Top Ranked Romantic Drama Films

These are all the films mentioned in our survey of internet polls that I would consider romance-dramas, 231 in all, 160 in the top 1000. Some obviously have humor and were listed as drama-comedy, but I considered the overall impact of the film. There are nine best picture winners here.


1. All About Eve [Mankiewicz, Joseph L., 1950] #33 -US [photo top] [AA]
2. Sunrise [Murnau, F.W., 1928] #38 -US [this is a beautiful silent film, winning a special Oscar® for 'artistic film', it's #12 overall on the critics 1000]
3. Casablanca [Curtiz, Michael, 1942] #47 -US [AA]
4. Jules et Jim [Truffaut, François, 1961] #59 -France
5. The Apartment [Wilder, Billy, 1960] #65 -US [AA]
6. Contempt [Godard, Jean-Luc, 1963] #74 -France-Italy
7. Gone with the Wind [Fleming, Victor, 1939] #80 -US [AA]
8. Piano, The [Campion, Jane, 1993] #81 -Australia
9. La Dolce vita [Fellini, Federico, 1960] #99 -Italy
10. La Strada [Fellini, Federico, 1954] #113 -Italy
11. Rebecca [Hitchcock, Alfred, 1940] #122 -US [AA]
12. Brief Encounter [Lean, David, 1945] #127 -UK
13. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington [Capra, Frank, 1939] #128 -US
14. A Streetcar Named Desire [Kazan, Elia, 1951] #150 -US
15. Red Shoes, The [Powell, Michael/Emeric Pressburger, 1948] #156 -UK
16. My Life to Live (Vivre sa vie) [Godard, Jean-Luc, 1962] #160 -France
17. Great Expectations [Lean, David, 1946] #180 -UK
18. Persona [Bergman, Ingmar, 1966] #186 -Sweden
19. L'Avventura [Antonioni, Michelangelo, 1960] #188 -Italy-France
20. Viridiana [Buñuel, Luis, 1961] #212 -Spain
21. Belle de jour [Buñuel, Luis, 1967] #214 -France-Italy
22. Two or Three Things I Know About Her [Godard, Jean-Luc, 1966] #215 -France
23. Last Year at Marienbad [Resnais, Alain, 1961] #216 -France-Italy
24. All That Heaven Allows [Sirk, Douglas, 1955] #235 -US
25. Pandora's Box [Pabst, G.W., 1928] #251 -Germany

26. Days of Heaven [Malick, Terrence, 1978] #264 -US
27. Earrings of Madame de..., The [Ophuls, Max, 1953] #268 -France
28. In the Mood for Love [Wong Kar-Wai, 2001] #272 -Hong Kong-France [photo rt]
29. Blue Angel, The [von Sternberg, Josef, 1930] #273 -Germany
30. Gertrud [Dreyer, Carl Theodor, 1964] #276 -Denmark
31. Last Picture Show, The [Bogdanovich, Peter, 1971] #283 -US
32. Hiroshima mon amour [Resnais, Alain, 1959] #284 -France-Japan
33. Roman Holiday [Wyler, William, 1953] #302 -US
34. Raise the Red Lantern [Zhang Yimou, 1991] #303 -Hong Kong
35. L'Eclisse [Antonioni, Michelangelo, 1962] #305 -France-Italy
36. Lola Montès [Ophüls, Max, 1955] #309 -France
37. Five Easy Pieces [Rafelson, Bob, 1970] #310 -US
38. Repulsion [Polanski, Roman, 1965] #311 -UK
39. Tristana [Buñuel, Luis, 1970] #315 -France-Spain
40. Written on the Wind [Sirk, Douglas, 1956] #317 -US
41. Letter from an Unknown Woman [Ophüls, Max, 1948] #336 -US
42. Last Tango in Paris [Bertolucci, Bernardo, 1973] #337 -France-Italy
43. Senso [Visconti, Luchino, 1954] #353 -Italy
44. Crowd, The [Vidor, King, 1928] #362 -US
45. La Notte [Antonioni, Michelangelo, 1961] #363 -France-Italy
46. Orpheus [Cocteau, Jean, 1950] #364 -France
47. Red Desert [Antonioni, Michelangelo, 1964] #388 -France-Italy
48. Imitation of Life [Sirk, Douglas, 1959] #391 -US
49. Lola [Demy, Jacques, 1961] #394 -France
50. Black Narcissus [Powell, Michael/Emeric Pressburger, 1946] #412 -UK [photo rt]

