I’ve mentioned a few times that there are only 2 movie moments that have ever made me cry… yes I’m man enough to admit it. I’ve never gotten choked up at the normal things that get others emotional over. Romance scenes or scenes of sadness never get to me… don’t get me wrong, I like and appreciate those scenes when they work for the movies they’re in, but on an emotional level they don’t actually get me choked up.
No, the things that get me choked up, or even make me cry (remember, just two times ever… grrrrrr… I’m a manly man) are the scenes in films that effectively portray or show amazing acts of kindness. Yeah, i know that sounds weird, but it’s true.
For example, one of the movie scenes that made me actually cry (grrrrr… manly man) was one of the last scenes in “My Best Friend’s Wedding”. No, it wasn’t the wedding that got to me. No it wasn’t the fact that Julia Roberts didn’t get to marry the man she loved. It was the scene where Roberts is at the wedding and is on the phone with her gay best friend (played brilliantly by Rupert Everett) who lives across the country because she’s hurting a bit and needs to talk to him. The catch is she realizes that he was there at the wedding too. He traveled across the country to be there just in case she needed him. Yes international friends, a friend flying across the country to be there for his friend made me cry. Shut up.
What can I say. The things that really get to me are acts that show the capacity of humanity to show beauty and kindness. Not romance. Not sadness. Not puppies.
The reason this sort of came up today is because last night I was up late and flipping through the TV stations when I came across a TV show called “Extreme Home Makeover”. You know the show? It’s the one where Ty Pennington (used to be on that “Trading Spaces” show) and a team of people find a needy family, tear down their house and build them a brand new one.
Ok, here’s the story of the episode last night. This family of a mom and 4 kids had their father suddenly die 6 months earlier unexpectedly. Apparently the whole community just loved this guy and he was a great husband and father. The thing is, the house was terrible and ready to fall apart, and with the dad suddenly gone, the family was also in a bit of a financial crisis. You had a mom at her wits end who was trying to support, raise and comfort her kids all while still dealing with the grief of losing her husband and trying to make ends meet at the same time. It was a moving story.
So in comes the “home makeover” team, send her and her kids on a week long vacation, tear down her house, get hundreds of volunteers together, tear down their house and build a completely brand new BEAUTIFUL house fully furnished with sentimental pieces from the old house scattered throughout the new house including a big portrait of the family when the dad was still alive. When the family was brought back “home” and shown their new house, they all just broke down into tears. Not the stupid annoying happy dance that people with money do when they win some game show… real tears. Tears from a family that had been though so much, struggled so much, lost so much… and suddenly out of nowhere where shown an incredible act of kindness that was really going to change their lives.
I won’t lie to you… I cried like a freaking chick watching Leo sink at the end of Titanic. I hated myself for crying… but I cried (shut up, I’ll punch you in the face).
Now here’s the thing. There are a lot of movies with heroes. Movies with characters showing acts of bravery or heroism or doing good. But where are the films that show the random acts of kindness that display the best in humanity? I for one would like to see more movies that center around these types of things. Granted, it’s not as exciting as Iron Man taking out tanks or the Joker pushing a guy’s face down on a pencil (which are both awesome by the way), but it’s still something that I think there is a lack of in movies today.
Off the top of my head (and I’ve only thought about this for a few minutes) I can only really think of one example of this sort of thing in a movie. In “As Good As It Gets” Helen Hunt plays a mom with a sick son who can’t afford to get him the sort of medical attention he needs and his condition seems to just get worse and worse. Then, along comes Jack Nicholson who arranges for a top notch doctor to personally go and care for her son and cure him. Now granted, Jack had an ulterior motive because he wanted Hunt to be at work to serve him breakfast (he has a mental illness that makes him NEED routine), but still it was sweet. A woman trapped who was set free by an act of unexpected kindness. I love it.
So where are these movies? I’m sure there are SOME others out there that have this type of theme that just aren’t coming to me off the top of my head. So tell me folks… what are some other movies that have this type of theme or scenes in them that you think might choke me up (Grrrrrr).
