Rentals
Love
Films to fall in love with. Films to break your heart.
When did you last kiss in a cinema? When did you last cry? Could you still believe in romance? Or is it just a fairy tale, a movie you once saw? Cinema's most seductive illusion is to immerse us in the intensity and passion of other people's lives and loves. Our season celebrates the broad sweep of love in film from the swooning silent era to the present day.
Carol Carol
Drama 2015 119 mins Director: Todd Haynes
Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara illuminate Todd Haynes’ intoxicating adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s beloved novel.
A United Kingdom A United Kingdom
Drama 2016 111 mins Director: Amma Asante
Amma Assante (Belle) directs this impassioned drama starring David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike depicting an interracial romance that changed the world.
Romeo and Juliet Romeo and Juliet
Drama 1954 145 mins Director: Renato Castellani
Laurence Harvey and Susan Shentall are the star-crossed lovers in the ravishingly filmed 1954 adaptation.
Love Is All Love Is All
Documentary 2014 74 mins Director: Kim Longinotto
A hundred years of love and courtship on the silver screen, with music created by celebrated Sheffield singer-songwriter-producer Richard Hawley.
Everlasting Love Everlasting Love
Drama 2014 69 mins Director: Marçal Forés
A thrilling and disturbing exploration of the perils of illicit sexual encounters, beginning when a teacher initiates a tryst with one of his pupils.
Looking for Love Looking for Love
Documentary 2015 115 mins Director: Menelik Shabazz
Leading filmmaker Menelik Shabazz (Burning an Illusion) explores intimacy and relationships within Britain’s black community.
Love Me Tonight Love Me Tonight
Comedy 1932 89 mins Director: Rouben Mamoulian
Rouben Mamoulian’s highly inventive romantic comedy set new standards for the use of music in film. And it’s still an utterly charming romantic delight.
I Am Love I Am Love
Drama 2009 114 mins Director: Luca Guadagnino
Tilda Swinton and Luca Guadagnino’s sumptuous, operatic vision of an aristocratic family disrupted by unstoppable forces of passion.
Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon
Biopic 1998 87 mins Director: John Maybury
Derek Jacobi and Daniel Craig star as artist Francis Bacon and his muse George Dyer in John Maybury’s darkly exquisite biopic.
Far from the Madding Crowd Far from the Madding Crowd
Period drama 1968 165 mins Director: John Schlesinger
Terence Stamp and Julie Christie star in the classic adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s tale of tragedy and passion.
The Deep Blue Sea The Deep Blue Sea
Drama 2011 99 mins Director: Terence Davies
Buried passions boil over in a buttoned-up postwar Britain in Terence Davies acclaimed adaptation of Rattigan's play, starring Rachel Weisz.
Weekend Weekend
Drama 2011 97 mins Director: Andrew Haigh
Andrew Haigh's internationally acclaimed tale of a brief encounter between two gay men.
Something New Something New
2006 100 mins Director: Sanaa Hamri
A high-flying black professional finally finds the man of her dreams, only for her family to disapprove because he’s a white guy.
Brooklyn Brooklyn
Romance 2015 112 mins Director: John Crowley
Saoirse Ronan shines as a woman who journeys from post-war small-town Ireland to New York, in Nick Hornby’s adaptation of Colm Tóibín’s best-selling novel.
The Invisible Woman The Invisible Woman
Biopic 2014 111 mins Director: Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Fiennes directs and stars in this adaptation of Claire Tomalin’s book about the long-standing affair between Charles Dickens and Nelly Ternan.
Blush Blush
Drama 2015 85 mins Director: Michal Vinik
An assured and authentic lesbian coming-of-age drama, boasting a mesmerising and heartfelt lead performance.
Another Sky Another Sky
Romance 1955 86 mins Director: Gavin Lambert
Two cultures collide in a beautifully photographed love story - an ode to Morocco, its music, its people and way of life.
The Girl King The Girl King
Historical drama 2015 106 mins Director: Mika Kaurismäki
Lush retelling of the story of lesbian monarch Queen Christina of Sweden, combining period drama with a deeply personal love story.