51. Double Life of Veronique, The [Kieslowski, Krszystof, 1991] #418 -France 52. Marriage of Maria Braun, The [Fassbinder, Rainer Werner, 1979] #426 -Germany
53. Closely Watched Trains [Menzel, Jirí, 1966] #427 -Czechoslovakia
54. Mildred Pierce [Curtiz, Michael, 1945] #445 -US
55. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? [Nichols, Mike, 1966] #446 -US
56. Breaking the Waves [von Trier, Lars, 1996] #449 -Den-Swe-Fr-Neth-Norway
57. Only Angels Have Wings [Hawks, Howard, 1939] #451 -US
58. Now, Voyager [Rapper, Irving, 1942] #452 -US
59. River, The [Renoir, Jean, 1951] #453 -US-India
60. Brokeback Mountain [Lee, Ang, 2005] #454 -US
61. Farewell, My Concubine [Chen Kaige, 1993] #456 -Hong Kong-China
62. Y Tu Mamá También [Cuarón, Alfonso, 2001] #470 -Mexico
63. Passenger, The [Antonioni, Michelangelo, 1975] #472 -Italy
64. In the Realm of the Senses [Oshima, Nagisa, 1976] #479 -France-Japan
65. Life of Oharu, The [Mizoguchi, Kenji, 1952] #480 -Japan
66. Floating Clouds [Naruse, Mikio, 1955] #482 -Japan
67. Saturday Night and Sunday Morning [Reisz, Karel, 1960] #485 -UK
68. Day of Wrath [Dreyer, Carl Theodor, 1943] #488 -Denmark
69. That Obscure Object of Desire [Buñuel, Luis, 1977] #496 -France-Spain
70. My Night at Maud's [Rohmer, Eric, 1969] #498 -France
71. Talk to Her [Almodóvar, Pedro, 2002] #500 -Spain
72. Wrestler, The [Aronofsky, Darren, 2008] #506 -US
73. Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors [Parajanov, Sergei, 1964] #509 -USSR
74. Cat People [Tourneur, Jacques, 1942] #516 -US
75. El [Buñuel, Luis, 1953] #520 -Mexico

76. Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, The [Fassbinder, Rainer Werner, 1972] #525 -Germany
77. Wedding March, The [von Stroheim, Erich, 1928] #527 -US
78. Charulata [Ray, Satyajit, 1964] #530 -India
79. In a Year with 13 Moons [Fassbinder, Rainer Werner, 1978] #538 -West Germany
80. East of Eden [Kazan, Elia, 1955] #550 -US
81. Servant, The [Losey, Joseph, 1963] #560 -UK
82. Limelight [Chaplin, Charles, 1952] #569 -US
83. I Vitelloni [Fellini, Federico, 1953] #593 -Italy
84. An Actor's Revenge [Ichikawa, Kon, 1963] #600 -Japan
85. An Affair to Remember [McCarey, Leo, 1957] #602 -US
86. Our Daily Bread [Vidor, King, 1934] #603 -US
87. Moment of Innocence, A [Makhmalbaf, Mohsen, 1996] #607 -Iran-France-Switz
88. I Know Where I'm Going! [Powell, Michael/Emeric Pressburger, 1945] #608 -UK
89. Some Came Running [Minnelli, Vincente, 1958] #609 -US
90. Love Streams [Cassavetes, John, 1984] #617 -US
91. Lancelot du Lac [Bresson, Robert, 1974] #630 -France-Italy
92. Age of Innocence, The [Scorsese, Martin, 1993] #632 -US
93. Fellini's Casanova [Fellini, Federico, 1976] #635 -Italy
94. After Hours [Scorsese, Martin, 1985] #641 -US
95. India Song [Duras, Marguerite, 1975] #642 -France
96. Lolita [Kubrick, Stanley, 1962] #651 -UK
97. Three Colours: Blue [Kieslowski, Krszystof, 1993] #655 -France-Poland-Switz
98. Teorema [Pasolini, Pier Paolo, 1968] #659 -Italy
99. Devil is a Woman, The [von Sternberg, Josef, 1935] #660 -US
100. sex, lies, and videotape [Soderberg, Steve, 1989] #665 -US

101. Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The [Fincher, David, 2008] #667 -US
102. Before Sunset [Linklater, Richard, 2004] #668 -US
103. Walkabout [Roeg, Nicolas, 1971] #674 -Australia [photo rt - this is one of my favorite films]
104. Spring in a Small Town [Fei Mu, 1948] #675 -China
105. La Chienne [Renoir, Jean, 1931] #678 -Japan-China
106. Heiress, The [Wyler, William, 1949] #697 -US
107. Bad and the Beautiful, The [Minnelli, Vincente, 1952] #698 -US
108. Bigger Than Life [Ray, Nicholas, 1956] #699 -US
109. Best of Youth, The [Giordana, Marco Tullio, 2003] #702 -Italy
110. Dames du Bois de Boulogne, Les [Bresson, Robert, 1945] #704 -France
111. Passion [Godard, Jean-Luc, 1982] #705 -France-Switz
112. Sawdust and Tinsel [Bergman, Ingmar, 1953] #716 -Sweden
113. Sauve qui peut (la vie) [Godard, Jean-Luc, 1980] #718 -France-Switz
114. Angel [Lubitsch, Ernst, 1937] #720 -US
115. Brighter Summer Day, A [Yang, Edward, 1991] #722 -Taiwan
116. From Here to Eternity [Zinnemann, Fred, 1953] #728 -US [AA]
117. Splendor in the Grass [Kazan, Elia, 1961] #736 -US
118. Stromboli [Rossellini, Roberto, 1950] #741 -Italy
119. Once [Carney, John, 2006] #745 -Ireland
120. Tarnished Angels, The [Sirk, Douglas, 1958] #763 -US
121. La Belle Noiseuse [Rivette, Jacques, 1991] #781 -France
122. Gilda [Vidor, Charles, 1946] #786 -US
123. Good Will Hunting [Van Sant, Gus, 1997] #791 -US
124. Little Women [Armstrong, Gillian, 1994] #799 -US
125. Dangerous Liaisons [Frears, Stephen, 1988] #802 -US

126. Night of the Shooting Stars, The [Taviani, Paolo & Vittorio Taviani, 1982] #803 -Italy
127. Barefoot Contessa, The [Mankiewicz, Joseph L., 1954] #810 -US
128. Howards End [Ivory, James, 1992] #813 -UK
129. Cleo from 5 to 7 [Varda, Agnès, 1962] #817 -France
130. Pickup on South Street [Fuller, Sam, 1953] #823 -US
131. Ronde, La [Ophüls, Max, 1950] #826 -France
132. Princess Yang Kwei Fei (Yokihi) [Mizoguchi, Kenji, 1955] #829 -Japan-Hong Kong
133. Morocco [von Sternberg, Josef, 1930] #831 -US
134. Two English Girls [Truffaut, François, 1971] #851 -France
135. Amants du Pont-Neuf, Les [Carax, Lèos, 1991] #852 -France
136. Happiness [Solondz, Todd, 1998] #865 -US
137. Liebelei [Ophüls, Max, 1933] #868 -Germany
138. Titanic [Cameron, James, 1997] #874 -US [AA]
139. Cranes Are Flying, The [Kalatozishvili, Mikheil, 1957] #876 -Russia
140. America, America [Kazan, Elia, 1963] #883 -US
141. In the Bedroom [Field, Todd, 2001] #888 -US
142. Law of Desire [Almodóvar, Pedro, 1987] #890 -Spain
143. Flowers of Shanghai [Hou Hsiao-Hsien, 1998] #898 -Taiwan
144. Woman Next Door, The [Truffaut, François, 1981] #908 -France
145. Under the Sand [Ozon, Francois, 2000] #914 -France
146. Peter Ibbetson [Hathaway, Henry, 1935] #916 -US
147. Red Sorghum [Zhang Yimou, 1987] #921 -China
148. Sweet Sixteen [Loach, Ken, 2002] #929 -UK-Gy-Spain
149. Of a Thousand Delights [Visconti, Luchino, 1965] #935 -Italy
150. Queen Kelly [von Stroheim, Erich, 1929] #939 -US

