When typical film critics, (generally older white guys in their 50s who don’t get laid all that often or enjoy life for that matter), mention the best romance movies in film history, the same list of movies emerges – Casablanca, Gone with the Wind, Love Story, Annie Hall, blah, blah, blah. Yes, we all know those are great movies. Tell us something we don’t know.

This list contains great romance films you may have forgotten but all of them deserve a special place among your favorite movie memories. Now, if you find yourself alone on the 14th, just mentioning that you’ve seen some of these movies to someone new could make that connection with a potential future romance.

Or a future break up, you never know where those things lead. I’m just trying to be realistic.



HAROLD & MAUDE

Harold is a suicidal young man who falls for a vivacious 80-year-old woman named Maude. They connect when they both discover they enjoy attending funerals for people they don’t even know. But don’t let this dark description stop you from seeing this emotional milestone from the ‘70s.

Ruth Gordon and Bud Cort star in this classic May-December romance that is perhaps the most unlikely love story ever made. The result is a life-affirming tale that often leaves viewers in tears. Not me, but other people.



ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND

Wouldn’t it be amazing if you could erase the memory of a love gone wrong? This is the bizarre set up for this instant cult classic.

Director Michel Gondry pairs Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet in a doomed yet passionate affair as they fall for each other a second time. It’s perfect for anyone spending Valentine’s Day all alone.



WEST SIDE STORY

This is a musical that even men aren’t afraid to admit they love. This Romeo and Juliet retelling is set in 1960s New York with rival gangs influencing the fate of the great love between Tony and Maria.

If your girl’s name is Maria, you may find yourself singing this song by the end.



BEFORE SUNRISE and BEFORE SUNSET

Writer/director Richard Linklater has delivered two films that provide an intimate glimpse into an emotional affair. Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy have long conversations that delve deep into love, politics, superficiality and fleeting romance.

In Sunrise, the two meet and fall for each other instantly and we bear witness to their short time together. In Sunset, the two meet again after a decade, Hawke now an author signing a book that documents their initial meeting which, for him at least, was a life-changing event.

These two boldly honest films provide a realistic look at relationships from both sides.



KING KONG (original and Peter Jackson version)

Men love Kong for the action, women love Kong for the beast. You will believe a monkey can make a woman cry.



LAST TANGO IN PARIS

Marlon Brando and French hottie Maria Schneider begin a torrid affair involving hot sex and only one rule – no names. Featuring scintillating sex scenes and raw eroticism, this film should only be seen by couples who’ve already ventured into the "naked zone."

Save it for beyond the third date … or beyond. Warning: You’ll never look at butter the same way again.



THE AFRICAN QUEEN

Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn are reluctantly paired in this action-romance for classic film buffs. Sure, Bogart isn’t much to look at, but most likely, neither are you, which certainly provides some hope.



AS GOOD AS IT GETS

Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt prove that even the mentally ill can overcome adversity and learn to love. Simultaneously uplifting, sweet and outrageously funny.



THE PRINCESS BRIDE

The words, "As you wish," seem so hot after the steamy opening scenes between Robin Wright Penn and Cary Elwes. This fairy tale has a chewy and sweet romantic center appealing to the whole family.



THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN

Most film lovers might not consider a mad scientist who re-animates sewn together body parts in the interests of finding a bride for his monster as romantic, but look at the results!

Elsa Manchester is absolutely gorgeous as the female companion intended for Frankenstein’s monster. Her entrance is breathtaking and oddly sexy. If Goth is your thing, than there’s nothing more chilling and sentimental.



LOST IN TRANSLATION

A modern May-December romance that takes Bill Murray to Japan where hilarity ensues. There he meets a young and vulnerable married girl played by Scarlett Johansson.

This subtle romantic comedy provides perhaps the best opening shot for a film ever – Johansson’s behind in sheer underpants.



MANHATTAN

Not every relationship is going to end well, unless it’s in a movie. But if a dose of reality is something you don’t mind in a film every once in a while, Woody Allen’s movies are rife with doomed affairs.

While most would recommend something sweet from Woody like Annie Hall, his real gem is Manhattan. Allen’s black and white classic delivers sweet depression like nothing else.



MOULIN ROUGE

This tragic musical features Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor in an operatic tale of forbidden love. This glamorous modern fable is a feast for the eyes and the heart.

Yes, there’s a lot of singing and dancing, but guys, don’t let that scare you off – this film is guaranteed to leave female viewers in tears – and that’s where you come in …



STRIPES

Okay, this is not a traditional romantic film, but at it’s heart, this is like two romantic comedies – one starring Bill Murray and PJ Soles and the other starring Harold Ramis and Sean Young.

Murray is the suave ladies man who will stop at nothing for a laugh and to top it off, he’s a complete loser who has no other choice but to join the army. His casual cool gains the attention of PJ, apparently the hottest MP in the US Army.

The two discover additional uses for kitchenware in one of the film’s sweetest moments. You will never look at a spatula in the same way again.