I am not a Capra guy; despite what you’re about to read, I really don’t think of myself as a weeper. As far as I’m concerned, you can take Steel Magnolias, The Notebook, My Girl, Beaches, My Life, any and all Meryl Streep cancer flicks, traditional romantic-comedy fare, and even the weepiest moments of Grey’s Anatomy and shove them right back up your tear ducts. I don’t fall for that bullshit; it’s too easy.
With that said, I do occasionally give in to a soft moment and — when the football buddies aren’t around, or Mrs. Pajiba-hyphenate is into her third Kleenex and too busy to notice, or a theater is dark and mostly empty — I’ll allow the emotion of a scene to overwhelm me. My stomach will clench, I’ll tremble a little in rebellion, and — if the moment is powerful enough without resorting to outright manipulation — I’ll let a tear or two drip from my chin before slapping myself back into reality and cursing myself for losing my shit. It doesn’t happen often, but even the most scathing of critics should allow themselves to weep occasionally — it’s cathartic, I guess. It reminds me that my heart hasn’t completely shriveled up from under-use and that, no matter how much cinematic offal I can withstand, truly brilliant scenes can still puncture me. I may be a film critic, but way down deep inside me, there’s still a tiny speck of humanity shrouded in layers and layers of cynicism, distrust, and outright hate.
As such, I want to honor a few of those moments, scenes in television and film that have pushed me over the brink these last 20 years or so. I realize, of course, that what works for me may seem melodramatic and maudlin to others. Also, I’d be hard pressed to call this list all-inclusive, which is where your always thoughtful comments (“I can’t fucking believe you left out ______, you asshole”) are welcome. I should also note that most of these clips, which are mostly in the two-to-three minute range, don’t really work outside of the context of the entire film — some of them, in fact, seem kind of ridiculous without the 90 minutes leading up to the heartbreaking moment in question. I’ll also note that most of them are chockfull of spoilers; if you haven’t seen the film or television show, please disregard the clip and Netflix the item in its entirety. The scenes are here mostly for nostalgic reasons; if you’ve already witnessed the scene, you can fill in the context yourself and, perhaps, work up enough tears to create an awkward situation when your boss sneaks a peek into your cubicle.
So, as XTC would proclaim: Let’s begin.
Dead Poets Society: I didn’t buy into E.T. when I was a first-grader, so Dead Poets was actually the first film I can ever recall provoking tears. I watched it on VHS, in a trailer home, with my surly, “Walker: Texas Ranger”-lovin’ stepfather hovering above me, sighing throughout its entirety, bellyaching because I was forcing him to watch a highfalutin’ flick about Walt fucking Whitman (20 years later, I can now appreciate that Dead Poets was about as deep as a inflatable pool, but that doesn’t retroactively take away its impact). But when this scene arrived, even my step-kin was dead silent. In fact, he paused the film and left the room for a few minutes, leaving me alone long enough to blubber alone at the foot of his waterbed. Man alive, waterbeds, trailer homes, and “Walker: Texas Ranger.” I must have had years of tears backed up inside of me.
Rattle and Hum, “Sunday Bloody Sunday”: When you’re 15 years old and the heaviest thing you’ve ever really heard were the lyrics to Bon Jovi’s “Bed of Roses” (holy shit — is he admitting that he cheats on his wife?), U2 can seem kind of overpowering. It seems absurd now, but I actually held a grudge against the band for months, simply because “Angel of Harlem,” knocked “Bad Medicine” off the top spot on MTV’s TRL (or whatever it was called when Adam Curry hosted it). But when I popped in Rattle and Hum, my perception of music was forever changed. In fact, I replayed Bono’s extended bridge of “Sunday Bloody Sunday” every day after school for weeks; I never could tell if “No more!” (at the 5:18 mark) was a crack in Bono’s voice or simply feedback. Either way, the emotion in his voice, combined with what I thought was the heaviest political statement I’d ever heard (“Fuck the Revolution!”), prompted unheard-of levels of goose bumps. Indeed, it wasn’t long before I retired Bon Jovi, Poison, and Winger from my tape collection for good (though, in the iTunes era, I do occasionally return to them for novelty’s sake). And surely there are a few people my age who can relate. (Go back to your old copies of Rattle and Hum and you might find that “Running to Stand Still” and “Bullet the Blue Sky” can still incite chills.)
Jerry Maguire: Oh, screw off, you bitter come-buckets. It wasn’t the “You had me at hello,” moment that did it for me. And besides, there was a time, before the pop-culture machinations chewed it up and ruined it, that Jerry Maguire was a pretty goddamn good flick. Still, you can lump the Zellweger bullshit in the same category as The Notebook. It’s the preceding scene, when Rod Tidwell gets the call from his wife after scoring the TD, that kills me every time. I thought Jerry and Dorothy’s relationship was kind of forced and manufactured, but there was something really authentic about Rod and Marcee’s marriage, which really struck a sweet note for me. And the cracking emotion in Cuba’s voice still resonates — who’s not a sucker for emotionally underdeveloped meatheads opening the floodgates? Gooding hasn’t done a decent flick since, but by God, he deserved his Oscar for this role.
“The West Wing,” Two Cathedrals: It seems as if Aaron Sorkin is a mainstay on our Guides; we should probably just do a Sorkin Guide and be done with him. There were many great moments in the first four seasons of “The West Wing,” but the one that hit me the hardest was the season-two finale, after Mrs. Landingham was killed in a car crash, and here, where President Bartlet rails against God, in Latin. It was an incredibly organic moment; righteous anger that weirdly evoked tears. And of course, the next scene, in which Bartlet stands at a podium, rain-drenched from a tropical storm, ready to announce his candidacy for another term, hits with equal force. (And if that doesn’t do it for you, this scene — from the third-season finale — certainly will) … and if Sorkin’s brand of politics doesn’t get to you, then maybe his take on the break-up of Jeremy and Natalie in “Sports Night” will. It’s truly great television, which makes “Studio 60” all the more disappointing now.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: On the list of my favorite films, Eternal Sunshine sits firmly in my top five. But unlike any of the others, I’ve only seen this one once. In fact, I own the DVD, but I didn’t rip the plastic off until I decided to upload this scene, and it’s the only one I’ve now seen twice. I want to wait until all of my residual memories of the film have completely faded and I can relive the experience of watching it anew. I know there are lots of folks out there who dislike it as much as I love it, but — to me — it captured the essence of what it’s like to be in love better than any film I’ve seen before or since. Even still, this is the perfect example of a moment that fails without the context of the rest of the film — it doesn’t make much sense at all as a standalone scene. But watching it now, I’m flooded with the entire feeling of the film all over again. What can I say? Maybe I am a bit of a sap.
“Scrubs,” My Screw Up: Like Sorkin, “Scrubs” is another popular show in our Guides, or at least for me (having also appeared in my pop-culture mix-tape). Because like no other show since “The Wonder Years,” “Scrubs,” manages to be hilarious and then hit you at the end with whiplash poignancy, usually accompanied by some of that lily-white-sensitive-guy music. This scene, which I just saw again a few days ago while riding a NordicTrac and doing my best to keep it together, is really no different, but any moment that has Dr. Cox showing his soft side (which he does maybe once a season) is sure to get me all verklempt (the music of Joshua Radin doesn’t hurt, either). In “My Screw Up,” Dr. Cox’s best friend and brother-in-law Ben (Brendan Fraser) has been following him around all episode, trying to get him to attend his son’s first birthday party and forgive J.D. for his role in the death of a patient. When he finally arrives, Dr. Cox realizes that it’s not a birthday party after all, which comes as a surprise to both Dr. Cox (who is in denial) and the viewer, who learn simultaneously that they are at Ben’s funeral. It’s like Shyamalan, only good.
In America: If you haven’t seen In America, I strongly urge you not to watch this clip and instead, Netflix it immediately. It’s an amazing film, mostly about life and death and letting go, based on Jim Sheridan and his wife’s experiences after losing a child. There are a lot of great moments in the film (which should’ve garnered Oscar nominations for Paddy Considine and Emma Bolger, in addition Djimon Hounsou and Samantha Morton, who were nominated, along with Sheridan’s screenplay), but the final scene will sneak up on you and just … it will just murder you. If it doesn’t leave you in big puddle of your own human-manufactured saline solution, then just give it up, man. Go back to your emotionally detached life of Adam Sandler flicks and episodes of “According to Jim,” because you don’t deserve to see films as good as this one. You cold-hearted bastard.
Brokeback Mountain: I steered (bad pun, right) clear of the movie for a few weeks after its release, mostly because I wasn’t assigned the review and I refused (temporarily) to give in to the hype surrounding the film (though Jeremy’s review may still be the best thing written for Pajiba since its inception). I mean, c’mon: Gay cowboy love. Really?! And I still maintain that the first half of Brokeback Mountain wasn’t all that great — I found it slow and meandering and overly focused on the scenery, much like Annie Proulx’s prose. But the second half was a big wallop of heartache. And believe you me, I tried my damndest to keep it together during the closing scenes; I wasn’t going to give in to the gay cowboy movie, goddamn it. I wasn’t going to be one of the millions who fell for some silly gimmick. But hell if Brokeback Mountain turned out to be less about the homosexuality of the characters and more about a really powerful, organic love story between two people who just happened to be of the same sex. So, yeah, I fell for it. Pretty hard, too. How could you not, really? After all those years, he still had his denim shirt. So, whatever: Take my heterosexual credentials away if you must, but it really was a great emotional love story.
“Six Feet Under,” Series Finale Seriously, the hardest I’ve ever wept in my entire fucking life. And I’m not even ashamed to admit it. It also makes the “Six Feet Under” series finale the best that’s ever aired in America (rivaling the finale to the Britain’s version of “The Office”). I can’t imagine a more appropriate way to end a television show’s run, especially this particular drama (one of my favorites), and it totally made suffering through seasons four and five worth the effort. Warning: If you value your dignity, this clip is not safe for work.
Billy Elliot: January of 2001 was, well, a seriously messed up time personally. I certainly won’t bore any of you with the specifics, but let’s just say it was Epic. And like any self-respecting cinephile looking to hide from the pain of real life, I escaped into dark rooms and flickering images. I probably went every single day, sometimes twice, for three or four weeks straight. Fortunately, it was a pretty decent time to be stuck in a movie theater; the Oscar flicks had been released and re-released during that January, which allowed me to see Almost Famous again, as well as You Can Count on Me on multiple occasions (another film that very nearly made this list). I had heard a little about Billy Elliot but I was reluctant to see it — really, it was a movie about a British kid and ballet; I couldn’t have imagined a worse premise. But one day when I just couldn’t bear to go home, I snuck into it after another film. And then I saw it again the next day. And the next. I probably kept that discount theater chain in business for the entire week. And if you haven’t seen Billy Elliot this may sound comically absurd, but it was the first time I really believed in the transformative powers of cinema; that fucking film saved me during a period in which actual therapy could not. And in the end, what’s not to love about Billy Elliot? You got the political backdrop (the miner’s strike), a beautiful family drama, your sports motifs, and T-Rex (who loves to boogie?). But it was this scene, in which Billy’s father crossed over the picket line because he wanted to get his son into the Royal Academy, that never fails to hit me in the emotional sternum like a goddamn wrecking ball. For half an hour after, every time I see this it, I’m the ninniest of all ninnies.
Here, also, are three clips I uploaded from films that just missed the cutoff: Pieces of April, My Life Without Me, and You Can Count on Me (upload pending).
So, there you go. Laugh. Poke fun. Get it all out. And then swallow your goddamn pride and admit your own cinematic weaknesses. You’ll feel better afterwards. And then you can do the chicken dance:
Dustin Rowles is the publisher of Pajiba. He lives with his wife in Ithaca, New York. You may email him, or leave a comment below.
i haven't even read the damn post yet...i laughed for 30 seconds after reading the title. THIS is why i come here...
Posted by: PissBoy at February 6, 2007 1:26 PM
The one and only single movie to have ever made me cry was the movie Bjork was in, Dancer in the Dark. I cried for at least a solid hour. Maybe because it's about sacrifice for a child, which is more tear jerky for me then romance.
That said, my boyfriend hugged me for days after watching Eternal Sunshine. Very emotional.
I love this line: "I loved almost every single episode, which I watched with the fervor of Ted Haggard with a checkbook and a room full of male prostitutes"
Haha, I did too.
Posted by: LadySpankington at February 6, 2007 1:47 PM
Off the top of my head, Cinema Paradiso and Everybody's Fine both had me weeping like a kid with a skinned knee.
I agree with you somewhat on ESOTSM, but tearjerking? Maybe I am just a bit of a cold-hearted bastard, nevermind, I definitely am.
Posted by: imk at February 6, 2007 1:52 PM
The end of the second season of the new Doctor Who series had me sobbing for hours.
Posted by: Rosie at February 6, 2007 1:55 PM
And now I am trying my hardest to restrain myself. The memories conjured from watching the last episode of the Wonder Years was a kick in the jimmy.
Posted by: PissBoy at February 6, 2007 2:00 PM
Dustin, you're a douche for making me cry over the Wonder Years clip.
Posted by: Sandy at February 6, 2007 2:02 PM
You have compiled a great list here. I agree with everyone of your picks, except for "Rattle and Hum," which I have not seen. I especially agree with your comments on "In America." Anyone who doesn't cry at it's ending is a cold-hearted bastard. Thanks for the list and clips - a great reference post for the future.
Posted by: Will at February 6, 2007 2:04 PM
Wow, double doucheriffic for the Sunshine bawling... now I shall go listen to Sea Change and cut myself .
Posted by: Sandy at February 6, 2007 2:07 PM
The Six Feet Under finale was some of the finest ever captured on film. Period. Not to mention the fact that I lost both my parents prematurely during the series' run--watching SFU was theraputic--the finale was a catharsis. I just wish my husband hadn't walked in 5 minutes before the end to witness me completely broken down...
It's been a while since I've seen the Wonder Years' finale and I don't think I'm ready yet...
Posted by: Courtney at February 6, 2007 2:14 PM
the part in eternal sunshine that really gets me is when joel refers to clementine as "just some girl". its one of those lines that carries so much weight and it just breaks my heart every time. i, however, was not able to preserve that movie. im pretty sure ive seen a good 50 times or so. more recently, a scene that really gets me is the scene at the end of children of men, when clive owen is walking the girl and the baby out of the building and everyone stops fighting, and just looks on in awe at the baby, that really choked me up. i had to fight back tears all three times ive seen it.
Posted by: jordan at February 6, 2007 2:14 PM
I got about seven seconds into the SFU clip before I had to stop it. Holy shit. I always know intellectually how powerful that scene is, but I don't really get it until the song starts, and I almost immediately start bawling. Nothing has even happened yet, and I'm losing it. Your strategy with Eternal Sunshine is an interesting one, but it's never going to happen with that scene from SFU. It's just burned into my brain too well.
Posted by: jhupp at February 6, 2007 2:20 PM
That damn Scrubs episode had me crying for weeks, due to personal reasons as well, and it also made me mad as hell that (correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure I'm not) frickin' John C. McGinley gets no recognition for the brilliance he brings to that role with any sort of nomination. Blah.
Good Lord, that In America clip also works 10 million times better if you've seen the movie, but even on its own, it kills.
The Eternal Sunshine clip is good, and I remember another one where Jim Carrey says something like, "Wait, let me keep this one memory", and that kinda killed too. Could just be a sap for that one too, but, meh.
Also, that moment in Billy Elliot, along with ever other damn scene in that entire movie (the scene with the ghost of his mother reminding him to put away the milk? The scene with the letter in the boxing ring with Billy's teacher? The damn final scene where the tears are streaming down Billy's father's face?) absoultely kill me. There's a reason why I could only watch that once.
Brokeback--I think so much of the emotion behind that movie comes through the score by Santaolla. Frickin brilliant.
...now I'm off to do what those damn Kleenex commercials tell me to do and let it out. Damn.
Posted by: em at February 6, 2007 2:24 PM
HAHAHA, Sandy! Sea Change makes me wanna bawl my goddamn eyes out too...and occasionally slit my wrists.
Dustin, it's so great that you have Six Feet Under in here, my favorite show. I cried at that finale too. It made me think of death for 4 months straight after that. The show seriously effected me on so many levels. The last season wasn't as great to me (I found it somewhat slow), but the finale more than made up for it.
And of course you have some of my favorites in here also: Dead Poets Society, Eternal Sunshine, and of course Billy Elliot, which I too avoided and took forever to see. I thought it was going to be one of those obvious bullshit tear-jerkers about ballet and I was so glad to be wrong. It made me cry for entirely different reasons though, and the actors in there did such a wonderful job.
Anyway, great list!
Posted by: vadge-patrol at February 6, 2007 2:30 PM
i cried in the theater during the scene in hotel rwanda where all the foreigners are evacuated from the hotel, and hotel employees, who sincerely realize they have been left to die, hold umbrellas over their heads to protect them from the rain. symbollically, it killed me.
also, kudos for inclusion of dead poets society. it seems like a hokey film when you think of it, like something to be embarrassed of, but that scene is undeniably gut wrenching the first time you see it.
Posted by: breonne at February 6, 2007 2:32 PM
That Scrubs episode kills me every time.
Posted by: David at February 6, 2007 2:45 PM
The endings of Il Postino and Un long dimanche de fiançailles.
Wilde, in prison, as the fairytale is read.
Posted by: squiggle at February 6, 2007 2:52 PM
I've seen about half of these scenes so most of it is lost on me really. There is one thing though that will always make me cry. As ridiculous as is sounds, the end of that futurama episode where Fry tries to resurrect his dog has me bawling like a baby. In part because of the impossibly sad song and also because I have (and have lost) dogs myself.
Posted by: Me at February 6, 2007 2:56 PM
This can be such a personal thing, so I'll throw mine in here: Royal Tennenbaums, Royal has just saved Chas' sons and gotten them a replacement for Buckley the dog, when Chas finally cracks and says "I've had a tough year Pop" and Royal replies, "I know you have Chas". Just KILLS me every time.
Posted by: Chris at February 6, 2007 2:58 PM
Ahhhh!!! That Wonder Years finale fucked and continues to fuck my shit up. I feel the ol' eyesockets start to burn just thinking about it. And I knew where that end link was gonna take me before I even clicked on it. Good lawd did I love that show.
The only TV moment I can think of that comes a close second is the S2 finale of Quantum Leap where Al dances with his wife to Georgia On My Mind. And THEN, I go and buy the S2 DVDs, park myself in front of the TV with a box of Kleenex and don't you know they swaped out the song??? Blasphemy.
Posted by: litelysalted at February 6, 2007 3:00 PM
I love In America! So glad you included it.
Posted by: Sara at February 6, 2007 3:03 PM
For me, the cry moment is the end of "Rushmore," especially when it goes all slow-motion ...
Posted by: pr9000 at February 6, 2007 3:04 PM
I never fall for typical maudlin crap, either. The Notebook made me want to hurt things. However, there are exactly four scenes in movies/TV that I can think of that make me lose my shit:
1) Iris. When Jim Broadbent breaks down in front of Judi Dench, playing author Iris Murdoch during her late-life Alzheimer's, and he starts crying and shaking her and you've seen the rest of the movie with scenes of their young life together interspersed throughout, man, it's hell.
2) Futurama, "Jurassic Bark". At the end of the episode, when Fry is about to resurrect his dog from when he was in 1999, he suddenly realizes that his dog lived for many years after Fry left 1999, and he decides not to do it, reasoning that the dog probably had a full life after he left. Cut to a flashback of the dog slowly aging, as the seasons change, and eventually laying down in sadness, outside of the pizza place where Fry used to work.
3) The Iron Giant. Okay, it's lame, but when that robot goes "Superman..." and then totally explodes at the end, I cried. I'm not ashamed.
4) Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "The Body". When Anya gives her little speech about fruit punch and not understanding death, I lose it.
Gosh, two were cartoons.
Posted by: Helena at February 6, 2007 3:07 PM
I don't even have to watch that West Wing clip to get all teary-eyed. Just thinking about it is making my eyes sting. Thanks for including it.
Posted by: liz at February 6, 2007 3:08 PM
Good choices. I loved the Wonder Years -- why isn't it on DVD yet??
But that In America clip is definitely the winner for me. Rough enough here, but in the context of the movie, coming near the end as it did, it left me a worthless, quivering mass.
Nice call on Iron Giant, Helena. I don't think that's lame.
Posted by: JMW at February 6, 2007 3:16 PM
Totally agree with you Helena - I have never bawled as hard as I did at the end of that Futurama episode. And I cry all the fucking time.
Posted by: Gudrun at February 6, 2007 3:16 PM
Chris, thanks for reminding me about that scene in the Royal Tennenbaums - that got me all choked up. I also lost it when Royal is in the ambulance with Chas in there, watching his dad's final moments. Just the look on his face alone makes me tear up.
Love that movie. I think it's the only one where I actually liked Gwenyth (sp?) Paltrow - I usually can't stand her.
Posted by: zadzi at February 6, 2007 3:20 PM
Yes to that Futurama episode (totally welling up just thinking about it) and double yes to Buffy ep "The Body." I always have to skip over that one on my dvd b/c it is too emotionally draining.
Also, I remember renting Billy Elliot thinking it was a comedy (based on the fact that it said "Hilarious!" on the box) which was a dirty trick. Still, an excellent movie.
Posted by: Kristen at February 6, 2007 3:27 PM
Six Feet Under has got to be one of the greatest TV shows of all time and the finale has got to be one of the most beautiful scenes ever depicted in TV history. Why it was so sad is because for five seasons, you've followed this family and you've seen life occur right in front of their eyes. And how they chose to end it was without a doubt the only way it could have been done.
And yes, I haven't cried as hard as I did to those final five minutes.
Posted by: Ben at February 6, 2007 3:31 PM
Great choices, especially In America, which had me bawling like a baby. A brilliant film. One thing though: you think Emma Bolger should have gotten an Oscar nom over Sarah? Now, I think both Bolger sisters did a wonderful job, but Sarah's Christie is the soul of that film for me.
Watching that clip from Rattle and Hum was weird for me. At first I rolled my eyes and thought, "STFU Bono", but then I found myself really getting into it. Not quite tear-jerking though, and I've cried over the Troubles a few times.
Posted by: Bee at February 6, 2007 3:41 PM
JMW, the speculation is that getting the music rights for The Wonder Years is proving a serious challenge. That's not surprising, and it's also hard to imagine the show without the music, so the delay makes sense.
Posted by: jhupp at February 6, 2007 3:45 PM
Helena, I'm with you on both The Iron Giant and the Buffy ep. My boyfriend made fun of me when I told him I cried at The Iron Giant, but once I explained the Superman line he said "aw, that is kinda sad."
My lame addition to the list is La Bamba. I watched that movie so much as a kid, and I still shed a tear every damn time I see it.
Posted by: Micki at February 6, 2007 3:48 PM
I'm completely bawling from the still shot of SFU. Thankfully, I just came from the eye doctor so my co-workers will assume that is the cause of the tears. However, I can't get all the way through without sniffling, so I had to stop. I just think about that ending and I cry, it's the greatest end to a TV show I've ever witnessed.
Posted by: Noelle at February 6, 2007 3:53 PM
The SFU finale also made me sob like a baby, although its the preceding scene of Claire saying goodbye to everyone that gets me started. The Sia song intensifies it, then by the time it gets to David's death, I am completely gone.
Posted by: patty at February 6, 2007 3:55 PM
how is it possible that i am a 30 year old U2 fan who never watched Rattle and Hum. Holy F that is a good clip. Am I pansy for tearing up at my desk?
and i can admit this now but i caught Jerry Maguire this weekend for the umteenth time (and I do agree that it was a good movie before it was pop-culture referenced to death) and that scene still gets me.
Posted by: Katie at February 6, 2007 4:06 PM
Yeah, the Wonder Years is being held up for music issues, but the upcoming release of WKRP is giving me hope.
The part where Wayne takes over the shop just fucking kills me.
And I was literally incapacitated after Eternal Sunset. I think I broke down and started crying something like four times on the fifteen-minute walk back to my apartment, while my girlfriend just tried to get me to realize it's all OK. God, that movie killed me. I've never watched it a second time despite my love for it, like Dustin.
Posted by: Jeremiah at February 6, 2007 4:08 PM
Costner asking his dad "wanna have a catch" at the end of Field of Dreams. the quintessential father and son moment. and i can't stand Costner.
Posted by: Keith at February 6, 2007 4:09 PM
I would add the last 5 minutes of "Life As A House" to the list. Granted, for personal reasons, almost anything that has to do with fathers and sons gets me almost every time, but it is still a great scene.
Great list, keep it up Pajiba.
Posted by: Matt at February 6, 2007 4:18 PM
Oh man that's a good list.
Personally, I'm a sucker for the background music. I had to turn down the sound on Cinema Paradiso because the swelling music reduces me to a puddle and I couldn't actually see the kissing splices. If they ever put Cat Stevens' 'Father and Son' in a movie I'll bawl like a baby.
Likewise West Wing- the end of that scene with the beginning strains of 'Brothers in Arms' as the rain and wind whips around Bartlett on the steps of the National Cathedral is extraordinary TV.
I'd add a more recent movie- Whale Rider- to the mix. The scene where the grandaughter is giving her speech in the auditorium and she's crying and desperately trying to hold it together while staring at the empty chair where her grandfather should be, jeez I'm blinking just typing this, it just resonates without being over the top.
That's me two cents, A
P.S> Kudos for skipping Sports movies altogether- but Field of Dreams gets me every April.
Posted by: Amanda at February 6, 2007 4:19 PM
Since several people have copped to crying at animated movies, I'll add my moment: Finding Nemo. The dad screaming "I promised his mother that I wouldn't let anything happen to him" got me a little teary-eyed. But then Dori says, "That's a funny thing to promise. If nothing ever happens to him, then nothing will ever happen to him." And I totally lost my shit. Sobbed like a baby in front of my kids, who immediately reassured me that (spoiler alert) Nemo would, in fact, be found.
I figure my kiddos will have to have kids of their own before they ever understand why that line knocks the air out of my lungs every time.
Posted by: Mustang Sally at February 6, 2007 4:21 PM
what always gets me is the end of "Empire of the Sun", granted i works after two and a half hours of the brilliance of Spielberg, Stoppard, and Bale, but the end of that movie when the boy can't recognize his mother, and he has to touch her, and the Welsh corus plays, gets me every time.
Yes, buffy, yes, the body, all of it.
Posted by: Withnail at February 6, 2007 4:29 PM
The only thing that could help me recover after the Six Feet Under clip was the Chicken Dance clip-- thank you for that!
Posted by: Indigo at February 6, 2007 4:31 PM
Oh my god, the Six Feet Under Finale.
How they hell does it work? I haven't met a single person who hasn't sobbed uncontrollably after watching it. It's got the swelling music, the dramatic camera movements, yeah. Plenty of movies use the same classic techniques to no avail. But with SFU... it's just perfect, but incredibly painful.
I agree that the last two seasons were pretty bad, in some ways. But the way they ended it guarantees a place in the hall of fame; it completes a really cohesive story arc.
I'm already weeping the moment he whispers in her ear, "you can't take a picture of this, it's already gone." And when Claire sees her brother disapearing in her rear view mirror.... ouch. I'm breaking up just thinking about it.
Talk about catharthis. I bet that's a show that made many of us confront feelings we had been unable to face before. At least for me.
