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Love triangles have been a common narrative trope for as long as humans have been telling stories. The inherent drama that ensues from the entanglement of multiple lovers has connected with audiences for centuries.
Movie love triangles exist in many forms, from the cliché of choosing between the “good choice” and the “bad choice” to more nuanced depictions of the complexities of love. Love triangles can end in happiness, but they also have the potential to end in heartbreak or betrayal. Regardless of the outcome, films with iconic love triangles are destined to rank among cinema’s most remembered movies.
One of the last great masterpieces of Hollywood’s Golden Era, The Apartment was a critical and commercial smash hit. The film was one of the year’s 10 highest-grossing films and took home five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, out of ten total nominations.
The Apartment was highly controversial because its premise follows an insurance clerk who allows his superiors to use his apartment for extramarital affairs. The clerk (Jack Lemmon) eventually falls in love with one of the women (Shirley MacLaine) his boss is having an affair with. The allowance of this frank depiction of extramarital affairs signified the waning power of the Production Code, which would completely cease to exist by the mid-1960s.
9 The Philadelphia Story Uses The Love Triangle To Great Comedic Effect
One way to guarantee the iconic legacy of a love triangle is to cast the greatest movie stars as the three protagonists. The Philadelphia Story involves a love triangle between Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, and James Stewart.
The Philadelphia Story has a zany plot that includes a rich socialite, who is prevented from marrying her fiancé because of interference from her ex-husband, and a reporter who develops feelings for her. Widely regarded as one of the greatest romantic comedies of all time, The Philadelphia Story helped revitalize Katharine Hepburn’s career after she was labeled box office ‘poison’ in the late 1930s. The film also provided James Stewart with an Oscar win for Best Actor.
8 The Love Triangle Takes A Dark Turn In Days Of Heaven
Set during the early twentieth century, Days of Heaven depicts a love triangle between a violent man named Bill, his girlfriend, and their employer. After being hired to work on a farm, Bill convinces his girlfriend, Abby, to marry the rich farmer so they could inherit his money. Complications arise when Abby ends up falling in love with the farmer.
Shot almost entirely using natural light, Days of Heaven remains one of the greatest accomplishments in cinematography in film history. Full of deception, Days of Heaven‘s most enduring sequence occurs when the farm is attacked by a swarm of locusts.
7 The Earrings Of Madame De… Is The Most Perfect Film Ever Made
There is not anything that says “I love you” quite like a duel to the death. Hailed as the most perfect film ever made by famed film critic Andrew Sarris, The Earrings of Madame de… is set during the Belle Époque and follows a love triangle between an aristocrat, her husband, and an Italian baron.
Arguably Max Ophüls’ magnum opus, The Earrings of Madame de… represents the pinnacle of his cinematic style, particularly the brilliance of his intoxicating camera movement. The dance sequence between the aristocrat and the baron, which uses dissolves to demonstrate the passage of time as the two characters fall in love, is one of cinema’s most well-executed scenes.
6 The Graduate’s Love Triangle Gives Birth To An Iconic Song
A seminal film of the New Hollywood movement, The Graduate jump-started the career of Dustin Hoffman. Hoffman stars as a college graduate who begins an affair with a much older married woman. However, he soon develops feelings for and falls in love with the married woman’s daughter.
The Graduate has become iconic not only because it is a phenomenal film, but also because of its soundtrack, which includes the music of Simon & Garfunkel. The duo used a previously-written song, “Mrs. Robinson,” and reworked the lyrics so that it could fit into the movie.
5 Brief Encounter Offers One Of The Most Nuanced Depictions Of A Love Triangle
The British classic Brief Encounter offers one of cinema’s most thought-provoking and nuanced depictions of a love triangle. The film follows a happily married woman, who meets a happily married man. Over time, however, the two slowly begin to fall in love.
Brief Encounter is a complex film because unlike most films about affairs, there is no blatant justification for their adultery, like emotional neglect. Laura loves her husband and children, but she ends up tangled in a web of lies when she continues to meet with Alec. A landmark film of British cinema, Brief Encounter was ranked the second-greatest British film of all time by the British Film Institute.
4 Jules And Jim Is A Paramount Film Of The Nouvelle Vague
Released in 1962, Jules and Jim is one of the paramount films of the Nouvelle Vague. Directed by François Truffaut, Jules and Jim is set before, during, and after World War I. The tragic love triangle of the film develops between Jim, a French Bohemian, his Austrian best friend Jules, and Jules’ girlfriend and eventual wife, Catherine.
Jules and Jim is the prototypical Nouvelle Vague film that is full of jump cuts, freeze frames, and unique use of narration. The film explores themes of freedom, youthful rebellion, and the painful consequences of obsessive desire.
3 Gone With The Wind Is One Of Hollywood’s Definitive Romances
Gone with the Wind is an undeniable American classic, the apex of Hollywood studio filmmaking. Adjusted for inflation, Gone with the Wind is by far the highest-grossing film of all time, a record that’s likely to never be broken.
The love triangle in Gone with the Wind occurs between Scarlett O’Hara, Rhett Butler, and Ashley Wilkes. This entanglement is one of the most recognizable in film history. This mammoth production was among the first 25 films inducted into the National Film Registry. Even those who have not seen the film have probably heard the film’s famous climatic line, “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.“
2 Sunrise: A Song Of Two Humans Is The Greatest Silent Film Ever Made
Ranked the fifth-greatest film ever made in the Sight and Sound critics poll, Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans is the greatest silent film ever made. Sunrise tells the story of a man who cheats on his wife with a sensuous woman from the city. The woman convinces the Man to kill his Wife, but after not being able to bring himself to commit the violent act, the Man seeks redemption by rekindling his romance with the Wife.
Not only iconic for its love triangle, Sunrise brought German Expressionism to Hollywood filmmaking. The movie featured unprecedented camera movement and revolutionary use of forced perspective, and was one of the first films to have a synchronized score and synchronized sound effects.
1 Casablanca Is The Greatest Romance To Ever Grace The Silver Screen
Casablanca is the greatest romance movie ever made, and its love triangle is certainly the most iconic. Set during World War II, Casablanca’s love triangle involves nightclub owner Rick Blaine, his former lover Ilsa, and Ilsa’s current lover, Victor Laszlo. Rick must choose between reigniting his romance with Ilsa and helping Ilsa and Victor escape Vichy-controlled Casablanca.
The definitive Hollywood romance, Rick and Ilsa’s love affair was voted the greatest Hollywood passion by the American Film Institute. Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman’s chemistry is off the charts and resulted in some of the most iconic romantic lines in cinema, including “Here’s looking at you, kid,” “We’ll always have Paris,” and “Play it Sam. ‘Play As Time Goes By‘.”
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