The best movie kisses transport us. When two actors play a moment of physical connection just right, the audience believes true love and burning passion actually exist, even if just for a moment.
Here, we’ve curated 11 famous movie kisses that every performer should watch. They’re not all sexy lip locks, though—there’s apprehension, betrayal, and even freaky fun. But, of course, we included the sexy ones, too.
Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart, “To Have and Have Not” (1944)
Listen, they couldn’t show much in the golden age of Hollywood, so actors had to make the kisses count. No duo did cinematic heat like Bogie and Bacall. Their chemistry in Howard Hawks’ “To Have and Have Not” famously snowballed into real-life love, and, well, just look at the material. In one steamy scene, Bacall’s Marie “Slim” Browning slides onto the lap of Bogart’s Harry “Steve” Morgan; she’s like liquid. Slim calls him a “stinker” and goes in for the kill—er, kiss. After some sexy patter, she leans in for Round Two, then ends the scene with one of history’s greatest double entendres. “You know how to whistle, don’t you, Steve?” Bacall purrs. “You just put your lips together, and blow.”
Talia Shire and Sylvester Stallone, “Rocky” (1976)
Stallone’s Rocky Balboa and Shire’s Adrian Pennino are an iconic movie couple, but eternal love doesn’t come to mind when they first kiss in John G. Avildsen’s “Rocky.” The brutish boxer’s wooing of meek Adrian hasn’t succeeded up to this point. He convinces her to come up to his place, though, and initiates a kiss. It’s an uncomfortable scene for the characters and, frankly, for the audience. Stallone exudes a persistence that works for Rocky in the ring—but yikes, on a first date? Shire keeps her body rigid, but as Adrian’s guard slips, she hesitantly returns the advance. Compare how they play this scene with the finale’s triumphant declaration of love—it’s such a contrast.
David Bowie and Ryuichi Sakamoto, “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence” (1983)
In Nagisa Ōshima’s World War II drama, the tension between Major Jack Celliers (Bowie), a British POW, and Captain Yonoi (Sakamoto), his Japanese warden, constantly threatens to snap. Yonoi is obsessed with honor and strains to hide repressed feelings for the defiant Celliers. Fascinated but wary in return, Celliers tests Yonoi’s limits to keep his men safe. The bubble finally bursts when Yonoi tries to execute another POW. Bowie, looking exhausted but uncowed, rushes to Sakamoto, grabs his arms, and plants two bitter kisses on both cheeks. Ōshima films the moment like the final blow in a sword fight. Yonoi’s face spasms with shock, then curdles into fury before he collapses. Celliers’ jaw sets; his fate is sealed. This is how to play kisses as weapons.
Fukumi Kuroda and Kōji Yakusho, “Tampopo” (1985)
Alongside the charming main plot about a widow’s quest to save her noodle shop, writer-director Juzo Itami weaves unrelated vignettes that also involve food. The most famous: a scene where Yakusho’s and Kuroda’s nameless lovers passionately swap an egg yolk back and forth between their mouths. Their lips don’t truly lock here, so technically, it might not be a kiss. But considering the actors’ heaving breaths, forceful embrace, and euphoric energy, we’ll say it counts.
Margaret Avery and Whoopi Goldberg, “The Color Purple” (1985)
Goldberg’s Oscar-nominated turn as Celie in Steven Spielberg’s drama—based on Alice Walker’s Pulitzer-winning novel—still dazzles. Celie suffers much over the course of the film, so rare pockets of kindness stand out. Here, Avery’s vivacious showgirl Shug shows Celie tenderness for the first time. “I think you’re beautiful,” she says to a woman called ugly her whole life. Avery, also Oscar-nominated for her performance, delicately dots Goldberg’s face with a series of pecks. The latter looks sheepishly to the side; then, Avery guides her in for a proper kiss, which is impishly reciprocated. Goldberg’s toothy smile says it all.
Sarita Choudhury and Denzel Washington, “Mississippi Masala” (1991)
The first smooch between Demetrius (Washington) and Mina (Choudhury) oozes sweetness, but it’s not the best kiss in Mira Nair’s culture-clash romance. Later, the couple sneak away for a lovers’ rendezvous. As they roll around in the sheets, Demetrius sings “Happy Birthday” to Mina. Washington’s voice stays low and quiet as he sings one line, kisses her, sings another line, goes for a second kiss, and so on. The camera captures their faces up close. Choudhury expresses the blissful intimacy of the scene; her eyes dart around Washington’s face, as if the moment will end if she ever stops looking.
Kirsten Dunst and Tobey Maguire, “Spider-Man” (2002)
We could compile a list of just kisses in the rain (“The Notebook,” anyone?). Consider an acrobatic variation: Dunst and Maguire’s upside-down kiss in Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man.” The mechanics alone are impressive—you try locking onto a pair of flipped-around lips. A sopping-wet Dunst embodies Mary Jane Watson’s forbidden thrill, peeling back the web-slinger’s mask just enough to give him a proper “thank you” for saving her. Maguire’s Peter Parker might be the more passive scene partner, but you can’t doubt his commitment. With water filling his nostrils and Dunst occupying his mouth, the actor later described the shoot experience as “suffocating.”
Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried, “Jennifer’s Body” (2009)
An actor cannot hide from an extreme close-up. It doesn’t get much closer than the red-hot snog between wallflower Needy Lesnicki (Seyfried) and demonic cool girl Jennifer Check (Fox) in Karyn Kusama’s horror flick. Panned upon release but now a queer, feminist cult classic, the film captures the heightened emotions of teenage friendships complicated by sexual awakening. True to the plot, Fox plays Jennifer’s seduction of Needy like all-consuming hunger. Seyfried, meanwhile, gives the scene its fraught, nervous edge. When their lips meet and fill the frame, the characters’ feelings swallow the audience, too.
Jharrel Jerome and Ashton Sanders, “Moonlight” (2016)
The transcendence of young love! Queer shame! Joy stolen under the cloak of night! It’s all there in Barry Jenkins’ coming-of-age Oscar winner. Up until this moment in the film, Chiron (Sanders) has felt like a wounded bird, a sensitive soul grounded by his harsh surroundings. Then, his feelings for a more assured friend, Kevin (Jerome), unlock his cage a little. Jerome’s overcompensating bravado and Sanders’ raw-nerve restraint collide in a fleeting moment of quiet sweetness. Watch how Jerome subtly turns a bro-y arm around Sanders’ shoulder into a tender thumb caressing his cheek.
Sally Hawkins and Doug Jones, “The Shape of Water” (2017)
Hawkins and Jones give a master class throughout Guillermo del Toro’s Oscar-winning fable. They create full interior lives for their mute characters—janitor Elisa Esposito and her amphibious humanoid lover, respectively—without spoken dialogue. (Jones does so through fish-man prosthetics, to boot.) Their love story plays out entirely through body language and expression, culminating in a magical underwater kiss at the end of the film. Selling the truth of a scene in a fantasy setting requires presence. If you blink, you’ll rip the audience out of the story. These actors are locked in.