86 Comments, Comment or Ping
HDpunk
how about the ending of, Its a Wonderful Life? that gets me every time
Jan 2nd, 2009
John
Excellent example HDPunk
Jan 2nd, 2009
HDpunk
“Remember, no man is a failure who has friends”
Jan 2nd, 2009
Phil Gee
It’s funny you mention Iron Man because, just as an example, remember when Tony Stark removes his original artificial heart and tells Pepper Potts to dump it, then later finds it mounted with a plaque that reads “proof that Tony Stark has a heart”. I found that so sweet.
I also watched ‘Monsters Inc’ last night and there’s a wonderful bit at the end where Mike presents Sully with the secret door to Boo that was thrown in a wood chipper and he had to piece it back together again, and you see his hands are all cut up; awwwwwwww.
There are all sorts of examples John. You just have to know where to look.
Jan 2nd, 2009
HAZMAT
i dotn cry at sad moments or at moments were kindness is shown, extremely romantic moments are the ones that trigger my tears
like the wall-e scene with eva
but the only movie that ALWAYS makes me cry no matter WHAT is ghost
i love ghost
Jan 2nd, 2009
HAZMAT
JUST the theme song from ghost makes me cry…remember the scene where whoopy goldberg changes bodies or whatever with the ghost of patrick swayze and starts hugging his wife?
or the part where theyre makign that pot
well the song playin in those scenes makes me straight up cry
sad moments or kind moments just make me angry at people. titanic didnt make me cry it made me angry at all the rich pricks that lived
and the scene where patrick swayze gives his wife a penny also got me
Jan 2nd, 2009
Mr. Chris
A more obscure example, but I really love the ending to “Kingpin.” The whole movie is about the ugliness of this guy’s character. Yet, by the end, all of his experiences end up bringing out the best in him. Then the Amish have a party. I love it.
Jan 2nd, 2009
Rorschach
Pursuit of Happiness always makes me tear up when Smith receives the job he had fought so hard for.
Jan 2nd, 2009
AARON
i tear up some times in flicks (it’s not funny Hazmat, lol)
if a movie can get in touch with any emotion, it’s done it’s job.
oh crap do i dare mention which movie i cried in……..Benjamin Button
hey that movie was pretty sad towards the end
Jan 2nd, 2009
astrocreep
I agree with Rorschach, when Will Smith got the job after all he had gone through I cried like a baby. that was a very touching moment.
Jan 2nd, 2009
Mr. Chris
Would the Future Council scene in “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure” count? There’s no acts of random kindness, but listening to the music and seeing the people of the world living in perfect harmony and playing air guitars gives me goosebumps every time.
Jan 2nd, 2009
leeloo
contact.
when fosters character meets the alien.
Jan 2nd, 2009
Scott
Pay It Forward is all about acts of kindness (also with Helen Hunt!).
I’m a total sympathy crier. If I see someone, on screen or in real life, dealing with an emotional moment, even if their emotional moment means nothing to me, I cry.
No manly man award for me, unless admitting it publicly counts in the voting!
What gets me the most though are father/child moments, even if it’s an adult child. The ending of Armageddon when Bruce Willis takes Ben Affleck’s place gets me every time.
Jan 2nd, 2009
alfie
benjamin button - towards the end…..dont want to be a spoiler guy but it involves his ultimate decision towards the end of the film. have to admit it got pretty dusty in the theater…..
Jan 2nd, 2009
HAZMAT
SHAME on all of you for not mentioning the 2 hour crying fest that the lion king was
Jan 2nd, 2009
John
In “Joy Luck Club”, seeing the things mothers were doing for their family got me pretty good.
Jan 2nd, 2009
rafa1215
Believe it or not the movie Click with Adam Sandler. My father just died right before the movie came out. Watching Sandler interact with his dad in the movie just got me. Thank God I watched this at home and alone. I really had a good cry. I’ve never cried like that ever since then.
Jan 2nd, 2009
Dink
When Mel Gibson is getitng his nuts chopped off in Braveheart. That would make any man cry.
Jan 2nd, 2009
Mel
The ending (or rather the whole movie) of “Life is Beautiful” is a perfect example for this kind of kindness.
