Smooch In The Surf
Last updated: 18/07/2007 - 12:21
Survey reveals that the unforgettable embrace between Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr as the waves break over them in From Here to Eternity is the British Public?s most memorable movie kiss.
The survey of over 1,000 feature films - carried out on behalf of Sky Movies Comedy by Communicate Research - reveals that the most memorable silver screen embraces are often the least conventional...
The top ten in full looks like this:
1. 18% - From Here to Eternity (1953). Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr rolling around on the beach.
2. 17% - Disney's Lady and The Tramp (1955). 'Lady' and 'The Tramp' have an unexpected 'spaghetti and meatballs' kiss.
3. 15% - An Officer and a Gentleman (1982). Richard Gere - in iconic white uniform - sweeps Debra Winger off her feet.
4. 10% - Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994). Hugh Grant?s kiss in the rain with Andie McDowell.
5. 10% - Casablanca (1942). Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman ?kiss me as if it was the last time?.
6. 9% - Spider-Man (2002). Toby McGuire?s upside-down kiss with Kirsten Dunst.
7. 8% - Bridget Jones? Diary (2001). Renee Zellweger finally kisses Colin Firth in the snow, in her pants.
8. 6% - Breakfast At Tiffany?s (1961). George Peppard & Audrey Hepburn kiss in the rain.
9. 4% - The Godfather Part II (1974). The 'kiss of death' between the two Corleone brothers - played by Al Pacino and John Cavale.
10. 2% - Brokeback Mountain (2005). The reunion kiss between Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhall.
The survey also turned up a number of other intriguing results, including:
If this survey is to be believed, film makers going for a truly memorable on-screen kiss should make it a wet one! Five of the top ten favourites involve the stars getting soaked as they snog ? be it rain (Breakfast at Tiffany?s, Four Weddings and a Funeral and Spider-Man), snow (Bridget Jones? Diary), or even in the sea (From Here to Eternity)
To make it memorable, leave ?em with a kiss. Half the top ten come at the end of the movie.
Only seven of the top ten actually feature men kissing women. Two (Brokeback Mountain and Francis Ford Coppolla's The Godfather Pt II) are men kissing men - for two very different reasons ? and one (Lady and the Tramp) is a stolen kiss between two dogs.
There was a clear north-south divide over the number one spot. The North of England and Scotland voted overwhelmingly for Lady and The Tramp, whereas the Midlands and the South had From Here to Eternity as clear favourite.
Ian Lewis, Director of Sky Movies, said ?We?ve seen the typical ?Hollywood Kiss? on screen a million times. So from this list, it seems that what makes a truly memorable kissing scene is an element of the unexpected, the unusual, that sticks in the memory long after most of the rest of the film might have been forgotten."
Sam van Rood, Lifestyle Consultant and self proclaimed ?Love Doctor?, said ?From Here to Eternity takes the top spot because we all want what we can't have! It's great like Romeo and Juliet, it's a tragedy ? romance that burns bright but is doomed. Everyone remembers this scene, it's taking forbidden fruit, it's the waves crashing in the darkness, it's a kiss like there is no tomorrow. It's simply unforgettable?.
Kelly Marshall, Screenwriter and Course Director MA Screenwriting University of the Arts/London College Of Communication said, ?What generally makes a good kiss is smoldering chemistry plus a dramatic foreplay that builds because someone or something is keeping them apart. Good things come to those that wait?!
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