Like You Mean It Like You Mean It
Drama 2016 90 mins Director: Philipp Karner
Writer-director Philipp Garner also stars in this refreshing gay drama, a portrait of a couple trying to make it work in the film world of Los Angeles.
All That Heaven Allows All That Heaven Allows
Melodrama 1955 89 mins Director: Douglas Sirk
Hollywood’s master of melodrama, Douglas Sirk, is at his most devastating crafting this deceptively simple story of class-crossing romance into a florid explosion of style.
Peter Ibbetson Peter Ibbetson
Drama 1935 85 mins Director: Henry Hathaway
One of the most unjustly overlooked fables from Hollywood’s golden age, a stunning romantic fantasy about two divided lovers united in a dream world.
Reaching for the Moon Reaching for the Moon
Biopic 2013 114 mins Director: Bruno Barreto
Beautifully told true story of the love affair between American poet Elizabeth Bishop and Brazilian architect Lola de Macedo Soares.
Bride & Prejudice Bride & Prejudice
Musical 2004 107 mins Director: Gurinder Chadha
Gurinder Chadha’s Bollywood retelling of Austen’s classic romance is an all-round joy, adding colour and song to Austen’s evergreen wit.
The Raging Moon The Raging Moon
Drama 1971 112 mins Director: Bryan Forbes
Sensitive and ground-breaking romance between couple who are both wheelchair users, played by Malcolm McDowell and Nanette Newman.
Wuthering Heights Wuthering Heights
Drama 2011 129 mins Director: Andrea Arnold
Andrea Arnold's bold re-imagining of the Emily Brontë classic.
Goodbye First Love Goodbye First Love
Drama 2011 106 mins Director: Mia Hansen-Løve
The pangs and pains of young love are artfully and respectfully rendered in this subtle and sensitive drama from Mia Hansen-Løve (Eden).
Monsters Monsters
Science Fiction 2010 94 mins Director: Gareth Edwards
Gareth Edwards reimagined the monster movie with his highly impressive DIY sci-fi, in which an indie romance blossoms amid the trailing tentacles of an alien invasion.
Blue is the Warmest Colour Blue is the Warmest Colour
Romance 2013 180 mins Director: Abdel Kechiche
The epic, passionate and strikingly naturalistic Palme d'Or-winning romance.
Kiss Me Kiss Me
Romance 2011 107 mins Director: Alexandre-Therese Keining
Mia is engaged to marry a man, but finds herself falling for Frida, who happens to be her new stepmother's daughter.
Man without Desire Man without Desire
Fantasy 1924 108 mins Silent Director: Adrian Brunel
A sumptuous silent drama of love, frustrated desire and suspended animation in 18th-century Venice.
The World Unseen The World Unseen
Drama 2009 90 mins Director: Shamim Sarif
Sweeping romantic drama about two Indian women who fall for each other in the hostile environment of apartheid South Africa.
Holding the Man Holding the Man
Biopic 2015 128 mins Director: Neil Armfield
A sweepingly romantic adaptation of Timothy Conigrave’s best-selling memoir, an impassioned love letter to his partner, John Caleo.
Something Must Break Something Must Break
Drama 2014 85 mins Director: Ester Martin Bergsmark
A striking 21st-century love story about the passionate relationship between a transgendered teen and a straight man.
Still the Water Still the Water
Romance 2014 119 mins Director: Naomi Kawase
Naomi Kawase’s visually ravishing, beautifully composed film tells the story of two youths growing up and falling in love on a Japanese island.
Stories of Our Lives Stories of Our Lives
Documentary 2014 61 mins Director: Jim Chuchu
Five stories of forbidden desire, courageously collected to tell the hidden truths of LGBT life in Kenya.
Amour Amour
Drama 2012 127 mins Director: Michael Haneke
Michael Haneke’s Palme d’Or-winner, about an octogenarian couple trying to cope when a stroke leaves the wife partly paralysed and speechless.
Man Up Man Up
Romance 2015 88 mins Director: Ben Palmer
Simon Pegg’s date is hijacked by Lake Bell in this effervescent urban comedy, a fresh twist on the British rom-com.
