In honor of Valentine’s Day, how about a list of the most romantic moment? Not necessarily sexy, but definitely romantic.
Some of my choices (in no particular order):
Albert Brooks running after Meryl Streep’s shuttle in Defending Your Life
The Flying Elvises in Honeymoon in Vegas
Colin Firth’s proposal to Aurelia (in bad Portugese) in Love Actually
Also in Love Actually, Mark’s Christmas cards
The magic moment in The King and I during “Shall We Dance,” when the music pauses and the king says, “We do it again.”
The first closeup of Katherine Hepburn looking at Cary Grant in Bringing Up Baby (just after he tells her he’s engaged).
The final line of My Fair Lady. Yes, I know it sounds terribly sexist, especially out of context, but it is Higgins only way of expressing his feelings. It is akin to the final line in The Apartment, also a great moment.
In The General, when Buster Keaton finds his girl doing something stupid, he moves as though to throttle her, but kisses her instead.
This may not be quite what you’re thinking about, since the characters are never romantically involved, and can’t be anyway because of the age difference, but two scenes in the first X-Men movie have great emotional weight.
Both involve Logan and Rogue. First, there’s the scene in his truck, when she tells him people get hurt when she touches them. After a pause, she looks sideways at Logan and asks, “When they come out [meaning his claws]…does it hurt?” Slow pan up to Logan’s grim face as he replies, “Every time.”
Classic two-character scene: the runaway and the grifter. She could be referring to being abused, and he could be referring to 'Nam flashbacks. The beginnings of a bond right there. Later, when they’re on the train, the sight of him searching for the right words before he tells her Xavier will be understanding is more moving than the actual dialogue.
Romantic and funny: The reunion between Wesley and Buttercup in The Princess Bride. Buttercup is thrilled to see that Wesley came to her rescue and Wesley has been mostly dead all day.
The scene in Truly, Madly, Deeply when the ghost of Alan Rickman’s character is in the bedroom with Juliet Stevenson, and he appears to be blowing into his hand. She asks what he is doing and his response is, “warming my lips.” She had complained that he was cold since his “return,” and this scene, combined with Alan Rickman’s sexy gravelly voice, just did it for me. <swoon>
The scene in Heat when DeNiro is coming out of the hotel after killing the man who betrayed him. He is walking back to his car, where his girlfriend is waiting, haven chose to stay with him even though she knows what he is. He turns, and sees Pacino’s cop coming toward him. He looks at the girl one last time, and turns and walks away. The girl gets out of the car and stares after him.
The point being to emphasize the philosophy he had stated earlier in the movie, that in his business, you could “not let anything into your life that you would not be willing to leave behind in a split second when you feel the heat coming around the corner.”
I’d actually put two other westley/buttercup scenes from PB as more romantic… In order, the whole bit from when they’re arguing on the edge of the valley, she pushes the MIB down and then realizes that he’s westley and goes tumbling after him… ("You’re alive – if you want I can fly.) And then the beginning, when they have to say goodbye because westley is going abroad. (“Here this now – I will always come for you.”)
Just in case it isn’t a mistype: I think it’s hear this now. (Although the Zen of your rendition is nice too.)
The list could go on… When Buttercup has to think up an order for Wesley. “Farm Boy. Fetch me that pitcher.” (The one about an inch from her head.) “As you wish.” And the narrator explains that every time he was saying, “as you wish” he was really saying, “I love you,” or when Wesley surrenders in the fire swamp, knowing full well he will not be released… a very romantic book without being too sappy. Or rather, poking fun at it’s own sappiness.
I had forgotten about that one. (Also good, but NOT romantic: the scene with them in bed and he’s crying and puts her hand over his mouth while she’s sleeping. Intensely creepy!)
Another ‘romantic’ scene from a creepy movie… the scene in the silence of the lambs where Hannibal Lecter hands agent Starling the folder from the Buffalo Bill case through the bars of his temporary cell and runs his forefinger over her hand. I can’t find the line, but the look in his eyes is memorable.
DR. LECTER
Brave Clarice. Will you let me know
if ever the lambs stop screaming?
**CLARICE**
(moving closer to the bars)
Yes. I’ll tell you.
**DR. LECTER**
Promise...?
(she nods. He smiles)
Then why not take your case file? I
won't be needing it anymore.
He holds out the file, arm extended between the bars. She
hesitates, then reaches to take it.
VERY CLOSE ANGLE - SLOW MOTION
as the exchange is made, his index finger touches her hand,
and lingers there, just for a moment.
DR. LECTER'S EYES
widen, crackling at this touch, like sparks in a cave.
**DR. LECTER**
The end of Casablanca. Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Rilchiam, I agree, the Rogue/Wolverine dynamic in the first movie is wonderful.
[spoiler]When he takes off the glove and touches her…Damn.
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(The boards need a sniffley smilie)
