Most movies are love stories, even if the romance is a secondary plotline. In classic romance films, directors know how to pull that love story to the forefront, creating couples who live on for decades.
Here are five directors who stand out for their work in classic romance:
Richard Linklater
After he broke onto the scene with his critically acclaimed period piece “Dazed and Confused,” Linklater moved onto romance with “Before Sunrise.” The first of a trilogy of love stories, “Before Sunrise” grabbed ahold of audiences and critics, as did its sequels “Before Sunset” and “Before Midnight.” Calling the latter “Linklater’s magnum opus,” FilmandFelt.com said of the trilogy, “While one can appreciate ‘Before Sunset’ without viewing its predecessor, the experience is infinitely more captivating if you’ve watched ‘Before Sunrise’ first. With these two pictures, Linklater has perfected his cinematic trademark: films set over a single day (or night).”
It’s that mastery of time, relationships, and romance that solidified Linklater’s status as one of the greater director of love stories working today.
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Woody Allen
This well-known director is responsible for such movies as “Manhattan,” “Annie Hall,” and “Husbands and Wives.” With sometimes wacky, off-the-wall plots and a guaranteed mix of humor,
this director made one IMDb list of greatest movie directors of all time. The Guardian ranked “Hannah and Her Sisters” the number seven best romantic film of all time.
“Typically, the perfectionist director was far from pleased with the movie,” the Guardian wrote. ‘Hannah and Her Sisters’ is a film I feel I screwed up very badly,’ he said later. It was the relatively happy ending that was to blame: ‘That was the part that killed me.’ But after all the characters have been through in pursuit of love and contentment, you couldn't say they hadn't earned it.”
Rob Reiner
Reiner is best known for mixing comedy and romance, which he does masterfully in “The Princess Bride.” He put a contemporary spin on the classic fairy tale, and his work on the movie has influenced a generation of filmmakers.
Reelviews.net wrote, “Since its release more than 15 years ago, ‘The Princess Bride’ has often been copied, but never equaled.”
Of course Reiner’s other significant love story is “When Harry Met Sally.” Starring Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan as friends who eventually fall in love, this film has made a significant impact on pop culture. Who doesn’t know the line “I’ll have what she’s having”?
James Cameron
Cameron’s most memorable film is also a timeless love story. When “Titanic” hit theaters it was a sensation, breaking box office records. Today, it ranks as the number two biggest box office hit of all time. It turned Leonardo DiCaprio into a mega-star while earning countless accolades and breaking Academy Award records.
As The New York Times noted, “‘Titanic,’ the James Cameron epic about a tragic love affair aboard the doomed ocean liner, glided triumphantly through the 70th annual Academy Awards tonight, winning 11 accolades, including best picture and the top director Oscars for Mr. Cameron.”
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Nick Cassavetes
Cassavetes’s greatest triumph will always be “The Notebook,” which brought audiences to tears with its riveting love story in 2004. Adapted from Nicholas Sparks’ best-selling novel, this movie has aged well over time, consistently topping rankings as one of the greatest love stories ever told.
US Weekly recently put it at number one, calling it the most romantic movie ever: “Ryan Gosling made women around the country swoon when he romanced Rachel McAdams in this 2004 flick based on the popular Nicholas Sparks novel about a couple who fall in love in the 1940s.”
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