151. Murmur of the Heart [Malle, Louis, 1971] #940 -France
152. Camille [Cukor, George, 1936] #943 -US
153. Ju Dou [Zhang Yimou, 1990] #958 -France
154. Three Colours: White [Kieslowski, Krszystof, 1994] #959 -France-Poland
155. Scenes from a Marriage [Bergman, Ingmar, 1973] #960 -Sweden
156. New York, New York [Scorsese, Martin, 1977] #966 -US
157. Early Summer (Bakushû) [Ozu, Yasujiro, 1951] #978 -Japan
158. Flaming Creatures [Smith, Jack, 1963] #981 -US
159. Crash [Cronenberg, David, 1996] #988 -Canada
160. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring [Ki-duk Kim, 2003] #992 -Korea-Gy
161. Mädchen in Uniform [Sagan, Leontine, 1931] #1007 -Germany
162. Intruder, The (L'innocent) [Visconti, Luchino, 1976] #1027 -Italy
163. Marty [Mann, Delbert, 1955] #1028 -US [AA]
164. Woman of Paris, A [Chaplin, Charles, 1923] #1029 -US
165. Atonement [Wright, Joe, 2007] #1039 -UK
166. Night Porter, The [Cavani, Liliana, 1974] #1048 -Italy
167. Eyes Wide Shut [Kubrick, Stanley, 1999] #1049 -UK-US
168. Leaving Las Vegas [Figgis, Mike, 1995] #1051 -US-UK-France
169. Early Autumn [Ozu, Yasujiro, 1961] #1052 -Japan
170. Out of Sight [Soderbergh, Steven, 1998] #1053 -US
171. Fountainhead, The [Vidor, King, 1949] #1061 -US
172. American Gigolo [Schrader, Paul, 1980] #1062 -US
173. Vive L'Amour [Tsai Ming-Liang, 1994] #1065 -Taiwan
174. Dodsworth [Wyler, William, 1936] #1068 -US
175. Under the Bridges [Kaütner, Helmut, 1945] #1079 -Germany
176. Veronika Voss [Fassbinder, Rainer Werner, 1982] #1084 -Germany
177. Happy Together [Wong Kar-Wai, 1997] #1088 -Hong Kong
178. Portrait of Jennie [Dieterle, William, 1948] #1089 -US
179. Green Ray, The [Rohmer, Eric, 1986] #1100 -France
180. Tobacco Road [Ford, John, 1941] #1101 -US
181. Two for the Road [Donen, Stanley, 1967] #1105 -US
182. Out of Africa [Pollack, Sydney, 1985] #1110 -US [AA]
183. Utamaro and His Five Women [Mizoguchi, Kenji, 1946] #1114 -Japan
184. Ballad of Narayama [Imamura, Shohei, 1983] #1115 -Japan
185. Go-Between, The [Losey, Joseph, 1970] #1118 -UK
186. Days of Being Wild [Wong Kar-Wai, 1990] #1120 -Hong Kong
187. Wuthering Heights [Wyler, William, 1939] #1121 -US
188. By the Bluest of Seas [Barnet, Boris, 1936] #1138 -USSR
189. Year of Living Dangerously, The [Weir, Peter, 1982] #1139 -Australia
190. Saga of Gosta Berling, The [Stiller, Mauritz, 1924] #1148 -Sweden
191. L'Amour Fou [Rivette, Jacques, 1969] #1154 -France
192. Il Posto (The Sound of Trumpets) [Olmi, Ermanno, 1961] #1157 -Italy
193. Wild River [Kazan, Elia, 1960] #1161 -US
194. City Girl [Murnau, F.W., 1930] #1167 -US
195. Slave of Love, A [Mikhalkov, Nikita, 1976] #1168 -USSR
196. Devil in the Flesh [Autant-Lara, Claude, 1947] #1169 -France
197. Way Down East [Griffith, D.W., 1920] #1170 -US
198. Shin heike monogatari (Taira Clan) [Mizoguchi, Kenji, 1955] #1171 -Japan
199. El Sur [Erice, Victor, 1983] #1172 -Spain-France
200. The Unbearable Lightness of Being [Kaufman, Philip, 1988] #1177 -US