Dance Pretty Lady Dance Pretty Lady
Drama 1931 63 mins Director: Anthony Asquith
Passion, tights and tutus are front and centre in this touching tale of a ballerina being romanced by a sculptor in Edwardian London.
Yellow Fever Yellow Fever
Comedy 1998 27 mins Director: Raymond Yeung
A gay British-Chinese man refuses to date Chinese men. But then Jai Ming moves in next door.
Gregory's Girl Gregory's Girl
Comedy 1981 92 mins Director: Bill Forsyth
The ultimate depiction of coming-of-age awkwardness, Bill Forsyth’s comedy about a teen who falls for the new female footballer on the school team.
The Low Down The Low Down
Comedy 2001 96 mins Director: Jamie Thraves
Aidan Gillen plays an aimless twenty-something who refuses to grow up, even after he starts dating a responsible estate agent, in Jamie Thraves’ slacker romance.
Submarine Submarine
Comedy 2011 97 mins Director: Richard Ayoade
Richard Ayoade’s sweet and quirky directorial debut about a Swansea teen’s travails with his distant girlfriend and warring parents.
Tangerine Tangerine
Drama 2015 88 mins Director: Sean Baker
A big-hearted film shot on a small phone, this LA tale of two transgender working girls out for vengeance fizzes with wild energy.
Deliver Us from Eva Deliver Us from Eva
Comedy 2003 105 mins Director: Gary Hardwick
LL Cool J plays the ultimate player, hired to seduce the sister-in-law from hell.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Drama 2004 103 mins Director: Michel Gondry
Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet play the couple who fall in love so quickly it seems they must have known each other in a past life ... only to discover they did.
Love & Friendship Love & Friendship
Comedy 2016 93 mins Director: Whit Stillman
Whit Stillman crosses the Atlantic for this irresistible Jane Austen adaptation, following the delicious and devious exploits of Lady Susan (Kate Beckinsale).
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
Comedy 2012 111 mins Director: Lasse Hallström
Two London office workers find love on a Yemeni Sheikh's ambitious fishing scheme. Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt star.
Black Mountain Poets Black Mountain Poets
Comedy 2016 85 mins Director: Jamie Adams
Alice Lowe and Dolly Wells play criminal sisters who steal the identity of two poets, only to be charmed by the world of competition poetry.
Charade Charade
Thriller 1963 113 mins Director: Stanley Donen
Charm is the byword in the screwball thriller that pits Cary Grant on the trail of Audrey Hepburn and her late husband’s missing millions.
Remember the Night Remember the Night
Comedy 1939 94 mins Director: Mitchell Leisen
Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray are the shoplifter and attorney who fall for other in this charming, Christmas comedy scripted by Preston Sturges.
The Lady Eve The Lady Eve
Comedy 1941 94 mins Director: Preston Sturges
A female con artist falls in love with her target in Preston Sturges’s comedy, starring Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda.
Shakespeare in Love Shakespeare in Love
Comedy 1998 124 mins Director: John Madden
A creatively stymied bard finds love and inspiration in the form of one of his players, a cross-dressing actress, in the impeccably crafted, Oscar-winning period romance.
Letter to Brezhnev Letter to Brezhnev
Comedy 1985 94 mins Director: Chris Bernard
Two Liverpudlians hook up with a pair of Russian sailors only to wonder if they might be better off behind the Iron Curtain.
Spring Meeting Spring Meeting
Comedy 1941 94 mins Director: Walter C. Mycroft and Norman Lee
A penniless woman’s attempts at matchmaking her way to riches go awry when her son falls for the wrong daughter of a nobleman.
Forgetting Sarah Marshall Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Comedy 2008 111 mins Director: Nicholas Stoller
Dumped and devastated Peter (Jason Segel) holidays to Hawaii only to discover his ex is shacked up there with a debauched rock star (Russell Brand).
I Love You Phillip Morris I Love You Phillip Morris
Comedy 2009 94 mins Director: John Requa and Glenn Ficarra
Jim Carrey’s irrepressible performance drives the incredible true story of a con man who repeatedly escapes from prison to be with his lover.
The Best Man The Best Man
Comedy 1999 120 mins Director: Malcolm D. Lee
Malcolm D. Lee set the standard for middle-class black comedy with this smart, chic feature about a best man whose indiscreet novel scuppers the wedding plans.
