Valentine's Day Post! Best Kisses of the Screen
Film Mojo for this Valentine's Day named the nine best screen kisses ever. Hulu editors named the best TV kiss moments of recent tv and made a film playlist of it. And people vote all the time. I indulge the Valentine's Day romance. I believe in romance, contrary to popular belief, but I just think it has its place. And one of its places is in film entertainment. What are the best? The worst?
I was given the option of writing an article for this, so I thought I'd take on the endeavor. These were my opinions, not necessarily what I wrote in my article, because some of them aren't the Hollywood classic ones, but my favorites. Before I name the 21 best in my opinion (21 because I like numbers that are divisible by three), I think we need a rubric so to speak. A sidenote though. This is not on the rubric, but after reviewing some lists to inspire mine, I set the standard: heterosexual kisses ONLY. It is just a pre-req to be even considered by the rubric
First: I think that any good kiss needs to be between a couple that I actually want to be together
Second: For this, I turn to French. In French, there are multiple words that mean "to kiss." There is "embrasser" and then there is "baiser." The difference is a good distinction. Let's explain it this way, the latter of these two words is sometimes loosely translated as the "f-word," but that isn't exactly what it means. "Embrasser" means to kiss, passionately and in love. "Baiser" is to kiss while turned on and being driven less by love and more by the instinct to reproduce. (NOTE: There's also "donner un bissou" but that's like kissing a little baby while it sleeps or things like that.) I feel that in order for it to be a kiss that I just melt for, it needs to be "embrasser." Basically, I don't want to watch a kiss upon which I feel like I'm really intruding.
Third: It needs to be a culmination of connection and pent-up desire for them to finally just kiss each other
Fourth: bonus points if its in a highly romantic atmosphere or ironically UNromantic atmosphere
Fifth: Car kisses are disqualified. I think that car kisses automatically fail requirement two. It's just raunchy to kiss in cars. Because the cultural association is that you don't just kiss in the car.
I must also clarify that some of these were picked solely because of the kiss and do not necessarily reflect that I really enjoy the movie. Many, however, do.
And now, in no particular order, with the sharers in the kiss in parentheses:
1. Gone With the Wind (Rhett and Scarlett)
2. It's a Wonderful Life (George and Mary)
3. Lady and the Tramp (Tramp and Pidge)
4. The Empire Strikes Back (Han and Leia)
5. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Will and Elizabeth)
6. North and South (John and Margaret)
7. Tale of Two Cities (Darnay and Lucie)---Unfortunately, not in our video, but it's awesome
8. Psych (Shawn and Juliet)---Okay, so I'm defining kiss very loosely
9. Sense and Sensibility (Edward and Elinor)
10. Never Been Kissed (Sam and Josie)
11. Princess Diaries (Michael and Mia)
12. Tristan and Isolde (Tristan and Isolde)
13. Lost (Charlie and Claire)
14. Enchanted (Robert and Giselle)
15. Win a Date with Tad Hamilton (Pete and Rosie)
16. Chuck (Chuck and Sarah)
17. Stardust (Tristan and Yvaine)
18. Far and Away (Joseph and Shannon)
19. Tuck Everlasting (Jesse and Winnie)
20. Leap Year (Declan and Anna)
21. Princess Bride (Wesley and Buttercup)
HONORABLE MENTIONS(needs explanation for why it wasn't picked, which I will give):
1. Lost (Sawyer and Kate)
2. Dr. Zhivago 2002 UK version (Pasha and Lara)
Lost Explanation: It's an amazing kiss. Unfortunately, Sawyer is doing it partly because he loves Kate but mostly because he wants to tick off the bad guys, and Kate isn't the girl he's meant to be with. Juliet is. So, I couldn't count it on the list.
Dr. Zhivago explanation: I've always wished that Lara and Pasha stayed together. But they don't. And Pasha loves her, but Lara just wants his redemption and innocence. So, yeah. I have this whole thing about Pasha, and if you only know Dr. Zhivago in context of that 1960s version, go read the book. Because it completely mischaracterizes Pasha and his motivations. My theory? It was made during the Cold War. Communism could not be portrayed as even partially good. Pasha's a communist. He's using it with VERY good intentions, even if it's a bit misguided. We can't have that in Cold War era film. We must make Pasha evil. But that is for another post. But I really like Pasha.
