10 behind-the-scenes facts about iconic kisses in movies
Since the very first on-screen kiss between May Irwin and John Rice, which was filmed by William Heise for Thomas Edison in 1896, thousands upon thousands of kisses have been captured on camera for movies and TV shows. Romantic movies are of course filled with couples locking lips, but kisses occur in all genres. Here are 10 interesting behind-the-scenes facts about some of the most iconic movie kisses.
Related: 10 of the least sexy sex scenes in modern movie history
10 Scarlett & Rhett's first kiss in Gone with the Wind (1939)
Vivian Leigh was the envy of many when she got to kiss Clark Gable Gone with the wind, but unfortunately the experience was not pleasant for her. “His dentures smelled something awful,” she reportedly said. However, it wasn't just the dentures that contributed to his bad breath, as he also had gum disease and a heavy smoking habit.
Clark Gable isn't the only Hollywood star whose bad breath made kissing a challenge. Liam Hemsworth said as he kissed his Hunger Games Co-star Jennifer Lawrence “was quite awkward” because “if we had a kissing scene, she would make a point of eating garlic or tuna or something that was disgusting.” But Lawrence defended himself a few years later, saying: 'It wasn't intentional. It was just what I was eating, and then we kissed![1]
9 Too short kiss in The Princess Bride (1987)
“Since the invention of the kiss, there have only been five kisses that have been rated as the most passionate and pure. This left them all behind.” That's how the grandpa (Peter Falk) comes in The princess bride describes the final kiss between Buttercup (Robin Wright) and Westley (Cary Elwes). Director Rob Reiner thought Wright and Elwes had scored the kiss on the first take, but the two actors kept asking to reshoot the kiss.
Reiner ended up with six takes, but it wasn't because the two actors had feelings for each other; in fact, in a 2014 interview with the Daily beast, Elwes described kissing Wright as “like kissing your sister!” It's weird.” And in his book As you wish (2014), he notes that he and Wright “were so giddy we were giggling like a couple of schoolchildren.” This kiss was the last thing he needed to film, and he says, “I could have kept filming that scene all day, because I don't think I wanted the movie to end.”[2]
8 Improvised kiss in Lost in Translation (2003)
Lost in translation ends with Bob (Bill Murray) saying goodbye to Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) with a whisper and a kiss. In his typical style, Murray improvised throughout the film, and this kiss was his idea. Director Sofia Coppola told it Daily beast that the scene “was always meant to be a tender farewell where they both knew they had touched each other in some way. And I remember sometimes he would always say things to her, and it was nice to get her reaction.
The kiss wasn't the only thing he improvised, though; whatever he whispered in her ear wasn't planned either. “That thing Bill whispers to Scarlett It was never meant to be anything,” Coppola told IndieWire in 2018. “I wanted to figure out what to say later and add it in, but we never did.” However, this hasn't made fans any less curious. “People always ask me what is being said. I always like Bill's answer: that it's between lovers, so I'll leave it at that.[3]
7 No Ending Kiss in When Harry Met Sally (1989)
Written by Nora Ephron and directed by Rob Reiner, When Harry met Sally should have had a less romantic ending. “We had it where time passes, they meet each other on the street … and then they walk in opposite directions,” Reiner said Entertainment weekly in 2019. “I was single for ten years after being married for ten years, and I just couldn't figure out how it would work again.”
But then, while shooting, Reiner met his future wife, Michele Singer. “I fell in love and said, 'I see how this works,'” he explained The late-late show. The ending was rewritten, with Harry (Billy Crystal) going to a New Year's Eve party to declare his love for Sally (Meg Ryan) before they share a slightly belated New Year's kiss. Crystal herself even came up with the scene's most iconic line: “When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with someone, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.”[4]
6 Jack & Rose's Choreographed Kiss in Titanic (1997)
Star-crossed lovers Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Rose (Kate Winslet) share a few kisses throughout Titanic. But none are as iconic as their kiss on the bow of the ship at sunset. Director James Cameron knew this moment would be special, so he choreographed it very precisely during rehearsals.
“I drew little lips on my hands here like this, and I showed them exactly who's going to take the lead, who's going to apply the pressure,” he said. GQ. He described it as 'a football game on the lips', but one thing he couldn't control was the sunset, which only came into view on the very last day of outdoor shooting. The clouds parted just in time and everyone rushed to get into position. “I've never experienced this with an actor before or since in my life,” says Cameron. “Kate is standing there, she takes one look at the sunset, turns to me and shouts 'Shoot!'”
