17 of the best movie kisses of all time
From Noah and Allie in the rain to Spider-Man and Mary Jane defying gravity, there are certain celluloid kisses that will be forever engrained into our memories. But who are PORTER’s all-time lip lockers? Find out who made our foot pop below
The Notebook, 2004
WHO: Young Noah Calhoun and Allie Hamilton, memorably played by Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams.
WHY: Having spent seven years apart means that passions are running high – and the rain adds a little something extra. The actors (who were a real-life couple at the time) recreated the kiss on-stage for a screaming crowd at the 2005 MTV Movie Awards.
Call Me by Your Name, 2017
WHO: Armie Hammer’s 24-year-old Oliver and Timothée Chalamet’s eager 17-year-old Elio.
WHY: It’s the height of summer in rural Italy – which is enough to raise the temperature already – but all those heated looks take you to boiling point as soon as Elio and Oliver seal their first kiss.
To Have and Have Not, 1944
WHO: Harry Morgan and Marie Browning, played by Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, who fell in love on set and married soon afterwards.
WHY: Because it’s Bacall’s character who plants one on Bogart. “What’d you do that for?” he asks. “I’ve been wondering whether I’d like it,” she replies. We like to see a woman set the agenda.
Breakfast at Tiffany’s, 1961
WHO: George Peppard’s Paul Varjak kisses Audrey Hepburn’s Holly Golightly after she runs out of the taxi to rescue her cat, Cat.
WHY: The rain strikes again, but there’s that sweet sense of relief, too.
Brokeback Mountain, 2005
WHO: Curtailed cowboys Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist (played by 2005’s MTV Best Kiss winners Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal).
WHY: When Ennis grabbed Jack’s face, knocking his hat off in the process… Yeah, we’ve relived that one a few times.
Pretty Woman, 1990
WHO: Edward Lewis (Richard Gere) overcomes his fear of heights to climb the fire escape to Vivian Ward’s (Julia Roberts) ’penthouse’ apartment and seal the deal with a kiss.
WHY: Because she rescues him right back, of course.
Spider-Man, 2002
WHO: Tobey Maguire’s web-slinging superhero and Kirsten Dunst’s Mary Jane. Fun fact – when we photographed Dunst a few years ago, she looked up as the smoke machine fug cleared and realized that we’d accidentally positioned her in the exact spot the kiss took place over a decade earlier. Imagine our excitement. Then quadruple it.
WHY: He was upside down!
Twilight, 2008
WHO: 17-year-old human Bella Swan and 100-year-old vampire Edward Cullen.
WHY: Director Catherine Hardwicke’s low-budget production produced undeniable chemistry between actors Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson – so much so that they became a real-life couple during filming of the trilogy series.
Ghost, 1990
WHO: Molly Jensen (Demi Moore) kissing the ghost of her boyfriend Sam Wheat (Patrick Swayze), via the body of medium Oda Mae Brown (Whoopi Goldberg).
WHY: Imagine getting to come back from the dead for one last kiss. Surprisingly hot.
Moonlight, 2016
WHO: Teenager Chiron and his best friend and love interest Kevin.
WHY: The kiss between Ashton Sanders and Jharrel Jerome won Best Kiss at the 2017 MTV Movie Awards, with good reason.
Dirty Dancing, 1987
WHO: Dance teacher Johnny and his willing protégée Baby, aka Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey.
WHY: Her parents would have been scandalized, which always makes a kiss that little bit more delicious.
Casablanca, 1942
WHO: Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart’s ex-lovers, Ilsa Lund and Rick Blaine.
WHY: When you know you won’t get the ending you want, but you allow yourself a moment of hope.
Cruel Intentions, 1999
WHO: A manipulative Kathryn (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and an impressionable Cecile (Selma Blair).
WHY: Back off, Ryan Phillippe – you’re surplus to requirements here.
From Here to Eternity, 1953
WHO: Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr, as Sgt. Milton Warden and Karen Holmes, set the all-time standard for seaside scenes of passion.
WHY: Sure, it’s to blame for an awful lot of sand in uncomfortable places, but we’ll never stop trying to recreate this.
The Bodyguard, 1992
WHO: Singer Rachel Marron and her (now ex) bodyguard, Frank Farmer.
WHY: This time it’s the last kiss that does it: Whitney Houston’s superstar character stops the plane and runs down the steps to lock lips with Kevin Costner. It’s the end, but she just has to kiss him one more time.
Sixteen Candles, 1984
WHO: A pining Samantha (Molly Ringwald) and object of her affection Jake Ryan (Michael Schoeffling).
WHY: There are two contenders in this film, but the sweet moment Samantha kisses Jake over the cake he brought her after her family forgot her birthday takes the, well, cake.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, 2011
WHO: A mid-battle Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) and Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint).
WHY: It took six and a half books and 17 hours of film, but Ron and Hermione finally get there, in the romantic surrounds of the Chamber of Secrets. Not exactly hot stuff, but definitely heartwarming.
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