Posted by: Tatiana at February 6, 2007 4:35 PM
Your list was great. If I may add my two cents worth mine are:
Leaving Las Vegas, The Color Purple and Regarding Henry. Those ALWAYS make me cry!!
I TIVO'd the final epi of SFU and I think I've watched it over 100 times (probably more, but who's counting, right?) Most finales just end...but this one took you years beyond to their "final breaths" and that is what was so heartbreakingly gut wrenching.
I'll be the first to admit that Hallmark commercials can get to me once in awhile (it's a woman hormonal thang...okay?) but there are the few that will get to me -- every. dayum. time.
Posted by: Les~ at February 6, 2007 4:41 PM
I had to stop that Dead Poets Society clip after only about 5 seconds.
As for Six Feet Under, I've been stuck on the final season. I have an inkling of where it's going (I won't watch that clip, of course), and I'm terrified that I'll be right.
I would second Rosie's comment on the second season finale of the new Doctor Who. It is one of the most beautiful and heartbreaking things I've ever seen.
Posted by: Samuel Erikson at February 6, 2007 4:42 PM
For me, the tearjerkiest moments in cinema would be close to the end of Titanic. noooo, not when Rose lets go of Jack, that was stupid. Before the ship really goes down, the quartet is playing, the captain is standing in the wheelhouse, looking so...devastated. And the water starts coming in, crushing the windows,and he's still standing at the helm...The second is The Joy Luck Club. That whole movie is one big tear jerker, as I can identify with the daughters, but the stories of the mothers--WOW. Buy me stock in Kleenex, because by the time the ending rolls around, I can't stop crying.
Posted by: Stella at February 6, 2007 4:42 PM
Whoever mentioned the scene in "Royal Tenenbaums" when Chas's voice cracks while admitting that he's had a tough year, spot on. I bawl everytime.
And "The Body" episode of Buffy, too. I lost my mother around that time, and even though I have the entire DVD box set of the series, I still have to skip over that goddamn episode. I've only seen it once, and just thinking about it makes me sob.
Posted by: Stacy at February 6, 2007 4:45 PM
I'd add the end of Finding Neverland, when they perform the play for Sylvia and the scene on the bench after with funeral with Peter and Barrie.
Posted by: Priya at February 6, 2007 4:49 PM
Go Billy!
From lost and confused grandma wandering in the hills in the beginning to Billy leaping onto stage at the end,a perfect movie.
And the Futurama episode with the dog. ach. so unexpected and beautiful.
I am all verklempt.
Posted by: Jennifer at February 6, 2007 5:11 PM
God, I love this post... I haven't watched half the clips because of the spoilers, but I plan to catch up on those movies as fast as possible.
I don't usually cry during films due to embarrassment, but one time I couldn't help myself was at the end of Gattaca, the scene with the incinerator. That one. Maybe it was the Michael Nyman score, but that scene went straight to the troat. Or maybe I was just fourteen years old.
Posted by: MJ at February 6, 2007 5:15 PM
What about the Buffy episode when Buffy dies? Her speech to Dawn before she jumps off the tower? Kills me everytime.
Posted by: Lisa at February 6, 2007 5:18 PM
I much appreciated the first spot slot of Dead Poet's Society, but its not that scene that gets me, its the infinitely cheesier one at the end where the boys stand on the desks with the bagpipe music. Yes, I know, I'm lame. And amen on the WW clip. That show is the only one that ever had elicited actual emotions from me.
Posted by: MG at February 6, 2007 5:21 PM
Peaces of April? To quote Gob - Oh, Come on! I hated every single thing about that movie. From the under written parents, to the bad cinematogrphay, to the subtle racism, to the idea that a professed virgin could play a boho artiste.
in the plus category: The last season of the Wire. When Dukie doesnt go to school, and ends up on the corner.
Posted by: Withnail at February 6, 2007 5:23 PM
Great list, and I say that as an expert at movie-induced crying. I sobbed so loudly in the theater at Dead Poets Society that I embarrassed my mother, who, now that I think of it, hasn't asked me to go to anything but lame action flicks with her since.
The two movies that most fucked up my shit, though, were Kids and Breaking the Waves. They weren't good cathartic cries, and I haven't seen either movie more than once, but MAN did they make a wreck out of me.
I completely agree with the SFU love here. The moment that most moved me is when old David sees a young Keith coming for him. Damn.
Posted by: idgiepug at February 6, 2007 5:25 PM
I'm afraid after you've seen Born Free and maybe even Old Yeller, nothing else comes close.
These do not, however, qualify as "last 20 years" so I will meekly admit that I get wetly caught up in the moment every time Virgil starts beating on Lindsey's drowned corpse in The Abyss. And the cabaret scene in Mullholland Drive. And a certain famous moment in Babe that has made every guy I know acid-weep like a sliced red onion.
(Seriously, do not watch Born Free.)
Posted by: ranylt at February 6, 2007 5:29 PM
I'm a wuss, and I have no problem admitting it. I'll even take the bait for obviously manipulative crap and laugh at myself for doing it. I've already copped to crying during the trailers of Marshall and Happyness--but I didn't actually see the movies. So I don't have a lot of cred...but I cried when Jim and Pam kissed on the (American) Office.
Posted by: anikitty at February 6, 2007 5:29 PM
I cry myself stupid every time I watch Big Fish, but that's because that guy is basically my grandfather. Even if that guy isn't your grandfather, how can you not cry when the stuffy literalist son makes up a special crazy-ass tall tale for his dying father?
I was successfully manipulated and totally am every single time.
Posted by: Alison E at February 6, 2007 5:37 PM
I totally agree with 6 Feet Under. Some of the best filmmaking (screen or tv) in the last 10 years.
One tear-jerking scene that always gets me is the weather scene in LA Story. It is such a great movie on so many levels but that scene where the weather goes all screwy punches me in the gut every time.
Posted by: Blackcapricorn at February 6, 2007 5:38 PM
Mine would have to be the scene in season four of Buffy where Willow and Oz break up. It's when she says "Don't you still love me?" and he tells her "All my life, I've never loved anything more" and then he almost stays but leaves. Watching Alyson Hannigan cry is like the most heart breaking thing ever, every single time she cried on that show I cried.
I also found the scene at the end of X2 particularily moving, but not until Cyclops started crying, with poor old Wolverine holding him. Ratner never would have let Wolverine hold him if he had made X2.
Posted by: Claire at February 6, 2007 5:49 PM
My lame addition? When my husband and I watched "Dog of Flanders," and they were burying the boy and his beloved faithful dog IN ONE COFFIN, I fucking lost it. Even my husband had tears in his eyes. To be fair, I had recently lost my own Bouvier des Flandres (which was the whole reason we rented the movie to begin with).
Also "Prisoner of the Mountains" makes me cry every time at the end, when the protagonist is on the train at the end of the movie, talking about how he looks for all his dear friends in his dream, but they refuse to come to him.
The scene in Casablanca where everyone sings La Marseillaise brings me to tears every time (and I'm 99% sure I misspelled that).
The Fox and the Hound has me sobbing throughout the entire movie, but that's mostly an emotional resonance thing, cause the movie gets met thinking about my dearest friend in the whole world.
And Stella, I agree--I hate Titanic, but watching the quartet strike up "Nearer my God to Thee" as the ship is going down really gets to me.
Posted by: wealhtheow at February 6, 2007 5:56 PM
Oh, I turn off "Jurassic Bark" every time when Frye says not to resurrect his dog. I can't watch the last few minutes: it's too much.
Another confession: When I saw "Finding Nemo" I took one of my neices with me--three years old, and she had to sit on my lap because she was too little for a chair by herself. And when Nemo and his dad finally reunited she reached back and held my face. That broke me as much as what was happening on screen.
I also lost it every time they said "clap if you believe in fairies" in Finding Neverland. For some reason that pushed exactly the right button.
Posted by: Jenna at February 6, 2007 5:58 PM
I'm in complete agreement; Eternal Sunshine and Brokeback Mountain left me an emotional wreck long after the end credits rolled. In fact, I cried during them while sitting in the theater along with everyone else around me. Of course, it didn't help that I was dumped by someone three days before seeing Eternal Sunshine.
The moment I found myself tearing up during Brokeback was just before Ennis finds his and Jack's bloodstained shirts hidden away in the closet. The catch in Lurleen's voice and the tears that well up in her eyes when Ennis tells her that he and Jack herded sheep on Brokeback Mountain years ago was a quietly heartbreaking moment thanks to Anne Hathaway.
Les~, I have to agree with you about The Color Purple. Celie and Nettie running to each other through the field of purple flowers makes me choke up every single time. Aaaargh. Damn you Spielberg!
Posted by: Rebecca at February 6, 2007 5:58 PM
Yeah, the end of Big Fish fucked me up terribly, I'm not ashamed to admit. The first time I saw it, as my friend and I were walking out of the theater, eyes puffy and noses streaming, the guy behind the concession stand turned around, took one look at us, and casually said "Oh, you just saw Big Fish, huh?"
Also, everyone here needs to go and watch Grave of the Fireflies. If you don't completely lose it AT LEAST once during this movie, I'm convinced you have no soul.
Posted by: The Borghal Rantipole at February 6, 2007 6:08 PM
Dustin, I think we're soul mates because every one of the clips you selected has deep, personal meaning to me.
Of them all though, SFU is by far my favorite. What an amazing show that was. Seeing Clare die old in her bed--oh, it gets me.
Posted by: Me at February 6, 2007 6:13 PM
I'm only adding to the length of this column because no one's mentioned the one film that sent my shit further away than anything ever in my life:
Fearless. Peter Weir.
If you haven't seen Rosie Perez in Fearless I can understand your doubting. But if you have seen her performance--the scene where Jeff Bridges puts Rosie in the car and demonstrates to her that she could not have saved her son's life--I did not just cry; I howled like a hurt puppy. I had to stop the movie and just sit there and sob.
No piece of fiction of any kind has hurt me more than that scene in that movie.
And to those of you above: Big Fish and Iron Giant: Yes and YES. Most sentimental shit leaves me cold, but those two films made my face leak.
Posted by: Jerce at February 6, 2007 6:32 PM
Damn it. I refused to watch the Wonder Years series finale clip because I knew it would just be too much. I did however let my curiosity get the best of me and click the other WY link... and I immediately knew the episode and the exact clip I was about to see and couldn't stop myself and COMPLETELY LOST MY SHIT. And the thing is, I remember being.. 10? 11? and watching that episode and crying.
I remember after Life is Beautiful I bawled and bawled and my dad said maybe I should just not watch serious movies for awhile (I was 9 or 10 at the time). He also came downstairs after my first viewing of Dead Poet's Society and hurried over asking me what was wrong, my crying was so excessive.
Which also reminds me... It's a Wonderful Life. Gets me every time.
Listening to the commentary on the last episode of Arrested Development had me a bit choked up, if I remember correctly. I'm going to watch the chicken clip about 8 more times to whip myself back into shape.
Posted by: Jacqueline at February 6, 2007 6:33 PM
I am an idiot for watching the SFU clip at work. Waahh... That last episode is just... freaking brilliant.
Another person mentioned Iris. That would have to be in my top five tearjerkers - one of the only times I have broken down and lost my shit entirely in a movie theater.
Posted by: amy at February 6, 2007 6:38 PM
No movie has ever fucked me up more than Dead Poets Society. It's very, very lame of me, but I was not right for DAYS after that film. As soon as I saw the banner for this post, I knew that movie would be in here.
Posted by: Lilliana at February 6, 2007 6:51 PM
I went in to this post with one scene in mind. What really gets me is that you mentioned it, but it wasn't one of your choices, or even an honorable mention. The series finale of the british version of The Office, either when Dawn unwraps the gift in the cab, or when she returns with that damn song playing.
I really hate that you didn't throw that in.
Posted by: Charles at February 6, 2007 7:09 PM
People have already mentioned it, but I was actually a little shocked not to see anything from "The Body" (Buffy the Vampire Slayer). The first time I saw that episode, I did not stop crying for the entire hour. Literally. But the scene with Anya still kills me, even having seen the episode at least ten times.
Also, that SFU clip is actually the only thing I've ever seen of the show. I happened to walk in on a friend watching that episode, just when this exact clip started. And I cried, having no connection with the characters or the show at all. Watching it again, SFU Season 1 is definitely going on my Netflix. Amazing.
Posted by: stacy at February 6, 2007 7:21 PM
the secret of nimh? little adorable animated baby mouse who is sick and his mother has to brave ancient evil rats to get the cure? anyone? anyone? okay, i'll shut up.
Posted by: the-ian at February 6, 2007 7:35 PM
Grave of the Fireflies was devastating. Eternal Sunshine certainly belongs, not only for its scenes, but also because it gives a nod to Pope's breathtaking Eloisa to Abelard.
Posted by: sociopathic cabbage at February 6, 2007 7:37 PM
Word on the Buffy and SFU clips as well as the Futurama scene. Animal stuff always gets me... Even in sappy Return to Me, when the dog just waits by the door waiting for the woman to come home after she died.... My dog will totally never do that for me.
OK, for me, it's the last 10 minutes of United 93. I saw it in the theatres, and the silence, my God, the silence when it was over. Just horribly painful silence. No one moved. They just sat there, and then the whole theatre started weeping, sniffles, tears, sobs.
Posted by: Lizzie at February 6, 2007 7:39 PM
I usually don't cry at movies or TV shows, but I got reduced to a puddle during Finding Neverland. Yes, I got choked up at the end, but the floodgates really opened during the part where Freddie Highmore's character destroys the set of his play because his mom couldn't see it.
The other big tearjerker for me is in Gandhi, when the protesters start walking up to the gates of the salt factory, and the soldiers just beat them mercilessly.
Posted by: Anonymouse at February 6, 2007 7:49 PM
the thing about Big Fish that fucks my shit up is not the movie itself- which i thought was okay but nothing tear-jerking - is that it's supposedly the last movie that Spaulding Grey saw before he killed himself.
For those who don't know, Spaulding, the great downtown theater artist/monologuist, was in a horrible car crash in Ireland a few years ago. it seriously disfigured his face and sent the already depressive man into a spiral of grief. Even though he was working on New work, his heart wasn't in it. One day, he goes to see the movie, and it let him know that it was okay to say good bye.
He was missing for the next month - and the entire NY theater community worried, hoped he would be okay. His body was found a month later.
Posted by: Withnail at February 6, 2007 8:05 PM
Brilliant list!
My friend and I skipped school to go watch ETOTSM and it was the best thing I did that year.
*Billy Elliot is just - guh! Every single damn time it comes on TV I just can't help crying like a total baby. Sigh.
*Helena - you are so right - Iron Giant is so damn good, but so very underrated. That move just silences me.
*Empire of the Sun - totally true Witnail - amazing scene. I watched that underage with my little brother and we were left sobbing at the end.
Oh, and I know this is a very, VERY girly choice but Roman Holiday just makes me all weepy.
Posted by: JC at February 6, 2007 8:05 PM
To the person that mention the last scene in Finding Neverland, right on... gawd, just thinking about it gives me goosebumps... the big blue eyes full of tears... Also there's a french movie from way back, called "La guerre des tuques" there's scene where the kids are playing in a snow fort, and it comes down on one of the kids dog, and the kid digs the snow only to find the dog as died...
Posted by: Stephie at February 6, 2007 8:31 PM
I knew better than to click on this link at work and did it anyway. The Scrubs post was the only one that I have seen (and remember), and then I had to scroll down and read the comments and start choking up again when "The Body" and The Iron Giant start getting props. I bawl like Silent Bob after he watches Sixteen Candles. "Superman..." And then the tears begin to stream...
As for Big Fish, I refuse to watch it as it will cause me to absolutely lose my shit. Ever since I lost my dad, any movie that has any kind of poignant moment between a father and son will reduce me to nothingness. I won't be right for days.
Posted by: ScarletKnight at February 6, 2007 8:38 PM
thank you thank you thank you for including in america. ever since it came out i've been telling people to go and see it. i saw it in theatres and no joke, not a dry eye at the end...the 40 year old man sitting beside me was blubbering like a little baby.
i'm not surprised you didn't include this, but one of my personal fave moments of all time is from the bridges of madison county. i weep everytime i see clint eastwood standing out in the rain, looking so defeated and heartbroken. i also need a "personal moment" at the end of adaptation when meryl streep is crying and wishing that she could be a baby again and start all over.
but that's just me...a softy for meryl streep-non cancer dying film fan.
ps. touche to the person that mentioned cinema paradiso, the clip montage of the kisses always gets me.
Posted by: cris at February 6, 2007 8:40 PM
The scene in Eternal Sunshine when they talk about how it's probably not going to work out with them anyway but they aren't sure what to do... they seem at a complete cross purposes, and Jim Carrey just says "Ok." And they hug and kiss and try again.
The last twenty minutes of Millions. I love that movie. It's so much more than a kid's movie.
Posted by: miranda at February 6, 2007 8:47 PM
Pan's Labyrinth. I cried like a baby. Literally, though. I was crying so hard at the very end that I couldn't catch my breath until the end of the credits and I had to physically stifle myself to keep from pissing off the whole theatre. Of course, I'm a crier anyways, so it might not affect everyone like that.
Posted by: kiki at February 6, 2007 8:51 PM
Damn your Six Feet Under clip. I'd forgotten how much it got to me the first time and now watching it again...
Posted by: benjamin at February 6, 2007 8:52 PM
"Grave of the Fireflies was devastating."
Jeysus I am glad I was not the only slain by that one. I mean it is a cartoon for god sakes. That thing was one of the saddest, most heart wrenching movies I have ever watched.
Dancer In the Dark also was a blubbering fest. Damn whole theater was bawling.
Posted by: velcro at February 6, 2007 8:59 PM
Rattle and Hum was my entire high school experience. I am the person I am today because of Bono and his "fuck the revolution!" You nailed it, the crack in his voice when shouting "No More!" kills me. It's a highly personal moment, it's not just about a general anti-war statement; instead, he transcends politics and brings the violence and horror of what was going on in Ireland to each and every person watching. I am serious when I say that his passion inspired me to take on my profession, which is conflict-management related. "Wipe your tears away, wipe your bloodstained eyes..."
And that version of Running to Stand Still takes my breath away. Every time. But possibly my favorite moment comes at the end of With or Without You, when he sings "we'll shine like stars in the summer night, we'll shine like stars in the winter night, one heart, one hope, one love." This was before One was written, possibly inspired by Bob Marley, but it really is my philosophy for life. Thank you for including Rattle and Hum, a much derided film but really the only thing that made high school survivable.
Posted by: Rachael at February 6, 2007 9:03 PM
Rattle and Hum. I love the fact you included it. I went with my older brother (I was 13) to see it in the theater the day after it came out. Up to that point, I had little interest in music...but that film changed me. My jaw was open from the opening scene until the final credits. It was loud, larger than life, and so moving. I fell in love with the power of music on that night. And after that, I watched it more times than I can count. To this day I can probably repeat the entire movie word for word (and lyric for lyric). Still a big U2 fan, but that movie opened my eyes and later allowed me to expanded my musical horizons. An amazing moment. It's nice to know I'm not the only one...
Posted by: Jason at February 6, 2007 9:13 PM
Agreed for many points, including the Futurama episode with Fry and his dog. Shows that any medium can be moving.
I have a slightly off-topic question.
What program does everyone use(pajiba and commentors) to rip segments from dvd's into readable formats (avi, etc)? I have an old old program that works maybe 1/3 of the time, and would like something better. Thanks for any help.
Posted by: Eric at February 6, 2007 9:27 PM
First of all, don't talk shit about "Steel Magnolias"! I watch it for the laughs, not for Julia dying (who cares?)...
And I know this isn't in the last 20 years, but nothing, NOTHING has made me weep more than "Silent Running" which I saw at age 25, but was reduced to a bruised age 6. Traumatic, will never see again!
Posted by: mfg at February 6, 2007 9:46 PM
I have not seen that Episode of "Scrubs" but DAMN! YOU PICKED A GOOD ONE! I started crying almost immediately. Oh man.
A Very Long Engagement had me crying on like, three separate occasions. That was the first (and maybe only) movie I can remember crying at from Happiness.
BIG FISH. That movie completely wrecks my shit.
MOULIN ROUGE!...while the ending is slightly...I don't even know. Pulling strings, it still kills me. I saw it in like, 8th grade and watched it nearly every day my freshman year of Highschool...
It just gets me. Everyone always laughs when Ewan cries because it sounds ridiculous but I LOVE IT!
And this might seem strange but the '03 version of PETER PAN (I have an unnatural and unexplainable love for that movie. I don't even know why.) makes me cry at the end. I suppose its supposed to be happy but Peter is so pathetic and alone! And if I watch the alternate ending when he comes back for Wendy and she is grown up its even worse. OH MAN!
Posted by: Leanne at February 6, 2007 9:58 PM
In Eternal Sunshine... when the house starts falling apart, I start bawling.
Posted by: also a sap at February 6, 2007 10:01 PM
Six Feet Under has the best series ending ever?
Nay, my friend, nay.
I'm sorry to be cliche, but nothing beats the finale of M*A*S*H.
Posted by: Sarah at February 6, 2007 10:04 PM
I nth the one about Fry's Dog. No matter how many times I've seen it, it still gets me. Also the scene in Nobody Knows where he takes his sister to see the planes. Totally bawl-worthy.
Posted by: Mouse at February 6, 2007 10:12 PM
****sniff*****
I can't believe you made me watch the SFU finale scene! You are an evil, evil man.
But I am a huge sap. I cry during "Apollo 13" when they break radio silence. So silly, cause I know how it ends.
And in "Peggy Sue Got Married"? When Peggy Sue goes back in time to when she was a teenager? And her grandma calls on the phone? Only Peggy Sue knows that in the future her grandma is dead? And she starts crying and can't talk to her? I'm sorry...I need a minute.
Posted by: Greer at February 6, 2007 10:25 PM
I have only ever completely lost it once during a movie: at the end of "Dancer in the Dark." Seriously, it's the most aggressively depressing movie I've ever seen. Most of the clips listed above are meant to produce tears of melancholy or even joy. "Dancer" elicits tears of there's-no-fucking-justice-in-the-entire-world-how-the-hell-am-i-supposed-to-go-on-living-life? Seriously, I was crying tears of complete anger and hopelessness. It's not an experience I would recommend to many people, but damn, is it powerful.
Posted by: tk at February 6, 2007 10:26 PM
I don't know, that Futurama scene where Zap Brannigan gets booted out of the D.O.O.P. and has to work the corner, a la Midnight Cowboy, gets me in that special place.
Haha, not really. Actually, Midnight Cowboy is tear-jerky as hell. And I just saw it, but Deepa Mehta's "Water"...that last scene. Dammit. I cried.
Posted by: AM at February 6, 2007 10:29 PM
You guys! I knew better than to watch any of those clips, but everyone's comments got to me.
As soon as someone mentioned the Sia song in SFU, just brought it all flooding back...
Posted by: Simone at February 6, 2007 10:37 PM
I must agree with the scenes mentioned for "Big Fish", "Iron Giant" (even my husband teared up for that one, and he is notoriously all like 'I've got something in my eye' kind of guy)"The Color Purple", and "The Joy Luck Club". I never used to cry at movies, but now that I have produced offspring I seem to cry at everything. Even "Lilo and Stitch" - that scene where Nani is singing to Lilo...well, I have a big sister...
-ahem-
Anyway, the most recent movie I cried at was "Antonia's Line". See it, and if the last scene doesn't reduce you, well, you have a heart of stone.
Posted by: wozzle at February 6, 2007 10:56 PM
Screw you all. I almost got Iron Giant out of my system, and then you had to bring it back. The tears won't stop, dammit, they won't stop. Stupid robot and his stupid, beautiful sacrifice. Screw you all.
"You are who you choose to be" "Superman..." Auuughh. The only other movie that made me go like that was Children of Men, like jordan said, during the crying baby scene.
While I still have some composure, I must say that Futurama episode got to me as well. Another scene that got me from Futurama was from the episode where Fry looks for his lucky seven-leaf clover, and they revealed that the brother he disliked for so long had named his son after him, who then went on to fulfill Fry's dream of being an astronaut. Surprising how the mind that spawned the Simpsons could pull off such a show, and yet that one was the failure.
I have to go now. Stupid robot.
Posted by: Vermillion at February 6, 2007 10:59 PM
Great list. There's a sub-genre of tear-jerkers that a few people have alluded to -- they're the ones that happen RIGHT at the freaking END of the movie, the ones that give you no freaking chance to compose yourself before the lights come on. I have a list of three, two of which have already been mentioned:
1) Pan's Labyrinth -- I won't spoil it, but that was just un-FAIR.
2) Billy Elliot -- That split-second reaction shot of the father in the audience. I had no chance.
3) The Ice Storm -- Nobody in that movie acted like they gave a damn about anyone or anything, until Kevin Kline breaks down crying in the car.
Aahh, cripes. I have to go now.
Posted by: sansho1 at February 6, 2007 11:05 PM
I've never seen any of Six Feet Under, but now I want to. I had heard from many different sources that it's an amazing series, but for some reason I never listened. the tear-jerkiness intrigues me. and I love Sia and had heard that one of her songs was used in the finale, so methinks I'll have to find a way to watch the whole series.
there's a little Icelandic movie called Noi that just destroyed me. the whole thing is quite depressing, but when it comes to the end...even though I kind of saw it coming, I just bawled. I've never felt so horrible for a fictional character.
I'm so glad someone else cried at The Office. I got a little weepy when Jim was walking away from Pam in the parking lot in Casino Night.
Posted by: Jessica at February 6, 2007 11:07 PM
Definitely agree with In America, but for me, it was the scene where Christy is in the hospital and they need her to give blood. And she says "Don't "little girl" me. I've been carrying this family on my back for over a year." I lost it. Personal stuff there, but it hit home.
And it's a direct result of rewatching the movie, but as soon as "Needle in the Hay" starts playing in The Royal Tenenbaums - actually quite a bit before the bathroom scene - my stomach starts to knot. It's not just tears, it's an all-over physical reaction.
Posted by: Sarah at February 6, 2007 11:20 PM
Dammit! Everyone's already been so spot-on and articulate about the things I wanted to add; The Joy Luck Club, Futurama (also the ep where Leela was stung by that space bee), Six Feet Under.
But I have to mention one that's a little obscure-- Oz, season 6, "A Day in the Death". When Ryan starts to cry and says "I'm so sorry for everything" to his brother, I lose it. I got the season 6 DVD, and I cried when I watched the episode... then I watched it with the commentary by the actors, who are brothers in real life, and it made THEM cry. So of course I totally lost it all over again.
Posted by: Grumblecakes at February 6, 2007 11:24 PM
Everyone is mentioning Buffy moments but the one that always gets me is when Willow goes to finally visit Tara's grave.
As soon as I see the grave I'd start tearing up, and it would reach that scene JUST before I had to outside to catch the bus. ACK!
ALSO: When Willow is telling Oz that she will always be waiting for him...even when she is old and bluehaired, that she'll always love him. ...Alsyon Hannigan is just a good crier.
Posted by: Leanne at February 6, 2007 11:26 PM
That Futurama episode kills me. I'm crying just thinking about it.
Posted by: glinda at February 6, 2007 11:30 PM
Happy to see I'm not the only one in love with the UK "Office" series finale, both the secret-santa scene in the Christmas special ("Not anymore, I haven't") and the last series two ep where Tim gets up and rips the microphones out... such beauty, so seamlessly fitted into brilliant TV comedy.
