It was fun compiling our list of favorites, even though we frequently disagreed while making the selections! Below are seven films chosen from over 20 included in IT HAD TO BE US.

BEYOND BORDERS. I’m a sucker for epic love stories like Gone with the Wind and Dr. Zhivago, so I was fascinated watching Angelina Jolie and Clive Owen try to carry on a romance over many years amid tumultuous international events.    

KATE & LEOPOLD.  A perky Meg Ryan and an elegant Hugh Jackman play lovers who break the time barrier in this terrific romantic comedy. It’s one of my all-time favorites.    

LOVE ACTUALLY. I absolutely adore this fast-paced movie about the agony and ecstasy of love -- as experienced by several colorful characters during the five weeks before Christmas.    

MOULIN ROUGE! This Baz Luhrmann musical about two doomed lovers who meet in a decadent Paris nightclub during the late 1800s is sheer cinematic artistry. Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor sing their hearts out in a memorable sequence featuring great love songs.      

PRIDE & PREJUDICE. Jane Austen’s most popular Victorian romance novel has never graced the screen with such cinematic flair as this one co-starring Keira Knightley.and Matthew MacFayden . Although I also enjoyed the other film versions, this most recent screen adaptation emerges as the most entertaining for me.

RETURN TO ME. This enchanting movie co-stars David Duchovny as a grieving widower and Minnie Driver as the woman who receives his dead wife’s heart. Don’t worry. It’s not a tearjerker – just touching, funny and one of the best romantic comedies ever filmed.       

THE FOUNTAIN. This stunning, elegant movie co-stars Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz as characters representing eternal love and the battle between death and immortality. I found it hypnotic and almost painfully beautiful.

For more information about IT HAD TO BE US, go to the Harry and Elizabeth Lawrence page on AuthorsDen.