15 Romantic Movies To Watch This Fourth Of July

It’s that time of the year again. Fourth of July is about to arrive, and for many people, that means making plans with family, friends, or your significant other for the festive holiday. For many of us, the Fourth of July is just another holiday to party hard, sleep in, or lounge around at home stuffing ourselves with barbecue. And if you're in a relationship, you might just want to spend the holiday weekend chilling at home, watching movies. Thankfully, there are plenty of great movies to watch this Fourth of July with your significant other, or, hey, even with a group of friends or on your own.

Sometimes, the best romantic dates consist solely of some well-picked popcorn (kettle is best, in my opinion), a nice soft throw and a few great movies to stream on TV. On a hot summer night, after the fireworks have commenced, what’s better than snuggling on the couch and watching a good movie with your loved one until you fall asleep?

Well, I got a list of movies for those of you who want to keep your Fourth of July festivities simple and romantic. Here are some of my picks for the best movies to watch this holiday to get the fireworks started.

1. Casablanca

This movie is the blueprint of all classic love stories. Set during World War II, Casablanca follows Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), who owns a nightclub in Casablanca and discovers his old flame Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) is in town with her husband, Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid). Torn between love and war, Rick must determine how to best get Ilsa back.

2. Dr. Zhivago

Dr. Zhivago, set in Russia during the Revolution, follows a young doctor named Yuri Zhivago (Omar Sharif), who's been raised by his aunt and uncle following his father's suicide. Yuri falls in love with a beautiful young woman, Lara Guishar (Julie Christie), who has been having an affair with her mother's lover, Victor Komarovsky (Rod Steiger). If you or your significant other loves old school romance, this is a movie to watch.

3. Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor follows Rafe McCawley (Ben Affleck) and Danny Walker (Josh Hartnett), two pilots who enter World War II. Rafe goes to England to fight in England's Royal Air Force, while back at home, his girlfriend, Evelyn (Kate Beckinsale), falls for his fellow mate Danny, and when all three of them reunite in Hawaii just before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, drama ensues.

4. Allied

Allied is a movie full of romantic twists and turns. If action films are you and your significant other's cup of tea, this is the one to watch. Brad Pitt plays Max Vatan, a World War II operative who falls in love with Marianne Beauséjour (Marion Cotillard), another war operative. After getting married and having a child, they hope to leave their double-dealing behind them and start new lives. However, suspicion and danger creeps into their marriage as they are pitted against each other.

5. A Very Long Engagement

A Very Long Engagement is a French romance war movie that follows French woman Mathilde (Audrey Tautou) as she searches for her fiance (Gaspard Ulliel) who may or may not have been killed in the Battle of the Somme during World War I. She refuses to believe he is dead, and begins trying to find out what actually happened with the help of a private investigator. The drama, the romance, and the battle scenes will grip you and your love.

6. Atonement

Based on the book by Ian McEwan, the movie follows couple Cecilia Tallis (Keira Knightley) and Robbie Turner (James McAvoy) as they're torn apart by a lie constructed by Cecilia's jealous younger sister, Briony (Saoirse Ronan).

7. Top Gun

Top Gun, one of the most popular action movie of the '80s, follows fighter pilots as the enroll in the Top Gun Naval Figher Weapons School. Maverick (Tom Cruise) competes to be the top fighter pilot of his class, but he's also fighting for the attention of his flight instructor, Charlotte (Kelly McGillis). The movie's action just makes the thrill of a romantic chase all the worth while.

8. The Lovers Of The Bridge

If the dramatic lovers' dance on a bridge during fireworks isn't enough for you, then I don't know what else is. This romantic drama is about painter Michele (Juliette Binoche), and a homeless addict named Alex (Denis Lavant), who fall in love on the streets of Paris. The two fall in love, but their reckless behavior puts them both in danger.

9. Cold Mountain

Set during the American Civil War, this movie is a classic story about devotion between a soldier W.P. Inman (Jude Law) and his wife Ada (Nicole Kidman). W.P. leaves his unit during the war and travels across the South, just to get back to his wife. It's a true tearjerker about how love, no matter the distance, will always be worth fighting for.

10. Dear John

Dear John follows college student (Amanda Seyfried) and Army Staff Sergeant (Channing Tatum) who have a crazy romance complete with letters and walks along the Charleston, South Carolina beaches. This movie will inspire you and bae to take a stroll on the beach this Fourth of July.

11. In Love And War

In Love and War follows 18-year-old soldier Ernest Hemingway (Chris O'Donnell) in World War I, who struggles with the thought of getting his leg amputated after a bomb goes off on the front line. He begs his doctor, Domenico Caracciolo (Emilio Bonucci), to seek other options and while he is under the care of the military hospice, he falls for Austrian nurse Agnes von Kuroswky (Sandra Bullock). It's a true love triangle, complete with moving drama.

12. The Notebook

I know, I know, The Notebook is the go to romance for most of us when we want to have a romantic movie night. The chemistry between Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams is amazing, and there's no time in which watching this movie with your significant other isn't a good idea.

13. A Walk To Remember

A Walk to Remember is a summer romance that will get you and bae in "couple appreciation" mode. High school senior Landon Carter (Shane West) falls in love with classmate Jamie Sullivan (Mandy Moore), a girl he and his friends once taunted. The two fall in love passionately, and discover truths about themselves that no one around them understands.

14. Beyond Borders

American socialite Sarah Jordan (Angelina Jolie) joins renegade doctor Nick Callahan's (Clive Owen) humanitarian efforts in war-torn countries. Over the course of her work, Sarah finds herself falling in love with Nick's commitment to help people in need.

15. The English Patient

Laszlo de Almasy (Ralph Fiennes), burned in battle, is tended to by a nurse, Hana (Juliette Binoche), in an Italian monastery near the end of World War II. Through flashbacks of his past, he learns more about himself, and while tending to his scars, Hana learns to heal her own emotional wounds. This is a movie of true self-revelation and love.

Now that you've gotten through this list, kick back and tell bae to enjoy some QT time with you this holiday weekend. You won't regret the fireworks you're about to create.