But nobody... NOBODY has mentioned "Requiem for a Dream" yet? I don't know that it's exactly a tearjerker, more of just one solid punch to the gut after another, leaving you exhausted and broken and haunted for days... that whole final montage, from Harry's phone call on, I don't think I've ever seen anything so disturbingly powerful and heartbreaking... but in a pinch, that last shot, oh God, that last shot. Dammit, I don't cry at movies and I can't see my screen just thinking about it. Didn't leave me in tears so much as curled up in an emotionally wrecked little ball; I'm still surprised I've been able to get through it multiple times, because it just gets worse.
Posted by: Sputnik at February 6, 2007 11:39 PM
Ummm...Rocky 3, when Mic dies, and Turner and Hooch, when Hooch dies. Or any movie when a dog gets killed or almost killed, only to recover right at the end when he surprises the cop or kid who owns him by licking their face, thus confirming you suspicions that the dog would live
.
That Futurama episode, too. Throw in the one when Fry tries to impress Lela by moving the stars for her, only to see his creation destroyed by one of Farnswerths doomsday devices, too boot. It ends with his sad face and Bender softly whistling the harlem globetrotters theme:his own unattainable fantasy. He just didn't have what it took to be considered an "intergalactic jester of dunk."
pity
Posted by: Some Guy at February 6, 2007 11:54 PM
I'm not afraid to admit that I cry like a little girl at just about anything. Especially the episode of Scrubs on here, a lot at Eternal Sunshine. I'd list others, but it would take a long time.
Posted by: Cait at February 6, 2007 11:57 PM
Fantastic list. I don't even need to watch that entire scene from In America to start crying, just that line of "Say goodbye to Frankie" is enough to set me off.
The Buffy episode "The Body" gets me everytime too. I can't even pick one particular scene, the whole episode is just too real.
I'd add the scene from Junebug after she loses the baby. I found most of the movie pretty boring and kept wondering how Amy Adams got an Oscar nom for it. That scene was so out of the blue compared to the tone of the rest of the movie, and I never saw if ending that way.
Posted by: audrey at February 6, 2007 11:59 PM
Other ones which totally own my shit:
Pretty in Pink. Silent Bob's right. As a perennail Ducky, anything with Jon Cryer just fucks me up. His screaming at Andy when he sees her dating someone else. "He's going to use you and toss you away. And one of these days, I'm not gpoing to be ther for you." And when he lets her go at the end - and has to settle for a god-damned meaningless one-night stand, while the girl of his dreams goes off with another guy. And the fact that this was a STUDIO MANDATED RE_WRITE! Kills me every time. To the Duckys in the world, who believe that all it takes is a funky hat to get the girl of your dreams - I'm one of you.
And it's not a movie - a play actually, though it was on TV, the end of Angels in America "More Life. The Great Work Begins" gets me every time, too.
Posted by: Withnail at February 7, 2007 12:03 AM
To add yet another Futurama moment (there seems to be a lot of them), in the episode "Luck of the Fryrish" at the very end when the last flashback ends and Fry finds out (SPOILER) that it wasn't his brother that stole his identity, it was his nephew who's life was dedicated to him, he cries and the camera pulls away to the theme from the Breakfast Club, I just lose it.
In addition, I refuse to watch "Jurassic Bark" and to hell with you all for reminding me of the Iron Giant.
Posted by: aetius at February 7, 2007 12:13 AM
I want to be another person putting my vote in for Six Feet Under's finale. Strange thing is I just watched it today for the first time after about 2 months of straight SFU episodes (thank god for Netflix).
I have never ever cried so hard from a movie, TV show, or book as I did while watching this ending montage. I didn't realize how closely I attached myself to these characters until I saw their life play out and end.
I have to disagree with the Season 4 and 5 hating. While it may have seemed they spun their wheels a bit, I still loved every damn minute of it.
So yeah, Six Feet Under.
Posted by: Chris at February 7, 2007 12:24 AM
Oh, the Wonder Years! Fred Savage was my first crush. I was so young, probably seven or eight, and wished that I could look just like Winnie Cooper.
In The Royal Tenenbaums, when Gwyneth Paltrow and Luke Wilson are sitting in the tent and Ruby Tuesday is playing...ugh, that movie kills me. And whoever said the cabaret scene in Mulholland Drive is so spot on. That a capella performance of "Crying" is, briefly, such a pure moment in an overwhelming film.
Posted by: Rebecca at February 7, 2007 12:36 AM
You guys are all pretty easy... ;)
It's a small movie, but damn if I can't stop crying in "Truly Madly Deeply."
Also, "Lilya 4-Ever". Man, that is one seriously hard movie to come away from. Lukas Moodysson's made some emotional stuff, but that one takes the cake.
Posted by: rocky at February 7, 2007 12:36 AM
Add another one for Jurassic Bark here. That one episode is one I point at every time I argue that Futurama was a better show than the Simpsons. I challenge anyone to find a SINGLE Simpsons moment that has the same effect.
Also, and I know it's a cliche one, but:
Rudy... Rudy... Rudy! Rudy! RUDY! RUDY!
Posted by: Sam at February 7, 2007 12:41 AM
I watched "Jurassic Bark" only one time. I have seen every other Futurama episode to the point where I have memorized them, but I can never watch that one again. I cried for DAYS. How come there is no love for Angel? The episode "I will remember you" messed me up so badly. That is the one where Angel was human for a day and he and Buffy were finally able to be together, but then he had to give it back and undo the day in order to be able to fight with her. When she looks at him and says, "But, I felt your heart beat", I LOSE it!
Posted by: Blake! at February 7, 2007 12:42 AM
And you know what? I know it's not film in any way whatsoever, but I still well up every time I read the last Calvin and Hobbes.
Posted by: Sam at February 7, 2007 12:46 AM
Futurama "The Luck of the Fryrish": This ep resonates with me personally since I lost a brother years ago. Tear up just thinking about it. One of the best moments on televison. Boo to Fox for letting this show go.
The Joy Luck Club: The final moments when Jing-Mei tells her long lost sisters that their mother died and they all embrace and call each other "Mei mei"
Dancer in the Dark: was in the bathroom crying for 20 minutes are that one ended.
Angel "You're Welcome": Cordelia's death really got to me. I think its because very few characters from the Buffyverse ever get to say goodbye. Great scene considering David Boreanz and Charisma Carpenter are the best actors out there.
Posted by: Jav at February 7, 2007 12:46 AM
Oh man, I can lose it over a movie trailer if it's put together schmaltzy enough. But my faves are:
Last Unicorn: When Molly wails at the unicorn, "How dare you!" Even now, or when reading the book, the ferocity of this character gets to me.
Serenity: When Wash bites it. Totaly shock and then tears.
Terminator 2: Thumbs up at the end before he destroys himself. Granted I was probably 8 when I watched it, but I bawled like crazy.
Garden State: When Zac Braff says something along the lines of "It's sad, when you realize the house you grew up in is no longer your home." I was fine until... BAM. My parents were (still are) going through a divorce when I watched it, and I had moved out of my childhood home while my dad still lived there.
Princess Bride: "I want my father back, you son of a bitch." Or the scene in the book when Inigo's father is killed.
And then other typical ones, like Homeward Bound at the end (when I was a kid). The Futurama episode with the dog tears my heart. The U2 clip brought back so many memories, I'd watch that one with Running To Stand Still over and over again. My boyfriend loses it in Last of the Mohicans when the brother and dad die.
Posted by: naive_charm at February 7, 2007 12:59 AM
In the interest of a small post, I just want to say the last scene in Breakfast at Tiffany's. I, too, and part of the Pajiba-esque demographic that finds The Notebook laughable, but I sobbed for hours after Tiffany's.
Posted by: Case at February 7, 2007 1:04 AM
I'm on board with most of these clips, particularly "Six Feet Under" because holy shit, the little smile on David's face when he sees Keith - young, healthy, strong, catch the football and just grin at him...my God, I keep Kleenex in business.
But I also have to be a sap and add...well...Lord of the Rings: Return of the King really fucking gets to me. Two moments - when Sam tells Frodo he can't carry the ring, but he can carry him, and then when Frodo is dangling over Mount Doom, Sam grabs his hand and his voice brooks absolutely no argument when he says "Don't you let go." Buckets of tears.
Posted by: molly at February 7, 2007 1:08 AM
Oh, and hey, guys? If you want to know the trick for making The Notebook a REALLY enjoyable film (and I don't mean 'take a shot every time it sucks')?
Fast forward through all the shit with the old people. I'm so serious - you're watching it to watch Gosling and McAdams fuck in the rain anyway, right? Why not just admit it and cut to the good parts?
Posted by: molly at February 7, 2007 1:12 AM
The moment in All About My Mother when Cecilia Roth's son is hit by the car and she is screaming for him destroys me.
Posted by: ecp at February 7, 2007 1:13 AM
Withnail, so with you on Empire of the Sun. Tears are completely earned, unlike, well, some of the above. You might be interested that the last scene of Withnail and I completely destroys me. When Withnail, having lost "I", recites a soliloquy from Hamlet? Devastating.
My God, how could anyone not cry when Nina's sister asks her for her dead lover's cello: "it's like you're asking me for his body, you're asking me for his body!"
All I know is I lost two contact lenses, and didn't notice, because my eyes were so blurry with tears.
Six Feet Under makes me feel like killing myself, so I guess that's kind of sad.
Posted by: Janis at February 7, 2007 1:15 AM
In the few minutes I spent writing my post, someone mentioned Truly, Madly, Deeply.
Popular thread, eh?
Posted by: Janis at February 7, 2007 1:21 AM
Jenna's comment about her niece holding her face at the one scene in Finding Nemo, that movie didnt make me cry, now it will....damn.
Posted by: Angelique at February 7, 2007 1:41 AM
I'll throw another one in for Cinema Paradiso the one-two gut punch at the end (return to the village, the kissing montage) screwed up my dating life for it's entire run. I always thought, "Okay, I know it's coming be strong -- be strong," but I'd always end up like a five-year-old watching puppies get gassed. Not many woman look at you the same way when you're blubbering away, spilling tears and snot down onto your shirt.
My wife let's me watch it alone at least.
Posted by: MarcReyer at February 7, 2007 1:57 AM
I don't know how many people got to see the Italian mini-series "The Best of Youth". It was shown in Australia at 11:00pm and I was lucky enough to catch it early (only missed the first part of four). There are so many scenes in the series that just destroyed me. If you ever have the opportunity to see it you cant pass it up.
I also want to add in that the last scene in Jurassic Bark is better than anything the Simpsons have ever done.
Posted by: Steve at February 7, 2007 2:01 AM
Someone above mentioned The Simpsons as not having the tearjerker moments that Futurama does. I point to two (in nerdy Comic Book Guy fashion):
1) The episode where they explain why the family albums have no photographs of Maggie. It flashes back to before Maggie's birth. Homer has finally paid off his debt, and quits his job at the power plant to pursue his dream of working at the Bowlerama. Marge then tells him she's pregnant and he can't afford the new job anymore. He has to beg and grovel to get his old job back from Mr. Burns, who puts a sign in his workstation that says "DON'T FORGET, YOU'RE HERE FOREVER". The next time we see the sign, Homer has pasted pictures of Maggie all over it, so that it reads "DO IT FOR HER". Aw.
2) The episode where Lisa is inspired by her substitute teacher, who makes her feel proud to be smart and gives her hope that someday she'll be in a place where her intelligence is valuable. He has to leave and gives her a note at the train station, and tells her that it will give her confidence whenever she is down (or something like that). She's all heartbroken, and unfolds it to see that it says, simply, "You are Lisa Simpson." Cheesy, yes, but I think I was maybe eight and rather Lisa-like when I first saw it, and it still makes me a little verklempt.
Also, word to the end of Breakfast at Tiffany's.
Posted by: Helena at February 7, 2007 2:04 AM
I'll admit I shed some tears at the end of A Very Long Engagment and when Goebells' wife decides to poison her children in Downfall. I'm trying to work up the courage to rent United 93 because I know I'll be sobbing througout most of that movie.
Posted by: Liz at February 7, 2007 2:25 AM
What about Fahrenheit 911? Maybe it doesn't belong on this list, but I've never cried so hard and so openly in a movie theater.
Posted by: oaklandcat at February 7, 2007 2:38 AM
One night, I was flipping through the channels, and came across that scene in Dead Poets', which has always just torn me completely apart. I hit 'channel up' and right there was the scene in Moulin Rouge! where Ewan McGregor loses his shit at the end. It was not my night..
But god. Between 'In America', and 'Six Feet Under', I was bawling like a moron. (I'd never seen the finale before. Thanks muchly for posting it.)
Posted by: Mara at February 7, 2007 2:43 AM
Great entries. I'm all weepy, but then I cry easily.
I'm with Rocky and Janis. Truly Madly Deeply wrecked my world so hard, I had to call in sick to work from the migraine.
Posted by: demondoll at February 7, 2007 2:56 AM
Good shout on Dead Poets, though the final scene is always the one that rips it out of you. Finding Nemo, where Marlon starts telling his story and it works its away across the ocean, instant welling up.
Worst of the last couple of years, Million Dollar Baby, when Clint tells Hillary what "mo cuishle" means, there were floods.
Posted by: Martin at February 7, 2007 3:11 AM
the first movie that made me cry was Gorillas in the mist, I was 6 and I was crying so histerically that my mom had to pull the tape from the VCR. the part when they cut the gorillas' hands to make ashtrays still makes me sad, and I haven't seen the movie since then.
one of the movies that got to me now that I am an adult (well, at least formally) was Friðrik Þór Friðriksson's Niceland.i know that most of you probably didn't have a chance to see it, but please try-the film is so simple, and yet so strong - it will stick with you for a long time...
i too have a couple of guilty pleasure scenes that make me cry - Love Actually - when the little girl sings All I Want for Christmas...i don't know what is it with this scene - it always gets me.
Posted by: marija at February 7, 2007 3:26 AM
I dispise In America. I'll bash it some days just because I feel like it. And yes, I am one cold hearted bitch. If I had tearducts, I may have cried at something like Finding Neverland.
Posted by: Bethie at February 7, 2007 3:33 AM
Excellent list. Dead Poet's Society still makes me bawl, as does that scene in Pieces of April where she runs out to the car and her parents have gone. . . gah, damn it all to hell. The first movie that ever, ever made me lose it though, was The Hand that Rocks the Cradle. That scene where lady of the house finds the little girl's panties in the handyman's toolbox and he just looks all lost as she freaks out? I bawled like a baby in front of a room full of people. I still can't watch that movie.
Posted by: jen at February 7, 2007 4:10 AM
As a little boy, I remember crying my little eyes out when the horse drowned in quicksand in The Neverending Story.
A surprising sucker-punch was the Blackadder Goes Forth finale. Not sure if Blackadder has ever found an audience in the States, but anyone with an appreciation for British comedy ought to hunt it down, though I'd avoid the first series. ANYWAY, the end to Series 4 (...Goes Forth) when they go over the trenches into no-man's land... that gets me every time. Rowan Atkinson's "Good luck, everyone", and the fade-out into a poppy field... damn.
Posted by: Craig at February 7, 2007 4:33 AM
Oh, Jurassic Bark and My Screw Up. I can't watch them again.
And I'm more of a person to well up at books. Like White thorn, where the lead character's dog dies; who has been with him for so long, and was like the only family he had...
Gah! Can't write anymore. And I'm normally a cold-hearted bitch. See what you've done to me?
Posted by: Chantelle at February 7, 2007 4:59 AM
Buffy's speech to Dawn
The entire episode of 'The Body'
At the prom when Johnathan asks from the stage - "Is Buffy Summers here tonight?" its the look on Buffy's face that kills me.
Damn you Joss Whedon for destroying all of my masculine credibility. If he had killed Giles or Willow I think I'd still be crying.
Withnail's recitation of Hamlet at the end. Its just so so sad.
In isolation, Mr Incredible's reaction to what he truly beleives is his family's death. Its one of the most amazing pieces of animation depicting emotion I've ever seen or ever will. The resignation, the defeat, the rage. Jeebus its beautiful. Go watch it again.
The end of Blackadder Goes Forth when they go over the top into No Man's Land. It diesn't make me cry but comes bloody close.
Loads more that escape me.
Posted by: PyD at February 7, 2007 5:55 AM
The final episode of Angel, where Fred-the-ancient-god pretends to be Fred for Wesley when he's dying, and then Lorne and the final fight and oh dear god. Weepyness all around.
Posted by: Mirri at February 7, 2007 6:45 AM
Liz, United 93 was THE best movie I saw last year. You know what happens, but you just go through all of the emotions of that week of September 11, but in reverse. Rage, Frustration, Pride, and just complete sorrow. The subtitles at the end, man it just makes you HATE what people did or didn't do.
It's not a movie or a tv show moment, and I'm a lily livered commie democrat, but whenever I hear a really good rendition of the National Anthem, I get misty. I can be out of commission for the first half of the first inning at Sox games.
And speaking of the BoSox, the ring ceremony after the won the Series.... weeping like a little girl, but that was HAPPPPPPPPPPY tears.
Posted by: Lizzie at February 7, 2007 7:01 AM
Yes, to above, who quoted my Film, the end of Withnail and I, when the depressed Withnail recites Hamlet in the rain to a bunch of mangy wolves in the zoo, having been just left behind by his only friend and companion. Withnail, a great talent, a greater arrogance, being left alone to wallow.
But a movie that will now and forever fuck my shit up is the ending to Nashville. We've just seen three hours of the best that Altman can do - high and low culture, comedy, drama, great musical scenes - for me the breakup song of "Since You've Been Gone" that preceeds the famous "I'm Easy" sung by Keith Carridine, where three women in the bar think he's singing it to them - and one knows he's not, Ronnie Blakley's nervous breakdown onstage, Gwen Wells awful, awful singing while stripping, it just goes on and on -
and then there's the final political rally, where we see Blakley sing again. It's beautiful. Everyone's there to see it, the entire cast.
And then she's brutally, senselessly murdered.
Henry Gibson demands that someone sing! This is not Dallas! This is Nashville.
And as the politicians speed away, one lone crazy hanger on, Barbara Harris, takes the microphone and sings "It Don't Worry Me". An ode to apathy, to passiveness, to faith in a time of great uncertainty and strife. The Gospel Chorus joins in behind her. And I've never felt more American.
Posted by: Withnail at February 7, 2007 7:27 AM
The death of Wash, from Serenity.
It's not really a cry moment, because they all have to run at
once, but it really brakes my heart. Knowing the series very
well. Much stronger by the whole reaction of his Warrior
Woman.
Good list!
Posted by: magiel at February 7, 2007 7:28 AM
Oh God, I'm practically tearing up just thinking about the end of Blackadder Goes Forth.
As for The Body: I don't think I can ever watch that episode again.
Posted by: Bee at February 7, 2007 7:32 AM
Last night I watched the episode of Scrubs where Dr Cox loses the three transplant patients, and now How to Save a Life has just come on the radio. Woe...
Posted by: Bee at February 7, 2007 7:37 AM
Dustin,
How weird. I have the feeling I'm probably a few years younger than you, but the first movie I cried at was also Dead Poets. I was 9 and was watching it with my parents on VHS. I was embarrased as hell, and told them I had something in my eye. It wasn't the clip you picked, but the "captain, my captain" scene.
Posted by: alexis at February 7, 2007 8:01 AM
Forgot my addition. Don't think anyone has brought this up yet.
The Bicycle Thief, when the father is being accosted by men after he tries to steal a bike and his son is looking on at the devastating scene.
Posted by: alexis at February 7, 2007 8:08 AM
Retraction: Clearly, The Bicycle Thief was not made in the last 20 years. Sooooo, nevermind.
I'll replace it with Requiem for a Dream, the scene where two ladies visit Ellen Burstyn in the hospital and hug each other at the bus stop after the awful experience.
Posted by: alexis at February 7, 2007 8:17 AM
Eternal Sunshine. That movie, everytime I watch it, fucks me up incredibly.. that scene especially, easily one of the best. Though the ending itself.. agh.
Thirding the Doctor Who second season finale..agh.. that KILLED me. I sobbed for 2 hours striahgtt, and remained disconsolate for days. Which is somewhat pathetic, but.. it..so unfair!! Urgh. When my dvds get here I'll do it all over again, I'm sure.
That scene in the Incredibles when Mr, Incredible cries out, believing his family dead.
Peter Pan.. the '03 one.. I sob uncontrollably from tinks stealing his poison onward... then get somewhat and by that I of course mean intensely homicidal toward Wendy. Pan's just so..alone. Poor Pan. >.>;
And of course, as many others have said, 'Jurassic Bark'. I cannot watch that ending without humiliating myself utterly.
...CHICKEN DANCE! Bluths make everything better.
Posted by: the hel at February 7, 2007 8:26 AM
I thought about this for a while. I tend to allow myself to be pretty easily manipulated by entertainment(I admit and don't really care) but these hit me every time.
Eternal Sunshine - one of my favorite films ever and I was a wreck after seeing it.
Spiderman 2 - when Spidey stops the train and passes out. The crowd passes him over their heads and even though they see him without the mask one kid says "we won't tell." Kills me.
The Lion King - when Simba is trying to wake Mufasa and then just curls up against him and cries.
The Hours - the enormity of the ending just slays me. It's not even one scene, the whole final 20 minutes is just a pile driver.
United 93 - just brought the emotions of that day all back and that ending is brutal.
Buffy - "The Body" but also Buffy sacrificing herself and Xander finally breaking trough to Willow at the finale of Season 6. Although that entire season was a button pusher.
The Sixth Sense - When Bruce Willis says goodbye to his wife.
When Goose dies.
When Elliot the Dragon leaves Pete.
The finale of Quantum Leap when it says that Sam never returned home.
When Roland shouts the names of all his fallen friends as he enters the Tower at the end of The Dark Tower. (yeah it's a book but that scene is a killer and after 3000+ pages it's cathartic as hell).
Posted by: Rob at February 7, 2007 8:57 AM
So many tear-jerking moments.
Some for me:
Royal Tenenbaums... the ending Narration where you find out Chas and Royal made up and Royal's death. Gets me on personal levels.
The Finale of Babylon 5... I remember watching it when it first aired and crying solidly from the halfway mark on. The whole Sheradin/Delenn romance felt like a perfect ending, and then the damn music swell with the station going away...
It was the first time a TV show really felt like the end of a bloody awesome book, and I didn't want it to end, but I knew it had to.
very similar to:
Lord of the Rings:
two parts always get me in the movie, and moreso the book. The final charge of Theoden.. I have a soft spot for that, certain death lies ahead, but we have sworn oaths and so we go... thing.
And the grey havens... When Merry and Pippin ride up with Gandalf so Sam won't have to be alone...
"I will not say do not cry, for not all tears are evil."
Gets me every time.
Shawshank Redemption: Red's narration at the end and reuniting with Andy on the beach
I even like the end of Kill Bill, with Bills slightly dignified death.
ahh, the w33pies.
Posted by: Trek Barnes at February 7, 2007 9:26 AM
Wow, a lot of these are spot on. I don't even watch SFU, but when I saw that finale, I frigging bawled. That Scrubs clip? Seeing Brendan Fraser's big goofy face in that pic on top of that coffin? Heartbreaking. Of course, The Wonder Years, when they said that the dad died...absolutely killed me. Lost it completely the second they said it.
Now, allow me to place my dignity in the trash for a moment. Ever see that movie "A Walk To Remember"? When she told her bf that she had leukemia, when he proposed to her as they were stargazing, and of course, when she walked down that aisle in her wedding dress...I broke down. I sat there in the theater with my two friends, one whom was a boy, and we cried hysterically. I'm not much of a crier, and that movie had me sobbing in the theatre.
Now, one Disney movie that made me cry like a baby was Pocahontas. When she didn't get on that boat with John Smith, and they were crying and she runs to the edge of that cliff and watches that boat leave...that, paired with that damn "Colors of the Wind" song playing in the background, is a real tearjerker.
Posted by: Kel at February 7, 2007 9:38 AM
Oh, one to add...don't know if anyone has mentioned it, so I apologize if it's a double...
"My Life without Me" with Sarah Polley, Scott Speedman, and Mark Ruffalo. Basically she plays a young mother who finds out that she's dying, and just a lot of shit in that movie kind of hits home for me. She does this thing where she records birthday messages for her daughters for every year up until their 18th because she knows she's not going to be around for them.
Damnit, I need a moment. It's too early for this.
Posted by: em at February 7, 2007 9:48 AM
Okay, SFU got me. Cried like a little bitch, I did. But if we want to talk about severe psychological damage.... anyone ever see Where The Red Fern Grows? It's old as the hills- I had to read the book when I was in fifth grade. It's about a little boy and his two dogs. Our teacher (Mr. Hutto) also got the movie and let us watch it in the classroom as a treat. Some treat. 35 9-10 year olds weeping copiously in the dark, heads down, tears flowing, snot bubbles popping. He had to let us all go home because we were too fucked up to be in class any longer.
Parents, seriously- DO NOT let your kids watch this movie or read this book. Not if you love your children. Because I still want to kill myself when I think of (SPOILER ALERT) Little Anne laying on Old Dan's grave, willing herself to die. Unless you are a balls-out Cat Person, this movie will ruin you. Or as we say down South, You will be ROONT.
Posted by: Hattie at February 7, 2007 9:50 AM
agree with em, i'm not usually a sap but 'my life without me' is just a devastatingly beautiful film. thanks and kudos to director isabel coixet, this is more than a tearjerker and should've been nominated. if you've ever been close to someone who is functional with a terminal illness, you cannot watch this film without some waterworks.
Posted by: br at February 7, 2007 10:24 AM
Sorry to include a romantic comedy, but the funeral speech in Four Weddings and a Funeral absolutely killed me.
I can totally relate to the most of you who were about the same age as me when watchin DPS. It was the movie that got me hooked on movies.
Posted by: Doogs at February 7, 2007 10:50 AM
Man, I thought I was weird for tearing up at those Futuramas, especially the one where Lila is stung by the space bee. "Six Feet Under" was the best show I've ever seen; intelligent and deep and emotionally honest in a way that so many relationship-based shows or movies rarely are. The last movie that made me cry was "Little Miss Sunshine." I know I know -- it's a film everyone has decided to be "meh" about. But it really moved me, I guess because I was like Olive when I was young, but I didn't have that kind of family to love and support me. The scene where she is standing up there with all those spray-tanned little freaks, just looking like a sweet and normal, hopeful and confused little girl -- I lost my shit. I guess because it's just so hard to be truly innocent in a world like this. I had to keep it together or I would have just bawled. I didn't know it at the time, but I was one week pregnant with my daughter (due in three months).
Posted by: Rosemary at February 7, 2007 10:56 AM
Great. I am at work, and now I can't even function. Just when I thought I had "Jurassic Bark" out of my head, here comes this post.
Posted by: Erin at February 7, 2007 10:57 AM
Dustin, where's that You Can Count on Me clip? That movie's full of moments for me, but my teariest is probably at the end when she implies the title of the movie, asking him about what they said when they were kids. Amazing.
Wanted to second The Best of Youth -- seek that one out.
And I guess I need to catch up on Futurama. But please, people, a little respect for the Simpsons. I'm an old man now, and some of you might know it most from its subpar recent seasons. But it's the best thing ever. Really.
Sorry, JMW. YouTube still hasn't uploaded the clip. I'm thinking they don't like it for copyright reasons, though it doesn't explain why they accepted all the other ones. At any rate, it's just the last five minutes of the flick, as Ruffalo goes off in the bus.