And was this a total waste of time for me to do? No, because I was asked to write an article about this anyways.
I was given the option of writing an article for this, so I thought I'd take on the endeavor. These were my opinions, not necessarily what I wrote in my article, because some of them aren't the Hollywood classic ones, but my favorites. Before I name the 21 best in my opinion (21 because I like numbers that are divisible by three), I think we need a rubric so to speak. A sidenote though. This is not on the rubric, but after reviewing some lists to inspire mine, I set the standard: heterosexual kisses ONLY. It is just a pre-req to be even considered by the rubric
First: I think that any good kiss needs to be between a couple that I actually want to be together
Second: For this, I turn to French. In French, there are multiple words that mean "to kiss." There is "embrasser" and then there is "baiser." The difference is a good distinction. Let's explain it this way, the latter of these two words is sometimes loosely translated as the "f-word," but that isn't exactly what it means. "Embrasser" means to kiss, passionately and in love. "Baiser" is to kiss while turned on and being driven less by love and more by the instinct to reproduce. (NOTE: There's also "donner un bissou" but that's like kissing a little baby while it sleeps or things like that.) I feel that in order for it to be a kiss that I just melt for, it needs to be "embrasser." Basically, I don't want to watch a kiss upon which I feel like I'm really intruding.
Third: It needs to be a culmination of connection and pent-up desire for them to finally just kiss each other
Fourth: bonus points if its in a highly romantic atmosphere or ironically UNromantic atmosphere
Fifth: Car kisses are disqualified. I think that car kisses automatically fail requirement two. It's just raunchy to kiss in cars. Because the cultural association is that you don't just kiss in the car.
I must also clarify that some of these were picked solely because of the kiss and do not necessarily reflect that I really enjoy the movie. Many, however, do.
And now, in no particular order, with the sharers in the kiss in parentheses:
The List
(and then a video compilation so you can see them all).
1. Gone With the Wind (Rhett and Scarlett)
2. It's a Wonderful Life (George and Mary)
3. Lady and the Tramp (Tramp and Pidge)
4. The Empire Strikes Back (Han and Leia)
5. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Will and Elizabeth)
6. North and South (John and Margaret)
7. Tale of Two Cities (Darnay and Lucie)---Unfortunately, not in our video, but it's awesome
8. Psych (Shawn and Juliet)---Okay, so I'm defining kiss very loosely
9. Sense and Sensibility (Edward and Elinor)
10. Never Been Kissed (Sam and Josie)
11. Princess Diaries (Michael and Mia)
12. Tristan and Isolde (Tristan and Isolde)
13. Lost (Charlie and Claire)
14. Enchanted (Robert and Giselle)
15. Win a Date with Tad Hamilton (Pete and Rosie)
16. Chuck (Chuck and Sarah)
17. Stardust (Tristan and Yvaine)
18. Far and Away (Joseph and Shannon)
19. Tuck Everlasting (Jesse and Winnie)
20. Leap Year (Declan and Anna)
21. Princess Bride (Wesley and Buttercup)
HONORABLE MENTIONS(needs explanation for why it wasn't picked, which I will give):
1. Lost (Sawyer and Kate)
2. Dr. Zhivago 2002 UK version (Pasha and Lara)
Lost Explanation: It's an amazing kiss. Unfortunately, Sawyer is doing it partly because he loves Kate but mostly because he wants to tick off the bad guys, and Kate isn't the girl he's meant to be with. Juliet is. So, I couldn't count it on the list.
Dr. Zhivago explanation: I've always wished that Lara and Pasha stayed together. But they don't. And Pasha loves her, but Lara just wants his redemption and innocence. So, yeah. I have this whole thing about Pasha, and if you only know Dr. Zhivago in context of that 1960s version, go read the book. Because it completely mischaracterizes Pasha and his motivations. My theory? It was made during the Cold War. Communism could not be portrayed as even partially good. Pasha's a communist. He's using it with VERY good intentions, even if it's a bit misguided. We can't have that in Cold War era film. We must make Pasha evil. But that is for another post. But I really like Pasha.
And was this a total waste of time for me to do? No, because I was asked to write an article about this anyways.
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