Jan 2nd, 2009
sfsilver
I love that you cried to Extreme Home Makeover. I don’t make a habit of watching it, but have seen it on a ferw occasions and it is a weeper for sure. Get’s me every time. I’m an easy cry though.
My most embarrassing cry confession came when I decided to give check out the Notebook one night on cable. I had avoided it when it played in the theaters, it just looked like bottom of the barrel drivel, and it pretty much was, but it made me cry out loud! My roommate came into the living room to see if something horrible had happened because I was actually making crying noises. I felt like such a sucker. Totally manipulated by the director.
Jan 2nd, 2009
Kristina
The end of Wall-E destroyed me. “Eva? Eva!”
Oh, Phil Gee…Monsters, Inc! When Sully says goodbye to Boo and you see the tears in his eyes…I lost it.
Mufasa’s death in The Lion King.
Valerie’s letter in V For Vendetta.
The end of Moulin Rouge.
And this one is a strange one, but I always cry at the end of T2 when Arnie gives the thumbs-up:)
Jan 2nd, 2009
Kate
Oh my goodness. I fall apart in almost any happy, sad, whatever movie.
‘A Little Princess’ - This is the first movie I cried during (I was like seven or something) and I still can’t talk about it without getting choked up. 1910s, New York, Sara’s at boarding school, but she loses her fortune and position when her father is killed in the war. She has to work as a maid with whoserface from ‘The Lost World’, but she still keeps her spirits up and is still nice and generous with the other girls. Sara finds out her father isn’t really dead and he’s living next door with no memory of what’s happened. Miss Minchin (school mistress and total bitch) discovers their servants quarters full of gifts from their neighbor (who’s also taking care of Sara’s father). She’s convinced they’re stolen and goes to call the police. Sara escapes next door, finds her father, but he doesn’t remember her. She’s hysterical, the police come, they drag her out the door into the pouring rain, and something clicks. He remembers her. He runs outside. “SARA!” And she runs to his arms. And I sob like a little bitch with a skinned knee. And it’s all happily ever after, but that scene destroys me every time I watch it. It’s a little cheesy when I watch it now, but it still makes me cry. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xd1AYv3GS_Q
That’s really the big one for me and I’ll always love Alfonso Cuaron for it. The other daddy-daughter film that gets me is the end of ‘Regarding Henry’. ‘Lion King’ moved me to tears from awe in the opening, when Mufasa died, and when Simba reclaims the throne because it was all so epic. ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ when George runs back to the bridge and begs for his life back, ‘Band of Brothers’ when they discover Dachau, ‘The Pianist’ when he’s playing music for Hosenfeld, ‘The Sixth Sense’ at the end when they’re in the car, ‘Finding Nemo’ in the montage of the message of Marlin traveling across the ocean and Nigel relating it to Nemo, end of ‘Return of the King’, when Darth Vader dies in ‘Return of the Jedi’, and just about anything where a dog dies. (Oh, ‘Field of Dreams’ too at the very end.)
In my defense, I am a girl, and therefore prone to being a basket case about everything and I know there’s movies I’ve forgotten. (I didn’t include ‘Atonement’ and ‘Brokeback Mountain’ because that was crying on account of how feckin’ depressing they were.)
Jan 2nd, 2009
Kate
Kristina - Oh my god! Thank you! I completely forgot about ‘Monsters Inc’ and that’s easily #2 on my ‘big weepie moment’. Everytime I get to “Kitty has to say goodbye now”, my head’s in my lap and I’m bawling like a little kid.
Actually, Boo might be #3 because in ‘Toy Story 2′ when Jessie remembers when she was Emily’s toy with that damn Sarah Mclachlan song, I’m a mess. I don’t think I’ve met anyone who could keep their shit together during that scene.
Jan 2nd, 2009
sellario
Sling Blade: the scene where Carl asks if he can put his arm around the boy.
I balled.
all throughout Driving Miss Daisy: the end where Morgan Freeman is feeding Jessica Tandy in the old folks home; she teaches Holk how to read; i cry throughout the film everytime I watch it (and I rarely cry)
Dead Poets’ Society: the end where all the boys stand up and say “OH CAPTAIN MY CAPTAIN!” in support of their teacher.