Posted by: JMW at February 7, 2007 11:00 AM
The end of Schindlers List, as the people he saved file past his marker and place stones as a mark of respect.
Because it's real.
Posted by: Wandring_Soul at February 7, 2007 11:06 AM
YES! I love Blackadder, oh man that KILLED ME!
I actually felt the worst for Darling...:(
The Terminator thumb bit just reminds me of "Spaced" and I laugh now...
The movie DRAGONHEART is one of the first movies I remember bawling at when I was little...also THE YEARLING...I don't even remember what happens in that movie but I was like, 7 and it broke my heart.
THE NEW WORLD gets me at the end because its such a beautiful movie...and when Pochahontas goes back to John Rolfe after she realizes that she won't be able to love John Smith anymore...Ah.
Posted by: Leanne at February 7, 2007 11:09 AM
"Little Mermaid", at the end where the king raises up out of the water to bless his daughter's marriage and sweeps a huge rainbow in the sky- oh, man, I busted out bawling every time my daughter watched it.
Posted by: nancy at February 7, 2007 11:15 AM
"Life is Beautiful" I think I may have shed a tear a time or two.
"showgirls" enough said...
Posted by: Danr at February 7, 2007 11:33 AM
Damn I forgot one..can't believe noones mentioned it
"project X"
when Matthew Broderick walks that monkey down the hall to it's impending death.
Posted by: danr at February 7, 2007 11:41 AM
That scrubs episode was the first one I'd ever seen.
I hated my boyfriend for a day for not telling me. I started crying rediculously...I dunno.
I'm the kind of person who empathizes with characters a lot...and that episode reminded me of this particular time in my life.
I missed the season episode of SFU. I watched that...I had to keep pausing it so I could calm down.
Movies that make me bawl:
V for Vendetta. I know, I know. But for about 10 minutes after the "I dont know you but I love you" line...yeah.
LOTR: Too many scenes I bawl in. Weeping at the end of FOTR. I wish I had a friend like Sam.
Finding Neverland: The end when Kate Winslet's character...ack I tear up thinking about it.
Pan's Labyrinth. I can't give anything away...but the last 10 minutes I bawl.
But given, my friends call me the weeper. I try to avoid really sad films.
Let me explain why I'm called the weeper:
Big Daddy: When the boy is on the stand and promises not to sing the Kangeroo song anymore if they let him stay with Adam Sandler? Yep. Cried.
Pete and Pete: When Artie leaves.
From Hell: Ending. Yep. Cried.
POTC: DMC: Yep. Cried at the end. (Yes I know he's coming back)
WEDDING DATE: ........I cried. God I should be shot for that one.
Posted by: Bettie Bloodshed at February 7, 2007 12:01 PM
DPS, heart-wrenching. I couldn't sit through Eternal Sunshine for some reason, which is weird 'cause I love Kate Winslet's acting. I cry everytime I watch her in "Sense and Sensibility".
"The Color Purple" = tears
"Dancer in the Dark"= sobbing and crying like a baby, especially when she sings "Favorite Things" at the end.
"Glory" Denzel Washington being beaten with one defiant tear coming down =box of Kleenex.
"the Shawshank Redemption" = cryfest for me and imo, best film ever.
I agree about the Notebook comment, leave the old people out, and it is "f'ing" fabulous and a tearjerker. Ironically, I read the book before I saw the film, and I wasn't as moved by the book. I thought it was boring.
Posted by: Athena at February 7, 2007 12:03 PM
Hattie - I had forgotten about Where the Red Fern Grows - Jesus. My parents must not have loved me. How about Running on Empty when River Phoenix's parents let him go?
I totally lost my shit for Alpha Dog. Even though I knew what was going to happen. A girl behind me was also blubbering and expressing a desire to go home.
Posted by: Charlotte at February 7, 2007 12:09 PM
I totally forgot...I watched Beyond Borders, My Life Without Me, and Sylvia within a week of each other. I was depressed for the rest of that month! Also, last season on The L Word, when Alice had been by Dana's bedside in the hospital for 3 days straight, and the nurse told her to leave for a little while, that everything would be OK. Then she comes back in and Dana has died, and she collapses and the toy she got from the giftshop starts playing "You Are My Sunshine" while she just sobs over the credits. My fiance and I cried all night long, and we knew it was coming!
Posted by: Blake! at February 7, 2007 12:11 PM
I second Lilya 4-Ever. That film absolutely devastated me. I physically hurt and couldn't sleep for days.
When I saw The New World in the theater, I started crying about halfway through for no apparent reason, and couldn't stop. It was just so ... beautiful, affecting, and poetic.
My Life Without Me.
Noi the Albino also got to me.
Firefly -- "Out of Gas." The final flashback where Mal is in the shipyard and a salesman is trying to sell him a vessel, and his gaze wanders and he sees Serenity perched on a hill, and he falls in love ... ugh, it reduces me to tears every time.
Angel -- "A Hole in the World." Pretty much the whole episode.
Buffy -- "The Body" and "The Gift" ruin me.
Posted by: entities at February 7, 2007 12:12 PM
Harold and Maude-he's found love and allowed himself to live only to hear that Maude has already taken the pills that will kill her. This is one of my all-time favorite movies; so funny and bittersweet. And, of course, Cat Stevens
Posted by: -K at February 7, 2007 12:17 PM
That episode of "Heroes," in which there's a commercial for the Ghost Rider movie, starring Nic Cage. There's a line he delivers in that commercial that will always resonate in my colon - "feels like my skull's on fire, but I'm good." Many might not get that double meaning without putting it in context with the rest of the film.
That film, Nic Cage, Eva Mendez, that damn line. That made me cry.
So, it's that "Heroes" episode for me...I forget what it was about...
Posted by: Name at February 7, 2007 12:18 PM
I have to say the only time I've actually bawled is at Radio Flyer.
It's shameful but when the little brother flies off into the distance...
I actually cried the other day when somebody brought it up.
Posted by: vector at February 7, 2007 12:51 PM
I'm a little shocked no one has mentioned Gladiator. The very ending, with the different film stock, the music and the action (no spoilers here!) makes me cry like nothing I've ever seen. Similar to a couple of the scenes in SFU's finale.
The build to that moment is, imho, brilliant.
Posted by: boatin at February 7, 2007 1:21 PM
Wow, I watched the first four seasons of six feet under but I was only able the read the episode summuries after that on hbo.com as there was no HBO in my dorm,
Ther was definatly no description of that final scene... Wow amazing, its bee neyars and I was still totall crushed by it, but can any one who watched the show tell me who that man was clair ends up being with
Posted by: matt at February 7, 2007 1:25 PM
Deepa Mehta's "Water." Abso-fucking-lutely. I had to leave the theater and walk it off for fifteen minutes outside without the three other people I went to see it with.
And "My Dog Skip." I wasn't right for a week.
Posted by: emily at February 7, 2007 1:42 PM
De-lurking to say: 1)I love this site and all of your comments, 2) Dustin, this is an incredible list, and 3) I see nods to The Iron Giant, Futurama and Finding Nemo - how is that no one cried at Lilo and Stitch?
My little cousin tells me that, now, there are all sorts of terrible straight-to-DVD sequels and a bad cartoon based on the characters. Still, when the film was released I took my unemployed ass to see it in the middle of a Wednesday and cried so much I had to wipe my nose on my sleeve. I told my sisters who rolled their eyes, reminding me that I cry at everything. So I took them and they cried like someone stole their bikes.
Oh, and whoever mentioned The Color Purple - good call. It's a deeply flawed movie in some regards (and the book is, naturally better) but when Mr. seperates Celie and Nettie at the beginning I lose my shit completely and never really get it back.
Posted by: Nobes at February 7, 2007 1:44 PM
Best of Youth, the final scene is too beautiful and sad to describe.
Posted by: AP at February 7, 2007 1:50 PM
Most recently, revealing the anime geek in me, "Wolf's Rain" - a pretty damn depressing series in and of itself about the destruction of the world - Raganarok, essentially. The final disc - I started crying 15 minutes into the first ep., and didn't stop (literaly) for 2 and a half hours. I had a raging headache for days, and I haven't been able to watch it again since. As much as I want to watch "Grave of the Fireflies" - I'm terrified.
Posted by: pinkcheese at February 7, 2007 1:59 PM
Nice list. Nicely done. That Scrubs episode never fails to make me choke up, and the finale of Six Feet Under destroys me, so I'll crack that open later.
Oof.
Posted by: tom at February 7, 2007 2:02 PM
OK, I am easily manipulated, but Little Miss Sunshine had me weeping, sobbing and laughing all at once, and to quote Dolly in Steel Magnolias, "Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion." IN that subject, Steel Magnolias can be dismissed as too contrived, as can the Shirley MacLaine scene in the hospital scene from Terms of Endearment, but they do evoke tears like nothing else, manipulated or not. Same I guess can be said for Love Actually- lots of scenes get me, but maybe it's the sentimentality of Christmas that makes it more touching.
Not past 20 years, but for sad cartoons- Watership Down, anyone? Gawd.
Posted by: go big red at February 7, 2007 2:07 PM
Great List. Those clips of West Wing are the reason I'm sticking with Studio 60...I believe it can happen. I was devoted to SFU until the last season, then life took over and I missed all of it...including the finale. Now I've seen it, and the people in my office are convinced I need therapy. The Wonder Years...I can't...oh shit.
Okay. I just had to throw in a couple other scenes that always kick my ass. The very end of Glory, when they're all going over the ridge...
And the final episode of Lonsome Dove, when the reporter asks the Captain if her is a "man of vision" and he flashes back over the entire journey. Forget about it, I'm useless.
Oh! And just bacause I AM a total chick, I have to mention the episode of Sex in the City when Miranda's mother dies.
This has been a helpfully carthartic reading.
Posted by: redkitten at February 7, 2007 2:12 PM
Agreed on little miss sunshine; although, I didn't cry until the color blind scene. Another really good movie with a really sad scene: A Perfect World (if you look past the whole Kevin Costner as lead role deal, even though it is one of his best acting efforts). Plus it has the best Clint Eastwood line ever, "I do love tater tots."
Posted by: robyn at February 7, 2007 2:14 PM
After watching the Eternal Sunshine clip yesterday, I was holding back the tears all day. So I stopped to buy booze on the way home, and then sobbed my drunk ass all the way through Cinema Paradiso. (Per the recommendation of all these fine posters.) Ouch. This list brings out the masochist in us all, I guess.
Posted by: Gudrun at February 7, 2007 3:00 PM
Ok, I haven't yet read all the comments, but, as if I am not already enough of a PMS-weepy depressed idiot, I just re-watched the clip from SFU.....now, I am a weepy ball of goo at my desk.......Once my vision clears, I will comment further....*sniff*
Posted by: dammitjanet at February 7, 2007 3:09 PM
How could no one mention "Parenthood." One of the best under-rated movies ever! The scene at the end when they're at the kid's pagent and everything starts going wrong and Steve Martin starts getting dizzy and hearing the roller coaster noise in his head, then he puts his hand on his pregnant wife's belly...arghh!!! I simply have to watch that movie every time it comes on.
Posted by: Helcat at February 7, 2007 3:11 PM
When I watched Cinema Paradiso, I spent the better part of two hours sobbing. Now, I feel that torn feeling where it was such a good movie and I want to see it again, but I don't want to cry like a baby from watching it.
Posted by: JS at February 7, 2007 3:12 PM
Someone PLEASE tell me what I'm doing with my life and why I still haven't seen Brokeback? Ugh. I had to watch the clip and it had me teary in my office. I'm renting that TOMORROW.
And yes, I'm just at the cut-off age for Wonder Years, 28. God I love that show.
And I'm not afraid to admit that I'm a Grey's Anatomy regular and it makes me cry, regularly. But never about the characters, about the patients.
And finally, Rudy. I know. I know, it's a sports movie. No, I didn't cry at the end when he got in the game. I cried the 3rd time he'd been rejected by good old ND, when he only had one shot left. There's something so real and so painful about putting your fate in someone else's hands and having them reject you, whether it be college admission, falling in love, being there for a friend that isn't there for your in return. Ugh. That scene really killed me.
Posted by: lawyerjenn at February 7, 2007 3:12 PM
Oh my God.....yes, yes, YES to Eternal Sunshine, Field of Dreams, Wonderful Life, 2nd season end of Dr. Who, Casablanca, Big Fish, Quantum Leap (I HATE them for leaving Sam like that, I still really do!!!!), M*A*S*H, 4 Weddings, Schindler's List, Shawshank....et al. I am NOT a weeper. I would rather rip my eyeballs out with tweezers than go to a "chick flick", but I will say that the end of "Love Actually" with the Beach Boys song, the scene in Gettysburg where Tom tells Lawrence that Buster died, and Forrest talking to Jenny's grave just kill me, everytime.
I am ruined for the rest of the day...
Posted by: dammitjanet at February 7, 2007 3:28 PM
I have never posted before, but I just had to second the person who mentioned Whale Rider- when the girl is giving the speech for her grandfather who isn't there. I had never cried at a movie before.
Also in the Constant Gardener when Ralph Fiennes says I cant go home, Tessa was my home and the scenes of him alone in the desert. really heartbreaking
Posted by: Leah Gross at February 7, 2007 3:40 PM
Aside from the obvious SFU season finale, the scene that gets me going is from "Stepmom"... when Susan Sarandon is dying of breast cancer and she's lying in bed with her son reading "Ferdinand the Bull" with him. Oh my god, I sob every time. And every time, someone walks into the room just when this is going on. Invariably.
Posted by: julie at February 7, 2007 3:49 PM
Almost all of the episodes of "My So-Called Life" made me cry, but in particular, the Christmas episode where Juliana Hatfield is the ghost and the one where Claire and Rayanne are fighting and they have to rehearse the scene from "Our Town" together. Buckets o' tears.
Also, the Simpsons episode where Grandpa inherits Bea's money and after interviewing people to decide who to give it to, refurbishes the retirement home and says "Dignity's on me, friends". I know, it was a rough day.
And, Stand By Me -- in two scenes, when Chris is crying about the teacher accusing him of stealing, and the end when we find out that he died.
So many more that I can't remember right now, but I heartily agree with the West Wing, Rudy, Very Long Engagement, Color Purple, and Scrubs posters.
Posted by: haughty at February 7, 2007 4:42 PM
Not so much a weeper as a weller-upper, but still. If someone would say anything to me during the welling-up moments I'd burst out and cry like the little girl I am, but anywho, here they are
-Futurama - Jurassic Bark and The Luck of the Fryrish
- (Sorta related to the previous, but not really, actually saw it way before and still welled up) the end of the Breakfast Club
-Bram Stoker's Dracula - When Mina kills Dracula, gah. We watched it in junior high, and all the other girls were all 'eww, blood and vampires' and I weeped 'ohh, the romance!' Yeh, I was a loner then.
- Whichever Batman movie had the Penguin in it. Have not been able to watch it since, because when The Penguin died, and all the penguins were there to push him into the water and oh my. Tears, folks.
- Numerous scenes from Buffy, Angel and Firefly (And Wash in Serenity -could not breathe and being forced to take it in with all the follwing action..!!)
-Brokeback Mountain. I mean, how could you not?
And lots more, but that's enough for now.
Posted by: Suomalainen at February 7, 2007 4:55 PM
Another scene from The Sixth Sense..
When the little boy tells his mom he's been talking to his grandmother and she doesn't believe him. THAT scene.
Posted by: Victor at February 7, 2007 5:20 PM
Yeah, Brokeback Mountain had the best ending ever. One gay boy got beat to a pulp and the other got to keep his shirt and cry.
Wasted lives. Big whoop.
Posted by: Steve at February 7, 2007 5:26 PM
Billy Elliot, RULES!
Anthony Edwards. ER. "All's Well That End's Well." I think. He's on the train going home after working all day to save a pregnant women and her infant. He breaks down. It wrecked me.
Posted by: slouch at February 7, 2007 5:45 PM
I agree with many of the comments here despite that I don't watch a lot of movies or television...but anyway - ones that haven't been mentioned that consistently get me are:
- the final train track scene from Millions (if not the entire end, really)
- though contrived, the final river scene of Big Fish. I cry get weepy at this one every time.
- a good 20% or so of the second half of Cuaron's A Little Princess - despite the questionable acting, but undeniably gorgeous direction...
Posted by: kiyo-chan at February 7, 2007 5:54 PM
i'm sorry, I apparently double tapped page down a few times too many or something and skipped all the times that "Big Fish" WAS mentioned. gah. so sorry...please delete my comments. thanks. ^_^
Posted by: kiyo-chan at February 7, 2007 5:56 PM
Has anyone seen a mere trailer and been so wrecked by a freaking _preview_ they can't bring themselves to see the actual film....ever???
That happened to me recently when I caught the trailer for a 2006 French drama called "Time to Leave" about a young guy who finds out he's terminal (very "My Life without Me") and, from what I can glean, goes home, doesn't tell his boyfriend, fucks him one last time, takes off, and has some deep emotional connnection with a single-mom waitress?
My shit is seriously lost just thinking about this one. I was a zombie for 24 hours afterwards.
Posted by: ranylt at February 7, 2007 6:06 PM
I could come up with a million since I'm a big, crying titty baby. While I agree with almost every movie/television show mentioned on this list, my most "tear jerking" viewing moments are often those which bleed over into my real life and experiences.
1. Man in the Moon - Total chick flick, but Reese Witherspoon's character IS ME at that age. I was the girl who fell in love so hard and got my little heart broken by an older boy. It's not world changing piece of cinema, but the entire move hurts my heart. Just hearing that Dani say, "But I love you, Court." STILL KILLS ME.
2. Radio - I can understand a lot of people not buying into this movie. I teach high school, though, and had a student much like Radio. He was tortured by the other students. I don't think I could sit through this one again. It was painful in a very real way.
3. Girl, Interrupted - When this movie came out, I rushed to see it because I had a total girl crush on Angelina Jolie (I was in college. Leave me alone). I walked out of the theater and didn't speak for several hours. I did however, cry. A LOT. As in with my first pick, I saw ME in those sick, sad girls. It wasn't a happy time in my life and that movie scared the shit out of me. I'm not sure how I would be affected now. Just going back to that place in my life would probably reduce me to tears.
Sometimes I do cry because a movie or show is truly sad. Or sometimes just because I am a total sap with hyperactive hormones...
1. Ally McBeal "Boy Next Door" - Though Ally often went for the sentimental cheap shot, the episode where Billy dies from his brain tumor turned me into a slobbering mess. It's not when he dies that gets me (Ally going apeshit generally annoyed me). It's the moments before he dies, when he's delivering his closing statement in a divorce case. I can't recount the entire speech (and it won't mean much if you don't know Billy and Ally's background), but he's talking about being married to Ally and how he'll love her all his days (something she's wanted him to say for years). Then he sits down and quietly dies.
2. Glory - Growing up in a small Southern town (and surrounded by some small-minded Southern racists), I'm not quite sure how we mananged to watch this in social studies/history every year from 7th to 11th grade. I can remember it being an emotional viewing every year, though. I can still see them throwing those poor men's bodies into the pit with Colonel Shaw on top of them.
3. Chasing Amy - Even Ben Affleck couldn't ruin the speech in the car for me when he professes his love. The whole "I'll never need a painting of a bird" thing? Love it. And the whole speech leading up to "I'm not your fucking whore." Talk about emotional whiplash.
4. ER I don't remember the name of the episode, but it's the one where Dr. Green dies. And they're playing that Israel Kamakawiwo`ole version of "Over the Rainbow." I think it was the music that ultimately got me. And got me it did.
5. Playing by Heart - When Jay Mohr is dying and his mother reads him "Goodnight Moon." What the hell, right? Wrong. Whole movie is worth this one moment.
Posted by: superedna at February 7, 2007 6:08 PM
Nobes, I always cry at Lilo and Stitch. It's the line about their family being broken that gets me every time. I'm tearing up just thinking about it.
Posted by: Rosie at February 7, 2007 6:10 PM
thank you, dustin, for helping me remember the GOOD cries.
Posted by: dfox at February 7, 2007 6:16 PM
as opposed to the time when i cried at the end of ARMAGEDDON. i still haven't forgiven myself for that.
Posted by: ox at February 7, 2007 6:17 PM
The Episodes in the tv-series ER when Dr Green dies is full of emotional scens. The best scenes in tv-history infact.
Posted by: Xavier at February 7, 2007 7:18 PM
Ok, well unlike all you tough kids, I'm a total baby and will cry at anything from Dirty Dancing to that Simpsons epidsode when Homer thinks he's dying. I also cried at the end of Armageddon and I totally hated that movie. So here's my list of movies that you all will probably laugh at me for crying about, but oh well.
Mrs. Doubtfire: I know this is supposed to be a comedy or whatnot, but when he's in court and they tell him he can't see his kids anymore, I lose it.
Bowling for Columbine: Yes, yes, Michael Moore is a joke. But the actual footage from the school shootings made me have nightmares for a week. I will never be able to watch that again.
John Q: I hated this movie. So much. SO MUCH. I thought it was melodramatic, poorly written shit. Yet 15 minutes into it, when the kid passes out on the baseball field or whatever he does, I started bawling and didn't stop for the rest of the whole stupid movie. I don't even have kids. I don't know why I'm such a baby about stuff like that. Yuck.
Life is Beautiful: This movie was a total mindfuck. The first half is this quirky comedy/lovestory. The second half makes you want to die, come back to life, and kill yourself again.
And lastly, Air Force One: I know, right? Your usual Harrison Ford action flick. I think my problem was I watched it like, the day after that whole hostage situation in Moscow where they gassed that theater and all those people died, so the hostages on the plane in the movie just got to me. I need to stop watching the news.
And, I'm lame.
Posted by: Brianne at February 7, 2007 7:19 PM
Okay. I would have mentioned "The Color Purple" before, but I am unable to watch it ever again, because when I cry that much, my sinuses get all clogged and it's just not good.
One other thing though...The scene in "Terms Endearment" (shut up!) where Debra Winger's character is in the hospital dying and her son is being a brat to her and her mother (Shirley Mclaine) hauls off and smacks the kid. He deserved it.
And yes, "The Irong Giant" made me cry. Along with "Shawshank" and the scene at the end of "Forrest Gump" when his son is about to get on the bus. **sniff** Oh, just shut up!
Posted by: Greer at February 7, 2007 7:50 PM
AH! I keep thinking of more stuff that makes me cry...the list is long, apparently.
I cry at everything nowadays.
ANYWAY...in THE CHILDREN'S HOUR...The End. The whole bit. The Confession and then when Audrey realizes and starts rushing back to the house...Jesus. That movie was ahead of its time.
DEAD MAN also made me more than a little weepy at the end...with the boat...Ohhhhh.
THE PROFESSIONAL.
God, do I hate Gary Oldman in that movie.
Just...when he's trying to get her to go and then with POV shot...the plant! I'm going to cry right now. LEON!
Posted by: Leanne at February 7, 2007 8:23 PM
"Brokeback" was devastating. I couldn't even remember driving back home. Just seeing the title in print makes my throat tight.
The voiceover at the end of "Dear Frankie".
Most of "Edward Scissorhands", especially the end when Edward is left to live the rest of his life alone in the mansion.
Mal alone in "Out of Gas" (Firefly).
The scene in "Love Actually" (I know, I know) when Laura Linney's Sarah realizes that Karl can't handle her brother's condition and their romance is over before it began. You can see realization bloom on her face.
Wow. Abandonment issues on parade over here.
Posted by: Shazzer at February 7, 2007 8:35 PM
I tell you, after watching the series from inception, the finale of SFU was one of the most devastating things I've ever seen. Beauty.
Plus, big shout out for Wonder Years. God I worshiped that show.
Posted by: bobaloo at February 7, 2007 9:05 PM
MY DOG SKIP.
Posted by: mkl at February 7, 2007 9:18 PM
For me, it's mostly been TV shows since many of them in the past twenty years have been continuing sagas so the emotional impact of the characters is miles above any two or three hour movie. Which is probably why LOTR sticks out among films since it's over ten hours long with the extended versions. While Sam carrying Frodo is powerful teary, Theoden and the Riders crying out "Death" before riding into certain death is perhaps the finest tribute to soldiers and warriors doing the right thing ever filmed.
In Babylon 5, the return of Sheridan from death, the sight of Minbari battlecruisers dying to save the Earth they had tried to destroy only a few years before, G'Kar and Londo killing each other (a scene shown several times, each time with a different spin) and so many more.
In Buffy, besides the obvious of The Body and Buffy's death talk to Dawn, let me add Buffy killing Angel to save the world and her running away, the Mayor lecturing Angel and Buffy on the pointless heartbreak of their love (the evil guy knew from experience), the Mayor's fatherly loss and rage when finding nothing but blood at Faith's, Buffy telling Spike she was in heaven, the moment she sang it to the rest of the gang, and many more.
But the very best show was Angel. Probably because the characters all grew and became more over the seasons (unlike Buffy, where she, Willow and Xander grew into fairly unlikeable adults under the stress of combat). Darla's willing death to bring life to her baby and her ghost's attempts to save that grown baby from murdering a girl stuck out the most among many great tearjerking moments. Let me curse the WB for killing a great show (with good ratings) too soon.
Posted by: LenS at February 7, 2007 9:33 PM
Grumblecakes is a rotten bastard for mentioning "A Day in the Death" from Oz.
Posted by: Samuel Erikson at February 7, 2007 9:35 PM
Brave and even a little brilliant, Dustin. Even moreso with the Andy Partridge love.
The beauty of the SFU finale is the triple swirl of (a) evocate, breathy music, (b) the loss of characters with whom we've spent years yet who expire in front of us and we lose any future with, and (c) the glowing, hopeful imagery of driving into the bright sunlight of a desert with no end in sight. TV is the probably the best medium for building the investment, and therefore creating the greatest possible pain of loss. Here it's amplified and cushioned by the music.
So it is with Joyce (almost five years of investment with Buffy's mom until the "The Body", but with no music to help us), and Buffy herself ("The Gift"; tinged with a gorgeous musical theme from Christopher Best). And, when Willow cries, the whole world is just plain wrong.
But, the most poignant entertainment moment of loss for me comes in an X-Files episode where Mulder finally learns about his sister. We have already spent several years with Mulder, whose life is defined by loss: his murdered father, his recently deceased (from cancer) mother, and his seemingly quixotic efforts to find his lost/taken sister. Silly plotting leads him to a place where his abducted sister was kept and subjected to brutal, disorienting treatment and tests. But great writing takes over at that point. Mulder finds her diary and reads passages that sound like plaintive sentences from the 14-year old she was, and he gets too: "... I think I had a brother with brown hair who used to tease me ..." Mulder finally realizes she's really gone; Duchovny plays it by just swallowing hard and lookin up from the diary.
But I am a puddle on the floor.
Posted by: lurkretia at February 7, 2007 9:39 PM
It's outside the twenty years of the title but I can't even think about the movie Watership Down which I watched as a kid without getting a little teary... even the Kim Carnes song "Bright Eyes" reminds me of the movie.
Of course, I'll deny I ever said this if any of you tell anyone :p
Posted by: DngnRdr at February 7, 2007 9:50 PM
ok,
so I think you need a list of the times when a movie makes you cry with RAGE
Like Hotel Rwanda: a good, yet soft treatment of complete international disregard for Africans, thats released during the beginning of the crisis in Dafur. I remember watching it and crying with rage that this was allowed to happen...and that its happening again
FYI: In America was a an autobiographical account of Jim Sheridan and his family coming to NY, but then mixed up with the emotions in his family when his BROTHER Frankie died. So its like the father in the movie is both JS and his father and the girls are both JS daughters and himself. And the mother is both his wife and his mother. Freudian, no?