201. Seventh Heaven [Borzage, Frank, 1927] #1179 -US
202. Giant [Stevens, George, 1956] #1181 -US
203. Luna [Bertolucci, Bernardo, 1979] #1186 -US-Italy
204. Little Foxes, The [Wyler, William, 1941] #1189 -US
205. Ryan's Daughter [Lean, David, 1970] #1192 -UK
206. Pandora and the Flying Dutchman [Lewin, Albert, 1951] #1197 -UK
207. Pillow Book, The [Greenaway, Peter, 1996] #1199 -UK
208. Sign of Leo, The [Rohmer, Eric, 1959] #1206 -France
209. Barbarian Invasions, The [Arcand, Denys, 2003] #1209 -Canada
210. Samson and Delilah [DeMille, Cecil B., 1949] #1210 -US
211. True Heart Susie [Griffith, D.W., 1919] #1211 -US
212. Jezebel [Wyler, William, 1938] #1213 -US
213. Passion of Anna, The [Bergman, Ingmar, 1969] #1220 -Sweden
214. Sense and Sensibility [Lee, Ang, 1995] #1225 -US-UK
215. Letter to Three Wives, A [Mankiewicz, Joseph L., 1949] #1227 -US
216. Room at the Top [Clayton, Jack, 1959] #1234 -UK
217. Short Film About Love, A [Kieslowski, Krszystof, 1988] #1243 -Poland
218. Ordinary People [Redford, Robert, 1980] #1245 -US
219. Chikamatsu monogatari [Mizoguchi, Kenji, 1954] #1246 -Japan
220. Strangers When We Meet [Quine, Richard, 1960] #1251 -US
221. Toute une nuit [Akerman, Chantal, 1982] #1252 -France-Belgium
222. Bridges of Madison County, The [Eastwood, Clint, 1995] #1253 -US
223. Far from Heaven [Haynes, Todd, 2002] #1257 -US
224. Four Friends [Penn, Arthur, 1981] #1264 -US
225. White Shadows in the South Seas [Van Dyke II, W.S., 1928] #1267 -US
226. Queen Christina [Mamoulian, Rouben, 1933] #1269 -US
227. Before the Revolution [Bertolucci, Bernardo, 1964] #1270 -Italy
228. Chloe in the Afternoon [Rohmer, Eric, 1972] #1272 -France
229. Bay of Angels [Demy, Jacques, 1963] #1275 -France
230. Toni [Renoir, Jean, 1935] #1278 -France
231. My Love Has Been Burning [Mizoguchi, Kenji, 1949] #1280 -Japan

Note:
I had trouble with It's a Wonderful Life, but left it in fantasy-romance for now, it's also one of those drama-comedy films, but I consider it a drama overall. Had I included it here, it would have been #1.

 Faves Listed:
This is a pretty conclusive and long list. Some favorites made it that are often overlooked:
Nicholas Roeg's beautiful Walkabout, from the Australian outback, lyrical, poetic, and primal.
Steven Frears' sophisticated Dangerious Liaisons, which has several career best performances: Glenn Close, Michelle Pfeiffer, John Malkovich, and Uma Thurman, and all were Oscar® nominated.

The Go-Between is a beautiful love story from Joseph Losey, with Alan Bates and Julie Christie, though not yet available on dvd.

The Night Porter is a bizarre s/m love story from Italian Liliana Cavani with Dirk Bogarde's and Charlotte Rampling's best performances, as former Nazi prison camp lovers reunited after the war.

Now, Voyager is a classic that you never hear about, an intelligent adult story as well.

L'avventura still looks modern today, I love the visual compositions of Antonioni here, one of 3 films that Woody said "crossed into art" (Seventh Seal and La Grande Illusion were the other two), definitely his most interesting and sensual film for me.

Atonement should be ranked higher, at least into the top 500; an epic film from a good novel, the long tracking shot at Dunkirk, the plot twists, the incredible performance from Vanessa Redgrave.

This particular Crash, at #159, is SF author J.G. Ballard's (Empire of the Sun) novel about bizarre love among traffic accident survivors, not the best pic one (which is far less interesting than this one) - these are the most erotic performances by Jame Spader, Holly Hunter, and Debra Kara Unger - and maybe Roseanna Arquette as well.

I Would Add (not many)
Rambling Rose [Martha Coolidge, 1991] - Laura Dern, Diane Ladd (her mom), and Robert Duvall are all terrific in this quirky southern drama about a 'lost woman' vs traditional attitudes.
The Game is Over [Roger Vadim, 1966] - Vadim filmed then wife Jane Fonda in Emile Zola's La Curee, in which a new young wife falls in love with her older husband's son, who is her age. Fonda's first serious dramatic part, and her most sensual to me, esp. compared to the coldness of Klute.
The Road Home [Zhang Yimou, 1999] - Yimou's Sundance audience winner has young Ziyi Zhang in her first film, a village girl in love with a teacher who comes there from a city.