That’s all I can think of for now.
Jan 2nd, 2009
Kristina
Oh Kate, Toy Story 2 wrecked me!
And that song, “When She Loved Me”…jeez. They showed a clip of that moment on the Wall-E DVD during a Pixar documentary, and I lost it all over again.
Jan 2nd, 2009
Amish Bill
- The end of Saving Private Ryan
- Pay it Forward
I can’t watch those two without weeping.
Jan 2nd, 2009
Johnny Boy
I total get what you’re saying cause I cry over the same types of stories when I see them in films or hear about it in the news… or at the very least, get teary eyed. I got teary eyed reading your description of the lady’s reaction to having her new house…
Has anyone here seen Elephant Man? That movie made me cry like a baby during several scenes, but the most during the part when this actress treats the deformed main character as a human being.
Jan 2nd, 2009
Dan
hmmmm something about 7 pounds… should be one big act of kindness.
Jan 2nd, 2009
Sound Designer Dan
Anyone here see the documentary Dear Zachary? Man, that movie made me weep REALLY hard. It’s playing on MSNBC on Sunday, January 4th, at 11 EST, by the way.
Jan 2nd, 2009
Mark
I still cry at the scene in “Forrest Gump” when Forrest finds out that he has a son. The thing that gets me is the question he asks Jenny: “Is he smart, or is he…?” Of all the emotions or fears he could be having at that moment, his greatest concern is for the well-being of the boy he has never met. Then when Forrest goes in and sits next to his son to watch Sesame Street and they both cock their heads to the side, I cry some more.
I don’t know why those two moments get me but they do. Every time. And it’s gotten more emotional for me since having my own son.
Jan 2nd, 2009
HAZMAT_IS_A_VAGITARIAN
im glad no ones been douche-ish enough to pop a “wow _____, youre a little bitch”
Jan 2nd, 2009
Tony
I cry when people face certain death with heroic resolve or when people turn up just at the right time. Examples: Lord of the Rings movies, when Gandalf arrives on the third day, when the Rohirrim ride against the hoard outside The White City, and when Aragorn gives his speech in front of the Black Gates.
Anyway, although it’s not strictly about random acts of kindness, I second Sellario with Dead Poet’s Society, the end is one of the most truly emotional and moving pieces of cinema I’ve ever seen.
Jan 2nd, 2009
MLP1234
Two words:
About Schmidt
Jan 2nd, 2009
playboybunny79
Im agree with As good as it gets. How’s stubborn-self center Jack try to change his habit. Remember at the end of the movie, he used to walk only on the white color tile but then he try to walk like a normal people ( it must be very2 hard for OCD people ). Well, it wasnt make me cry like a baby, but it gave me a warm feeling inside.
I also love reality show bout humanity. Unfortunately, some of wreckers said the show was fake. Most of Disney movies always move me.. and war movie too. Because in war movie, there’s always one patriotic person who ready to sacrifice his own life for other people. Hhhh.. i always expect that flick in every war movie.
Anyway, I think thats good to watch that kind of movie (bout kindness and humanity) just want to make u to be a better person. isnt it?
Jan 2nd, 2009
genesiskelsghost
Two weirdest movies that make me cry:
The Sixth Sense - when Osment is telling his mom about the message from the grandmother and Toni Collett is trying not to cry. That breaks me up everytime I watch it.
And sitting in the theater during “8MM”. My wife had just recently birthed my first child and when Nick Cage comes home from dealing with this absolutely horrible event. He thinks his wife has left him and to his surprise he finds his child in the crib. Cage breaks down and cries in his wife’s lap, telling her that she saved his life by being there for him. I was the only person in the theater crying… and I didn’t care.
Jan 2nd, 2009
CrzyDJM
Tae Guk Gi - cried at the end with “the shoe”
United 93 - the ENTIRE movie just about, my wife wouldn’t even watch it with me but kept coming in and checking on me
Bucket List - the end
Vanilla Sky - the last 5 minutes
those are the only ones that come to mind
Jan 2nd, 2009
HAZMAT_IS_A_VAGITARIAN
shawshank redemption was so beautiful
and i saw shindlers list last year in my history class and i was glad my teacher turned the lights off while we watched it
Jan 2nd, 2009
Kristina
And how did I forget Return of the King?