They managed to get two shots, but unfortunately one was completely out of focus. The other was half out of focus, but ended up in the film. Although some of the sunset is real, the film's cinematographer, Russell Carpenter, explains that due to time constraints, some close-ups had to be filmed indoors against a painted backdrop.[5]
5 Smothering kiss on the head in Spider-Man (2002)
The rain-soaked reverse kiss between Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire) and Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst) in Sam Raimi's 2002 Spider-Man stands out as one of the most iconic kisses from superhero films. Apart from the unpleasant feeling of being soaked by the cold rain, it wasn't much of a problem for Dunst, but Maguire described it as 'torture'.
“Rain was pouring down my nose,” he explained. “And then Kirsten pulls up the mask [my nose], and it blocks the air passage there, so I couldn't breathe. And then she kisses me, blocking the air passage there so I can't breathe anywhere else. Although the kiss looks romantic in the movie, it was “practically suffocating” and left him gasping every time the director called it cut.[6]
4 A rough kiss led to almost broken noses in Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Tobey Maguire isn't the only actor to suffer from a kiss scene. The romance between Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger). Brokeback Mountain is much less sweet than is typical of romance films, and their rough kissing style reflects this. Director Ang Lee said the two actors “almost broke each other's noses” after he encouraged them to kiss passionately, saying, “You could never kiss a woman that hard, so give me the most heroic Western kiss.”
Gyllenhaal also commented on the injury-causing pillow: “He grabs me, slams me against the wall and kisses me. And then I grab him, slam him against the wall and kiss him. And we did take after take after take. I got the sh*t beat out of me. We had other scenes where we fought each other, and I wasn't in as much pain as I was afterwards.[7]
3 Wanting Viggo's Kiss in Sixteen Candles (1984)
John Hughes wrote Sixteen candles with Molly Ringwald in mind for the role of Sam, but the casting of her love interest, Jake, was up in the air. It came down to Michael Shoeffling (who ultimately won the role) and the future Lord of the Rings star Viggo Mortensen. Ringwald recalls that “Michael Shoeffling didn't kiss me during the audition – Viggo Mortensen did.” Ringwald advocated for Mortensen to book the role, saying, “He made me weak in the knees.”
A few years later, Ringwald and Mortensen worked together Fresh horses (1988) and got a chance to talk about the audition. “I brought up the subject of how he kissed me and the other guy didn't. He said, 'I always thought that's why I blew the audition!'” Casting director Jackie Burch, however, says it wasn't the kiss that disappointed him: “I remember saying to him, 'I hear an accent.' He was so quiet. He didn't want me to hear his accent. I just didn't think he was right.”[8]
2 The spaghetti kiss in Lady and the Tramp (1955)
The scene where Lady and Tramp unknowingly slurp up the same strand of spaghetti and then accidentally kiss each other in the middle has been recreated by countless real-life couples. Given its iconic status, it may be surprising to learn that when the film was first storyboarded, Walt Disney decided to cut this dog kiss.
“Walt wasn't convinced this would be a very tight scene,” Steven Vagnini, studio archivist and official curator of the Disney fan club D23, explained to Yahoo Movies. “You can imagine that if you have two pets and they are eating a plate of spaghetti, it's hard to imagine that being too dainty.”
Animator Frank Thomas disagreed with Disney and therefore created concept art to prove that the spaghetti hug would be charming. Fortunately, Disney was convinced. The scene ended up being the first piece of animation that newly hired animator Willie Ito worked on. “I had no idea that the scene I initially worked on would turn out to be so iconic,” he said in 2018.[9]
1 The incestuous kiss in The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Back before it was revealed Return of the Jedi (1983) that Luke and Leia are actually siblings, they shared a kiss The empire strikes back. Although this unconsciously incestuous kiss is dismissed as merely an attempt by Leia to make Han jealous (rather than an expression of actual desire), their romantic connection was much stronger in earlier versions of the film. In the original script of Episode V, Luke declared his love for Leia, while in the second draft, Leia returned the sentiment (but then chose Han anyway).
This more explicit love triangle even reached the movie stage. A deleted scene – which takes place just before the infirmary kiss included in the film – shows Luke and Leia almost kissing. Luke tries to confess his feelings for Leia but, lost for words, decides to lean in for a kiss. She doesn't pull away, but the pair are interrupted by R2-D2 and C-3PO just before their lips touch. Luckily, these more explicit moments of attraction were removed from the final version, making the reveal that they were twins a little less awkward.[10]