Romantic movies can get a bad rep and quickly be relegated to the ranks of poorly executed romantic comedies. However, true lovers of the genre know that many of the most beautiful, touching, and thoughtful movies ever made fall into the category of romance. It doesn't always have to be about tropes that have been beaten to a pulp, something that tends to be forgotten.
Many producers and directors found a way to create spectacular stories about romantic love that hit home for a lot of people. And the proof is in the pudding - plenty of films within this scope rank high up in websites like Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb, and have won their fair share of critical acclaim and audience affection. Let's take a look at some of these movies, with an emphasis on those that audiences particularly enjoyed, according to the Rotten Tomatoes audience scores.
Shakespeare in Love - Audience Score 80%
Shakespeare has crafted some of the most epic love stories ever, so it's no wonder that his plays have been portrayed on screen time and time again, always with a fresh new twist thrown in the mix.
1998's Shakespeare In Love did a wonderful job of paying homage to the English writer while still creating its own narrative. Bits and pieces of "Romeo and Juliet" are present throughout the movie, making the relationship between the two leads even more exciting and enticing to watch.
Her - Audience Score 82%
A love story between a human and a highly developed AI doesn't exactly seem like the most romantic premise out there. And yet, 2013's Her proved everyone wrong and swept critics and audiences' off their feet.
Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johansson deliver some of their most impressive acting to date, and although heartbreaking, Her turned the genre on its head, proving that love truly knows no bounds - not even physical ones.
Lost In Translation - Audience Score 85%
Scarlet Johansson seems to be a recurring theme in successful romantic movies. Yet another great example is Sofia Coppola's Lost In Translation, which cemented the director's status as one of the most unique in Hollywood.
Coppola won the Academy Award for Best Writing, Original Screenplay in 2004 for her wonderful take on a fleeting romance between two lost souls. The movie resonated with audiences due to its raw and mellow nature and catapulted Johansson to stardom thanks to her wonderful performance.
Sense and Sensibility - Audience Score 90%
Jane Austen was doing her own brand of romance before it was cool. The 18th-century writer gifted readers with classics such as "Pride and Prejudice", "Emma", "Persuasion", and, of course, the timeless classic "Sense and Sensibility".
The 1995 movie adaptation starred Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet as the loving yet completely different sister, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, and their trials and tribulations throughout the path of romance, pain, and loss.
The Best Years of Our Lives - Audience Score 93%
This 1946 romance and drama captivated audiences and critics so much, it ended up winning a whopping seven Academy Awards during the 1947 awards season, amongst many other honors.
The Best Years of Our Lives is the gripping tale of three World War II veterans that find out just how much things and people can change after the war, distance, and pain have taken over their hearts and lives.
Gone With The Wind - Audience Score 93%
There's not a single soul on this Earth that hasn't at least heard of the classic movie Gone With The Wind. With a running time of four hours, it's pretty impressive how popular and iconic it became.
Starring Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh in what were arguably the best roles of their respective lives, the movie is a gripping tale of love, loss, and toxic relationships against the backdrop of a devastating civil war.
It Happened One Night - Audience Score 93%
The 1934 classic It Happened One Night is the movie audiences everywhere have to thank for being a precursor to the romantic comedy genre that has become so popular over the last couple of decades.
The classic boy meets girl soon spirals into the heartwarming development of a relationship between a bored rich woman and a reporter that's actually looking for a story. Charming as very few movies manage to be!
Before Sunrise - Audience Score 93%
Writer and director Richard Linklater took a big risk when he decided to create a movie that would consist of nothing else but two characters talking. Just talking - about life, love, death, philosophy, and everything in between.
The story of Jesse and Céline, and the desire to know what would happen to them after that day they spent together falling in love in Vienna, resulted in two more movies and a love story for the ages.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - Audience Score 94%
Can you really escape love? If the concept of a soulmate is actually real, is it possible to resist the pull and walk away from that person, no matter how hard life tries to keep you together?
The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind attempts somewhat to answer these questions, resulting in a tragically beautiful and incredibly real tale about lost love and the importance of timing.
The Princess Bride - Audience Score 94%
This 1987 movie became a classic beloved by pretty much everyone who had a chance to watch it. Stepping away from the more classic themes that tend to surround romantic movies, The Princess Bride almost becomes its own genre.
Pirates, vengeance, and fantasy set the stage for what became one of the most iconic love stories not only of the 80s but of all time.
