the outside world.
Director: Guy Green | Stars: Sidney Poitier, Shelley Winters, Elizabeth Hartman, Wallace Ford
Votes: 9,534
A heartfelt connection between a blind white woman and a black man, contributing to discussions on race and disability in cinema.
16. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)
Approved | 108 min | Comedy, Drama
A couple's attitudes are challenged when their daughter introduces them to her African-American fiancé.
Director: Stanley Kramer | Stars: Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier, Katharine Hepburn, Katharine Houghton
Votes: 48,900 | Gross: $56.70M
One of the first mainstream Hollywood films that truly contributed to societal conversations about race and relationships.
17. They Live by Night (1948)
Passed | 95 min | Crime, Film-Noir, Romance
An escaped convict injured during a robbery falls in love with the woman who nurses him back to health, but their relationship seems doomed from the beginning.
Director: Nicholas Ray | Stars: Cathy O'Donnell, Farley Granger, Howard Da Silva, Jay C. Flippen
Votes: 9,354
An innovative approach to the crime and romance genres, focusing on the love story between two young outlaws, influencing later crime films.
18. Blue Is the Warmest Colour (2013)
NC-17 | 180 min | Drama, Romance
Adèle's life is changed when she meets Emma, a young woman with blue hair, who will allow her to discover desire and to assert herself as a woman and as an adult. In front of others, Adèle grows, seeks herself, loses herself, and ultimately finds herself through love and loss.
Director: Abdellatif Kechiche | Stars: Léa Seydoux, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Salim Kechiouche, Aurélien Recoing
Votes: 163,042 | Gross: $2.20M
A coming-of-age romance exploring the intense and passionate relationship between two young women, defying conventions with explicit material.
19. The Lunchbox (2013)
PG | 104 min | Drama, Romance
A mistaken delivery in Mumbai's famously efficient lunchbox delivery system connects a young housewife to an older man in the dusk of his life as they build a fantasy world together through notes in the lunchbox.
Director: Ritesh Batra | Stars: Irrfan Khan, Nimrat Kaur, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Lillete Dubey
Votes: 60,849 | Gross: $4.23M
An unconventional romance through the exchange of notes in lunchboxes, challenging traditional approaches to love.
20. Harold and Maude (1971)
PG | 91 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Young, rich, and obsessed with death, Harold finds himself changed forever when he meets lively septuagenarian Maude at a funeral.
Director: Hal Ashby | Stars: Ruth Gordon, Bud Cort, Vivian Pickles, Cyril Cusack
Votes: 81,838
A taboo-breaking portrayal of a romantic relationship between a young man, and an elderly woman, offering a unique and challenging exploration of platonic (?) love.
21. Pillow Talk (1959)
Passed | 102 min | Comedy, Romance
An interior decorator and a playboy songwriter share a telephone party line and size each other up.
Director: Michael Gordon | Stars: Rock Hudson, Doris Day, Tony Randall, Thelma Ritter
Votes: 19,163 | Gross: $18.75M
An innovative use of split-screen technology to explore romantic dynamics in a comedic way that became a staple of the modern romcom.
22. Talk to Her (2002)
R | 112 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
Two men share an odd friendship while they care for two women who are both in deep comas.
Director: Pedro Almodóvar | Stars: Rosario Flores, Javier Cámara, Darío Grandinetti, Leonor Watling
Votes: 117,477 | Gross: $9.36M
For its exploration of unconventional themes and deep emotions within male-female relationships.
23. The Handmaiden (2016)
Not Rated | 145 min | Drama, Romance, Thriller
A woman is hired as a handmaiden to a Japanese heiress, but secretly she is involved in a plot to defraud her.
Director: Park Chan-wook | Stars: Kim Min-hee, Ha Jung-woo, Cho Jin-woong, Moon So-ri
Votes: 172,623 | Gross: $2.01M
A groundbreaking romance in contemporary cinema for its visual style, intricate plot, and handling of themes of love and deception.
24. Summer with Monika (1953)
R | 96 min | Drama, Romance
A pair of teenagers meet one summer day, start a reckless affair and abandon their families to be with one another.
Director: Ingmar Bergman | Stars: Harriet Andersson, Lars Ekborg, Dagmar Ebbesen, Åke Fridell
Votes: 16,172
A challenging portrayal of a young couple's romantic escapades depicting a more explicit and naturalistic exploration of love and sexuality.
25. 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: 620,024 | Gross: $81.00M
For its charged storytelling, authentic portrayal of love across decades, setting a new standard for heartfelt cinematic romance
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