The Wong and Sirk releases, The Lady Eve, Beauty and the Beast, Sid and Nancy, The Lovers, Under the Roofs of Paris, and Brief Encounter
Sid & Nancy, LOL.
Interesting question. Really so many of the most romantic Criterion films are about affairs (Brief Encounter) or running away with another woman (Pierrot le Fou, and of course that doesn’t end up romantic except in the most tragic sense of the word.) The Lovers is pretty voluptuous but not the best for Valentine’s Day since it involves a woman simultaneously cheating on two different men! Maybe an anti-Valentine’s thread makes more sense… Contempt, Unfaithfully Yours, Pandora’s Box, Madame de…, Scenes from a Marriage, etc.
Along the lines of Dave’s post, Divorce Italian Style…
I agree with you Dave- I guess that is right on since I have been disenchanted with the “holiday” for awhile now. Don’t worry ladies, I still buy the wife a nice enough gift and we go out to dinner. :)
My top 5 “love” movies from my Criterion collection, so obviously I’m missing a lot of flicks (I need to pony up and buy Trouble in Paradise)
Lady Eve
Beauty and the Beast
Bottle Rocket
In the Mood for Love
Notorious
outside Criterion
Singin’ in the Rain
Philadelphia Story
The Apartment
Shop Around the Corner
It Happened One Night
Titanic
It depends on if I’m feeling bitter and bummed this year, or happy, I guess. Even so, a lot of my favorite love stories are complicated and a bit tragic, so it’s always something of a mix. Here are some of my favorite love stories:
Erin Brockovich (the only feel good movie I can really stand)
The Honeymoon Killers
Hairspray (the original)
Leaving Las Vegas
The Object of My Affection
Footlight Parade
Morocco
Dishonored
Sunrise
Fear Eats the Soul
The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant
Alphaville
Contempt
Wild at Heart
Sweet Bird of Youth
Romance
The Tarnished Angels
Liebestraum
Sólo con tu pareja and That Obscure Object of Desire
Nice list Andy- I would say this is my top 5 in Criterion:
1. Chasing Amy
2. Bottle Rocket
3. The Red Shoes
4. Great Expectations
5. Beauty and the Beast tied with Jules and Jim
“brief encounter”, certainly, “the lady eve”, “in the mood for love”, “broken blossoms”, “philadelphia story”, and “it happened one night”, as mentioned above, and then perhaps “to have and have not”, “der blaue engel”, “hiroshima mon amour”, “les amants du pont-neuf”, “shall we dance?”, and “my fair lady”. not exactly five, but i don’t think it’d be possible for me to list any less than these.
“Chungking Express”, absolutely.
All That Heaven Allows and Contempt
Richard
Good evening everyone- In this time of the Hallmark formulated holiday called Valentine’s Day, I was wondering if anyone was interested in compiling their personal Valentine/ Love themed top five if they had 12 hours to kill. Does not have to be Criterion, but this is a Criterion Forum. :)