A Romantic Valentine’s Date with Honey and a Movie

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In this day and age, dinner and a movie has been replaced by “Netflix and chill,” the practice of staying at home, ordering take out and watching a movie via a video subscription service.
And while some couples on Valentine’s Day might enjoy an old school date, chances are some of Hollywood’s most beloved romance films won’t be available at theaters. In the event lovers, would-be lovers or people in the friend zone want to watch some of the Silver Screen’s most acclaimed romances at home on the couch, the following is a list of American Film Institute’s top 10 love stories of all time.
Warning: spoilers ahead on selections.

10) City Lights (1931)
Charlie Chaplin plays a tramp who falls in love with a blind flower girl, who over the course of the movie, is led to believe Chaplin is a wealthy man. Despite not having any money Chaplin borrows funds to help the girl pay her overdue rent. He then agrees to fight in a fixed boxing match so that he can give the girl an operation that restores her sight. The fight does not go according to plan and Chaplin is out of the prize money until his wealthy, drunken friend lends him the funds to pay for the operation. When the girl regains her vision she does not recognize Chaplin and laughs at him when he visits her store. It is not until they touch that the blind girl realizes who Chaplin is.

9) Love Story (1970)
Ali McGraw and Ryan O’Neal play Jenny and Oliver, two college sweethearts from different backgrounds. Jenny, the daughter of a baker, falls in love with and marries Oliver, the son of a distinguished Boston family. The marriage causes a rift between Oliver and his family, and the two sides remain estranged while the couple struggles to get by. When Oliver finally graduates from law school, he and Jenny start planning a family, until a visit to the doctor reveals that Jenny is dying.

8) It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
George Bailey is a struggling banker who spends more time helping people improve their lives rather than his own. When a mistake by his uncle threatens to shut down his savings and loan and send him to jail, George contemplates suicide. A Guardian Angel gives George a glimpse of the lives of his friends and family had he never been born. George gains a fresh insight of life. Made aware of George’s plight, his family and friends come together to help the man who spent his life helping others.

7) Doctor Zhivago (1965)
Taking place during the years leading up to and including World War I and the Russian Revolution, Doctor Zhivago tells the story of a man trying to find the daughter of his half brother, Yuri, and his lover, Lara, who no longer recognized him after having been separated for years by war and revolution.
6) The Way We Were (1973)
Katie and Hubbell are college students who have differing perspectives on life and politics but their shared passion for literature brings them together. Their marriage ends in divorce after Hubbell’s affair and having compromised his integrity in the writing of a screenplay of his novel. Set against the backdrop of McCarthyism, the strain of political turmoil tears the couple apart, until the run into each other again at a Manhattan bar.

5) An Affair to Remember (1957)
Nickie and Terry are on a cruise when a mild flirtation turns into love. The problem for the couple, however, is that each is engaged to different people. Nickie asks Terry to marry him nonetheless and both make plans to end the relationship with their respective partners. They agree to meet at the Empire State building six months after the ship docks in New York and each of them has broken off the engagement but a tragic accident leaves one of them paralyzed and unable to keep their meeting.

4) Roman Holiday (1953)
Gregory Peck plays Joe the reporter who comes across Princess Anne, played by Audrey Hepburn. Tired of her sequestered life, Anne disguises herself and goes about Rome while Joe accompanies her in the hopes of an exclusive interview. Called back to her official duties Anne leaves Joe, only to run into him again at a press conference where they share one final meaningful interaction before she leaves him for good.

3) West Side Story (1961)
Tony and Maria are young and in love. They are part of families who are affiliated with rival gangs. Mirroring the love story of Romeo and Juliet, Tony and Maria try to break free from their familial allegiances, but tragedy strikes when Tony, in an attempt to stop a fight, kills Maria’s brother. He is subsequently shot in a revenge killing, leaving Maria alone to pine for him.

2) Gone with the Wind (1939)
During the Civil War, Scarlett O’Hara marries Rhett Butler despite her longstanding feelings for another man. When the man she truly loves comes home to be with his dying wife, Scarlett realizes Rhett is the man she truly loves. But attempts to reconcile with him are in vain and he leaves her alone to rebuild her plantation.

1) Casablanca (1942)
In Paris during World War II, Ilsa and Rick had a romantic interlude. When the Germans invaded, Ilsa tricked Rick into leaving Paris so that he would not be caught and arrested by Nazis. Years later Ilsa, who is now married to a Czech freedom fighter, visits a bar looking for exit visas from Morocco so she and her husband can escape. The former lovers recognize each other and Rick obtains the visas despite the threat of being arrested, if found with them. When Ilsa decides she wants to stay with Rick in Morroco, it is Rick who talks Ilsa into leaving so that she can go on living with the freedom fighter and escape the threat of German arrest.