Mark Kermode's Secrets Of Cinema - Episode 1: The Romcom
by natts | created - 08 Sep 2018 | updated - 08 Sep 2018 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1.
Mark Kermode's Secrets of Cinema (2018– )
Episode:
The Romcom
(2018)
Documentary
An analysis of what makes for a successful romcom with illustrations from some of the best examples of romcoms over the decades
Director: Nick Freand Jones | Star: Mark Kermode
Votes: 69
2. Splash (1983)
PG | 111 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
A young man is reunited with a mermaid he briefly encountered as a boy and falls in love with her without knowing her secret.
Director: Ron Howard | Stars: Tom Hanks, Daryl Hannah, Eugene Levy, John Candy
Votes: 83,450 | Gross: $62.10M
3. City Lights (1931)
G | 87 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
With the aid of a wealthy erratic tippler, a dewy-eyed tramp who has fallen in love with a sightless flower girl accumulates money to be able to help her medically.
Director: Charles Chaplin | Stars: Charles Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Florence Lee, Harry Myers
Votes: 196,152 | Gross: $0.02M
4. Miranda (1948)
Not Rated | 80 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
A young married physician discovers a mermaid, and gives in to her request to be taken to see London. Comedy and romantic entanglements ensue soon after.
Director: Ken Annakin | Stars: Glynis Johns, Googie Withers, Griffith Jones, John McCallum
Votes: 1,145
5. The Shape of Water (2017)
R | 123 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
At a top secret research facility in the 1960s, a lonely janitor forms a unique relationship with an amphibious creature that is being held in captivity.
Director: Guillermo del Toro | Stars: Sally Hawkins, Octavia Spencer, Michael Shannon, Doug Jones
Votes: 447,862 | Gross: $63.86M
6. Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
G | 79 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
A strange prehistoric beast lurks in the depths of the Amazonian jungle. A group of scientists try to capture the animal and bring it back to civilization for study.
Director: Jack Arnold | Stars: Richard Carlson, Julie Adams, Richard Denning, Antonio Moreno
Votes: 34,458 | Gross: $1.30M
7. 500 Days of Summer (2009)
PG-13 | 95 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
After being dumped by the girl he believes to be his soulmate, hopeless romantic Tom Hansen reflects on their relationship to try and figure out where things went wrong and how he can win her back.
Director: Marc Webb | Stars: Zooey Deschanel, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Geoffrey Arend, Chloë Grace Moretz
Votes: 558,429 | Gross: $32.39M
8. When Harry Met Sally... (1989)
R | 95 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Harry and Sally have known each other for years, and are very good friends, but they fear sex would ruin the friendship.
Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher, Bruno Kirby
Votes: 242,901 | Gross: $92.82M
9. The Holiday (2006)
PG-13 | 136 min | Comedy, Romance
Two women troubled with guy-problems swap homes in each other's countries, where they each meet a local guy and fall in love.
Director: Nancy Meyers | Stars: Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz, Jude Law, Jack Black
Votes: 323,170 | Gross: $63.22M
10. Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938)
Passed | 85 min | Comedy, Romance
After learning her multi-millionaire fiancé has already been married seven times, the daughter of a penniless marquis decides to tame him.
Director: Ernst Lubitsch | Stars: Claudette Colbert, Gary Cooper, Edward Everett Horton, David Niven
Votes: 4,543
11. Sleepless in Seattle (1993)
PG | 105 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A recently widowed man's son calls a radio talk-show in an attempt to find his father a partner.
Director: Nora Ephron | Stars: Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Ross Malinger, Rita Wilson
Votes: 190,978 | Gross: $126.53M
12. Serendipity (2001)
PG-13 | 90 min | Comedy, Romance
A couple search for each other years after the night they first met, fell in love, and separated, convinced that one day they'd end up together.
