Let’s face it: inside of all of us is the soul of a hopeless romantic. And sometimes movies can touch that soul with tender words, longing looks, or special moments between characters. This thread is a celebration of those wonderful scenes that are part of what make movies truly magic. To kick it off, here’s my pick:
#100: In 1986’s “Parting Glances”, Steve Buscemi’s character, Nick, asks his friend if he’s ever been in love. “Once,” his friend admits.
“And then he died, right?” Nick asks cynically. “No,” says his friend, “he’s right here.” And then he points at Nick.
Rhett Butler grabbing Scarlett and carrying her up that grand stairway, into the darkness. Then, next morning, she’s stretching in bed and singing to herself.
#97, I guess. The parting of the two lovers in “Brief Encounter”. It’s difficult not to be moved since you know they will never see each other again. The couple realizes too that their lives will be all the poorer for it.
I know all you purists are going to jump my shit about this, but the Barbra Streisand/Kris Kristofersen version of “A Star Is Born” is one of my cry-from-beginning-to-end movies. In particular, when he goes racing off in his car, listening to her tape…and then when she goes running into the next room, thinking he’s playing – and it turns out to be a tape. But the whole thing is romantic. (sniff!)
I like this scene from Sense and Sensibility
Marianne (Kate Winslet) is recovering from her illness after her horrible end with Willoughby and she is sitting out on her lawn and Col. Brandon (Alan Rickman) is reading poetry to her.
The scene where Frankie and Johnny kiss in front of a truck. The movie has been very grey and miserable, these two sad people. They kiss and kiss and the back of the truck flies up and they are kissing in front of vibrant flowers.
It may seem a bit corny, but the scene from Singin’ In the Rain where Gene Kelly takes Debbie Reynolds to the empty soundstage because he can’t tell her how much he loves her without “the proper setting.” And then he sings, “You Were Meant for Me.”
sigh
The best part of the whole thing is how he looks at her so intently.
The first New Year Eve scene, in the middle of the movie, where they are just friends. Harry has just shaved off his beard. They are dancing and Sally says it’s so nice to dance cheek to cheek with him now and rubs her cheek against his. Billy Crystal’s expression just makes my toes curl each and every time I see this. So full of unexpected longing, that he has to close his eyes.
I’ll second John Cusack holding the boombox in Say Anything (which would have been my first choice) and add a scene from Punch-Drunk Love. Adam Sandler is leaving Emily Watson’s apartment, and Watson calls down to the main lobby to tell him something to the effect of how much she wanted to kiss him while he stood in her doorway. The two characters are just so socially awkward that it’s wonderful when they finally break through to each other.
DeVena, I’ll go you one better–the speech at the second New Years’ party in When Harry Met Sally, when he tells her all the things he loves about her. Makes me weep every time.
#?? The Scarlet Pimpernel - At Lord Grenville’s ball, Marguerite St. Juste (Jane Seymour) risks everything to warn The Scarlet Pimpernel (Anthony Andrews) that Chauvelin (Ian McKellen) knows he will be in the library at midnight; all the while not knowing that The Scarlet Pimpernel is her husband, Sir Percy Blakeney. In a whispered conversation, with her back to him as not to reveal his identity, Percy learns the truth about his wife’s past actions, and loves her once again with a moving intensity. Reaching for her shoulder he touches her, and she him, solidifying their bond and leading to Marguerite’s realization about her husband.
The whispering, the costumes, the firelight… romance!