100 Years...100 Passions

So what if you don’t have a sweetheart this Valentine’s Day. It's just a Hallmark holiday anyway. Right? If you’re just going to don your favorite flannel pj's and cry into your bowl of microwave kettle corn, at least settle in and watch some of the most romantic movies of all time. The American Film Institute has done the compiling for you. As with any Top [insert noun here] List, you won’t agree with them all. You might be thinking, “Pretty Woman (#21) made the list and not While You Were Sleeping or The Piano? Pretty Woman!” And I would agree with you.

AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions Top Ten

1) Casablanca
2) Gone with the Wind
3) West Side Story
4) Roman Holiday
5) An Affair to Remember
6) The Way We Were
7) Doctor Zhivago
8) It's a Wonderful Life
9) Love Story
10) City Lights

Click here for movies 11-100.

Some fun facts about these movies:

Cary Grant is the most celebrated actor, starring in six films in the top 100.

Hepburns make up 11% of America’s greatest love stories. Katharine stars in six of the top 100, while Audrey graces five.

Marni Nixon's singing voice sang for Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, Maria in West Side Story, Terry McKay in An Affair to Remember, and Anna in The King and I. Marni accompanies her voice while playing Sister Sophia in The Sound of Music.

William Wyler (Roman Holiday, Funny Girl, Jezebel, Wuthering Heights) and George Cukor (A Star is Born, My Fair Lady, Camille, The Philadelphia Story) were the most represented directors. Mike Nichols, Rob Reiner, George Stevens, and Billy Wilder helmed three love stories respectively.

Seven of AFI’s top 10 greatest love stories feature couples that do not end up together in the end.

The AFI countdown contains approximately 187 fights and 260 kissing scenes, proving that lovers quarrel, but more often than not, they make up.