The Lunchbox The Lunchbox
Drama 2013 105 mins Director: Ritesh Batra
Mismatched lunchboxes lead to an unlikely romance in this exquisite Indian drama, brimful of tantalising food and elegantly delivered wisdom.
Appropriate Behaviour Appropriate Behaviour
Comedy 2015 86 mins Director: Desiree Akhavan
Desiree Akhavan directs and stars in this clever, razor-sharp and fearless comedy following the sexual misadventures of a Brooklynite.
The Way He Looks The Way He Looks
Drama 2014 92 mins Director: Daniel Ribeiro
A blind student’s relationship with his best friend is tested when he falls for the new boy in school, in Daniel Ribeiro’s beautifully realised romance.
Bridget Jones's Diary Bridget Jones's Diary
Comedy 2001 97 mins Director: Sharon Maguire
Reindeer jumpers and big knickers: the smash adaptation of Helen Fielding’s hit novel still has all the best gags in the rom-com circuit.
Pride & Prejudice Pride & Prejudice
Drama 2005 127 mins Director: Joe Wright
Keira Knightley stars in Jane Austen’s timeless romance, reinvigorated for the modern age by the masters of British rom-com, Working Title.
Notting Hill Notting Hill
Comedy 1999 124 mins Director: Roger Michell
Richard Curtis and Hugh Grant followed Four Weddings with this featherlight, frequently funny romance between an ordinary bloke and a visiting Hollywood starlet.
Love Is Strange Love Is Strange
Drama 2014 95 mins Director: Ira Sachs
Ira Sachs’s refined Manhattan-set drama sees Alfred Molina’s Ben and John Lithgow’s George in the latter days of a tender, loving 39-year relationship.
I Can't Think Straight I Can't Think Straight
Drama 2009 79 mins Director: Shamim Sarif
The story of an affair between a Palestinian woman and her British Indian friend, from the same team behind The World Unseen.
On Approval On Approval
Comedy 1944 79 mins
Splendid lead performances and a well-crafted, witty script make this adaptation of the Frederick Lonsdale play a delight.
Possession Possession
Horror 1981 124 mins Director: Andrzej Zulawski
Andrzej Zulawski’s out-of-control horror masterpiece is one of cinema’s most bare-souled and open-veined accounts of a broken relationship.
Spring Spring
Horror 2015 110 mins Director: Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson
An American tourist in Italy falls for a stunning local woman with a dangerous secret, in this startling horror-romance.
Betty Blue Betty Blue
Drama 1986 185 mins Director: Jean-Jacques Beineix
Jean-Jacques Beineix’s story of a volatile, highly sexual relationship was one of the most successful French films of the 1980s.
Only Lovers Left Alive Only Lovers Left Alive
Romance 2013 123 mins Director: Jim Jarmusch
Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton star as ageless, blood-drinking lovers in Jim Jarmusch’s clever, funny and sexy vampire tale.
The Light between Oceans The Light between Oceans
Drama 2016 132 mins Director: Derek Cianfrance
Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander star in Derek Cianfrance’s sweeping romance about a lighthouse keeper, his wife, and the baby they rescue from a drifting boat.
The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne
Drama 1989 116 mins Director: Jack Clayton
Maggie Smith is astonishing in one of her greatest roles as a spinster who falls for Bob Hoskins’ brash businessman.
A Bigger Splash A Bigger Splash
Thriller 2015 125 mins Director: Luca Guadagnino
Ralph Fiennes delivers a sensational performance as one of four passionate souls sharing a villa in the Sicilian sunshine, with jealousy, intrigue and violence simmering beneath the surface.
The Chambermaid Lynn The Chambermaid Lynn
2014 90 mins Director: Ingo Haeb
An obsessive-compulsive hotel cleaner (Vicky Krieps) who harbours a fetishistic fascination with her hotel's guests meets an enigmatic dominatrix who changes her world.
American Translation American Translation
Drama 2010 115 mins Director: Pascal Ascandes Arnold and Jean-Marc Barr
A sexually ambiguous Frenchman tours his native countryside with his naive American lover in pursuit of the ultimate thrill.
