7 Romance Classics Streaming on HBO Max Right Now

“Casablanca”

How could this movie not make the list?

Michael Curtiz’s 1942 hit “Casablanca” tops a lot of “Best movies of all time” lists for a reason. The film, written by Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein and Howard Koch, remains one of Hollywood’s greatest romances more than 80 years later — the story of a man (Humphrey Bogart) reunited with his lost love (Ingrid Bergman) and her resistance leader husband (Paul Henreid) in 1940s Morocco. This is one of the finest movies to come out of the Golden Age of Hollywood, one that remains entirely accessible to modern audiences.

“In the Mood for Love”

Soon after Mr. Chow (Tony Leung Chiu-wai) and Mrs. Chan (Maggie Cheung) become neighbors, they both come to a life-altering realization: their spouses are having an affair. When Mrs. Chow and Mr. Chan (perpetually off-screen or shown only with obscured faces) both leave town at the same time, Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan begin to act out how they think the cheating started, progressively spending more and more time together. As intimacy snowballs, they try not to make the same mistakes that their partners did.

Written and directed by Wong Kar-wai, “In the Mood for Love” is a beautiful, phenomenally acted film and a modern classic of the romance genre.

“Love & Basketball”

Written and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, “Love & Basketball” is one hell of a feature debut. Appropriately divided into four quarters, the film follows two basketball players (Omar Epps and Sanaa Lathan) who attempt to navigate their romantic feelings and athletic careers as the two develop in tandem. It’s a phenomenal opening statement from Prince-Bythewood, and one of the best romances of the 2000s.

“The Notebook”

Speaking of classic 2000s romance, few have become as massive pop culture artifacts as “The Notebook,” Nick Cassavetes feature adaptation of the Nicholas Sparks novel of the same name. More than two decades later, Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams still remain some of Hollywood’s best stars, with both returning to headline early 2026 genre pictures.

If you aren’t in the mood to watch the full movie over again, at least make time to check out their insane acceptance “speech” for Best Kiss at the 2005 MTV Movie Awards. There’s nothing more mid-2000s than that.

“Portrait of a Lady on Fire”

My personal pick for the greatest romance film since the year 2000, Céline Sciamma’s “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” is an aching picture of love and longing between a painter and an aristocrat in 18th century France. Noémie Merlant and Adèle Haenel give two incredible leading performances in this tragically brief queer romance. It’s an instant classic and one of the finest films of this century — romance or not.

“Singin’ in the Rain”

Few movies compare to the joy, magic and pure cinematic whimsy of “Singin’ in the Rain.” The premise is simple: a movie star and a chorus girl find love as Hollywood transitions from silent cinema to talkies. The execution is breathtaking, with a number of musical performances eliciting swoons, laughs and ear-to-ear grins. To this day, it’s hard to say if there’s ever been a better cinematic depiction of pure love than the titular “Singin’ in the Rain” sequence.

“The Umbrellas of Cherbourg”

If “Singin’ in the Rain” didn’t satisfy your romantic musical itch, consider “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg,” another of the genre’s all-timers. This 1964 French-language romance, written and directed by Jacques Demy, tells a dramatic story of love and separation in an operatic fashion. The film follows Geneviève (Catherine Deneuve) and Guy (Nino Castelnuovo), two young lovers who find themselves separated by war in 1950s Cherbourg, Normandy. This film is another classic, and one of the most breathtakingly colorful romances you’ll ever see.