Director: Peter Chelsom | Stars: John Cusack, Kate Beckinsale, Jeremy Piven, Bridget Moynahan
Votes: 121,422 | Gross: $50.29M
13. The Lady Eve (1941)
Passed | 94 min | Comedy, Romance
A trio of classy card sharks targets a socially awkward brewery heir, until one of them falls in love with him.
Director: Preston Sturges | Stars: Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda, Charles Coburn, Eugene Pallette
Votes: 23,390
14. Bringing Up Baby (1938)
Passed | 102 min | Comedy
While trying to secure a $1 million donation for his museum, a befuddled paleontologist is pursued by a flighty and often irritating heiress and her pet leopard, Baby.
Director: Howard Hawks | Stars: Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Charles Ruggles, Walter Catlett
Votes: 66,126
15. Heartthrob (2017)
Unrated | 86 min | Drama, Romance, Thriller
Shy Henry is overjoyed to fall into an unexpected romance with gorgeous and popular Samantha the summer after high school graduation. When Henry's love spirals into twisted obsession, Samantha pulls back.
Director: Chris Sivertson | Stars: Aubrey Shea, Keir Gilchrist, Peter Facinelli, Jimmy Bennett
Votes: 2,730
16. Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)
R | 117 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Over the course of five social occasions, a committed bachelor must consider the notion that he may have discovered love.
Director: Mike Newell | Stars: Hugh Grant, Andie MacDowell, James Fleet, Simon Callow
Votes: 166,260 | Gross: $52.70M
17. Love Actually (2003)
R | 135 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Follows the lives of eight very different couples in dealing with their love lives in various loosely interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London, England.
Director: Richard Curtis | Stars: Hugh Grant, Martine McCutcheon, Liam Neeson, Laura Linney
Votes: 531,721 | Gross: $59.70M
18. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
Approved | 83 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
Exiled into the dangerous forest by her wicked stepmother, a princess is rescued by seven dwarf miners who make her part of their household.
Directors: William Cottrell, David Hand, Wilfred Jackson, Larry Morey, Perce Pearce, Ben Sharpsteen | Stars: Adriana Caselotti, Harry Stockwell, Lucille La Verne, Roy Atwell
Votes: 215,581 | Gross: $184.93M
19. Letter to Brezhnev (1985)
R | 94 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Two Soviet sailors, Peter and Sergei, go ashore in Liverpool to spend one night on the town. Peter can speak a minimal amount of English but it's enough to make contact with two ... See full summary »
Director: Chris Bernard | Stars: Peter Firth, Alfred Molina, Tracy Marshak-Nash, Alexandra Pigg
Votes: 1,480
20. Follow the Fleet (1936)
Passed | 110 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
A Navy sailor tries to rekindle a romance with the woman he loves while on liberty in San Francisco.
Director: Mark Sandrich | Stars: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Randolph Scott, Harriet Nelson
Votes: 4,721
21. The Kiss (1929)
Passed | 62 min | Romance, Drama
An unhappily married woman is caught up in scandal and murder when her affection toward a young man is misinterpreted.
Director: Jacques Feyder | Stars: Greta Garbo, Conrad Nagel, Anders Randolf, Holmes Herbert
Votes: 1,206 | Gross: $0.52M
22. The Gold Rush (1925)
Passed | 95 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
A prospector goes to the Klondike during the 1890s gold rush in hopes of making his fortune, and is smitten with a girl he sees in a dance hall.
Director: Charles Chaplin | Stars: Charles Chaplin, Mack Swain, Tom Murray, Henry Bergman
Votes: 118,711 | Gross: $5.45M
23. It (I) (2017)
R | 135 min | Fantasy, Horror
In the summer of 1989, a group of bullied kids band together to destroy a shape-shifting monster, which disguises itself as a clown and preys on the children of Derry, their small Maine town.