Posted by: frogirl1978 at February 7, 2007 9:56 PM
most unexpected cry was,I agree with whoever mentioned it, Babe. I cant even think the words James Cromwell says without getting wispy eyed.
Posted by: frogirl1978 at February 7, 2007 10:00 PM
I don't know if animation belongs here but "Grave of the Firefly" is one of the saddest films ever. If you don't cry at the part when the sister is lying on the bed and showing the brother the "food" she prepared, you should just kill yourself, cause you've already lost your soul.
Posted by: Mehdi Hasan Sheikh at February 7, 2007 10:12 PM
The end of Shadowlands when Lewis's colleague says: "He just lost his mother!" or something like that. Anthony Hopkins goes outside to comfort his stepson. Sob.
Posted by: Kim at February 7, 2007 10:40 PM
I never fall for typical maudlin crap, either. The Notebook made me want to hurt things. However, there are exactly four scenes in movies/TV that I can think of that make me lose my shit:
2) Futurama, "Jurassic Bark". At the end of the episode, when Fry is about to resurrect his dog from when he was in 1999, he suddenly realizes that his dog lived for many years after Fry left 1999, and he decides not to do it, reasoning that the dog probably had a full life after he left. Cut to a flashback of the dog slowly aging, as the seasons change, and eventually laying down in sadness, outside of the pizza place where Fry used to work.
3) The Iron Giant. Okay, it's lame, but when that robot goes "Superman..." and then totally explodes at the end, I cried. I'm not ashamed.
Gosh, two were cartoons.
Posted by: Helena at February 6, 2007 03:07 PM
Helena - you made me tear up just with your words. I cannot watch any of that Futurama episode, and the end of Iron Giant makes me weep every time, and I've seen it many times.
Eternal Sunshine - always gets me teary. And Six Feet Under - I cried and cried at the finale, as did Mr Smartie, unashamedly. I can't even bear to click the play button on that; I know the waterworks will start! And I normally roll my eyes at tear jerkers and scoff and mock them endlessly!
Eternal Sunshine makes me cry so much every time, i think it's because it's so deeply personal, and i think once you've been through a really bad break-up you just wished you could erase ALL your memories of that person...it's one of Gondry's best flicks, thank god for him!
as for that Scrubs episode, that made me want to watch the reruns for a couple of months afterwards...i thought it was just right, the music and whole thing was also really personal...odd, the show isn't all that deep to begin with anyway...thanks for those cinematic gems that bring us tears!
Posted by: paris at February 7, 2007 11:12 PM
Pixar are so good at the tear jerkers too.
Sarah McLaughlin singing "When she loved me" in Toy Story 2, the scene where Jessie explains her life with Emily, her child, until the child grew up and didn't play with her toys any more.....
"Kitty!" at the end of Monsters Inc, Sully is running the show, when Mike tells him he rebuilt Boo's door, bar the one sliver of wood that Sully has on his clipboard. Sully inserts the sliver, the door light glows, and he slowly cracks the door open and peers through. All you hear is Boo's joy at seeing him again, and Sully's beam at seeing her just lights up the screen as he smiles into the camera, and then my waterworks start....
Okay, Ill give you eternal sunshine, that one ripped at me good. But the only movie thats EVER made me cry was Everything Is Illuminated. Sound strange? Mayhaps it is. I dunno, but the scene with Grandfather laying in the bathtub dead not only made me misty, but laid down the tears. And im a cynic, AND an actor, so I could have just spent the time picking the acting apart like I do in a lot of films, but this one I couldnt help but be in it. Beautiful.
Posted by: Foil Wrapper at February 7, 2007 11:38 PM
Many good films listed in the posts, here's mine:
Saving Private Ryan: where Giovanni Ribisi (the doc dies) ..."mama" & when the old Ryan says "Tell me I've been a good man" to his wife, that one hurts every time.
Last of the Mohicans: The entire last 15 minutes, when that bag-pipe music starts and they try to rescue Alice and the loss that ensues. Heart breaking as a father it touches something in me and makes me cry every time.
Tombstone: Where Doc and Wyatt say goodbye. If you've ever sayed goodbye to a friend this one hits you like a gut punch.
Posted by: WIRELESS at February 7, 2007 11:41 PM
Here's a few more for ya...The Natural, field of dreams, Brave Heart, Dances With Wolves, Good Will Hunting, Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers really kicked my ass at the end!
Posted by: Chuck Taylor at February 7, 2007 11:41 PM
Here's one that nobody will probably remember.
It was a TV special (I think a Wonderful World of Disney sunday night special) called Stone Fox.
Boy joins a sled dog race to try and win the money needed to save his Grandfather's farm. Boy is roughly 11 or 12, dog looks like a sheepdog (not a sled-dog).
Boy and Dog both save each other's lives during the course of the race, and at the very end, through all their hardships, they are about to win - and then the dog collapses dead.
HO
LEE
CRAP
I was 10 when I saw it. I cried myself to sleep for two weeks, hugging my 10 year old dog every night. She lived until I was 18.
And, as a sidenote - I 100% agree with Grave of the Fireflies. Having a little sister... man that movies kills.
Posted by: Mac at February 7, 2007 11:56 PM
ESOTSM. Yeah. Probably one of the best movies I've ever seen. Managed to watch it right in the middle of a breakup. *With* the guy.
It was like having my soul gouged out with an electric spoon.
I'll probably watch it again someday, but I'm terrified to, despite my awe of it and my love for Ms. Winslet. It just hurt so, so much to sit through it beside the person with whom my relationship was crumbling. I realized halfway through the movie that we really, really did need to break up, so in a way, I was *in* the film--except without the happy(ish) ending.
Excruciating.
Posted by: Vi at February 8, 2007 12:02 AM
I've had more than my share of waterworks reading this list.
First, I absolutely, positively agree with the "Jurassic Bark" Futurama episode. I watched the show when it first aired. The show was reasonably funny for the first 28 minutes, like any other Futurama ep. Then they HAMMER you with that scene at the end. I can't even THINK about it without bawling, let alone watch it again. It ruined the whole evening for me. I, too, refuse to watch it again. I just can't.
I'll add one that I haven't seen listed: the end of John Hughes's "Planes, Trains & Automobiles". The bulk of the film is the slapstick stuff between John Candy and Steve Martin. Towards the end, though, we learn that Candy's wife is dead, and he's become a travelling salesman because he feels that without her he has no home. He carries around his sad little trinkets that remind him of her in his suitcase; we see him talking to his wife before going to bed in one scene. I can usually manage to hold it together through that scene. But then, at the end, when they finally make it to Martin's house in the 'burbs, and he's in the arms of his loving family, and he turns back to look at Candy, who's standing there all disheveled and lonely... and nonverbally invites him to stay... Bam, I lose it. It may be a manufactured moment, but damn does it work for me.
Posted by: DaveR at February 8, 2007 12:39 AM
With "Sunday Bloody Sunday", the part that really gets me is after the (eloquently brutal) speech as the camera goes over to Larry Mullen and Adam Clayton as the band kicks back in. All the rage in Bono's words is there in Adam hitting his bass strings, and you hear the audience scream, and ZAP.
I don't usually cry at sad things. I just feel bad, but Wes Anderson did get me with "Life Aquatic". After Willem Dafoe made my jaw drop as he silently conveys how much Ned's flag means to him, "....do you understand?", Bill pulled out my tears by doing the same. Similar to the Chas scene mentioned, it's the moment of Steve Zissou letting himself open. He seizes up at the controls of the sub, starts crying, and man, I was instantly gone.
I'd also like to mention "Superman: The Movie". Like "Life Aquatic", there's a lot of the moment's power in the music. Jonathan Kent's jack slips, the truck starts to crash down on him and......John Williams brings in that one horn playing the theme as baby Kal-El is revealed to be holding up the rear bumper with a loving smile on his face. It says it all.
I can't believe I'm going to the trouble to post this...
HOPE FLOATS
Hokey movie, but....scene where the little girl wants to go with her father and he makes her stay with Sandra Bullock. She keeps putting her bag in the car and saying "I'm going with you Daddy". The dad keeps removing the bag and setting it on the ground and telling her "no". Bullock is watching from the porch, knowing that she has to just let it play out. The dad takes off in the car leaving the little girl standing in the dust, screaming and crying. Bullock walks out, picks her up and walks back toward the house...leaving the girl's bag sitting in the street.
It's pretty impressive acting from such a young actress.
Posted by: phxjay at February 8, 2007 1:08 AM
This post has ruined my shit indefinitely. I didn't fall for "The Notebook" or "A Walk to Remember" and I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who has to force out a tear to pass for human during "The Lion King". But movies and scenes that have (and will always) make me lose my shit:
-"Stand By Me"- When Gordie finally cries over his brother's death. (Maybe I just like John Cusack too much...)
- Okay, bear with me on this one, but "A Knight's Tale". When they're writing the letter together and that random character actor (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0876138/) says "I miss her like the sun misses the flower.." and chokes up...shit:lost
-"Big Fish"-not the end. The wooing/daisy scene and the bathtub "I don't think I'll ever dry out.." scene.
-Speaking of bathtubs...and dying people: The entire last hour of "The Fountain".
-Eternal Sushine, obviously. But the part where (someone mentioned it) Clementine is talking about yelling at her doll to be pretty and he's trying to hold on to the memory.
Also, the person who mentioned Stone Fox...I'm not sure if it was a story originally but it sounds eerily similar to a story my 4th grade teacher read to us and the dog's heart explodes and another racer won't let anyone cross the line except for the boy (to win the race). I started bawling in the middle of class. I'm pretty sure the teacher also made us watch "Iron Will"...in hindsight, this could have been the roughest year of school in my life considering I had a Siberian Husky at the time..
Posted by: Georgia at February 8, 2007 1:13 AM
And also The Sweet Hereafter, so powerful for me in the realistic portrayal of the grieving parents' numbness.
Posted by: Karin at February 8, 2007 1:13 AM
crap, I forgot "Do the Right Thing"...
Posted by: Georgia at February 8, 2007 1:17 AM
so, i'm a total soft touch. and pretty much everything listed here that i've seen made me sob (breakfast at tiffany's, empire of the sun, and scrubs especially) except that episode of the west wing, but only because i went to services there once a week for like 10 years and i remember talking to the cast outside while that scene was filmed.
but also:
Casablanca anyone?
an officer and a gentleman (but that might just be because my boyfriend's in the navy), especially when his friend kills himself
and i completely embarrassed myself over christmas when we watched miracle on 34th st, scrooged, and love actually in a 24 hour span... just wow...
Posted by: Ryan at February 8, 2007 1:17 AM
Two movies that get me everytime I watch them are Gladiator and Braveheart. When William Wallace sees his dead wife coming toward him, smiling, in the crowd, and yeah, the entire ending of Gladiator.
Cry like a baby......
Posted by: Linzy at February 8, 2007 1:20 AM
phxjay..that part of hope floats? really? i always thought that little girl deserved what she got for being so horrible to her mother. also, that little girl grew up to be Anne in Arrested Development. really? her?
Posted by: jmurae at February 8, 2007 1:41 AM
"Dead Poets' Society" was very sad. Heartbreakingly.
I think I cried more, though, during "Full Metal Jacket" when Pyle shoots the sergeant and then himself.
And I definitely cried the most at the end of "Amadeus." I appreciate the genius of Mozart to its fullest when he is killing himself by pouring out his music to Salieri. It's just wrenching.
Posted by: harlequin at February 8, 2007 1:43 AM
I totally agree with all the comments about the Color Purple. I never cry at movies or shows because of an incident involving the evil bastards also known as my brothers and sister. I do mist up at times - like SFU's series finale.
But the Color Purple just makes me lose my shit all over the place - trails of tears and snot paving multiple paths down my face. And its not just when Celie and Nettie are reunited but also when Shug walks into her preacher father's arms while the choir sings "God Is Trying to Tell You Something". Its all over for me.
Awesome list. Dustin you are a critical (film and tv) god.
Posted by: jen310 at February 8, 2007 1:45 AM
The final scene of Pan's Labyrinth did it for me. The 'maid' is holding the little girls body and humming the lullaby.
Perhaps only remembered because it was so recent. I was surprised at myself.
Posted by: deaf at February 8, 2007 1:47 AM
I may have missed it through the haze of wattery eyes..
has nobody mentioned A.I. ??
Perhaps it is my own momma's boyism kicking in, but A.I. repeatedly uses me to mop up my own tear-filled puddle off of the linoleum.
Posted by: Kristofer at February 8, 2007 2:06 AM
Little Women. Every time Claire Danes is on screen she looks like she's about to break and then when they surprise her with a piano, I can't help it!
Most recently, Children of Men when they're carrying the baby down the stairs. I'm not sure where this reaction was coming from, but I was tearing out of control.
Posted by: Chesnut at February 8, 2007 2:12 AM
You liked Bon Jovi?
Posted by: seth at February 8, 2007 2:29 AM
"Ordinary People" completely bowled me over. Complete breakdown.
Posted by: bmg at February 8, 2007 2:29 AM
I'm not a cryer at ALL ... but a different Pixar movie got to me - the end of the big race in Cars, when McQueen stops short of the finish line to go back and push the wrecked King over the line... it gets me every time. and I have two young kids so I see that movie alot >_
Posted by: Colleen at February 8, 2007 2:59 AM
Oh god, Smartie, yes, "When She Loved Me" in Toy Story Two is the teariest moment ever. Absolutely.
Posted by: dot at February 8, 2007 3:17 AM
Fantastic list and equally fantastic comments. You guys, I haven't even SEEN "Jurassic Bark" and I'm already crying about it. I'm guessing I should avoid the episode altogether (anything having to do with the death of a beloved pet just kills me).
My tears have been most recently jerked by Pan's Labyrinth (that ending is so incredibly wrong) and King Kong (I know, it's a bloated and cheesy film...but when he finally slips off the building at the end, I'm a mess). I also have to concur with those who mentioned Doctor Who's season two finale...yikes. I think I cried harder than Rose did.
Posted by: Jen at February 8, 2007 4:02 AM
Ooooh, someone mentioned Planes, Trains and Automobiles earlier... I managed to resist the ending, but I teared up at John Candy's "I like me. My wife likes me" speech somewhere in the film's middle. The delivery, and his expression... oh, my.
Posted by: Craig at February 8, 2007 4:05 AM
I don't know if anyone else has mentioned it, but Emma Thompson's "Wit" has me hysterical by the end, especially the scene where she lies dying of cancer, and all she wants in the world is for her old professor to read "The Runaway Bunny" to her. I don't think I've ever seen death portrayed so humanely in film. Ever.
Posted by: aratweth at February 8, 2007 4:07 AM
Aratweth, I totally forgot about Wit! That movie is incredible. *sob*
Posted by: Jen at February 8, 2007 4:08 AM
I couldn't keep my eyes dry watching the ending of Smoke. While it's not a sad ending at all, the beauty of the story in combination with Tom Waits wrenching "You're innocent when you dream", makes it my plastic bag in the wind.
The Sweet Hereafter: the ending monologue by Sarah Polley and then have her singing The Tragically Hip's Courage. Gets me everytime.
Posted by: Jeff K at February 8, 2007 4:16 AM
- Stand by Me. I know it's one year older than 20 years, but I figure a little leeway is allowed. The ending narration when he talks about what happens to the boys when they grow up - hits you right there.
Also have to second Forrest Gump and Millions (although Millions I sort of consider to be happy tears), and of course all the ones on the list, especially ESOTSP. Too few people really appreciate the brilliance of this movie.
This is fun! I have so many movies I want to go home and watch now.
Posted by: Ella at February 8, 2007 4:37 AM
"The Land Before Time" when Little Foot's mother dies... *sob*
Posted by: Shmecky at February 8, 2007 4:41 AM
Billy Eliot gets the recognition it deserves. Finally.
Posted by: pj at February 8, 2007 5:12 AM
HOLY CRAP! I REMEMBER THAT DOG MOVIE WHEN THE DOG'S HEART EXPLODES!
That completely traumatized me.
HIDALGO had me on the edge of my seat because I was honestly expecting the horses heart to like rip out of his chest or something horrific.
I'm always waiting for the animals to die in movies now because of that. And I only remember that last scene ...when the dog dies like ON the finish line. HOLY GOD.
Posted by: Leanne at February 8, 2007 10:06 AM
Oh, God, I have tried to block that "All's Well that Ends Well" episode from ER....that was wrenching, horrible, devastating. I was working with a very pregnant woman at the time, and NO ONE in the office would discuss it with her.
And, Leon sacrificing himself for Matilda in the Professional? Just painful.
Ordinary People? Still kills me. Who knew Mary Tyler Moore could be such a cold, horrible bitch?
A little-known gem called "The Legend of 1900", with Pruitt Taylor Vince and Tim Roth. When Danny dies, and the end, when 1900 still won't leave the ship.....heartbreaking.
Posted by: dammitjanet at February 8, 2007 10:09 AM
Of course, the only sentimental moments that I'm reminded of are somewhat embarassing to admit in front of this snarky crowd, but I guess that's kind of the point. So, in no particular order, the scenes that come to mind at the moment:
Dangerous Minds - when we learn that a student was shot and killed because "he forgot to knock"
A League of their Own - the museum scene at the end gets me every time
Titanic - NOT the Leo/Kate crap, but the, IMHO, very well done illustrations of the massive and often unnecessary loss of life. The old couple lying down on a bed and waiting to die together I found particularly moving.
Freaks and Geeks (not embarassed about this one) - the final montage of the series, set to the Dead's "Ripple," as Lindsey sets off to look for America
There are more, of course, but that's all I can think of at the moment.
Posted by: bartap at February 8, 2007 10:36 AM
I'm a fucking masochist for coming back to this thread so many damn times.
"Before Night Falls"--Javier Bardem is brilliant in this, but the last few minutes of it totally kill me.
Random scenes from "Y Tu Mama Tambien". All of the scenes where Maribel Verdu breaks down...it's hard to not cry with her, even though you don't know why the hell she's crying.
"Orphans"--small Scottish movie about a family who loses their mother (actually, the father from Billy Elliott is in this one). It shows how all of the siblings kind of break down in different ways (it's a dark comedy), but still, it got to me. Really good movie.
"Go Now"--another small movie with Robert Carlyle about a guy with MS.
"Brassed Off"--huh, pattern much? Small British movie with Pete Postlewaite and Ewan McGregor. When Pete's character's failure of a son tries to kill himself (dressed as a clown--sad but true), you can't help but laugh and cry.
Posted by: em at February 8, 2007 10:36 AM
Two movies that haven't been mentioned yet:
Unfaithful - when the wife finds the note and picture in the base of the snowglobe and suddenly, all the implications of her affair dawn on everyone involved - audience included.
Irreversible - French movie with Monica Bellucci and Vincent Cassel. It starts off as really hard to watch, kind of confusing and seemingly full of senseless violence. The closer you get to the ending, the more the title gets you. By the end, you wish it were socially acceptable to run outside, turn your tear-stained face up to the heavens and scream curses at the destiny that could allow any of the last two fictitious hours to exist. And by "you" I mean "me." I wanted to hide in a safe, happy place for days.
Posted by: mel at February 8, 2007 10:37 AM
Of course, the only sentimental moments that I'm reminded of are somewhat embarassing to admit in front of this snarky crowd, but I guess that's kind of the point. So, in no particular order, the scenes that come to mind at the moment:
Dangerous Minds - when we learn that a student was shot and killed because "he forgot to knock"
A League of their Own - the museum scene at the end gets me every time
Titanic - NOT the Leo/Kate crap, but the, IMHO, very well done illustrations of the massive and often unnecessary loss of life. The old couple lying down on a bed and waiting to die together I found particularly moving.
Freaks and Geeks (not embarassed about this one) - the final montage of the series, set to the Dead's "Ripple," as Lindsey sets off to look for America
There are more, of course, but that's all I can think of at the moment.
I just have to chime in with a hearty WORD to the "Six Feet Under" finale. I have never cried so much at something I saw on a screen, never. That Sia song still makes my eyes tear up.
Posted by: Amy at February 8, 2007 10:38 AM
Now I'm pretty sure I'll catch some shit for this, but since I'm a girl it's okay.
Brokedown Palace (yes the one with Claire Danes and Kate Beckinsale). The scene when Danes offers to serve her Beckinsale's sentence in order to set her free. I cry EVERY time. And not only do I cry, when I watch with friends, I make a solemn vow to take the blame if we're ever caught trafficking heroin out of Thailand.
Posted by: IzzieBoo at February 8, 2007 10:59 AM
Of Mice and Men...when John Malkovich is talking about the rabbits, and he's so excited, and then Gary Sinise...oh...sniff...
I haven't seen that movie in six years, but I still remember that scene.
Posted by: Jessie at February 8, 2007 11:27 AM
You should check out "Door to Door" Starring William H. Macy. It's absolutely amazing and I haven't met one person who doesn't end up in tears by the end.
Posted by: Bob at February 8, 2007 11:32 AM
Ok, I need to add a couple more...
Doyle's last appearance on Angel - particularly moving if you realize that Quinn died soon after it was filmed.
Big Fish - I have to agree with the above posters. Having lost my dad, it hit me in a special place.
United 93 (and any other 9/11 film) - having been there that day, seeing those images again kill me.
Brokedown Palace - a seriously underrated film, IMHO - Claire Danes' final sacrifice for her friend was breathtaking.
And two movies that made me cry as a kid:
Stone Pillow - a 1985 TV movie with Lucille Ball as a homeless woman, it really brought the pain of utter destitution home to me.
Some random holocaust movie where the grandmother of the family, realizing that she's slowing down the family's escape, deliberately wanders off into the snow to her death. I have no idea what movie it was, but when I was 8 or so, I had to leave the room because I didn't want my parents to see me crying. It's more than 20 years later, and I still remember that scene.
Posted by: bartap at February 8, 2007 12:13 PM
OH YEAHHHHHH...Before Night Falls. Oh man.
That was a tearjerker.
Irreversible just makes me want to DIE though.
No tears. Just absolute horror.
That movie is collecting some serious dust on my shelf because I CANNOT bring myself to watch it again. INSANITY.
When Marcus sees Alex on the stretcher and loses it...
Posted by: Leanne at February 8, 2007 12:22 PM
Perhaps the editors should consider a new slogan for this site: Sentimental Reviews for People Who Apparently Weep at the Drop of a Goddamn Hat.
Where is the snark, people?
Posted by: AM at February 8, 2007 12:31 PM
The girl in Hope Floats was a brat (and I can't believe she grew up to be Anne!) but when my sister and I watched that scene we BAWLED. Then again, our parents were in the midst of a very messy divorce.
The scene in In America where the Dad is trying to win the prize at the street fair not only made me cry but still leaves me with the urge to punch a hole in the wall, it was that frustrating to watch.
Posted by: haughty at February 8, 2007 12:35 PM
I'm pretty hardcore and claim to have a rickety alarm clock in place of a soul but thanks to the anonymity of the internet, I'll admit this much:
1. The Color Purple-Yes, yes, yes. The only movie that ever successfully makes me cry and it affords my little brother a great opportunity to call me a little bitch.
2. When Buffy sacrafices herself. The part that sells me on it is when the camera goes to everyones faces and you see Spike completely breakdown. Did anybody else cry when Anya dies in the last episode and whats-his-name tells Xander she died well?
3. Eternal Sunshine-The scene when Clementine is talking about her "ugly little doll". When he rolls on top of her and begins showering her face with kisses while whispering, "You're pretty, you're pretty." Uh, yeah. I have to excuse myself right now. I have *sniff* something in my eye.
Posted by: Kali at February 8, 2007 12:36 PM
You really want to cry? Watch "Whale Rider." The part where Pai goes "under" totally rips your heart out. There wasn't a dry eye in the theater (a few years ago, when it came out).It's a good movie about Pacific cultures/ways of life. New Zealand is the most gorgeous place and I can identify with it because I'm in Hawaii (I've also been to NZ) and our cultures are quite similar. You HAVE to see it. A great, heartbreaking movie. It'll open your eyes!
Posted by: Corinna at February 8, 2007 12:55 PM
Yeah, so after I posted my comments about Stone Fox, I remembered a bit more that wasn't on IMDB.
I forgot about the eskimo, Stone Fox (duh). As the boy and his dog come up to the finish line of the (i think) Itidarod, about to win the race, the dog's heart explodes and collapses dead but 20 feet from the finish line.
The runner-up in the race, Stone Fox, stops his champion sled-team and picks up a shotgun to stop anyone from passing him. He then allows the boy to pick up his dead dog and walk across the finish line and win the race.
That movie cried me dry. I freaking died. And since it's been so long, I did a google on it, and sure enough, the book is used in many classes, and there were student submissions online of "new" endings where the dog lived, etc etc. Even the book, bring read to a class, sounds traumatic.
Posted by: Mac at February 8, 2007 1:51 PM
This is the first time I have felt compelled to post a comment. The list is great but what I have enjoyed more than the list are the comments. It makes me happy to read the beautiful memories of people I don't know. I was told a quote by a friend years ago and it has always stuck with me. "We read to know that we are not alone." Thanks everybody.
Posted by: WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot at February 8, 2007 2:41 PM
I can't believe I just spent my lunch hour reviewing all these posts!
And I can't believe that through them all, no one mentioned my "tearjerkiest", What Dreams May Come (Robin Williams, 1998). While certain of the scenes (heaven, hell, the beauty of oil paintings springing to life, doogy-heaven, etc.) brought sniffles, it wasn't until I was out of the theatre, in the silence of my car in the parking lot that the movie's full impact hit me. I don't know if it was a reflection of where I was emotionally at the time or what, but I suddenly started shaking and sobbing uncontrollably. I couldn't drive for a goode 20 minutes! I own a copy of the movie on DVD (it was so critically panned that it's $5.50 in better Wal-Marts everywhere), but it's still in shrink-wrap.
Oh, and my wife had a similar experience (but in the theatre, with our friends)watching Big Fish- it's on the DVD shelf, unwatched too.
Amen and a big shout-out for Door-to-Door, Fearless and A.I., as well as another cinematic triumph, Robin Williams (again) reliving the terror of his loss in The Fisher King.
Posted by: Chris at February 8, 2007 2:52 PM
As soon as I read the introduction to this article, I immediately thought of the West Wing. Thank you for including it!
Posted by: Laura at February 8, 2007 2:53 PM
Damn your comments for bringing up that Simpsons episode, and the Lion King mention!! I just lost my shit at work almost instantly. I just have to say kudos to whoever posted Stand by Me. I would say definetly one of my childhood favorites. Also I'm extremely proud to say I loved The Iron Giant, can't help but loose my shit everytime.
I'm so glad a few people mentioned Pans Labrynth, I couldn't leave the theatre without being changed. It was just so unfair and heartbreaking and beautiful and happy and terrifying all in the last 10 mins.
Also one of the most heartbreaking scenes for me is in Joy Luck Club. The mother who has the child with no soul. You know the scene where she looses her soul. When she's holding her first baby boy under water as she's crying. I just wasn't the same for a few days after that, fuck I think it was weeks before I was me again.
I aso noticed some people putting in books and one that I can say most fucked with my shit was They Cage the Animals at Night. One of the most heart wrenching stories that'll kill you even more because it's true. Honestly, if you can track that baby down it's worth it.
