They Loved And Lost: Movie Romances That Didn't Work Out

Everyone loves a movie with a happy ending, but sometimes it just isn’t possible. We knew that Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan would get together in “Sleepless In Seattle,” and any romantic comedy involving Jennifer Aniston is bound to end on an up note. (We think it’s in her contract.) But the real tear-jerker movies are the ones about couples who were meant for each other, but were kept apart through differences in background, natural disasters or even political circumstances. Here are ten pairs of star-crossed lovers:

Titanic

Upper-class Rose (Kate Winslet) and bohemian artist Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) reach across the class divide and become lovers aboard the doomed “Titanic.” But, as happened hundreds of times on that tragic night, their hope for the future ends in a cold sea. The lush photography and tragic story have made this a fan favorite since its release. No wonder it’s back again in 3D. Director James Cameron has said he based the lovers’ story on that of Romeo and Juliet.

Gone With The Wind After their initial bouts of sarcastic flirtation, Rhett (Clark Gable) and Scarlett (Vivien Leigh) finally get together. But amid the carnage of the Civil War, they’re separated, and Scarlett has to somehow survive on her own. When they’re finally reunited, erotic as well as angry sparks fly, and Rhett issues the most famous exit line in movie history: “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.” The equally classic closing line from Scarlett – “Tomorrow is another day” – gives you hope for their reunion, although the reality is that a relationship between two such strong-willed, stubborn people would be impossible to sustain.

The Way We Were Campus radical Katie (Barbra Streisand) and conservative hunk Hubbell (Robert Redford) are an unlikely couple from the start, and the movie doesn’t flinch from the conclusion that their outlooks on life and politics will drive them apart. They marry, break up and marry other people whose world view is closer to their own. Are they happy with their new partners? Yes and no. Katie and Hubbell, who still love each other, would have been great together if only they’d managed to look past their differences. Sometimes, though, you just can't.

Romeo And Juliet Talk about a relationship that’s doomed from the start. Romeo (Leonard Whiting) and Juliet (Olivia Hussey) are love-struck teenagers whose families are locked in a deadly feud. That feud, as well as a fatal misunderstanding, makes their love impossible and causes Juliet to commit suicide after she learns of Romeo’s death. There have been several film versions, but the 1968 one stands out for the tragic beauty of the performers who played the ill-fated teenage lovers.

Ghost The most romantic ideal of all – a love that is alive even in death – is the theme of Ghost. Sam (Patrick Swayze) is murdered but stays in this world as a ghost so he can protect his girlfriend (Molly) from the mastermind behind his death. Although the two manage to reunite in an erotic pottery-spinning scene, Sam’s ultimate rescue of Molly means that he passes from this world and is gone until the two reunite.

Out Of Africa A famous opening line – “I had a farm in Africa” – heralds the love story of Karen Blixen (Meryl Streep) and Denys Finch-Hatton (Robert Redford). Blixen, a Danish baroness who runs a coffee plantation in Africa, falls in love with Finch-Hatton, an adventurer and big-game hunter. Their affair ultimately ends in two heartbreaking ways: Finch-Hatton wants to keep his freedom, and he dies in a small-plane crash. Only in chronicling the affair in the book “Out of Africa” does Blixen, who became known as Isak Dinesen, find some catharsis.

Wuthering Heights An adolescent couple who suffer as much as they love, Cathy (Merle Oberon) and Heathcliff (Laurence Olivier) play out their doomed relationship amid the harsh moors of northern England. "Wuthering Heights" has been made a few times, but Olivier’s classic performance, plus the brooding black-and-white photography, make this the best. Unlike shallow romantic comedies, the couple doesn’t overcome impossible difficulties with an unbelievable plot twist. Instead, the relationship ends in death for one and an unhappy marriage for the other.

The Notebook Maybe the saddest love stories of all are the ones that involve tragic misunderstandings. After Allie (Rachel McAdams) is torn away from her boyfriend Noah (Ryan Gosling), he writes her every day for a year, but the letters are kept from Allie by her overbearing mother . Because she never sees the letters, and he never gets a reply, the two are separated for decades and then get only a brief chance at happiness once they’re reunited in their native South Carolina.

Casablanca Virtually everyone knows at least one line from this movie, even if they’ve never seen it. “Here’s looking at you, kid.” "We'll always have Paris." But aside from that, "Casablanca" is a powerful, politically tinged love story. Rick (Humphrey Bogart) and Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) have had a passionate affair in Paris and run into each other after she has married another man. Despite the heat that’s still between them, Ilsa knows it’s better to stay with her husband, a World War II resistance leader. Rick helps them escape Casablanca, and as the couple’s plane flies off into the night, it’s clear that they won’t be returning.

The Bridges Of Madison County Meryl Streep plays Francesca, an Italian war bride living in a small Iowa town that has never quite become home. While her husband and children are at the state fair, she meets photographer Robert Kincaid (Clint Eastwood) and begins a torrid four-day affair. A fair number of star-crossed lovers choose duty over passion, and Streep is one of them. An understated movie that ends with Streep watching through the rain as Eastwood’s pickup makes a right turn, away from her and all they’ve had.