Great Movie Kisses

[children with angels]

I'm going to be putting on a play of mine in September and one of the main things that I need to do in preparation for it is to make a big compilation of kisses from lots of old movies.

The play is set at an ill-fated Valentine's Day party and the idea is that a character has cut together all these beautiful, perfect, romantic, movie-love kisses which get projected on a screen in the party room, in order that when the ladies arrive and see the idealised love they will become sentimental and weak, and therefore vulnerable, open to attack...

Anyway: I thought people could help me and list some truly great kisses from movies. I'm mainly interested in older ones (a bunch of silent movie ones would be a real bonus. Got Sunrise already - superb), real kinda golden-era, truly beautiful kisses. Mainly black and white. But then - this thread doesn't have to be purely selfish on my part, so whatever: basically, what are everyone's favourite movie kisses...? If you could also say approximately where they occur in the film, and why they're amazing, that would be great...

Personally: two of my favourites are Vertigo and Rear Window. Vertigo: the amazing one where he sees Madeline again for the first time, all dressed up, the camera swirls round them and the background changes - all that green: wowza... Rear Window: the first appearence of Grace Kelly, appearing dangerously over Jimmy Stewart then the tight close up on the slowed-down kiss. Beautiful...

Edit: Before anyone mentions it - I'm going to try not to use Cinema Paradiso if I can help it...

[budgie]

The greatest silent kiss I've seen, even perhaps the greatest screen kiss, is between Greta Garbo and John Gilbert in Flesh and the Devil. I can't remember how far into the film it is, maybe half way through. They are in a garden at a party, nightime. It's a gorgeous, silvered close-up and she looks ravenous, devouring him sexually and spiritually with a kiss. That's the woman subtly and vampishly 'attacking' the man, which might even be more of a motivation for the girls, who knows...

Talking of Hitchcock, when I saw your title my first thought was of Notorious, and the nuzzling kisses that go on between Bergman and Grant at her house. I think they're very sensual.

[Alethia]

this isnt a great screen kiss, but it puts a smile on my face being a fan of the movies and all - the small kiss between hannibal lecter and clarice in HANNIBAL when he has her up against the refrigerator.

[Sleuth]

several in Mulholland Drive

[Alethia]

several in Mulholland Drive

ooh, yes.....

[budgie]

On my way home I thought about whether you were only interested in heterosexual images, if it's supposed to be 'ideal'. Only that, for turn ons, one of my favourites is the kiss between James Spader and Elias Koteas in Crash, including the kisses of the tattoos.

I looked it up for you, and if you happen to have access to the DVD and want to give it a good look over, it's scene 18 (Full Throttle).

[Alethia]

there's one that might be a little cheesy, but it's cute enough...the one between macaluy culkin (i dont think i spelled his name right) and anna clumsky in my girl when theyre next to the lake.......i dunno

[Redlum]

The boy who could fly. As he goes in to kiss her, a single tear drop rolls down his cheek, down to his top lip, and they kiss with the the tear.

Also, George and Lorraine.

Afraid I cant really help on the b&w front. I always liked the one in Spelbound though.

[budgie]

Maybe you should just ditch the whole sappy romance thing and go with Crash, Mulholland drive and the Bobby Peru/Lula scene.

I know which set would open me up to attack.

[MacGuffin]

Talking of Hitchcock, when I saw your title my first thought was of Notorious, and the nuzzling kisses that go on between Bergman and Grant at her house. I think they're very sensual.

Beat me to it. First one I thought of too.

Don't forget the famous kiss on the beach in "From Here To Eternity":



Also:

Some Like It Hot
A Place In The Sun
Raging Bull (when she kisses his boo-boos)

[Alethia]

or the famous kiss on the beach from AIRPLANE!

[Ernie]

There's this great part right at the beginning of All the Real Girls where the main guy, Paul, makes out with his girlfriend's (Zooey Deschanel's) palm...of all things...and it's really funny and cool and just so real. I know there was some critic that said that was the best kiss ever. I think it's fucking awesome too. Just if you wanted a little twist...I know your leaning towards the films of the 40's and 50's though.

My favorite kiss ever might be in The Sandlot when Spence fakes drowning so the lifeguard will give him CPR  8) ...that is the best ever.

I guess I can't get too into the kisses your talking about though...the big, sappy ones. I like them more sloppy and just...cool I guess. The other ones can kinda bore me sometimes. It depends. The Raging Bull one that was already mentioned is a big exception.

[Alethia]

My favorite kiss ever might be in The Sandlot when Spence fakes drowning so the lifeguard will give him CPR  8) ...that is the best ever.

oh yeah that was fucking great!

wasn't his name squints tho?

doesn't matter, i was just having trouble remembering.  been a while since i seen it

[Ghostboy]

I think its hard to deny the greatness of the kiss in Spiderman; whether or not you actually like the movie is irrevelant, that is one iconic kiss.

[children with angels]

Thanks for the responses, people!

Budgie: the Flesh and the Devil one sounds fantastic - I haven't even heard of that movie, am I bad? I'll try to find it. Crash - hmm. Not too sure about that - not that it isn't a great kiss, but I am just going for heterosexual ones: the character who made the compilation is a bit of a homophobic, masculinity-in-crisis-macho guy so I don't think he'd want anything to do with any man-on-man kisses.

The Boy who could Fly sounds just beautiful! I remember seeing that film vaguely when I was about seven - don't remember the kiss though: kissing is disgusting and embarassing when you're seven. I'll seek it out...

Notorious, From Here To Eternity, Raging Bull: perfect...

That All The Real Girls is such a beautiful kiss, so real - you're right, Ebe: but because of that, it's not really what I'm looking for. I'm going for huge, over-romantic gestures here... It's a wonderful thing though - so honest.

Just want to defend the stereotypical, classical Hollywood movie kiss as not just being sappy here... I mean, of course, they are but there's something in them that just sums up something so sad in our longing for that ideal: that perfection of what we're told we want. I'm looking for pure onslaught of in-your-face sappy, beautiful, pathetic, overblown, wonderful, ridiculous movie love imagery...

So, yeah. Keep 'em coming...! Thanks again...