DB7

Romance - has it gone with the wind?
We launch our search for the most romantic scene in cinema with a question: where did the love go?
Fay Weldon

We get the films we deserve. Today’s films, made by men for men – the industry’s target audience being males between 14 and 29 – echo the age. Noisy, full of bangs, crashes and special effects, no lingering kisses, little talk of love. No romance. Now that we can see everything on the porn channels why wait to get to the point? Why beat about the bush? Johnny Depp can look at a girl with soulful eyes, but you know he’s laughing at her. What romance there is, is tongue-in-cheek.

How can it be otherwise? True romance concerns itself with helpless women controlling strong men by the power of love, and women no longer want to be helpless, and men no longer need to be strong. Machines do it for them. And as for love, what’s it all about? A neurotic dependency, a serotonin buzz, a charge of unsafe chemicals to the brain? If an actor sees the line “I love you� in a script he’ll turn the part down. Too head-on, too embarrassing, too soppy. And what writer will write it?

Love’s there – there’s a good market for romantic comedy – but must be undermined for the single-household audience. More and more of us tough-minded cookies live alone. Bridget Jones’s Diary did well – a nice quirky female film – but hardly a weepie. The big knickers brought us back to reality just when the heart began to race, the breath to catch, the tear welled to the eye. Joan Crawford never wore big knickers: can you imagine Bette Davies getting fat, purposefully, for a romantic lead? We are left with the closing kiss between the uglies in Shrek, and are grateful for that.

For how we miss it, we job-crazed, gym-hungry girls. It’s hardwired in. How we remember the odd line, the odd romantic scene that slips through. Daniel Day-Lewis in Last of the Mohicans saying to Madeleine Stowe: “Just stay alive and I’ll find you.� The heart lurches. But then he started running. And running and running. Or that scene in the tent in Brokeback Mountain when Ennis and Jack realise they love each other? But what use is that in the heterosexual world?

Best stay in the past. When people left the cinema after Brief Encounter they were crying. When everyone was buttoned up, how thrilling the prospect of unbuttoning! In 1956 Deborah Kerr danced with Yul Brynner in The King and I – she so dainty with her full, full skirt and he clomping around her with his red, red sash and his bare brown torso. “Shall we dance? On a bright cloud of music shall we fly?� Consummation was impossible: that was the point.

Or way back to 1946, Powell and Pressburger’s I Know Where I'm Going, when Wendy Hiller’s ambitions, thought well lost for love, were sucked down into the whirlpool of desire. Accompanied by that simple, haunting song: “I know where I’m going, and I know who’s going with me.�

That was romance. Will we ever get such films again? I think not: we are all postFreudians now: we have lost our innocence. We are too knowing. Men have feet of clay: the capacity to adore is suspect. Weddings are out, sensible partnerships in. The future’s grim.

Of course there will always be blips of charm and happiness, little spurts of filmic genius. Richard Linklater’s Before Sunrise and Before Sunset devote themselves entirely to love, albeit in a talkative, Hollywood way. And it’s always unwise to predict the future. Surprising things happen. The Titanic sank. Jack died, but Rose lived. And didn’t Kate Winslet look a fine figure of romance on the prow of that doomed ship?

DB7

You’ll swoon, you’ll thrill. Times critics choose their 20 favourite scenes of romantic passion. Plus your chance to win all 20 movies on DVD

Our critics' choice of the 20 most romantic film scenes

The Way We Were Sydney Pollack, 1973

Barbra Streisand’s communist sees Robert Redford’s conservative across the street. As they hold each other, the pain of separation is etched indelibly on their faces.

Dirty Dancing Emile Adorlino, 1987

Bad boy Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze) gets romantic. He turns on the music, lights a few candles and introduces uptight Baby Houseman (Jennifer Grey) to the secret world of dry humping. Phwoor!

Gone With the Wind Victor Fleming, 1939

Among many options, what about Clark Gable’s Rhett Butler roughly kissing Vivien Leigh’s Scarlett O’Hara? “I want you to faint,� he says over her protests. “This is what you were meant for.�

Pillow Talk Michael Gordon, 1959

Scandalous at the time, the wonders of split-screen technology enable Rock Hudson and Doris Day to be shown naked in the bath (with an appropriate sudsy cover-up), separated only by a thin black line.

Now, Voyager Irving Rapper, 1942

Bette Davis is the middle-aged spinster on the balcony, gazing lovingly into the eyes of Italian smoothy Paul Henreid. He wants to marry her, but she says: “Don’t let’s ask for the moon. We have the stars.�

Brokeback Mountain Ang Lee, 2005

The perfect example of romantic longing, Lee’s film concludes as Heath Ledger’s ranch hand Ennis opens his trailer wardrobe to reveal two shirts belonging to his late lover Jack (Jake Gyllenhaal). It’s almost impossible to hold back the tears at the thought of their tragic affair.