I must say a very well put together list by Pajiba/Dustin but was even more impressed by some of the comments left by the readers. Very well thought out.
Posted by: Rheana at February 8, 2007 3:43 PM
It's been seen so many times most don't stay around to see it anymore, but the end of "It's a Wonderful Life" gets me every time, every year, year after year.
Also, the montage of kisses at the end of "Cinema Paradiso" ... wait, get me a tissue.
Posted by: duane at February 8, 2007 3:45 PM
The Green Mile, the scene where they are executing John Coffee. The one guard is blubbering, all red nosed and snotty. That one kills me. Best man crying scene.
Posted by: Skye at February 8, 2007 3:49 PM
Has anyone mentioned House of Sand and Fog? I was a mess from watching that.
It's just blow after blow after blow.
Posted by: glinda at February 8, 2007 4:09 PM
I never liked SFU. Never. Hated American Beauty. Alan Ball is a manipulatvie hack. So I haven't seen beyond S2 of SFU, and doubt that the death of any of those miserable characters would elicit anything but cheers from this court. Was it another Let's Beat Up Nate fest? Or a Ruth is a Closet Nympho re-revelation? Or David will win the Best Gay Husband and Father EVER award?
Based on viewing 3 episodes only, Westwing never cranked my clock and I can't imagine it going anywhere close to the Tear Gates.
Billy Effing Elliot? Are you people kidding me? My Bro said I HAD to see it. Gawd! What a terrible, predictable, treacly flick. Ugh! Take it away!
Many episodes of Buffy and Angel had me in tears - too numerous to mention. Otherwise, TV shows don't create much emotional reaction in me. They all fall under "pleasant" or "poignant" at best. A couple of exceptions, Adrianna's death on The Sopranos. I didn't cry, but I was haunted by it for days. And DeAngelo Barksdale's death on The Wire really messed me up, too.
Some movies that I hazard to watch again are -
Truly, Madly, Deeply - total sob fest
The Mission - depresses me mightily, have to be careful.
The Killing Fields - when Sydney finds Dith Prang again I double over sobbing.
Brokeback Mountain - though I've been re-watching it about once a month because it's pure genius.
King Kong - the Jackson remake. Sue me. I love it.
F
Posted by: Fodder at February 8, 2007 4:11 PM
A.I.? Really? You know, I loved the first half of that movie. Then Kubrick died, Spielberg took over and it turned into this Hallmark card from Hell. I guess I'm glad to know someone got something out of it. I guess that redeems it a bit.
I'm almost sure I read in an interview where Sinise talked about how hard the final scenes of Of Mice and Men were since he and Malkovich are like brothers. I've taught that book many times, yet that scene in the movie still gave me chills.
Speaking of teaching, I'll have to agree with the scene from Dangerous Minds mentioned above. Losing a student is one of my worst fears, and her reaction (and the way she told the last) was very real.
Andy Garcia in When a Man Loves a Woman is wonderful. While Meg Ryan was a bit over the top (though some would argue so are many alcoholics), he really conveyed his pain well as a man who is desperate to "fix" his wife and finds the problem is bigger than both of them. When he comes to her in the end at her six months sober meeting and gives the speech about her 600 smiles and how he was so ashamed that he left her alone by not listening--it tears my heart out. First time I saw that movie I said, "I want a husband like that."
And finally, the The Notebook. The movie itself was mildly entertaining, but not on an emotional level. Until it was "time" and they laid in bed and died together. For some reason, I thought about Johnny Cash dying three months after June passed away. Then I started bawling. So in a roundabout way, I guess that movie did make me cry.
Posted by: superedna at February 8, 2007 4:16 PM
Great list overall. Not that I've seen too many
of them but I can just see myself probably losing
it with some of them if I had watched the shows.
Nostalgia works for me baby. Just the idea of such a list is a stroke o' brilliance though. Now, I shall throw a couple of mine into the mix as well: (SPOILERS)
I'm a male viewer and I have noticed that my weak
spot is typically within similar themes, although
there are some exceptions. But holy shite, that
Futurama episode with the dog sounds like it
would slaughter me!
The Lion King, man, The Lion King... Why the hell
does his father have to die? Probably wouldn't
work anymore, but at the time it was a killer.
Last of the Mohicans. In the end where the guy
runs after his loved one, gets killed and then
said loved one jumps to her death. Accompanied by
a great score. I get a helluva kick too when the
slain one's father kills the killer of his son.
Powerful stuff.
A House of Sand And Fog. The scenes at the end
where Kingsley's character poisons his wife so
she never has to hear her son is dead and
subsequently Kingsley's suicide after that. Sob.
Babylon 5. Don't remember the episode number but
it's probably the finale. Many years in the future, When Sheridan and Delenn try to play it cool when both know he will die soon, but then both lose it just before Sheridan leaves for his final journey. Waterworks aplenty.
Posted by: Ertzi at February 8, 2007 5:27 PM
Gladiator did it to me, but it wasn't the grand ending. Instead, it was the scene where he finds his wife and son, and it's the real, snotty, unattractive kind of crying instead of pretty cinema sobbing. Slayed me!
Whale Rider, Billy Elliot, and In America all make me cry like an infant. If you don't cry at any of those movies, you are a soulless husk of a human, and a waste of oxygen. Everything is Illuminated also does it to me, with the grandpa in the tub.
I'm not sure who earlier said that the music is what really does it in these scenes, but: ADAGIO FOR STRINGS, people! It's been in The Elephant Man and Platoon, which both make me lose my shit completely. Even away from those films, I still get all goose-bumpy and weepy.
When Kevin Arnold told me (yes ME, he was always speaking directly to ME) told me how his father died, I lost it. I. LOST. IT. Much like you I was a faithful watcher of The Wonder Years. I entered 7th grade the same year the character did. I never missed an episode. I loved his grumpy dad. I loved everything about that damn show. Has any other show used narration or music montage to good effect? I'm not sure. And who knows if it'll ever be released on DVD because of the struggle with the music rights. As for movies, I won't pretend my tears don't get jerked around by some pretty sappy things, but the movie that turns me into a sobbing mess, sometimes even long after the movie is over, is The Elephant Man.
Posted by: Audra at February 8, 2007 7:17 PM
Re: "The Body"
Oh man, that episode. But I COMPLETELY LOST IT a few episodes down the line, where Dawn tries to resurrect her mother. Dawn accuses Buffy of not caring about their mother's death when she scolds her for trying to bring her back and Buffy breaks down in tears, explaining that she has to keep moving because she feels like she can't breathe when she stops. It's a heartbreaking moment and Sarah Michelle Gellar knocks it out of the part without overdoing it. Then she hears a knock at the door. It's her mother. She whips around, eyes full of tears, and whispers "Mommy." Dawn breaks the spell. When Buffy opens the front door, there is no one there. And Buffy falls to the ground crying and hugging Dawn.
See, people didn't understand my BtVS obsession. That's because they didn't see the episodes like this.
And, god, I love the "Billy Elliot" love on this site. It's one of my favorites. And the scene Dustin lists makes me lose it, but not as much as when Billy mouths along to the letter his mother left him as Julie Walters reads it. "Your mother was a very special woman." "She was just me mum." OH DEAR GOD MAKE IT STOP.
Also:
-- "Harold & Maude." Maude dies. Inevitably. Harold rushes her to the hospital and waits in the waiting room and learns she didn't make it to Cat Steven's "Trouble." It's beautiful. I can scarcely listen to the song without getting bleary-eyed.
-- "The Fisher King." Perry waskes up from his coma, the "holy grail" in his hand, in cute little pajamas with the Pinnochio doll tucked under the covers with him, and tells Jeff Bridges about a strange dream he had where he was in love with a beautiful woman who died and asks, "Is it okay to miss her now?" I lose it every single time.
-- "Mysterious Skin." The final scene. Neil's voice-over. Crane shot. Sigur Ros. Seriously, watch it, and tell me it doesn't stick with your for days.
-- "Wit." The scene when Emma Thompson is lying in bed shivering, bald, infantile, and her favorite professor visits her (the only visit she's had) and reads her a book about a bunny.
And if I ever meet someone who DID NOT completely lose their shit during the "Six Feet Under" finale, I will run far far away. You are not human if you did not cry. That show had about a bajillion tearjerky moments.
Posted by: LG at February 8, 2007 10:06 PM
Alright--adding to the mountain of posts on this most popular of topics, I have to add my biggest teary moment: the end of American History X. I didn't realize what a mess I was until the credits. A complete, sobbing, jittery mess. Wow.
Also, in embarassing moments to share, I have to say that in Little Women (Winona Ryder version), the moment after Beth dies when the dinky piano music plays, and they put the flower petals on the row of dolls just gets me in the throat every single time. Ugh, how embarassing.
Yes. Excellent selection of scenes, just had to add my two cents.
Posted by: carrot flower at February 8, 2007 11:27 PM
Wit - that killed me. You Can Count On Me - no download necessary; that scene is imprinted on my soul.
Warning to any child-free commentariat: once you have kids way more stuff makes you cry. This seems to apply equally to men and women. So something like Finding Neverland will make you cry like a little bitch.
Posted by: smmo at February 8, 2007 11:37 PM
My God, the more you read, the more you remember.
People who are destroyed by Millions and Billy Elliot will be even more Into the West http://imdb.com/title/tt0104522/, written by Jim Sheridan. Two motherless boys, their embittered gypsy father, Ireland, and a beautiful horse...I'm crying now. And the best acting ever.
A Little Princess. It's not perfect -- cutesy hijinks aplenty, compared to the book, which has a downbeat, realist edge. But Liam Cunningham is the perfect, charming, loving Daddy, that every little girl wants to have. And when Sarah loses him, worse than loses him...well, I lost another contact lens.
Agnieska Holland's Secret Garden. http://imdb.com/title/tt0104522/ For a movie that has no sad on-screen events, just beautiful ones, you will weep a surprising numberof buckets.
While it stunk for the most part, Bram Stoker's Dracula's love story is underated. Gary gives it all, and it's Winona's best performance, for what that's worth.
But to the previous poster -- what the hell kind of school shows Grade 8 kids Jude Law's ex being fucked by a werewolf?
Posted by: Janis at February 8, 2007 11:48 PM
seriously, the scrubs moment? the only time i ever cried during a tv show. and i bawled. mad, mad props to you for it's inclusion.
Posted by: alice f at February 8, 2007 11:50 PM
seriously, the scrubs moment? the only time i ever cried during a tv show. and i bawled. mad, mad props to you for it's inclusion.
Posted by: alice f at February 8, 2007 11:50 PM
What an awesome topic. It's so funny...as soon as I saw the topic I immediately thought about the Iron Giant but assumed any other adult would think it silly. It's just a fantastic movie and the ending ("I'm Superman!") puts a painful lump in my throat every time.
The other scene that slays me is in Hoosiers, near the end, when Gene Hackman orders his basketball team to pass the ball to a weaker player because the opposing team will be expecting the ball to go to their best player. The whole team sort of gets quiet, and the best player, in a quiet and halting voice, says "I'll make it." Then the team puts its hands together and screams "Team!". Is it corny? Predictable? Hokey as hell and done to death? Yes to all those, and it still makes grown men cry every time.
Posted by: Tony at February 9, 2007 12:06 AM
Dustin,
If fate is kind, one day we will meet and become friends.
I agree with SFU--I didn't even watch the show, but it was beautiful, poignant, and heartbreaking all at once. And I couldn't go near Dead Poets for years.
Here's my personal list:
1) Forrest Gump: When Jenny asks Forrest why he kept defending her honor and he just says simply, "Because you're my girl, Jenny." And the scene where Jenny is laying in bed, the exact same way Forrest's mother looked before she died of cancer. And then the scene when he speaks to Jenny's tombstone and says, "I don't know if we each have a destiny, or if we're all just floating around accidental-like on a breeze, but I, I think maybe it's both. Maybe both is happening at the same time. I miss you, Jenny." After I see that, I curl up in the fetal position. But that's why it's my favorite movie.
2)Eternal Sunshine: Pretty much all of the movie, but it especially gets me when the house starts coming down and she tells him to meet her in Montauk...
3)The episode of Buffy when she sacrifices herself so Dawn wouldn't have to.I have a little sister too and I would do anything for her. Oh and the episode when they try to bring their mother back made me lose it.
4)Ok, this might be embarrassing, but in Beauty and the Beast when the angry mob is beating on the castle door and he says so sadly "Let them come in." And the balcony scene when Belle thinks he's dead. My five-year-old self cries and cries.
Great review, this is why I love this site.
Posted by: joann marie at February 9, 2007 12:26 AM
X Files: Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose
Typically cynical and sardonic episode until the last moment, when Scully realizes that Bruckman's prediction about her crying over his dead body has suddenly come true...
"Tears are streaming down my face...I felt so grateful...."
Posted by: crusty at February 9, 2007 1:08 AM
I agree so much with the SFU series finale. I just watched it right now, and my roommate's boyfriend must have heard me crying because he came over and asked me what was wrong and I was forced to admit that I was blubbering over a television show. I really didn't think it would make me cry like that upon a second viewing but it certainly did.
Posted by: Ana at February 9, 2007 1:26 AM
I think this thread has labeled most of the Tearjerkers for me, but I wanted to mention the one that had me bawling the other day. I was going through Band of Brothers again and the scene that got me was when Easy Company finds the concentration camp. When they're asking one of the survivors about who the camp was for and they finally realize that the camp is for Jews, I was gasping for air in between my sobs. Oh the humanity...
Posted by: tcolberg at February 9, 2007 4:24 AM
Thanks for giving me my favorite epithet. Take that cold hearted "according to jim" watching bastards. LOL. -------------------------------------------------------------------------
The best and most moving Wonder Years episode is unquestionably the one where Wayne's friend returns from his tour of duty in Vietnam and Wayne offers him his shirt outside the football stadium. Against type and thus all the more powerful ----------------------------------------------------------------
A movie that has made me feel that jumping feeling in my heart is "the house of sand and fog" when Ben Kingsley prays for his son's life by imploring God with all the charitable things he will do that he be spared.
Posted by: rah at February 9, 2007 6:26 AM
The Color Purple didn't make me cry, it made me all kinds of pissed off. I love the book, and I even loved the movie, but everytime I see it I urge Ceely to sew Mister up in a bed sheet while he's sleeping and get after him with her awesome cast-iron skillet..... but she never does it. Why won't she listen to me? I know what's best for her!
Wit fucked me up... The Floppy Bunny, wasn't that the book? I love Emma. I would kick someone's ass in a bar over her. Oh yeah..... it's like THAT.
Pretty much any movie where any kind of animal gets hosed will get the snot all a-runnin'. I can watch people get all kinds of jacked up, but you mess with any of my four-legged frinds, and that's when you go messin with my emotions. I think this may be because I don't care for most people, because I am a crumudgeon at the ripe old age of 30. Hey, you whippersnappers! Get off my lawn!
And I can never never never NEVER NEVER watch that Futurama episode everyone has been talikg about, because I might have to go kill myself afterwards, and I have way too much shit going on to be pulling any of that crap.
But yeah, you guys pulled out some good ones. Except The Notebook- I can't go there with you. That movie just pissed me off. I wanted to run everybody over with my car after I saw that. Blea. Hooray, Pajiba!
Posted by: Hattie at February 9, 2007 6:57 AM
I know its over the 20 year mark, but does anyone else remember THE NEVERENDING STORY when Atreyu's horse is drowning in the Swamps of Sadness? and when Falkor (the luck dragon) and Atreyu are separated? Sniff, sniff
Posted by: Bec at February 9, 2007 7:49 AM
OMG, Bec...Artax's death. (Wasn't that his name?) I let my daughter watch that last year for the first time, and we were both sobbing, as I'm trying to reassure her it will be ok. She won't watch it anymore.
And I've been trying not to think about it, but Last of the Mohicans. First time I ever cried in a theater. I own the movie now, and when I can bring myself to watch it, I start crying about 10 minutes *before* the Uncas and Alice scene. Wah, I wanna cry now....
Posted by: pinkcheese at February 9, 2007 9:51 AM
That scene from Wit, oh my God. I think the name of the book in that scene is The Runaway Bunny but whatever. I can't even *think* about that scene to this day without tears filling my eyes... SHIT, it's happening right now. I once went to a photography exhibit where the song from the closing credits was playing, and I could barely keep it together. It's not the only film that has ever made me cry, but nothing else has ever affected me quite like that. I'm not sure I could watch that again.
Posted by: andree at February 9, 2007 10:37 AM
"Sniffle" Got halfway through the six feet under clip, now my neighbour(whom casually strolled through the livingroom at an akward moment) is eyeing me with concern... Loved the column, as always
Posted by: Miramuffin at February 9, 2007 11:13 AM
The season finale of Life Goes On. I had stopped watching long before the finale but when Becca, now a grown woman, is recalling the love of her life to her young son while putting him to bed. We know she and Jesse married, Jesse died, she remarried and had the child she is putting to bed. He says "Goodnight Mom" and she says "Goodnight, Jesse."
Also "Oh Captain my Captain" kills me.
The Pursuit of Happyness fucked me up.
In America was brilliant.
The final scene in Places in the Heart.
Goddamnit Dustin! I have shit to do today and I'm all fucked up now!!!!!
Posted by: Kate at February 9, 2007 11:36 AM
I refuse to watch sad movies at the cinema any more - too embarrassing!
OK, I can usually resist the OTT manipulative ones, but the good sad ones - they make me sob like a baby. Which I'd rather NOT do in public, at my age.. ;-)
TV that's got me crying - yes to the SFU finale, that episode of Scrubs (actually, all the Brendan Fraser episodes, since I know what happens), the West Wing episodes people have mentioned, the Buffy episodes ditto. And there was a TV play starring Jane Horrocks - just her, talking to the camera for the whole thing - she killed me dead.
Films which have reduced me to puddles... too many to count! Hence the 'not seeing them in public' thing. But Dancing in the Dark dehydrated me into a headache. And Wash's death in Serenity... And Dead Poets...
But one which really got to me was a documentary. I can't remember what it's called, but it was about two French cinematographer brothers who were making a documentary about life in a NY firehouse, and got caught up in 9/11. When one brother thinks the other is dead, and then he turns up alive.. Well, the whole thing really. I used up a lot of tissues on that one. I'm actually scared to watch United 93..
Posted by: Tatiana at February 9, 2007 11:36 AM
... yeah, thats DANCER in the Dark, isn't it.. sorry. Just reading these comments is making me well up, as it reminds me of all the sad stuff I've watched. And apparently I was so blinded by my tears that I couldn't proof-read my own comment.
Damn you people...;-)
Posted by: Tatiana at February 9, 2007 11:45 AM
Okay, bmg, yes to losing it over "Ordinary People". I wanted to commit suicide after watching this film. Why Timothy Hutton wasn't in more dramas, I don't know.
Pretty in Pink- I cry everytime where they are at the locker and Andy confronts him.
Harold and Maude, so beautifully resplendant. Love that movie!
Honorable Mentions: What about Philadelphia when Tom Hanks goes to talk to Denzel W. about being his lawyer, and he is turned away. He leaves the office and is just looking around under a building, and he starts to cry.
Tom Hanks talking to Jenny underneath that tree, and he starts talking about why she left him. Tearjerker.
Oh, and whomever mentioned "Requiem for a Dream", that last scene is insanely sad.
Watching these films that make us lose our shit, it's cathartic!
Posted by: Athena at February 9, 2007 12:01 PM
Dustin,
Great list. Im 38 and the WY still holds a place in my hear.
Also: My Dog Skip, What Dreams May Come, Field of Dreams. As for a comic, would have been the end of Bloom County
And I know it is out of the 20 year realm, but this TV series SOAP, where the character Jessica Tate dies, she reminded me too much of my Grandma, a ditz with a heart of gold.
Posted by: Rich at February 9, 2007 12:28 PM
I don't cry during films, because I won't allow myself to do it...and I've seen everything. If I notice myself becoming emotional, I just snap out of it. Does that make me a prick? Am I missing out on some sort of beneficial catharsis?
Also - most recently, for some reason, I found this little clip to be somewhat moving:
I can't believe no one has mentioned any Farscape episodes. When Aeryn and John are trapped on that planet where they get really old together, and Aeryn has secretly loved him the whole time....or the Peacekeeper Wars, when D'Argo dies....
I guess you can tell from this post that I agree with the Buffy and Angel eps too.
Posted by: Daisy at February 9, 2007 3:10 PM
good stuff. the end of Project X w/ Matthew Broderick where the chimp gets radiated in the flight simulator- *weep*. That and "Where the Red Fern Grows"...although that would break the timeframe...
Posted by: gmoff at February 9, 2007 4:17 PM
Thank you to those who mentioned My Dog Skip--OMG the boy walking into the vet's office DID ME IN!!!! Also thanks to all who mentioned Big Fish...so many reasons this was painfully sweet...
Also, sue me for mentioning this one, but Meet Joe Black (yeah, the Brad Pitt one) when Pitt's reaper walks off into the distance at the big birthday party celebration, with Claire Forlani looking on knowing he was walking off to take her father....glug.....she looked so helpless...maybe it's the extraordinary daddy/daughter bond they shared which mirrored mine that made me weak for this one...
Posted by: Courtney at February 9, 2007 4:49 PM
Dances With Wolves -- apart from the whole, you know, genocide of an indigenous people, the scene where the soldiers shoot the wolf makes my heart ache with grief and rage.
Posted by: potlatch at February 9, 2007 5:55 PM
The one that does me in is the end of Donnie Darko with the mad world track playing.
Posted by: Allan at February 9, 2007 6:42 PM
Fantastic thread, got all emotional remembering 'into the west'. Got to say though the film 'The Rabbit Proof Fence' where the sisters and the cousin have been taken from their families because they are aboriginies (not sure Iv spelt that right) and they run away and follow a fence keep walking miles and miles to get home to their mum, and one sister gets caught by the police and shes running away but shes so little they catch her easily and she gets taken away, but the other two dont cry but you can see it in their eyes and the sister doesnt say where they are hiding just looks back at them knowing she will probably never see them again, and they dont even though they make it home. I think the fact thats its true and actually happened not so very long ago is what slays me that and anything to do with familes being split up or children being taken away hits a nerve, I have no idea why. Also and this is a lame one but the cartoon about a mice family coming to america and the little boy mouse is called fiviel falls off the boat and they think hes dead but hes not but they keep missing each other and his sister sings a song called 'Somewhere out there', then at the end Oh my! I cant remember the name but can remember every word to that song if anyone know the name it would be greatly appreciated.
Have seen and cried at almost all of the ones previously mentioned these are just two of my extensive list of films/shows/books/adverts that make me blubber like a baby. But have to say as well as the scene with Anya in 'The Body' its the moment where Buffy finds joyce and saves her and everyone is smiling then it cuts back to the house and joyce is actually dead....wow like a slap in the face, had a friend who had never watched the show and saw only that ep and threw up at that moment and has refused to watch any more eps. Right kind of babbled a lot more than I meant to sorry keep up the good yet gut wrenchingly sad work.
Posted by: nieve at February 9, 2007 6:53 PM
I saw a movie called Simon Birch, adapted from a John Irving book, that tore me up.
Because it's not mentioned here, do I have bad taste or I'm just a big wuss?
Posted by: pmk at February 9, 2007 8:12 PM
Someone up there mentioned Requiem for a Dream...yeah, that movie is extremely disturbing.
Actually, it'd be pretty interesting to see a list of the most disturbing movies/scenes. Like the shit that makes you feel numb and weird about life. I'd say Requiem is up there. Sin City freaked the shit out of me the first time I saw it too. I could barely finish watching it...
Posted by: Lesly at February 9, 2007 8:19 PM
Okay,I'm not adding or subtracting from your list.... I do however want to proclaim my hatred for you. Oy,I'm already an overly-emotional bitch that time of the month, but posting this? Oh,you bastard. From "The Wonder Years" on, I've been crying nonstop.
Posted by: Kimberly at February 9, 2007 10:41 PM
A harrowing film from New Zealand, Once Were Warriors. I had no idea what the film was about when I walked into the theatre. No hanky, no tissues, I think I cried solidly for over an hour. I walked out of there with sopping sleeves.
Posted by: GB at February 9, 2007 11:38 PM
Some killers, among many:
1. The little girl's speech in Whale Rider. When her voice cracks when she says "my grandfather"? Oh, God.
2. When Clint Eastwood tells Hilary Swank that her boxing name means "my blood, my heart" at the end of "Million Dollar Baby."
3. Okay, if we're going 30 years back, the scene in Kramer v. Kramer when Dustin Hoffman and his son make up in the kid's room in the dark ("Mommy didn't leave because of you...she left because of me.") and when he explains to his son that he's going to live with his mother and is trying to be all upbeat while the kid is tearing up. Kill me now.
4. The scene in "Immortal Beloved" when the young Beethoven disrobes, gets into that pool of water, and the camera pans up to the stars with Beethoven's 9th in the background.
Posted by: Samantha T at February 10, 2007 12:25 AM
I know it's a bit cliche, but I fucking cry/teary eye EVERY GOD DAMN TIME, a young Shoeless Joe calls out to the old Moonlight Graham, "Hey Rookie........" Those to two words kill me, especially in the context of the scene and what we already know of the Distinguised and Respected Doctor Graham.
Posted by: Jordan at February 10, 2007 12:36 AM
"I much appreciated the first spot slot of Dead Poet's Society, but its not that scene that gets me, its the infinitely cheesier one at the end where the boys stand on the desks with the bagpipe music."
YES. I feel exactly the same way. The "O captain, my captain" thing kills me every damn time. Also, word to the beach reunion in "Shawshank Redemption." Perfect, perfect ending.
I had a very emotional reaction to "Bad Education", as well - lots of scenes hurt to watch, but the ones between Gabriel Garcia Bernal (who I believe to be his generation's finest actor) toward the end were hard to watch.
And, you know what? Fuck it - the scene in "Steel Magnolias" where Sally Field is at her daughter's grave asking "Why? Why?" is teary as shit. I love how Olympia D. breaks the tension in that scene, too.
Posted by: Samantha T at February 10, 2007 12:39 AM
YES you guys to House of Sand and Fog. I watched some featurette/commentary on that movie and they said the scene was done in one take, it was so heartbreakingly perfect.
Monster, when Halle Berry is flinging herself against the glass for her son. And when Heath Ledger says "Well, I always loved you" and then...
Aiiiii!
Posted by: Razorburn at February 10, 2007 2:59 AM
Monster's Ball, that is. *ahem*
Posted by: Razorburn at February 10, 2007 3:00 AM
Simon Birch!!!!!!!Oh I had forgotten that one thanks for bringing back the pain!
Posted by: nieve at February 10, 2007 9:17 AM
I go to school with the actor who played Simon Birch, and I see him around all the time. He dyes his hair crazy colors now -- no lie!
I had never seen the SFU finale -- I loved the first season and hated the second too much to keep watching, so I gave up on it -- but I wish I had seen the whole series now, just to make that ending even better. Holy shit. I've never seen anything so fucking beautiful. Absolutely breathtaking.
Posted by: Colin at February 10, 2007 2:19 PM
Wow, thanks for telling me what I need to be crying to. Now I can have some really genuine emotional experiences rather than being a "cold-hearted bastard." This reminds me of a review for "Walk the Line" that claimed if I didn't fall in love with Witherspoon's June Carter then I didn't have a soul. I'm so glad I knew that going into the movie so I could preserve my immortal self. Thanks again.