Director: Andy Muschietti | Stars: Bill Skarsgård, Jaeden Martell, Finn Wolfhard, Sophia Lillis
Votes: 606,754 | Gross: $327.48M
24. The Gay Divorcee (1934)
Approved | 107 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
A woman thinks a flirting man is the co-respondent her lawyer has hired to expedite her divorce.
Director: Mark Sandrich | Stars: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Alice Brady, Edward Everett Horton
Votes: 8,642
25. 3 Idiots (2009)
PG-13 | 170 min | Comedy, Drama
Two friends are searching for their long lost companion. They revisit their college days and recall the memories of their friend who inspired them to think differently, even as the rest of the world called them "idiots".
Director: Rajkumar Hirani | Stars: Aamir Khan, Madhavan, Mona Singh, Sharman Joshi
Votes: 434,850 | Gross: $6.53M
26. Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003)
Not Rated | 186 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical
Naina, an introverted, perpetually depressed girl's life changes when she meets Aman. But Aman has a secret of his own which changes their lives forever. Embroiled in all this is Rohit, Naina's best friend who conceals his love for her.
Director: Nikkhil Advani | Stars: Preity G Zinta, Shah Rukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Jaya Bachchan
Votes: 75,521 | Gross: $1.79M
27. The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)
PG-13 | 85 min | Comedy, Crime
Incompetent police Detective Frank Drebin must foil an attempt to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II.
Director: David Zucker | Stars: Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley, O.J. Simpson, Ricardo Montalban
Votes: 185,157 | Gross: $78.76M
28. Notting Hill (1999)
PG-13 | 124 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A set of circumstances makes Anna Scott, a famous actress, fall in love with William Thacker, owner of a bookstore in Notting Hill. But the paparazzi's fascination with her complicates their bond.
Director: Roger Michell | Stars: Hugh Grant, Julia Roberts, Richard McCabe, Rhys Ifans
Votes: 342,519 | Gross: $116.09M
29. La La Land (2016)
PG-13 | 128 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
While navigating their careers in Los Angeles, a pianist and an actress fall in love while attempting to reconcile their aspirations for the future.
Director: Damien Chazelle | Stars: Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Rosemarie DeWitt, J.K. Simmons
Votes: 672,209 | Gross: $151.10M
30. The Philadelphia Story (1940)
Not Rated | 112 min | Comedy, Romance
When a rich woman's ex-husband and a tabloid-type reporter turn up just before her planned remarriage, she begins to learn the truth about herself.
Director: George Cukor | Stars: Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, James Stewart, Ruth Hussey
Votes: 73,892
31. You've Got Mail (1998)
PG | 119 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Book superstore magnate Joe Fox and independent book shop owner Kathleen Kelly fall in love in the anonymity of the Internet, both blissfully unaware that he's trying to put her out of business.
Director: Nora Ephron | Stars: Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Greg Kinnear, Parker Posey
Votes: 229,799 | Gross: $115.82M
32. Pretty Woman (1990)
R | 119 min | Comedy, Romance
A man in a legal but hurtful business needs an escort for some social events, and hires a beautiful prostitute he meets... only to fall in love.
Director: Garry Marshall | Stars: Richard Gere, Julia Roberts, Jason Alexander, Laura San Giacomo
Votes: 362,984 | Gross: $178.41M
33. Top Five (2014)
R | 102 min | Comedy, Romance
A comedian tries to make it as a serious actor when his reality television star fiancée talks him into broadcasting their wedding on her television show.
Director: Chris Rock | Stars: Chris Rock, Rosario Dawson, Gabrielle Union, Kevin Hart
Votes: 27,659 | Gross: $25.28M
34. His Girl Friday (1940)
Passed | 92 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A newspaper editor uses every trick in the book to keep his ace reporter ex-wife from remarrying.
Director: Howard Hawks | Stars: Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell, Ralph Bellamy, Gene Lockhart
Votes: 63,201 | Gross: $0.30M
35. Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)
R | 97 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Bridget Jones is determined to improve herself while she looks for love in a year in which she keeps a personal diary.
