Romance is a genre that has been prolific and representative of human carnal desires since the inception of film itself. Many of cinema's most beloved pieces belong to this genre, Casablanca, An Affair to Remember, Gone With the Wind, and dating back even before film, Romeo and Juliet. These are, of course, very old examples but this is to show how long-lasting the genre has been. The target audience of these films vary as romance movies can be set in different settings, in a high school setting, the target audience would definitely be from 13-18 but more mature romance movies such as Casablanca aim for that 20-70 range. Audiences want to see themselves and an ideal romance of themselves portrayed and thus, will flock to the romance movie that portrays their age range.
The typical content of these films is often a romance between a man and woman, sometimes in their mid 20s and sometimes in their middle to late teens but almost never past or below those ages. Again, the most prolific romantic movies focus on love between a man and woman which means institutionally, LGBT representation has been generally poor. The content in romantic movies is often paced over the span of a few years as the love needs to feel genuine and developed to the audience, if this is not the case, then usually the male lead is depicted as someone who just came out of a relationship is now finding something or someone new in his life. The perspective of most of these films come from the male side. Since most stories need a conflict, there will often be a party that disagrees or conflicts with the relationship between the two characters. Production is commonly aimed at creating very intense emotions and a sense of relatability or triumph for the main couple, grandiose soundtracks will be played over kiss scenes and when the two characters are together, they will often be in a very scenic set design which frames their romance as more cinematic. Medium shots are employed to show both characters in the camera and dialogue is expressed through over the shoulder shots, sometimes followed by close ups of the opposite character.
Marketing of these films is centered around the images of the characters. Since the storylines are never the most exciting or easily conveyed in a poster (even dramatic romance movies), the physical attractiveness of the characters act as a selling point for audiences. Trailers are also a popular form of marketing for romantic movies, commonly showing the meeting of the main couple, bonding moments, dramatic moments, and then teasing the couple uniting or getting together.
#1 Casablanca: Casablanca revolves around a male lead that is the mysterious hero of the story. Throughout the opening act of the film, he is portrayed as an ultra-pragmatist, doing things only for the good of his own practical use. When he meets the female lead, there is a hint of a "heartbreak" which is later exposed through the revolutionary usage of the montage. While the love itself does not play out over a few years, this fact is inherent in Casablanca because the two main leads have had history. There are numerous over-the-shoulder shots used for dialogue and in the scene where the female lead has to leave the male lead, there is dramatic scenery and music, dramatizing the moment. Almost all of the Casablanca posters depict the main characters and reveal little about the plot.
#2 The Titanic: The Titanic is another film that focuses on the romance between a man and woman who meet and eventually fall in love. In The Titanic, the love is not as drawn out and developed as seen in other romance films but instead, accelerated due to the impending circumstance of the titanic crashing. One of the most iconic shots in the movie is a medium shot of Jack holding Rose up and then, a grandiose scenic frame where they are placed against a large background of the ocean. A very memorable song, My Heart Will Go On is from this movie. Additionally, all posters of this film center on Jack and Rose and though the boat is shown, it adds no additional context for anyone who is unaware of the Titanic incident before watching the film.
