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  3. 10 Classic Movie Romances: Critics' Choice!

10 Classic Movie Romances: Critics' Choice!

Rick and Ilsa, Jack and Rose, Ennis and Jack -- Lisa Schwarzbaum and Owen Gleiberman name their picks for the best big-screen love stories
By Owen Gleiberman and Lisa Schwarzbaum Updated February 10, 2011 at 05:00 PM EST
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10. Before Sunset (2004)

Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy, ... | BEFORE SUNSET (2004) Set nine years after 1995's Before Sunrise , Richard Linklater's Before Sunset relishes the simple power of words. Like its predecessor, SunsetÂ…
Credit: Emilie De La Hosseraye

Jesse and Celine
Nine years after they spent a night wandering through Vienna, Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy reunite in the blissed-out, even-more-entrancing sequel to Before Sunrise. —OG

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9. In the Mood for Love (2001)?

Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, ...
Credit: Everett Collection

Chow Mo-Wan and Mrs. Chan
Set in a dreamscape Hong Kong in 1962, Wong Kar-wai's hothouse tale of erotic push and pull between a couple whose own spouses are having an affair makes a passionate case for the sexiness of restraint. —LS

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8. Summertime (1955)?

Rossano Brazzi, Katharine Hepburn, ... | Renato and Jane Katharine Hepburn and Venice: two names that spell romance. See it for Kate's touching performance as an aging lonelyheart who gets oneÂ…
Credit: Everett Collection

Renato and Jane
Katharine Hepburn and Venice: two names that spell romance. See it for Kate's touching performance as an aging lonelyheart who gets one last chance at love. —OG

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7. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)?

It's a Wonderful Life, Donna Reed, ... | George and Mary What makes the life of George Bailey (James Stewart) wonderful is his perky librarian wife (Donna Reed). When George breaks down onÂ…
Credit: Everett Collection

George and Mary
What makes the life of George Bailey (James Stewart) wonderful is his perky librarian wife (Donna Reed). When George breaks down on the telephone and tells her he loves her, it's one of the most wrenching romantic moments in Hollywood history. —Owen Gleiberman

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6. WALL-E (2008)?

WALL-E | WALL-E (2008) Pixar's riskiest film yet. For the better part of Wall-E 's first 40 minutes, there is no dialogue. Just the indecipherable noises madeÂ…

WALL-E and EVE
In a wasteland future, two robots demonstrate love?s finest, most essential qualities in one of the movies' most profound meditations on compassion and commitment. —LS

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5. Brokeback Mountain (2005)

Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, ...
Credit: Everett Collection

Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist
Love and desire ?surprise a couple forced to hide their longing. The love ?affair — between two cowboys — is specific. Our empathy is universal. —LS

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4. Notorious (1946)

Notorious, Cary Grant, ... | Devlin and Alicia Cary Grant, as a secret agent, and Ingrid Bergman, as the daughter of a Nazi spy, enjoy one of the longest kissesÂ…
Credit: Everett Collection

Devlin and Alicia
Cary Grant, as a secret agent, and Ingrid Bergman, as the daughter of a Nazi spy, enjoy one of the longest kisses in screen history in Hitchcock's gorgeous dark swoon of an espionage thriller. —OG

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3. Annie Hall (1977)

Annie Hall, Diane Keaton, ... | Alvy and Annie The neurotic romance between Woody Allen's wisecracking Alvy Singer and Diane Keaton's adorable Annie Hall captures the fleeting, melancholy beauty of modernÂ…
Credit: Everett Collection

Alvy and Annie
The neurotic romance between Woody Allen's wisecracking Alvy Singer and Diane Keaton's adorable Annie Hall captures the fleeting, melancholy beauty of modern relationships. —OG

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2. Titanic (1997)

Titanic, Kate Winslet, ... | Will James Cameron ever make a 2-D film (like Titanic , pictured) again? ''Why would I do that?'' the director asks.
Credit: Merie W. Wallace

Jack and Rose
James Cameron's sweeping saga set aboard a sinking ship is an old-fashioned epic brilliantly adapted to set modern hearts beating. Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Rose's (Kate Winslet) hearts will go on. —LS

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1. Casablanca (1942)

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Credit: Everett Collection

Rick and Ilsa
Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman — Rick and Ilsa forever! — will always have Paris. We will always have one of the grandest, most quotable love stories ever told. —Lisa Schwarzbaum

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    1 of 10 10. Before Sunset (2004)
    2 of 10 9. In the Mood for Love (2001)?
    3 of 10 8. Summertime (1955)?
    4 of 10 7. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)?
    5 of 10 6. WALL-E (2008)?
    6 of 10 5. Brokeback Mountain (2005)
    7 of 10 4. Notorious (1946)
    8 of 10 3. Annie Hall (1977)
    9 of 10 2. Titanic (1997)
    10 of 10 1. Casablanca (1942)

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