Posted by: T at February 10, 2007 5:10 PM
First time I remember losing it in a movie was when I was FOUR watching "An American Tale," right at the beginning when little Feivel Mousekowitz gets separated from his parents. That is scary shit for a four year old to deal with. It still gets me 19 years later.
Posted by: dede at February 10, 2007 5:47 PM
...but hands down, the moment I've never gotten over was the "little girl in the red coat" sequence in "Schindler's List." The haunting music, the color, the girl...a microcosm all of the cruelty and horror of the Holocaust. It's part of what makes "Schindler's List" one of the best commentaries on humanity of all time. And when you see her later...
Posted by: dede at February 10, 2007 5:53 PM
ok, come on, let's just say it and get it over with..whatever flaws it may have had as a whole.....the scene in CRASH where the little girl jumps into her dad's arms with the "invisible cloak" to protect him....him standing there holding her and screaming in slow-motion....I was outta my seat.
Posted by: Kate at February 10, 2007 8:17 PM
"And when Heath Ledger says "Well, I always loved you" and then..." POW out of the blue, god!
Most definitely that scene and the last part of Brokeback when Ennis goes to see Twist's folks and finds the shirts then has that moment with his daughter and the final sight of the shirts reversed & the photo. Ledger is probably one of the great untapped leading men out there Beautiful work.
Posted by: matt at February 10, 2007 10:11 PM
Everyone has great lists. Let me go ahead and get my "me toos" out of the way: Dances with Wolves, Schindler's List ("I could have bought two more."), Saving Private Ryan ("Am I a good man?"), Futurama ("Jurassic Bark" and "The Luck of the Fryish") and The Simpsons episodes mentioned.
"Field of Dreams" and the La Marseilles scene from "Casablanca."
"Lord of the Rings." Yep, I get misty at it, but what kills me everytime is when the newly crowned King Aragorn looks at the hobbits and says, "My friends, you bow to no one." And everyone kneels.
Now, here's some new stuff:
The Sarah McLachlan performance of "When Somebody Loved Me" in "Toy Story 2."
Sully and Boo in "Monster's Inc." They loved each other so much.
Clint Eastwood's speech in "In The Line Of Fire" when his character is describing that day in Dallas when JFK got shot and how he's had to live with it.
Before love triangle, diaper-wearing, God-knows-what-she-was-going-to-do-when-she got-there, psycho astronauts permeated the news, "The Right Stuff" made me tear up with pride. And it's still going to, dammit. The Mercury 7 had Balls of Titanium.
The end of "Clerks 2" (SPOILER) when Randal tells Dante how much he loves him. It ALMOST erases the (REALLY DISGUSTING SPOILER) donkey show that landed them in jail in the first place.
"Return to Me" had me crying with David Duchovny as he was grieving for his wife. That was probably the most convincing grief-acting I have ever seen. Really.
(YET ANOTHER SPOILER ALERT, NEVER MIND THE FACT THAT IT HAS SURELY PERMEATED THE CULTURE LO THESE 25 YEARS.) And I don't wish to belittle any real events that inspired some of these scenes and whole films, for that matter, but way up there on the list is Spock's death and funeral in "Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan."
The sequences are devestating, but three things put it over the top, in the best way: 1) The catch in Shatner's voice during the eulogy (Best acting in Shatner's career.) 2) The catch in Takei's voice as he commands "Honors....hut!" and finally, 3) Scotty playing "Amazing Grace" on the bagpipes while Spock's coffin/photon tube is about to be fired from the ship.
Now before I am flamed for being a massive Star Trek nerd and what not, I loved the Original Series as a kid and enjoy it now mainly for camp value. I liked Next Generation when I was in college, but now I think a LOT of it is pretentious and I never really got into any of the other shows.
What gets me is that Spock got all Gary Cooper and did what had to be done. Just like he always did and his crewmates honored that.
Peace and chicken grease.
Posted by: Robert at February 11, 2007 12:02 AM
Okay, I may have broken the 20 year rule with the Star Trek 2, but it still gets me to this day.
I can't believe I forgot about "Moonlighting." (AGAIN WITH THE SPOILERS) Specifically, when David finally gets the balls to tell Maddie he loves her, knocks on the door (in the rain) and Mark Bloody Harmon answers the door. The combination of Al Jarreau singing "Since I Fell For You" and the look on David's face. Woof.
Posted by: Robert at February 11, 2007 12:11 AM
I'm stepping outside the 20 year rule here (cruelly dating myself in the process), but..
Born Free was deadly. Just killingly sad. Let's just say I'm not going near the Futurama episode, ever.
Night Mother - Sissy Spacek, and her mom cluching the coco pot to her bosom at the very (very) end.
Midnight Cowboy, when Ratso dies on the bus to Florida.
Dancer In The Dark - who the hell knew Bjork had those kind of acting chops ? One of the hardest endings I've seen put to film. Wasn't right for days after seeing it.
Excellent reviews and comments by all. Great read.
Posted by: antidude at February 11, 2007 2:57 AM
I tend to avoid current tearjerker & chick flick films, because they generally feel too slick and insincere to me (although this comment thread has inspired me to add a few things to my Netflix queue). I watch Turner Classic Movies all the time, though, and often find myself caught out by an old-school three-hanky flick.
So if we're talking about classic films, I'd have to go with Stella Dallas. The scene where Stella talks with the new Mrs. Dallas about her daughter makes me lose it every time. Breakfast at Tiffany's and It's a Wonderful Life have that impact on me, too.
Posted by: Kimberly at February 11, 2007 10:16 AM
well, looks like the 20-year rule has become sort of moot! So going back a loooong way - Zulu.
When the last survivors at Rourkes Drift know they are going to die, because the Zulus have returned in force - and instead, the Zulus salute their bravery and leave them alone. Damn. I still can't hear 'Men of Harlech' without welling up - and i'm not even Welsh!
Posted by: tatiana at February 11, 2007 12:10 PM
Damnit, that scene from the west wing gets me every freakin' time. It brings back every moment in my life when I have felt the exact same way...and makes me want to learn Latin.
Posted by: theben at February 11, 2007 1:56 PM
What is the name of that movie where John Travolta plays the disreputable angel?
I always cry when he brings the little Jack Russell terrier back to life.
Posted by: Krans at February 11, 2007 6:19 PM
God, it's great to see it's not only me. I've seen all of this, except The Wonder Years (I'm 20, and back then I was busy with Sesame Street. And there were reruns, but translated to Spanish. Awful) but there's one thing missing.
That episode of The Office (the American version) when Jim and Pam kiss, and then she tells her that she is still marrying Roy, and pretty much every scene with Pam the next couple of episodes. Watching that I cried a lot, but at the same time, I felt so much less alone.
Posted by: Hans at February 11, 2007 8:14 PM
YOU LIST WAS AWESOME BUT YOU LEFT OUT THE LAST SCENE OF LONGTIME COMPANION, THE FIRST REAL AIDS MOVIE THAT WAS SO EXCELLENT, BOTH IN CASTING AND ACTING, AND THE FINAL TEAR JEAR JEARKING SCENE ON THE BEACH, WHICH NEVER FAILS TO GET ME EVERY TIME.... OTHER THEN THAT, A++++++ LIST. THANKS!
Posted by: JULIE at February 11, 2007 11:20 PM
Lonesome Dove, when Gus dies.
Posted by: thermocline at February 12, 2007 1:47 AM
Unstrung Heroes, where the kid has been filming images of his dying mother throughout the movie and then plays them back after her funeral, and the rest of the family gathers around to watch and remember her.
It's the Thomas Newman score that just guts me.
Posted by: twig at February 12, 2007 10:45 AM
One last addition to the tearjerker list: the first vignette in If These Walls Could Talk 2, featuring Vanessa Redgrave as a lesbian left in the cold when her long-term partner passes away because she's not "family" is beautifully done and absolutely heart-breaking.
Also, after reading the column, and all the wonderful comments, I re-watched Eternal Sunshine this weekend. I saw it in the theater and I liked it, but it didn't seem to have the emotional resonance that it did for Dustin, so I figured I'd give it another shot. Lo and behold, it was much better the second time around, so much so that I kicked it up to 5 stars on Netflix (high praise, indeed). Of course, watching this incredible love story just reminds me that I'm single two days before Valentine's Day. This column delivers emotional trauma that doesn't quit. Bravo!
Posted by: bartap at February 12, 2007 11:54 AM
"Also, everyone here needs to go and watch Grave of the Fireflies. If you don't completely lose it AT LEAST once during this movie, I'm convinced you have no soul."
Indeed. And to any of you (and I have already read one or two) that scoff, "It was only a cartoon!"
Well, yes, but it was based on a true story (it is an autobiographical account-the boy didn't actually die in real life but survived).
Also - has anybody mentioned Amadeus? My god - that has me reduced to a pathetic heap of blubbering ick every single time.
Posted by: Nina at February 12, 2007 4:22 PM
Many, many good ones already listed, especially Harold and Maude and Futurama. (Far too many serious/weepy episodes for a cartoon series. Turns me into a weepy baby.)
In addition to the wonderful Seasons 2 & 3 enders of the West Wing, I put forth my personal favorite moment: Noel. 2nd season X-Mas episode where Josh deals with the aftermath of being shot, accompanied by Yo-Yo Ma. I had to watch that episode three times in a row. Opened a bottle of white wine and positively bawled.
Posted by: Laura at February 12, 2007 5:11 PM
Wow, thre's a lot of comments. I'd only seen two or so of these, so I didn't watch the rest, being mindful of spoilers. I have to say, nothing has ever made me cry as hard as Love Actually (I know, I'm such a girl, right?). The only thing that came close was the end of El Crimen del Padre Amaro, which I think should have made the list.
The series finale of charmed did inspire a few tears, but the show had become such crap in the last season, that it was a good thing that they ended it.
Posted by: Camille at February 12, 2007 8:44 PM
A short list of cinematic moments that have me crying like a bitch:
The scene in The Royal Tenenbaums after Buckley dies and Chas tells Royal,"I've had a rough year, Dad." And Royal says,"I know, Chazzie." Also, the scene when Chas is in the ambulance with Royal.
The last scene of In America.
The scene in Eternal Sunshine where Joel is begging,"Please, let me just keep this one memory."
The end of Finding Neverland.
The part in Good Will Hunting where Matt Damon tells Minnie Driver,"I don't love you" and just walks away. That and the part where he finally breaks down in Robin Williams' office.
The episode of The Simpsons where Homer becomes intelligent after removing the crayon from his brain. He re-inserts it so that he can be stupid again, but before that he writes a letter to Lisa telling her how amazing she is. That always gets me.
And the episode of Futurama (can't remember the title now) where Fry rearranges the stars to spell out "I Love You" for Leela, and she never gets to see it.
That's all I can come up with right now, because my eyes are stinging. And I am listening to "Hide And Seek" by Imogen Heap right now. Bad music to try to remember tearjerking scenes to. Good thing I'm alone in my room.
Posted by: Sarah at February 12, 2007 9:59 PM
apparently, i'm a total idiot, because i just watched the bbm clip even though the sound of that theme song - even for a second - makes me sob. for some reason that movie just...
i was about 6 seconds in when i started shaking uncontrollably. i don't know if i'll stop crying for the next hour or so.
i agree with you in the eternal sunshine thing, though. the ending of that movie always gets me...they're just looking at each other, and they both say, "okay." and it's just...i don't know, it's just such an amazing movie about love.
great picks here.
Posted by: cassie at February 12, 2007 10:01 PM
A short list of cinematic moments that have me crying like a bitch:
The scene in The Royal Tenenbaums after Buckley dies and Chas tells Royal,"I've had a rough year, Dad." And Royal says,"I know, Chazzie." Also, the scene when Chas is in the ambulance with Royal.
The last scene of In America.
The scene in Eternal Sunshine where Joel is begging,"Please, let me just keep this one memory."
The end of Finding Neverland.
The part in Good Will Hunting where Matt Damon tells Minnie Driver,"I don't love you" and just walks away. That and the part where he finally breaks down in Robin Williams' office.
The episode of The Simpsons where Homer becomes intelligent after removing the crayon from his brain. He re-inserts it so that he can be stupid again, but before that he writes a letter to Lisa telling her how amazing she is. That always gets me.
And the episode of Futurama (can't remember the title now) where Fry rearranges the stars to spell out "I Love You" for Leela, and she never gets to see it.
That's all I can come up with right now, because my eyes are stinging. And I am listening to "Hide And Seek" by Imogen Heap right now. Bad music to try to remember tearjerking scenes to. Good thing I'm alone in my room.
Posted by: Sarah at February 12, 2007 10:05 PM
Great list. I balled while re-watching the finale of Six Feet Under. But you forgot one of the most soulful, moving, and emotional scenes in movie history. The end of the Color Purple. With the soulful gospel, and the karma working itself out, it makes me cry every time. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSgX15Rdfpw
Posted by: Ruthie at February 13, 2007 1:34 AM
"I balled while re-watching the finale of Six Feet Under."
I balled instead of watching the finale of Six Feet Under.
Posted by: Janis at February 13, 2007 1:53 AM
Janis, thank you so much for mentioning "A Little Princess." I was aghast that no one had mentioned it. I mean, come on, the last scene. "Papa? Don't you remember me?" That will make me cry for the rest of my life. AND Holland's "The Secret Garden."
I would add "Little Women" because the fucking score alone can make me loose my shit. "Dancer in the Dark" as well. And, most recently, "Children of Men."
Posted by: sheshakes at February 13, 2007 2:01 AM
So happy that Billy Elliot is getting its due, here! Loved little touches like how he's memorized the letter from his mom, but still she was "just me mum." And after the family gets behind him and he and Tony are in bed and out of nowhere, Tony says, "You're right. Mum would've let you." And when he had to say goodbye to his grandma at the end. And when he blew up at his teacher because things were so rough at home. I love that movie so much!!
Another movie scene that ALWAYS gets me is in Hotel Rwanda when Paul's just gotten back to the hotel after he and Gregoire were driving into town but had to turn around because the road was strewn with bodies. He starts to get dressed because it's very important to him to keep up appearances at the hotel, but he just can't take it anymore and he just tears the first thing he can get his hands on -- his own shirt -- as he breaks down sobbing.
Man, I've got a huge lump in my throat just typing this up. I sure do love a good cry, though.
Oh, and a Simpsons moment that always makes me tear up is the one where the family's talking about love, but they can only come up with sad stories that end badly -- until Homer starts recounting the story of his and Marge's prom night. She went with someone else who turned out to be a jerk and she picked him up on her way home and when she got to his house, she asked why he looked so sad and he says: "Well, we're here. And that means I'm going to hug you. And if I hug you, I might kiss you. And if I kiss you, I won't ever be able to let you go. And I never have."
So sweet!! I could go on forever, but I won't because it just took me an hour to read all the comments as it was.
Posted by: Jelinas at February 13, 2007 6:39 AM
BRILLIANT! Second your call-out to your fellow reviewer. Jeremy's beautiful review of Brokeback Mountain is every bit the wonderous literary equal of that masterpiece of film-making. I love this site. Bravo on every choice. I saw BBM the first time in a theatre filled with college jocks and husbands dragged there by their girlfriends/wives. The owner left the lights dark a full fifteen minutes after the credits ended as no one moved. Everyone was crying from whimpers to outright sobbing. How I managed to drive home that night remains a tear-stained mystery. The opening chords still tug at my heart. I would add United 93 to your list but perhaps it is too personal. U93 returned me full-force to that dust covered human devastated as he watched his beloved symbols of Manhattan crumble around him. But for the sparkling sunshine that morning, which encouraged me to walk downtown, I would have already been in Tower Two waiting for my 11:00 appointment. U93 ripped the barely healed scar from that emotional wound to my psyche. I am sure I will never be able to watch U93 again.
Posted by: rudy at February 13, 2007 9:25 AM
"As ridiculous as is sounds, the end of that futurama episode where Fry tries to resurrect his dog has me bawling like a baby. In part because of the impossibly sad song and also because I have (and have lost) dogs myself."
---------------
Totally with you on this one. I bawled my eyes out over a damn cartoon, and I am so not ashamed to say it. That being said, if that episode comes on, I immediately turn it.
Posted by: Gretchen at February 13, 2007 10:41 AM
Props to the "A Day in the Death" Oz mentioners above...I think I heard that episode described best in a recap: "...and millions of Americans ponder how to explain to their spouses and significant others why a show that's primarily about anal rape and shankings has suddenly left them sobbing on the living room floor."
Every time I am watching HBO at midnight and Oz comes on, it seems to be that episode, and I have to watch it, because it's so good, but my god, the resultant sobbing.
Posted by: Josie at February 13, 2007 1:48 PM
i SOBBED at the end of the series finale of the wonder years. i LOVED that show. brilliant. i think it was the last sitcom to which i ever gave any of my time.
Posted by: juliagulia at February 13, 2007 5:39 PM
Everyone seems to mention the music with the Last of the Mohicans scene, and that might be because it is timed perfectly with the action. I wish I could remember how exactly, though.
GB, I agree with you about Once Were Warriors, 'tis a very powerful movie.
I know this is completely different from everything else mentioned, but the end of 24 Day 3? I think. The season where Bauer has to kill Chappelle and then at the end he just breaks down in the car. That scene is just fucking awkward and a downer.
Much of a heart I have not.
Posted by: The Stew at February 13, 2007 6:25 PM
You guys haven't mentioned the analogous Simpson's episode to Jurassic Bark.....After meeting his mother for the 1st time since he was a boy, he is delighted to have his mama back, but alas, she has to flea, and Homer reluctantly has to help her even though he doesn't want to lose her again. After he watches his mother escape Homer sits quietly atop the hood of his car with the day unfolding into nightfall, all the while he is looking up at the heavens staring contemplatively at the stars.
That too always gets me.
Posted by: Jordan at February 13, 2007 6:35 PM
The Simpson's episode that gets me weeping is the one where Lisa and Bart play hockey. Their teams are neck and neck and the whole town turns out to see who will win. It comes down to a penalty shot (Bart on Lisa) and as the crowd screams "Kill Bart!" and "Kill, Bart!" Bart and Lisa look across the ice at one another and a montage of brother/sister moments follows from their early years. They throw off their gloves and skate towards each other and hug, leaving the score at a tie. As the crowd tears the rink apart they skate off holding hands and say, "Great game, Lisa. Great game Bart." Gets me every time.
I must say that after reading these comments I'm gonna start watching Futurama.
I second, third or whatever the Where the Red Fern Grows. I was so so little when I saw that film and I will never forget it. Actually, I don't remember the film very well. Just the crying.
And, to add, I frequently well up during Battlestar Gallactica. Lots of moments. But I'm a big sap.
Posted by: Jessica at February 13, 2007 9:43 PM
DR. WHO!!!! Jesus, I cried my head off the other night watching the finale and that was NOT good for me, seeing as I have 3 cracked ribs.
Turner and Hooch: I only watch that movie so far before I turn it off and start chanting "and then they were happy forever."
Books - Where the Red Fern Grows. Don't know who mentioned it up there but that was the greatest book EVER when I was a kid. And I don't think I've cried so hard in my life. A teacher in my 5th grade class fucked up royally and read it to us in pieces over a week. Which left her with 30+ bawling 10 year olds.
Posted by: Sharon at February 13, 2007 10:52 PM
OH GOD, I completely forgot Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, when Harry comes back with Cedric's body and Mr. Diggory is clutching his son and screaming "My Boy!!"
Even my father teared up.
Posted by: Sharon at February 13, 2007 10:58 PM
The documentary Children of Beslan, about the Russian School seige, had me sobbing for hours.
Also I'm glad people mentioned A Little Princess! when I was a kid I would just lose it when her father didn't remember her.
Posted by: Emily at February 14, 2007 5:14 AM
The entire Green Mile. I know, I know. the entire movie is emotionally manipulative and designed to make you cry, but my god, if you don't end up a sobbing mess of snot and mucus by the end of it you're not human.
one particular scene, when Tom Hanks is asking John Koffey what he'll say to God on judgement.
I did indeed lose my shit.
Posted by: Rebecca at February 14, 2007 10:13 AM
Another one for Iron Giant. I wore out a VHS and bought the DVD. I'm a true cartoon addict and it's one of my absolute favorites.
Posted by: NeoCleo at February 14, 2007 2:34 PM
The Green Mile totally got me, too -- esp. when Barry Pepper's totally losing it during the execution.
I also forgot to mention the first movie that ever made me cry: Awakenings, that scene where Robert De Niro is having lunch w/ Penelope Ann Miller and he can no longer hide the fact that 1. he's a patient at the hospital and 2. he's degenerating back into a vegetative state. He's never danced with a girl before because he went all comatose when he was ten and he gets up at the end of lunch knowing that he'll never see her again.
As he turns to leave, she grabs his hand and pulls him close and starts slow-dancing with him, right in the middle of the cafeteria, despite the lack of music. By this time, he's lost his fine motor skills, so he can barely stay standing, but she keeps right on dancing with him and then a single tear trickles down her cheek.
Dude, I totally started tearing up just typing that out.
Posted by: Jelinas at February 14, 2007 2:57 PM
Reading this thread i have been reduced to some sniffles y'all and had to add some of my own;
I agree with EVERYONE who said Iron Giant('I go...you stay....no following' and then...'Superman' and he closes his eyes and ohh I'm off) The Band in Titanic, yeah, gone...the moment when Ioan Gruffod shines his torch over a frozen mother and baby...that got me too, its an obvious one but what ever .
Big Fish too, i watched that not long after my granddad had died fairly suddenly and at the end i was just a mess and demanded my mother(who's father my grandad was) never ever watch it.
The Futurama ep gets me, and it got my dad too which surprised me, he's only been affected by films and tv a few times and he got snuffly watching that.
I want to also ad the ep when we see Fry's life with his brother in flash backs and there's that bit when his brother names his son Philip and I cant help but think on his family's life after he went missing, I know they're cartoons but it just upset me.
Some one said Empire of the Sun and dude, gut punch of emotion right there...i mean that film, cos i've seen it so many times, gets me from the beginning now but that moment at the end when he doesn't know his mother, and the other one, the one that just stabs me in the SOUL is when he's on the roof watch the B-52 and is basically losing his mind and the doctor grabs him and Jim just stares into his eyes and his face crumples and he weeps 'i cant remember what my mother looks like'...i'm gettin the twitchy chin of emotion just thinking about it, why didn't Christian Bale get an oscar nom for that?!
The Scrubs moment made me gasp out loud the first time i saw it, that's one of the best things i've ever SEEN, i was inconsolable over it.
uhm....its come to my mind because i'm mentioning it to a friend, the film Friday Night Lights causes me to Lose my Shit in a serious way, especially the moment at the end where Garrett Hedlund (Billingsley?) is walking off the pitch and his dad who previously in the film has been an utter BASTARD to him, grabs him and you brace yourself for him to go nuts but he just slides the Championship ring on his finger and my withered heart is warmed as I cry and cry.
Another is...this will sound emo goth kid but I was this way the first time I saw it before I even understood what a film was, Edward Scissorhands makes me cry from, in no uncertain terms, beginning to end, from the moment that Elfman score comes sweeping in to 'I'm not finished' and 'he wouldn't wake up' to the barbecue to just...Ice Dance and 'Hold me' 'I Can't' I am a heap of useless emotion blubbering away.
People might go funny over this but, the moment of the attack in Pearl Harbour, I mean that film is ASS but the attack really happened, those men really died, I can NOT watch war films, I was sobbing during that sequence, right up until the plot got stupid with Ben and Josh saving the whole day.
The same goes for Saving Private Ryan when Giovanni Ribisi is shot and is trying to tell them how to save him even though he's beyond saving then he just loses it and is literally blubbering 'mom...mommy...mommy' in the wake of the story he told about pretending to be asleep when his mum would come home, I'm gone, again.
On that note the last scene of Band Of Brother where Damien Lewis is VO'ing about what happened to everyone after the war, that whole sequence really gets me but one moment in particular, when he talks about George Luz and how when he died 1500 people came to his funeral...the line comes over this beautiful shot of the actor laughing at something an I break down there and then.
There's another bit that doesn't get me crying because, they're Nazi's, but does make me feel emotional, when the German general is addressing his men for the last time and says the line 'band of brothers' and such and they show the American soldiers watching and its not subtle at all but damn it works. And then of course it fades into the surviving soldiers doing their interviews and there's one moment where I am...just a mess, when...I think it's the guy Damian Lewis played and he says about a letter he received where one of the other soldiers described his grandson asking 'where you a hero in the war?' and the old man tears up as he says 'to which I replied 'no...but I served in a company of heroes''
That moment always gets me and my little brother.
Green Mile leaves me hopeless.
A Time To Kill...all the way through that film is a rollercoaster of emotion but Matthew Maconaughey at the end is just...a force of nature, I cant watch that film near too many electric outlets in case I cause a fire.
I don't know if Americans will have seen this but there's a UK comedy here called Green Wing and while its comedy it's got some unbelievably sad moments, namely season two and the finale special, one moment in particular between Guy and Mac in the finale that had me hysterical.
Basically one of the main characters has found out he's dying and in the finale he has to tell one of his friends and...they way they do it, both characters are having a few beers and laughing and its really comfortable and feels very genuine and Mac, the one dying, just goes 'so, I'm dying' and the scene from that moment is the best moment on the run of the show.
I hate the Harry Potter movies but I have to agree the Cedric Diggory moment from the last one really moved me, I think Dan Radcliffe is in dire need of acting lessons but for that moment he was bloody impressive and I was genuinely surprised.
God there's so many but I keep drawing blanks! I don't like Doctor Who but the moment at the end of season two where Rose falls and the Doctor is screaming 'NOOO' that was such a powerful moment, David Tennant was SO into that scream.
Oh! Just came to me, in ER, when Mark died and Elizabeth had written the letter to tell people, I didn't cry when Carter read the letter, what got me was when we see Romano reading the letter and he's being all Romano and smirking at the letter like he doesn't care, then you can SEE when he gets to the note saying Mark is dead and does this double take and looks like the air has all gone out of him and walks away...THAT'S when I lost it.
I've read about a scene from Grey's anatomy where...actually this is a big spoiler so I wont say it but basically a character says a line about 'I cant imagine a world without **** in it' and I actually had to step away from my computer and sit and cry because when my grandmother died last year that's all I could think, I was amazed the world was still turning and she wasn't in it....weirdly at the exact moment I read that line, my play list had switched to My Chemical Romance's Helena which was written about their grandmother who passed away...it was a very strange moment.
And okay, Good Will Hunting, many moments but mainly the one towards the end when Robin Williams confronts Matt Damon with the abuse he suffered as a child and just says over and over again 'it wasn't your fault' and at first Matt's holding out but you can see him losing it and then he just breaks down...that right there, wrecks me.
My sister's talking to me about the HBO show Oz and thinking on it there's a good few moments in that that wrecked me, most of them from the infallible Dean Winters playing Ryan O'Rielly, usually involving his little brother Cyril (Scott Winters)
One that really staggered me was when a priest forces Ryan to admit he had a little sister and saw their father shake her to death and Ryan punches the shit out of the priest then cant even stand up or speak he's crying so hard.
The fact they follow that scene up with one of Ryan confronting his father and assuring him that if he(Ryan) ever gets out of prison he'll kill the bastard, makes it one of the better sequences in the shows fine run.
That's all the ones I can think of for now, if I try to remember more I might have a nervous breakdown!