Together Lukas Moodysson, 2000

A relationship that has been on the verge of breakdown throughout the film is reignited with a kiss right at the end. Later, Moodysson dropped uplifting endings – but this one made you want to hug a stranger.

Chasing Amy Kevin Smith, 1997 On a rainy New Jersey night Holden McNeil (Ben Affleck) makes a play for lesbian best friend Alyssa Jones (Joey Lauren Adams) with one of the most impassioned speeches in all of screen romance.

In the Mood for Love Wong Kar Wai, 2000

Sheltering from a Hong Kong downpour, Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung’s unconsummated love finally gets physical for one electrifying moment. With his hand clasping her arm before they part company for ever, it’s arguably the most sensual embrace cinema has seen.

Before Sunset Richard Linklater, 2004

Although his 1995 original Before Sunrise probably has the edge on all-over sweetness, it’s hard to beat the moment from Linklater’s sequel when the hipster American author Jesse (Ethan Hawke) is given an impromptu musical performance by the kooky French environmentalist Celine (Julie Delpy). They’ve been flirting playfully and guardedly all morning, and then she hits him with an acoustic version of Delpy’s own song A Waltz For a Night. She stares into his eyes while she sings: “My heart will stay yours until I die.� He gets the message. And so do we. Sigh.

Ghost Jerry Zucker, 1990

Starring Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore, then at the height of their Hollywod powers. When he reappears at the end, standing on a pathway made of clouds to say his final goodbye, she realises that true love does indeed last for ever. A film that summed up the feelgood Nineties.

Sideways Alexander Payne, 2004

Paul Giamatti and Virginia Madsen are sipping a couple of glasses of red late at night, sharing intimacies about their mutual passion for wine. Giamatti, ever the wine snob, gives an impassioned speech about the pinot grape, and it becomes clear that he’s talking about himself. “It’s a hard grape to grow. It’s thin-skinned, temperamental,� he says. “Pinot needs constant care and attention.� He soon realises that Virginia Madsen is falling for him. She lays her hand on his and smiles. He panics and blows the moment, but for a brief moment it’s absolutely perfect.

Four Weddings and a Funeral Mike Newell, 1994

They feel it in their fingers, we feel it in our toes. Love is all around as Andie MacDowell arrives, soaked through, on Hugh Grant’s doorstep. Their final kiss seals their love and sparks a generation of Richard Curtis-scripted romantic comedies.

Brief Encounter David Lean, 1945

In love but married to others, Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson end their affair in the café where they first met. He places a hand on her shoulder before walking out of her life. Her expression is heartbreaking.

West Side Story Robert Wise, 1961

Reformed Jet Tony (Richard Beymer) and virginal Latina love Maria (Natalie Wood) share an embrace moments before his violent death. “There’s a place for us,� sings Tony.

Love Story Arthur Hiller, 1970

What can be more romantic, in movie terms, than holding your dying lover? Such is the fate of Ryan O’Neal’s “preppy millionaire� as he cradles his cancer-stricken wife (Ali MacGraw) in hospital.

The King and I Walter Lang, 1956

Yul Brynner's King of Siam and Deborah Kerr’s English teacher finally fall into each others’ arms, dancing to the sound of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Shall we Dance? Their charisma sweeps you off your feet.

Monsoon Wedding Mira Nair, 2001

Wedding planner P. K. Dubey falls for Alice the maid. I particularly like the scene where Dubey watches Alice as she tries on the bride’s wedding jewellery. The simplicity of that moment is a potent contrast to the extravagance of the wedding surrounding them.

An Officer and a Gentleman Taylor Hackford, 1982

Pure Hollywood hokum, but all the more affecting for it, the finale is a glorious guilty pleasure: fresh from American Gigolo (1980), Richard Gere turns Romeo as he crosses the factory floor in his sparkling white naval uniform to claim his girl. Picking up Debra Winger's blue-collar lass he marches out to the sound of her cheering peers, as Jennifer Warnes and Joe Cocker's ballad reminds us that love lifts us up where we belong – just in case we hadn't already got that complex piece of symbolism.

Casablanca Michael Curtiz, 1942

On a rain-drenched airport tarmac, Humphrey Bogart's cynical Rick makes the ultimate sacrifice: providing safe passage for the Resistance hero Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid) and his wife Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman). Risking his own life, he gives up the woman he loved, while leaving generations of lovers with the phrase: ‘We'll always have Paris.’ Steven Soderbergh's failed attempt to emulate the scene in The Good German (2006) just goes to show they don't make 'em like they used to.

batman

TRULY MADLY DEEPLY
The most romantic British film of the past 20yrs. Featuring enduring love, lost love, new love .... all brilliantly acted, written and directed. One of the few films that have ever brought a tear to my eye. Simply ... a beautiful film.