Sightseers Sightseers
Comedy 2012 88 mins Director: Ben Wheatley
Young lovers Chris and Tina turn their first holiday together into a rural killing spree in Ben Wheatley's priceless black comedy.
Black Black
Drama 2015 90 mins Director: Bilall Fallah and Adil El Arbi
Star-crossed lovers from rival street gangs conduct an illicit affair in this pulsating urban romance.
Stella Stella
1968 26 mins Silent Director: Alan Clarke
Alun Owen and director Alan Clarke's extraordinary power-play charts the explosive sexual dynamic between the titular heroine and her obsessive lover.
The Lovers & the Despot The Lovers & the Despot
Documentary 2016 98 mins Director: Ross Adam and Rob Cannan
Discover one of cinema’s strangest stories: a film director and his star are kidnapped by Kim Jong-il to make movies in the world’s weirdest state.
The Mask The Mask
Melodrama 1953 28 mins Director: Don Chaffey
This Gothic-tinged short melodrama packs a cocktail of infidelity, deformity and jealousy into its tale of love gone sour.
Touched with Fire Touched with Fire
Drama 2015 106 mins Director: Paul Dalio
Two young poets with bipolar begin a highly passionate, volatile relationship that threatens both their futures.
Uncle David Uncle David
Comedy 2009 95 mins Director: Gary Reich, Mike Nicholls and 1 more
Celebrated cabaret artist David Hoyle’s debut film is a typically acerbic drama about the disturbing relationship between an uncle and his nephew.
The Duke of Burgundy The Duke of Burgundy
Drama 2015 104 mins Director: Peter Strickland
Peter Strickland’s visually and aurally intoxicating tale of sadomasochistic power-play is a daringly erotic sensory feast.
Double Indemnity Double Indemnity
Crime 1944 108 mins Director: Billy Wilder
Barbara Stanwyck is the housewife who dupes an insurance salesman into a devious murder plot, in this giant of American cinema - the archetypal Film Noir.
Stranger by the Lake Stranger by the Lake
Drama 2013 100 mins Director: Alain Guiraudie
A young man witnesses a violent crime at a gay cruising ground and becomes obsessed with the killer in Alain Guiraudie’s acclaimed mystery-thriller.
Vertigo Vertigo
Thriller 1958 128 mins Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Hitchcock’s timeless thriller about a former detective with a fear of heights who is hired to follow a woman who seems possessed by the past.
Intimate Relations Intimate Relations
Drama 1997 99 mins Director: Philip Goodhew
Julie Walters and Rupert Graves are at the centre of a sordid love triangle in this pulpy melodrama about seedy shenanigans in 1950s suburbia.
Trishna Trishna
Drama 2012 114 mins Director: Michael Winterbottom
Tragedy befalls a young Indian woman when she falls in love with a rich British man in Michael Winterbottom's sharp Thomas Hardy update.
The Night Has Eyes The Night Has Eyes
Horror 1942 79 mins Director: Leslie Arliss
James Mason stars in this gothic tale of dangerous desire set on the Yorkshire Moors.
A Romance of Seville A Romance of Seville
Romance 1931 61 mins Silent Director: Norman Walker
This florid Iberian romance centres on the daring exploits of Ramon as he takes on a group of bandits to win the admiration of true love Pepita, and escape his stultifying arranged marriage.
The Man in Grey The Man in Grey
Melodrama 1943 116 mins Director: Leslie Arliss
James Mason, Margaret Lockwood and Stewart Granger star in the first of the fantastically successful Gainsborough melodramas.
Explore further
The Power of Love
Love can be heaven, love can be hell and in the romantic epic it's invariably both. Tempestuous relationships create the perfect conditions for high drama. But some of the most memorable love stories are intimate stories that define an intense emotional terrain.
Fools For Love
The course of true love never did run smoothly, and the dating game makes fools of us all, but good humour wins the day in the romantic comedy.
Fatal Attractions
Amour fou is one of film's most darkly alluring themes, and lust, seduction and betrayal can be a deadly game. Intemperate passions bring out our most animal instincts, and poor decision-making can lead to the bloody consequences - as any gun-toting lovers on the run will testify.
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