BOGART and Bergman in “Casablanca.”
LAST VALENTINE’S Day, many viewers enhanced their romantic high with nostalgic rescreenings of well-loved films. Some enduringly popular choices:
“Casablanca.” Michael Curtis’ 1942 romantic drama is set during World War II and focuses on an American expatriate (Humphrey Bogart) who must choose between his love for a woman (Ingrid Bergman) and helping her husband (Paul Henreid) escape.
“An Affair to Remember.” Leo McCarthy’s 1957 film starring Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr is a remake of his 1937 hit, “Love Affair,” with Irene Dunn and Charles Boyer.
Its lead characters are involved with other people when they first meet—and agree to meet six months later at the Empire State Building in New York City if they have succeeded in ending their respective relationships.
When she doesn’t appear, he’s heartbroken. It turns out, however, that she was seriously injured in an accident—they meet up again years later, the truth is finally out—and love prevails!
“Dr. Zhivago.” David Lean’s 1965 adaptation of Boris Pasternak’s novel is a romantic tragedy set in revolutionary Russia, about the doomed love between a poet (Omar Sharif) and Lara (Julie Christie), the ex-wife of a Communist revolutionary (Tom Courtney).
“Cyrano de Bergerac.” An “ugly” man (Jose Ferrer) with a flair for words and a beautiful heart to match wins the love of lovely Roxane—but makes the tragic mistake of hiding behind the dashing visage of inarticulate Christian, whom she mistakenly end up loving.
“Roman Holiday.” William Wyler’s 1953 film made a star of Audrey Hepburn, who played a young European princess who goes incognito and crosses paths with an American reporter (George Peck). They fall for each other, but their story is ultimately about love lost, when “royal reality” intrudes.
“Titanic.” Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio play the tragic lovers in this tale of romance on a doomed luxury liner, which offers definitively dramatic proof that love conquers all—including society’s age-old social class structure—and strictures.
“When Harry Met Sally.” Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal’s characters are great at being bosom buddies, but romance intrudes and “ruins” everything—until they realize they can’t live without each other!
“It Happened One Night.” Frank Capra’s 1934 rom-com stars Claudette Colbert as a spoiled heiress and Clark Gable as a reporter—an extremely mismatched couple “surprised” to find themselves falling in love, against their best instincts!
“Gone With The Wind.” The iconic romantic epic set against the backdrop of the US Civil War topbills Gable and Vivien Leigh.
Adjusted for inflation, the 1939 production is still the most successful film in box-office history—which speaks volumes about its durable appeal and power!