Director: Sharon Maguire | Stars: Renée Zellweger, Colin Firth, Hugh Grant, Gemma Jones
Votes: 263,947 | Gross: $71.54M
36. Christmas in Connecticut (1945)
Approved | 101 min | Comedy, Romance
A food writer who has lied about being the perfect housewife must try to cover her deception when her boss and a returning war hero invite themselves to her home for a traditional family Christmas.
Director: Peter Godfrey | Stars: Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, Sydney Greenstreet, Reginald Gardiner
Votes: 12,033
37. How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998)
R | 124 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Stella is a highly successful, forty-something San Francisco stock broker who is persuaded by her colorful New York girlfriend Delilah to take a well deserved, first-class vacation to Jamaica.
Director: Kevin Rodney Sullivan | Stars: Angela Bassett, Taye Diggs, Whoopi Goldberg, Regina King
Votes: 8,332 | Gross: $37.67M
38. Elizabethtown (2005)
PG-13 | 123 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
During a hometown memorial for his Kentucky-born father, a young man begins an unexpected romance with a too-good-to-be-true stewardess.
Director: Cameron Crowe | Stars: Orlando Bloom, Kirsten Dunst, Susan Sarandon, Alec Baldwin
Votes: 72,722 | Gross: $26.84M
39. The Big Sick (2017)
R | 120 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Pakistan-born comedian Kumail Nanjiani and grad student Emily Gardner fall in love but struggle as their cultures clash. When Emily contracts a mysterious illness, Kumail finds himself forced to face her feisty parents, his family's expectations, and his true feelings.
Director: Michael Showalter | Stars: Kumail Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan, Holly Hunter, Ray Romano
Votes: 143,651 | Gross: $42.87M
40. Annie Hall (1977)
PG | 93 min | Comedy, Romance
Alvy Singer, a divorced Jewish comedian, reflects on his relationship with ex-lover Annie Hall, an aspiring nightclub singer, which ended abruptly just like his previous marriages.
Director: Woody Allen | Stars: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts, Carol Kane
Votes: 278,537 | Gross: $39.20M
41. Top Hat (1935)
Not Rated | 101 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
An American dancer comes to Britain and falls for a model whom he initially annoyed, but she mistakes him for his goofy producer.
Director: Mark Sandrich | Stars: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Edward Everett Horton, Erik Rhodes
Votes: 20,718 | Gross: $3.88M
42. My Best Friend's Wedding (1997)
PG-13 | 105 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
When a woman's long-time friend reveals he's engaged, she realizes she loves him herself and sets out to get him, with only days before the wedding.
Director: P.J. Hogan | Stars: Julia Roberts, Dermot Mulroney, Cameron Diaz, Rupert Everett
Votes: 155,514 | Gross: $127.12M
43. But I'm a Cheerleader (1999)
R | 85 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A naive teenager is sent to rehab camp when her straitlaced parents and friends suspect her of being a lesbian.
Director: Jamie Babbit | Stars: Natasha Lyonne, Clea DuVall, Michelle Williams, Brandt Wille
Votes: 41,287 | Gross: $2.21M
44. Love Is Strange (2014)
R | 94 min | Drama, Romance
After Ben and George get married, George is fired from his teaching post, forcing them to stay with friends separately while they sell their place and look for cheaper housing -- a situation that weighs heavily on all involved.
Director: Ira Sachs | Stars: John Lithgow, Alfred Molina, Marisa Tomei, Charlie Tahan
Votes: 13,306 | Gross: $2.25M
45. Love, Simon (2018)
PG-13 | 110 min | Comedy, Drama
Simon Spier keeps a huge secret from his family, his friends and all of his classmates: he's gay. When that secret is threatened, Simon must face everyone and come to terms with his identity.