Great post, great clips.
Posted by: nadine at February 14, 2007 6:39 PM
One scene that got me was in Saving Private Ryan: Mrs. Ryan washing dishes in her Iowa farmhouse, seeing the car turn up her road. Walking outside, collapsing on the porch when the army sarge and the priest get out.
Also the final scene from Field of Dreams.
I guess it's an Iowa theme!
Posted by: Jana at February 14, 2007 10:59 PM
Shawshank Redemption.
"I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams.
I hope."
God, I choke up just typing it.
Posted by: lex at February 15, 2007 12:48 AM
I love crying, so I will make sure to compile a list of all of these and watch them...
YES to whoever mentioned The Children's Hour, Shadowlands, and AI... I didn't even know anyone in this day and age watched Children's, best Audrey Hepburn acting EVER in my opinion. Shadowlands when they're in the attic and "I miss her, I miss her too" and they hold onto each other and cry? Anthony Hopkins crying... Jesus. And I know AI is such crap, but GOD it gets to me.
The Marselliase scene of Casablanca is SO GOOD and never mentioned because everyone always talks about the ending... which is good but loses its punch when you've seen clips from it before you've even watched it. Vive le France!
Why hasn't Braveheart gotten a shout-out yet? When they're torturing him and they think he's going to say "mercy" to get a quick death but instead uses his last dying breath to shout, "FREEDOM!" Forget people that support the Iraq war, THAT is patriotism. And when he sees his wife walking toward him in the crowd... and drops the handkerchief in which he kept the thistle she gave him... GODDDD.
West Side Story? When they start singing "Somewhere" together as he bleeds to death on the blacktop, she realizes he's dead, and her voice cracks? And the whole "how many bullets, Chino" monologue? And "te adoro, Anton"? Seriously, people!
Lastly, AMERICAN BEAUTY. The montage at the end--when even though he's been murdered, he talks about how he isn't mad about it. And that he still loves his estranged wife. I love the idea that "I had always heard your entire life flashes in front of your eyes the second before you die. First of all, that one second isn't a second at all, it stretches on forever, like an ocean of time." And then when the wife realizes he's dead and goes into his closet and starts hugging his coats? Most wrenching scene ever. And the last few lines? "I can't feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life... You have no idea what I'm talking about, I'm sure. But don't worry... you will someday." I have so many people in my life that have "no idea," but will some day. It kills me that they can't realize it now. Reminds me of "Our Town," never translatable into film because it's such a play--"Goodbye, clocks ticking, and new dresses. Oh earth, you're too wonderful for anyone to realize you."
In that vein, books that made me cry the second I stopped reading them, even in the middle of English class: Our Town, A Separate Peace, Of Mice and Men, ETHAN FROME. And practically all funeral poetry.
Posted by: Francie at February 15, 2007 9:28 AM
Speaking of funeral poetry, the scene where Matthew reads the W.H. Auden poem at Gareth's service in Four Weddings and a Funeral always gets me.
Posted by: haughty at February 15, 2007 10:39 AM
What about Fahrenheit 911? Maybe it doesn't belong on this list, but I've never cried so hard and so openly in a movie theater.
Posted by: oaklandcat at February 7, 2007 02:38 AM
I too cried at F 9/11, I especially bawled my eyes out when the Congressional Black Caucus stood up to protest the vote in Congress and not one white Dem Senator would stand up. It's when I realized our democracy was dying a painful death.
Posted by: clevelandchick at February 15, 2007 3:49 PM
How could I forget the scene in "Norma Rae" where Sally Field holds up the "Union" sign and everybody stops their machines? Misty even thinking about it.
I've been trying to think of good TV moments. I must admit to some teariness at the finale of "Sex and the City": first, when Miranda's nanny says "You love" to her after Miranda bathes Steve's mother; second, when Charlotte looks at the picture of the little Asian girl she and her husband are adopting and she starts crying and says "That's her...that's our baby." KILLS ME EVERY TIME.
Posted by: Samantha T at February 15, 2007 5:39 PM
I forgot one yesterday, The Truman Show, the scene in the storm kill sme because whats his name, the guy who was in sideways, when he's openly crying refusing to kill Truman, that starts me off, but the very end, when he hits the wall and its false and he just goes inSANE literally railing against the heavens and his creator and just the whole 'THING' of the idea of man and this supposedly kind benevolent creator who when you get down to it is just a bastard at the core of him....Im not particularly religious,but i was raised a catholic and decided i prefer to think...agnostically..if that would be the right way to describe it...anyway, that scene just really got to me in that way for some reason, Jim Carrey just....amazing.
Posted by: nadine at February 15, 2007 6:17 PM
Honestly? Swing Kids. When RSL opens one of the boxes he's been delivering and realizes it contains ashes. Also when his little brother is running after the truck at the end.
Posted by: Liz at February 16, 2007 12:54 PM
If you really want to cry, there's a great Korean film called The Way Home. If you're like me, you will be drained of all emotion by the time it's over.
Posted by: Whoever at February 16, 2007 3:55 PM
I cry at movies all the time, so this list kills me. I'm surprised, though, that no one has mentioned "The Sea Inside", which is based on the true story of a man who petitions the Spanish courts for the right to kill himself after a life of paralysis and the subsequent demands on his family. The final scene is absolutely gut-wrenching in its reality.
Also, does anyone else cry at that frakkin' Pedigree commercial with the dogs in cages and the narrator saying something like "I don't know why I'm here, but I know I'm a good dog and I want to go home"? I cry just typing about it and MUST change the channel the instant it appears.
Posted by: Meritae at February 16, 2007 4:15 PM
I've (thankfully) never seen that Pedigree commercial, but just reading your write-up made me a little misty. I've got a real big soft-spot for animals (don't even get me started on Benji: The Hunted).
Posted by: bartap at February 20, 2007 12:26 PM
Pan's Labyrinth. The last scene. I can't say what happened because that would spoil it, but I bawled like a baby.
Star Wars Episode III. No, none of the Anakin/Padme stuff, and yes, I realize it wasn't the best of the saga (Episode V is, but we're getting off track here), but it was at the very end: Owen and Beru look out at the binary sunset, you hear the same music that played when Luke watches the two suns in New Hope, and then I completely lost it.
Star Wars Episode VI. Very end. Need I say more?
Little Miss Sunshine. The scene where Olive's brother finds out that he's colorblind. Tugs right at the heartstrings.
Stand By Me. I don't exactly know when I started crying, but damn, that movie left me weeping for hours.
Posted by: Random Girl at February 20, 2007 7:45 PM
Frankenstein. The monster is just such a tragic figure that he gets me teary no matter how bad the version is.
Truly, Madly, Deeply. Gawd, Juliet Stevenson is the best weeper ever.
Phantom of the Opera. I wasn't thrilled with the movie, but it still got me.
I have to agree with so many of the above listed ones that they are too numerous to get all of them, but LotR, The Neverending Story and Edward Scissorhands all evoke tears from me.
The rest of my list is older...much older, for the most part.
Most Audrey Hepburn movies. From Roman Holiday (when she tells her handler not to presume to tell her about duty), to Sabrina (when she tells Humphrey Bogart that she won't be able to stay and make dinner)et cetera.
Suddenly, Last Summer
There are so many more, but I'll spare you the rest
Posted by: evie at February 21, 2007 10:37 PM
dancer in the dark. both my husband and i cried in the theatre, but managed to pull ourselves together and get to the car. we drove somewhere to get dinner but we both started crying again when we got to the parking lot and had to sit in the car for something like 15 minutes before we could go in. I have absolutely never had anything like that happen before or since and i don't think i could ever see that movie again. On the plus side david morse was amazing in it.
Posted by: mcm at February 22, 2007 2:33 PM
The whole build up in the Abyss when Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio has to drown on purpose in order for Ed Harris to swim with her back to the rig and try to recucitate her. Oh my god. I love it!!
Posted by: Natalie at February 22, 2007 2:44 PM
wow, i'm so glad to no that i wasn't the only one to cry in that futurama episode about the dog, I thought that was the saddest thing ever. and I loved the wonder years so much when i was a kid! good choices.
Posted by: leanna at February 23, 2007 1:20 AM
(BSG Season 2 spoiler below--not that this entire comments section hasn't been a big blast o' inevitable, totally excusable spoilers.)
People are reminding me about BattleStar Galactica. I didn't cry but I did well in shock at the outcome of S2, when the Cylons force them to surrender. God.
(Sharon--Turner and Hooch--I will have to man up and admit it to the world that the ending of that one got to me, big time. A basket of puppies was no balm.)
Posted by: ranylt at February 23, 2007 1:24 PM
"Also, does anyone else cry at that frakkin' Pedigree commercial with the dogs in cages and the narrator saying something like "I don't know why I'm here, but I know I'm a good dog and I want to go home"? I cry just typing about it and MUST change the channel the instant it appears."
Oh good Lord, my boyfriend and I cry every damn time that comes on! Fuck, I feel a lump coming on right now. And as he pointed out it doesn't help that they picked the fucking cutest dogs ever to be in that advert.
Posted by: em at February 24, 2007 3:01 AM
My Addition to the List: Let me prefice this by saying, like Dead Poets Society, I suspect this movie is not a deep masterpiece. Also, Last I saw it I was 15 years old. But the movie "Joy Luck Club" makes me sob horribly.
Posted by: MKane at February 24, 2007 9:39 PM
One movie moment which always makes me cry is the scene from Lilo and Stitch, where Stitch goes away by himself, while Lilo's sister sings the song about family to her.
Posted by: Cristina at February 25, 2007 2:08 AM
reading some of these newer comments im a mess all over again, THANKS GUYS you bastards!!!!!
I want to add now, cos i watched it last night and genuinely lost my shit in a weirdly sympathetic blood thirsty kind of way, Jarhead, when the colonel steals the ONLY kills Swoff and Troy are going to get from the both of them.
Troy, who has until that point been Mr Laconic cool dude, just completely loses his mind, goes NUTS, screaming in anger then breaking down in body wracking sobs...Peter Sarsgaard IS going to win alot of oscars some day and that is the sort of thing that will win them for him.
I watched it about a dozen times cos i was such a mess that i had no idea what was going and had to compose myself before i carried on.
And oh my GOD some one mentioned The Neverending Story, i was saying to my friend just the other day(she's never seen it!!!!) the scene when Atreyu's horse dies...just thinking about it chokes me up.
And some one said they dont know when exactly they start crying in Stand By Me, i have to agree!!
Some times i know one of the first things that sets me off, when the dude makes Corey Feldman cry but its not till they're walking away that he's just sobbing and River Phoenix has just thrown his arm round his shoulders while the smaller boy weeps, from there im past the point of no return.
I agree with Phantom of the Opera(movie and stage) those songs, tha anguish in the voice of the Phantom...oy vey!!
One that gets me every time is in a film called The Prime Gig, starring Vince Vaughn, Rory Cochrane(my favourite actor of all time, which reminds me, Right At Your Door, also, kills me to death) and Ed Harris, any way in Prime Gig there's a scene where Rory's character, who has MS or something and relies on Vince for, basically everything, has run off, gone on a bender, and returns to Vince's home beaten a mess.
I get misty eyed there and then cos Rory's in such a state that Vince is actually crying in shock at seeing his friend so hurt.
Vince carries him upstairs and is tryna clean him up in the bath and Rory basically breaks down while Vince does the same and its just a quiet, sad little moment that tugs at the heartstrings.
Then at the end, Vince walks out and we see that Rory has finally gotten himself cleaned up and is trying to pull his weight around the apartment, he's wearing a nice suit, he's trying to cook some dinner, but he doesnt realise Vince's world has just fallen apart. Vince leaves and the shot of Rory sat in his clean little suit just breaks my heart.
There's a few TV ones that have sprung to mind to, uhm, CSI NY, season 2, the ep where Aidan dies, kills me, and the ep where Danny's brother is beaten into a coma and he walks outside to have a small nervous breakdown in front of Mac prompting Mac to pull him into a manly man hug...heart breaking.
CSI Miami season 2 when Wally the CSI wannabe has died and Caine tells Speed(Rory again)...another scene that lays me out.
im a much more emotional person than i realised...
Posted by: nadine at February 25, 2007 11:40 AM
Oh, I just love movies. Although I am rarely, actually shedding tears here are some moments that had me out of breath and stuck with me for days:
The Hours - almost all scenes with Julianne Moore, I don't know why. Especially when she lies down in the hotel room and the water starts flowing in and she's seeming to drown (or wanting to drown?). In a weird way, I could totally relate to that.
Life is beautiful - the last scene (spoiler) when the father is about to be executed but knows that his son is still watching so he walks all funny to make it look like it's just a big game until the very end. And the ending, when the kid sees a tank of the liberating army and has the feeling this ist his "winner's prize" It killed me.
Also: Eternal sunshine - all of it! My freaking favourtite love story of all time!!!! As mentioned already, especially that scene where Jim Carrey says he wants to keep just this one memory...
Crash - the scene in the car when the cop saves the woman he just abused the day before. So constructed, I know, and I did feel manipulated. But the genuine terror and emotion, the moment... I didn't know Thandie Newton could actually act that well.
A.I. - cheesy overall, but the movie should have ended before the aliens-resurrect-the mother-for just-one-day-crap. The scene that stuck in my mind was when the robot-kid is underwater and finally finds his fairy and it's just an old statue from an entertainment park. And he just sits there and begs her for his wish and you could just imagine him sitting there for all eternity... All reminiscent of my favourite book as a child: Pinocchio, only w/o the happy ending but all cold, and lonely... The movie schould have just ended there. Everything else was just bull...
And FINALLY the only movie I ever cried tears at (seriously, but I was a kid then, so I guess it's an excuse) The Neverending Story, when Artax dies in the swamp. And the last scene, when Atreju visits what's left of the Palace and sees pictures of everyone that died since he started his mission and a picture of his horse is among them... My mother wanted to leave the movie early with me b/c I was so upset. Thanks for reminding me of that one...
So, that's it. I'm not a crybaby but I love being moved by a movie. Have a lot of other favourite moments, but that's another story. Thanks for the great review and the comments: isn't that why we all watch movies in the first place?
Posted by: rockchick at February 28, 2007 6:57 AM
Who loves to boogie?
Bolan loves to boogie, the Bolan boogie, the cosmic boogie!
Posted by: electric_warrior at March 2, 2007 2:34 PM
Man, I'm glad you included the West Wing stuff. I think that episode is the best 45 minutes of television ever produced...
Other weepy moments? Rudy (I grew up in an ND family and graduated from there, so I can't help myself) for sure.
The movie that fucked me up the most, though, was Lilya 4-ever. A couple people mentioned it but seriously, I still have nightmares about this movie sometimes. It affects you in ways unthought of previously. The Magdalene Sisters did similar things... especially the scene where one of the girls gets her hair cut, a simple thing, but the rage in her eyes just had me over the edge.
Posted by: senior at March 3, 2007 10:47 PM
Absolutely everything you said about the Six Feet Under finale was exactly what I came in here to say if you didn't post it. It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen in any form of media and was most definitely the most I have ever cried from a movie or tv show (the electric chair execution in the Green Mile was pretty close though). I think it was the best conclusion to any television show ever. I can't even watch it again. I've only seen it the one time and then I kinda went into a crying coma and slept for a day. It's insane. I love that clip forever. Thank you so much for including it. Much love for Pajiba.
Posted by: Mary DC at March 5, 2007 8:12 PM
I am sorry to say but the ending to Braveheart Gets me every time.....
Posted by: ScottishPilot at March 8, 2007 1:11 PM
I'm glad to see Six Feet Under on there but I would've gone with Lisa's burial as the tear-jerkiest scene from that show.
Posted by: Jarred at March 8, 2007 2:28 PM
Totally agree with the ending of SFU ... it took me awhile to calm down after that one.
I also had trouble with the episode where George was receiving shock treatments.
A big yes to the previous mentions of L.A. Story, What Dreams May Come, BTVS - when she has to kill Angel and the Sarah McLachland music follows, when Wash dies in Serenity, Big Fish, and the Green Mile
I have to add the hokey but tear jerking, Fried Green Tomatoes, too
And another one that hasn't been mentioned here yet - the last episode of Millenium Season 2 (never should have made a Season 3) where Kathryn goes off into the woods to die.
Posted by: Myst at March 8, 2007 5:48 PM
The next to the last scene in "The Mighty." Gets me every time.
Posted by: NOYB at March 13, 2007 12:44 PM
Man, I can't believe someone got Our Town in before I did! That scene where Emily is dead, but is revisting a very typical day in the life of her family kills me. Especially when after looking at her young mother she talks about not realising her mother was ever that young. It is especially poignant for me (and probably anyone) as my parents are older. And when she says goodbye to everything like coffee, and waking up- oh, man, if that doesn't make you want to cling on to life with both hands, I don't know what will.
Some of these posts have really had me welling up- and I had forgotton about Where the Red Fern Grows! We had the exact same scene in class- 25 blubbering 7 year olds with serious emotional issues.
So here are a couple new ones I was surprised no one mentioned-
When Pony Boy reads Johnny's letter in the Outsiders. Oh. my. god. Stay Gold indeed.
When Bambi's mother died.
The 'he's her lobster' bit in Friends- the look on Ross' face at the end of Monica and Rachel's getting-ready-for-prom video. Am I lame to have that affect me so much?
In Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, which is my favourite film of all time, there are a few things that get me welling up- like when the boys are upset after Priscilla is vandalised. But a good cry comes when Tick's son Benji questions Adam/Felicia about whether he has a boyfriend. It always makes me cry because of Benji's attitude- he's got to be the coolest kid in the world. And of course I well up a bit when Bernadette decides to stay with Bob. Fantastic.
In My Girl at the funeral when she asks the dead Thomas to play. Oh man I am a quivering wreck.
Mr. Holland's Opus- god, I love teacher films, but they make me blubber like a baby.
I'll leave it at that- I can't take any more and the lump in my throat is massive. I am such a wuss.
Posted by: AJG at March 14, 2007 8:45 AM
Also, does anyone else cry at that frakkin' Pedigree commercial with the dogs in cages and the narrator saying something like "I don't know why I'm here, but I know I'm a good dog and I want to go home"? I cry just typing about it and MUST change the channel the instant it appears.
Posted by: Meritae at February 16, 2007 4:15 PM
OH MY GOD!! I thought I was the only one! I start crying every time that commercial comes on, and my friends were giving me shit about it when I told them... but come on! How heartbreaking is that?
Posted by: sephorablue at March 17, 2007 1:14 AM
The two parts in Jacob's Ladder that are devastating and get me every single time are at the end when Jacob sits down on the couch and hears his doctor's voice in his head and then the following scene where he walks up the stairs.
Posted by: Jarred at March 17, 2007 5:34 PM
I'll start by repeating the very first comment. Only, it was more like 5 minutes.
Second in list, who am I, or who is anyone, to come here and criticise such a beautifully compiled list? Of course there are some stuff I won't understand, but I'm not you, and for the same reason, there are things I'd include any day (like a moment in "Powder" or even some sequence when the music says it all in a film).
But, third and final, I almost lost my shit just for seeing you've included moments of "The West Wing", the last episode of "Wonder Years" and, particularly, "In America". About this last one, I once came to think I was the only person in the world who actually thought this movie was truly lovable, to the extent that I bought the DVD, watched it again, weeped all over again and JUST ABOUT EVERY-SINGLE-FUCKING-BODY has been asking me why I did all these things ever since.
Posted by: Gargumma at March 18, 2007 5:09 AM
On the cartoon theme, I'm not sure how this works in international waters and if it meets the criteria of "last 20 years" (I think it doesn't), but where I live it's a consensus.
One of the most emotional moments of the 80s happened in an episode of the Japanese cartoon "Don Dracula", when a baby panda and a baby tiger(?) are killed. One of them is about to be shot and the other jumps the bullet to no avail. And kids everywhere got *extremely* troubled after that.
Posted by: Gargumma at March 18, 2007 8:19 PM
There is one movie that has been banned from my house - 'Bambi' - need I say more!
Posted by: Julia Morris at May 4, 2007 6:07 PM
Oh my god, I have that horrid pressure ache behind my forehead that will just keep building until I eventually start sobbing, but I've got to get these picks out first!
Awakenings (when Robin Williams' character is forced to stop his amazingly successful treatment on formerly catatonic patients and he watches them slip back into themselves, I sob so hard I shake.)
Edward Scissorhands (I've seen this one mentioned a couple of times in the comments - such a weeper. Just thinking about Edward living for eternity in that cold mansion on the hill while the only woman who understood him, who loved him, grew old and had a family of her own without him...god damn you, Tim Burton!)
Babe: Pig in the City (It's more manipulative than the first one, but that doesn't mean it doesn't work. When Babe comes across a band of starving, homeless dogs and cats and the little puppy says, "My owner put me in a bag and threw me in the river" in that plaintive little voice, a little part of me dies inside thinking that people really do sometimes treat animals that way, and that's exactly how confused an animal might be at being put in that situation.)
Independence Day, Armageddon, Twister (not so much the scenes that are supposed to be weepy, but because I once dated a guy who was really into the whole home theatre thing. Every time we'd watch one of those big budget blockbusters he'd BLARE the sound. As stupid as these movies may have been, the scenes of natural disasters, deadly meteorites and alien invaders played at such a volume in complete surround sound was a totally jarring experience - I remember shaking with tears at the enormity of it all, how it felt like it was right in the room with me.)
Buffy and Angel (take your pick of any one where relationships are broken, family is lost, friendships are ruined, love is trampled all over and destroyed in truly spectacular fashion...oh yeah, every freaking episode! (I miss the Buffyverse so bad.))
Shaun of the Dead (when David is screaming at Shaun to kill his mum, who was bitten by a zombie, because she'll return as a zombie and kill them all...the look on Simon Pegg's face as he's handed the gun and looks over to see her sitting up...gah, I need to go get some Kleenex.
I'm a relatively new Pajiba convert - it's great to find such a website with so many well thought out, articlate articles (and so many well thought out, articulate comments. Such a refreshing change from the usual assortment of "FIRST!!!"s that I see all over other sites' comment boards.)
Oh, and my husband just chimed in with The Professional and The Fifth Element. Luc Besson whore!
Posted by: Sandra at May 5, 2007 11:33 PM
i'm glad to see that i'm not the only one who chokes up a little during that scene in jerry mcguire. tacky, but so well done.
Posted by: jeffrey at May 28, 2007 5:10 PM
Moments from Veronica Mars that had me bauling almost always involved Keith and Veronica.
1: When Keith tells Veronica that he is her biological father. "That's genetics, baby!" Amazing
2: "Who's your Daddy?" ..."You are" This wasn't even a sad scene, but their love just resonates here.
3: When Veronica believes her Dad has been exploded.
4: When Veronica tells Lianne she has to leave before Keith returns, and she pleads "It's not easy, Veronica!" Killer...
Posted by: Vince Noir at June 11, 2007 7:27 PM
OH! And I forgot Veronica placing her futile vote for her father in the *sniff* series finale. Never have I seen such pure love and commitment on TV.
Ohhh, The Wonder Years. I can't believe it's not on AT ALL anymore...
I've gotta say, I get more choked up in Eternal Sunshine right at the very end, but choked up in a happy way. Just that very last part when she pauses and looks at him and says "okay" and then they start laughing. Admittedly, I am a bit of a sap, but that really does make me lose my shit.
Posted by: noxbu at June 14, 2007 5:53 PM
Just started reading this site last week and think it is excellent. Did not manage to read all above comments so if I'm repeating then sorry.
Loved the Brendan Fraiser episode of Scrubs but was just as touched when Dr Cox was trying to drink himself to death and JD talked him out of it. The pat on the back and non use of a girls name was great and very emotional.
Jerry Mcguire was a great movie - although it melted my then girlfriends heart and is largly respoonsible for a romantic night that somehome led to her now being my wife. There are so many other reasons to hate Tom Cruise but I'm sticking with that one.
Posted by: James R at June 18, 2007 5:41 AM
Like you, I had a major breakdown during the Six Feet Under finale. I've never cried that much in my entire life. And now I just watched it again - damn you, I am a mess.
this is my first visit to your site, and after reading several of your lists, whether counting down songs, books, or movies, you guys are really spot on. going through this list i couldnt stop thinking "the seaosn finale of Six Feet Under better be on this freaking thing" and, to my delight, it was. im not a big movie crier. In fact, id say that the only movie that ive actually cried in was Moulin Rouge (shut up, its a great movie). However, when i got to the last 30 minutes of SFU i was bawling uncontrolably. and "breathe me" in the background did not help at all. to this day i still start to cry when i hear that stupid song. i cried harder then than i have ever cried in my life. like, in response to REAL things, as opposed to fictional. i just wanted to say that i am extremely happy that you included SFU in your list, because sadly, i feel that it is often overlooked.
Posted by: nan at June 21, 2007 6:11 PM
Wow what a title. I lost my shit watching that quasi-corny Robin Williams journal through heaven and hell flick, What Dreams May Come. Totally lost it. That and My Dog Skip.
Posted by: Tara at June 27, 2007 8:57 PM
journey. Oops.
Posted by: tara at June 27, 2007 8:58 PM
speaking of Six Feet Under's final episode, was it just me or was Brenda's death the perfect comic relief during that montage? Billy finally talked her to death. Perfect. To quote Dolly Parton (yes, I am) from one of Sally Field's tear jerkers "Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion."
Posted by: vorpal at June 28, 2007 1:37 PM
Some good moments here, especially the West Wing episode. Every time I'm absolutely transfixed from the moment they drive to the Cathedral to the line "watch this" and his hands go into his pockets. Big time chills. If only politics was this profound.
Four other moments that always get to me:
Fahrenheit 9/11 when the mother breaks down and says no parent should have to bury their child. That's not scripting, that's as real as it gets.
MASH - the death of Colonel Blake when Radar tells them.
Finally two Michael Mann moments. The Last of the Mohicans when Uncas dies and Alice decides to jump instead of being a slave. First time I seen it I found myself quietly mouthing "do it...jump" then immediately thought "Where the hell did that come from?" All set to music with not a word mentioned, but for the cry of anguish from Cora.
The Insider, about two hours in when Russel Crowe tells Al Pacino that he wants his daughters to know why he's putting them through all this. Then quietly with around five minutes to go he's in the kitchen just listening to the 60 Minutes report, the oldest daughter turns and looks at him with a small smile of recognition, unbeknownst to him.
A lot of death on my list :)
Posted by: Rogue Cheddar at July 12, 2007 8:21 AM
This is one that hits me very hard. Outside of that damned Scrubs clip, which always makes me tear up. The end of "A River Runs Through It" is so very good and so very sad. An excellent movie with great camera work and good acting.
I highly recommend it if you have not seen it.
Posted by: Melody at July 30, 2007 3:51 PM
This is one that hits me very hard. Outside of that damned Scrubs clip, which always makes me tear up. The end of "A River Runs Through It" is so very good and so very sad. An excellent movie with great camera work and good acting.
I highly recommend it if you have not seen it.
Posted by: Melody at July 30, 2007 3:52 PM
The WH Auden poem read out at the funeral in four weddings and a funeral....
Posted by: derfelcadarn at July 31, 2007 11:44 PM
Also, the episode of ER where Mark Greene dies, with somewhere over the rainbow playing - i cried like a little girl for about an hour......
Posted by: derfelcadarn at August 4, 2007 7:10 PM
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i haven't even read the damn post yet...i laughed for 30 seconds after reading the title. THIS is why i come here...