There have been thousands of romance movies over time. Titanic, Dear John, A Walk to Remember, Never Been Kissed, A Wedding Planner, Annie Hall, The Last Song, She’s All That, and Message in a Bottle. However, of all the romantic movies across time, these are the top three: The Notebook, Pretty Woman, and Gone With The Wind. Each of these stories opens our eyes to the true meaning of love and passion.

To start off, The Notebook is based on a novel written by Nicholas Sparks. In 2004, The Notebook was released starring Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams as a young couple that falls in love during the early 1940s. Allie Hamilton (McAdams) and Noah Calhoun (Gosling) were desperately in love, but everything seemed to be separating them. No matter what they went through Allie and Noah knew they belonged together and even death couldn’t separate them. The film received several award nominations, winning eight Teen Choice Awards, a Satellite Award and an MTV Movie Award. Allie and Noah’s love is the type of love that everyone wants to experience and cherish forever. We spend our lives trying to find the “ideal” person, and when we do, we often fail to fight for them; we simply let them go. As Noah said, “It’s not going to be easy. It’s going to be really hard. We’re gonna have to work at this every day, but I want to do that because I want you. I want all of you, forever, you and me, every day.”

Pretty Woman is a 1990 romantic comedy. The film stars Richard Gere and Julia Roberts. Edward Lewis (Gere), is a successful businessman who takes a detour on Hollywood Boulevard and needs directions. Vivian Ward (Roberts) is a prostitute willing to assist Edward Lewis to this destination, if he pays her. Vivian ends up staying at Edward’s hotel room and assists him to formal events. Edward accepts Vivian for who she is and does everything he can in order to be with her forever. At the same time, Vivan falls for Edward as well and their love becomes unstoppable. Julia Roberts received a Golden Globe Award, and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. In addition, the screenwriter J. F. Lawton was nominated for a Writers Guild Award and a BAFTA Award. Vivian and Edward’s fondness was coincidental, but that’s the thing about love: it should never be planned. Instead of thinking about how to find love, take a walk, because you never know whose heart you might steal.

Lastly, Gone With The Wind is a 1939 historical romance. Gone With The Wind is also an award winning novel by Margaret Mitchell’s Pulitzer. The film stars Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Leslie Howard, and Olivia de Havilland. Set in the 19th-century American South, the film tells the story of Scarlett O’Hara (Leigh), and her passionate romance for Ashley Wilkes (Howard) who is married to his cousin, Melanie Hamilton (Havilland). The film focuses on Scarlett O’Hara’s life and her survival through the miserable times during the Civil War and Reconstruction. Scarlett is in a tangled love affair with Ashley Wilkes and Rhett Butler (Gable). Gone With The Wind is placed in the top ten of the American Film Institute’s list of top 100 American films since the list’s foundation in 1998. Life and love are full of bumps and tough times, and Scarlett O’Hara’s life is the perfect example of what life is. However, just remember that “tomorrow is another day” (O’Hara).