Director: Greg Berlanti | Stars: Nick Robinson, Jennifer Garner, Josh Duhamel, Katherine Langford
Votes: 125,960 | Gross: $40.83M
46. Groundhog Day (1993)
PG | 101 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
A narcissistic, self-centered weatherman finds himself in a time loop on Groundhog Day.
Director: Harold Ramis | Stars: Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, Chris Elliott, Stephen Tobolowsky
Votes: 685,494 | Gross: $70.91M
47. The Truth About Cats & Dogs (1996)
PG-13 | 97 min | Comedy, Romance
A successful veternarian & radio show host with low self-esteem asks her model friend to impersonate her when a handsome man wants to see her.
Director: Michael Lehmann | Stars: Uma Thurman, Janeane Garofalo, Ben Chaplin, Jamie Foxx
Votes: 29,099 | Gross: $34.07M
48. Singin' in the Rain (1952)
G | 103 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
A silent film star falls for a chorus girl just as he and his delusionally jealous screen partner are trying to make the difficult transition to talking pictures in 1920s Hollywood.
Directors: Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly | Stars: Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Jean Hagen
Votes: 260,834 | Gross: $8.82M
49. Something's Gotta Give (2003)
PG-13 | 128 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A swinger on the cusp of being a senior citizen with a taste for young women falls in love with an accomplished woman closer to his age.
Director: Nancy Meyers | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton, Keanu Reeves, Amanda Peet
Votes: 129,249 | Gross: $124.73M
50. The Fly (1986)
R | 96 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
A brilliant but eccentric scientist begins to transform into a giant man/fly hybrid after one of his experiments goes horribly wrong.
Director: David Cronenberg | Stars: Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, John Getz, Joy Boushel
Votes: 202,062 | Gross: $40.46M
51. Audition (1999)
R | 115 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A widower takes an offer to screen girls at a special audition, arranged for him by a friend to find him a new wife. The one he fancies is not who she appears to be after all.
Director: Takashi Miike | Stars: Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina, Tetsu Sawaki, Jun Kunimura
Votes: 89,303
52. Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993)
PG | 104 min | Comedy, Mystery
A middle-aged couple suspects foul play when their neighbor's wife suddenly drops dead.
Director: Woody Allen | Stars: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Jerry Adler, Lynn Cohen
Votes: 46,846 | Gross: $11.29M
53. Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
R | 95 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Socially frustrated Barry Egan calls a phone-sex line to curb his loneliness. Little does he know it will land him in deep trouble and will jeopardize his burgeoning romance with the mysterious Lena.
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson | Stars: Adam Sandler, Emily Watson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jason Andrews
Votes: 177,606 | Gross: $17.84M
54. Superman (1978)
PG | 143 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
An alien orphan is sent from his dying planet to Earth, where he grows up to become his adoptive home's first and greatest superhero.
Director: Richard Donner | Stars: Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Gene Hackman, Marlon Brando
Votes: 187,614 | Gross: $134.22M
55. Black Panther (2018)
PG-13 | 134 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
T'Challa, heir to the hidden but advanced kingdom of Wakanda, must step forward to lead his people into a new future and must confront a challenger from his country's past.
Director: Ryan Coogler | Stars: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira
Votes: 838,048 | Gross: $700.06M
56. Spider-Man (2002)
PG-13 | 121 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
After being bitten by a genetically-modified spider, a shy teenager gains spider-like abilities that he uses to fight injustice as a masked superhero and face a vengeful enemy.
Director: Sam Raimi | Stars: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Willem Dafoe, James Franco
Votes: 880,428 | Gross: $403.71M
57. Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death (1989)
PG-13 | 90 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
The U.S. government, eager to protect the nation's avocado supplies, recruits feminist professor Margo Hunt to make contact with the Piranha Women, an all-female tribe who believe men are only good as a source of food.
Director: J.F. Lawton | Stars: Shannon Tweed, Bill Maher, Karen M. Waldron, Adrienne Barbeau
Votes: 3,466
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