Everyone has a favorite movie kiss — don’t deny it. And if you really, truly don’t, then wow, am I excited to introduce you to the wild world of movie magic make-outs and the endless daydreams they inspire. Whether it’s Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams in the pouring rain or Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles covered in paintball pellets, these movie kisses make everything else melt away. Just once, we’d like to be looked at the way Leonardo DiCaprio looks at Kate Winslet in Titanic. In fact, many a TV scene (like Seth and Summer’s iconic Spider-Man kiss on The O.C.) is based around recreating these romantic moments, and we can definitely see the appeal.
So, what makes a really great movie kiss? The ambience helps — rain, as mentioned earlier, is often involved, driving home that the kiss must be so amazing that neither one minds getting soaked. Context is also important. If the lovers have been apart for a long time, know their time is coming to an end, or have been building up to this with flirtation for a long time, that’s a pretty good guarantee that the action will be hot and heavy.
But in the end, it’s really the amazing performances that make these movie kisses stick out in our heads. Ryan Gosling and Patrick Swayze both appear twice on this list, not (just) because they’re superhumanly good-looking. They also make you fall completely in love with them and reel you in emotionally from the very beginning. It’s no surprise that many of these best-kiss movies are also movies that have made us cry. Simply put, we’re feeling it. And we have a feeling you’ll like these too.
Check out the best movie kisses of all time right here.
‘Titanic’
One of the best movie couples of all time. Whose heart didn’t soar when Rose finally ran away from her horrible mother and locked lips with Jack on the bow of the ship?
‘When Harry Met Sally’
Talk about buildup! After years of charming banter and loaded looks, these two finally give in and admit they’re perfect for each other, falling into each other’s arms.
‘Moonlight’
The moonlit beach kiss between Kevin and Chiron always gives us chills. These two are meant to be.
‘Crazy, Stupid, Love’
These two share a few memorable kisses, including their own recreation of a scene from Dirty Dancing. But the best has to be their first kiss, when she comes in from the pouring ran and takes charge.
‘Dirty Dancing’
When Baby and Johnny hit a tough point in conversation, they do what they do best: dance. And then, a little more than dance.
’10 Things I Hate About You’
Kat and Patrick share their first kiss on an unforgettable paintball date, set to the perfect tune of “Fascinating New Thing.”
‘The Notebook’
Will we ever get caught in the rain again with a date and not think of Ali and Noah? Embrace the moment — they certainly did. And we'll never forget it.
‘Spiderman’
Perhaps it's not classic in the same sense as our silver-screen favorites, but who will ever forget that hotter-than-hot upside down kiss in the rain?
‘Brokeback Mountain’
Totally controversial for its time and yet still totally hot, Ennis and Jack’s steamy kiss shows us what true love can look like.
‘The Princess Bride’
That heart-stopping kiss the moment Buttercup realizes her Wesley is still alive after tumbling down the hill together? It doesn’t get any sweeter than that.
‘Romeo + Juliet’
If you were a teenager in the ‘90s, then your heart probably just skipped a beat. A teen heartthrob before he was a Hollywood megastar, Leo as Romeo gives Claire Danes as Juliet the most tender of kisses in the swimming pool.
‘Sixteen Candles’
What angst-ridden teenager in the 80s didn't identify with Molly Ringwald? Sam was a bit on the awkward side and infatuated with the older, super-hot Jake. When, at the end, after a bunch of hijinks — you had to be there to get it — he returns her stolen panties and they share a kiss over her birthday cake, nerdy girls everywhere rejoiced.
‘Silver Linings Playbook’
BCoop and Jlaw, AKA Pat and Tiffany, prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that crazy love — especially the kind that triumphs through mental illness — makes for a crazy good kiss.
‘Django Unchained’
Turns out that Quentin Tarantinodoes have a romantic bone in his body. Django’s passionate reunion kiss after finally saving his wife is one for the books.
‘Pretty Woman’
In one of the most unconventional yet classic love stories of our time, Vivian breaks her number one rule with her Prince Charming by kissing him on the mouth.
‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’
Holly and Fred gave ideas to decades of backseat-steamers in the back of that cab.
‘Cruel Intentions’
All’s fair in love and war, and a really good kiss (even between one more experienced girl teaching another) is still a really good kiss.
‘Some Like It Hot’
Marilyn kissed a girl! OK, not really: But who can forget that fabulous lounge scene where Tony Curtis (in drag) kisses Marilyn Monroe and she realizes her "gal-pal" and her beau are one and the same? It's romantic and endearing all at once.
‘It’s a Wonderful Life’
Donna Reed and Jimmy Stewart's kiss at the telephone is one we'll never forget. It was so beautifully human — held for so long and so full of all the torment and splendid emotions of real commitment. People don't kiss like that anymore.
‘Ghost’
Sam kisses Molly for the last time before he goes to heaven, and we all die a little inside.
‘Gone with the Wind’
Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara have been our favorite dysfunctional couple for generations. Will we ever forget that scene when he announces he is enlisting in the Army, and they passionately kiss goodbye?
‘The Princess Diaries’
Who could forget that foot-popping first kiss with dream crush Michael Moskovitz?
‘Casablanca’
Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman scorch up our movie screens before she gets on the plane with Victor Laslo.
‘The Thomas Crown Affair’
Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway were not nude or tangling sheets, but they raised eyebrows with the then-longest kiss in screen history. Well directed? Maybe not — but steamy as heck, and made us think of chess in a whole new way.
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