Bats.

"Boom boom a baby .... Banham Zoo .... Banana pants! Hahahaha"

Carmel

you surprise me boy's talking about romantic film's, why dont you practice romance a bit more rather than watching it.

Rob Compton

I see - so it's all the fault of the male sex..... Oh yes, Fay Weldon - it would be wouldn't it?

rgds
Rob

Moor Larkin

Whenever I have wind, I always find the romance has gone.....

[code]http://www.flickr.com/photos/29487363@N02/sets/72157606700675506/code]

Phil Turner

Not British I know, but my favourite romantic scenes of all time came in Now Voyager and Casablanca. Bette Davis' immortal line, "Don't let's ask for the moon, we have the stars," was delivered so perfectly. The parting scene in Casablanca also never fails to move me.

Regards
Phil Turner

foha80

This one does it for me,I can't find fault with this film.

Terry

Steve Crook

They have to watch it so that they know what to do before they can practice it.
And then they have to find one of the rare ladies that won't laugh when they make make their grand Romantic Gesture

Steve

P.S. You appear to be having a surfeit of misplaced apostrophe's

silverwhistle

Fay, Fay, what a repulsive concept! Is there no room in your vision for wise-cracking, strong women Ã* la Katharine Hepburn, who were equally matched with (or completely outclassed) their menfolk in '30s romantic comedies? (I'd rather jump in the river than watch the likes of Bridget Jones or Richard Curtis rom-coms!)

And real romantic heroines are powerful and can be destructive, going back to real mediæval romance: Kriemhild in Fritz Lang's Die Nibelungen: Kriemhilds Rache, destroying her brothers in vengeance for her first husband's death; Guenevere (in most Arthurian versions). Their modern-world film descendants are more like the hard-boiled film noir dames who bring trouble in their wake.

Modern definitions of 'romance' seem hung up on "the happy ending", and an avoidance of tragedy, much like the genre-romance novel.

"Trust me, I'm a doctor...!"

batman

'Happy' romantic endings, while sometimes allowing you to exit a film with a smile on your face, for me lack the power of stories which conclude with unconsummated or lost love. Apart from the grief suffered by a bereavement, I believe the most powerful emotion anyone could ever experience is that of a lost love. My rationale is that 'happiness' through love/romance in all it's forms is positive and that this can carry on unabated throughout countless manifestations ... romantic love, love for children, family love etc .... to lose it (especially suddenly) is traumatic, painful and dangerous. Therefore, all one's strength is required to even contemplate carrying on. I am not knocking 'happiness', I have a happy marriage and I love my son beyond words .... but drama about people who are always happy is usually a non-starter, throw a few problems into the works and that's where the interesting stuff starts, especially if there is no 'happy ending'.

Bats.

"Boom boom a baby .... Banham Zoo .... Banana pants! Hahahaha"

DB7

Groundhog Day, The Graduate or Some Like it Hot is as about romantic as I get; weepies are for those with more erratic hormones.

Wolfgang

I do not have much time for old fashioned weepies, I like to see man and woman prove their love.

silverwhistle

I agree entirely, and I think this is what has killed mainstream romance as a film and fictional genre: it's become afraid of straying into darker territory. It's got hung up on being a compensatory form of escapist fantasy. The genre-romance novel, especially in the US, has to have a happy ending, or it's not classed as a 'real' romance, and many of the readers refuse to read books that don't provide the "feelgood" ending. I think an over-reliance on explicit sex also kills it. (I like to relate to fictional characters as a friend, not as their gynæcologist!)

Of the more recent romantic films, one of the few that worked for me is Moulin Rouge, OTT musical and comedy elements included, because, at heart, it was still basically La Dame aux Camélias (with a few elements from Murger's Scènes de la Vie de Bohème and its Puccini musical version, which Luhrmann had previously directed), and did not spare the heroine's life.

There have to be real threats and obstacles, and if there's a happy ending, it must be earned by the characters getting through them. (Perhaps this is why some of the gay and lesbian romances, such as Sarah Water's stories, are now more effective, because there are still often serious barriers to overcome?) It's also why Gothic/vampire type stories also still work, because there are life-and-death issues at stake. (Pun intended.) And Casablanca, of course, where it's a matter of the girl or the cause.

"Trust me, I'm a doctor...!"

Carmel

You seem to be having trouble in the romantic gestures.