“You bow to no one.” All of Minas Tirith bows before four tiny hobbits, and I fucking BAWL.
But nothing could have prepared me for when Frodo and Sam part at the end. I haven’t read the books, so I had no clue what was going to happen. When Gandalf is leaving, I noticed that Frodo wasn’t crying like th eother hobbits, and I was all “WTF is up with Frodo?” and then Gandy says, “It is time, Frodo”. My heart just dropped, and the tears started coming, but when Frodo and Sam have their final hug, I was almost on the floor.
That is the only movie that made me cry so hard that I had to go into the bathroom to compose myself afterwards. A girl walked in behind me that had on Hobbit ears, and she asked if I’d just gotten out of ROTK like she had. I couldn’t stop crying and she was kind enough to comfort me and reassure me that Frodo and Sam see each other again in the book:) I felt like such a weirdo, sobbing in the ladies’ bathroom like that, but I don’t care. I fucking loved that movie.
Jan 2nd, 2009
Jasper
I’m a grand ole weeper in movies. Always get hit by them emotionally and cry. I think thats half the reason I love movies so much, that they can hit me and emotionally effect me.
The two movies I ALWAYS cry in…
“Bicentennial Man” and “A.I. Artificial Intelligence” haha. I don’t know what it is about Robots and becoming human, but it’s just makes me ball my eyes out everytime.
Another beautiful and underrated movie is “Riding In Car With Boys”
Amzing Stuff! This scene get’s me every time…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qB-XAnv-DME&feature=channel_page
Jan 2nd, 2009
chancepassenger
How about Big Fish? Its not exactly random act of kindess, but the scneses where the son finds out how much of his dad’s (Edward Bloom played by Ewan Mcgregor) kindness touched so many people’s lives (as evidenced by the people in his funeral). Makes me weep like a little girl… that was a beautiful movie.
Jan 2nd, 2009
Jasper
Another goodone for “The Beauty of Humanity” would be scenes in “Pleasantville” - aka the mural scene!
Jan 2nd, 2009
Terry Letourneau
The ending of A.I. where David spends one last day with his mother … gets me every time.
Jan 2nd, 2009
Karmicmonk
Lost season 4 “the constant”, when desmond finally contacts penny, romance makes me gag usually, but the way it played out. $^#% emo
Jan 2nd, 2009
BobaFett
Three movies get to me this way…
1. Life as a House (Kevin Kline and Hayden Christensen)
2. Dying Young (Campbell Scott, and Julia Roberts)
3. Life is Beautiful (Roberto Benigni, my ex wife and I tuned into it one winter day wondering why this movie was so awarded, then the end….DOH!!!)
Jan 2nd, 2009
Zach
Life is Beautiful and Philadelphia
Jan 2nd, 2009
Zach
E.T is up there too.
Jan 2nd, 2009
John
Oh yeah - TAE GUK GI definitely!!!!!
Man, after watching that, I just went to my room and bawled my eyes out for the next 15 minutes. No movie EVER affected me like that. A must-see, for sure.
Jan 2nd, 2009
Alex
John, how about the Pursuit of Happiness? Maybe that touched me on a personal level but when he broke down in the bathroom floor with his son in his arms got to me.
Jan 2nd, 2009
Caitlin
Okay, I may be on my own on this one, but the scene in Dumbo when he goes to see his mother. All she can do is nuzzle him and hold him with her trunk from behind bars… Combine that with the darn song playing during the scene, and you’ve got me wailing.
And the end of Forrest Gump, when Forrest and his son are waiting for the school bus, and Forrest gives Jr. his favorite book. It touches me.
There’s more scenes that get me, I just don’t have the time to list em all.
Jan 3rd, 2009
Marla Singer
THE DARK KNIGHT… hello?
Jan 3rd, 2009
Marla Singer
i’d say that was a selfless act and i got choked up
Jan 3rd, 2009
Phil Gee
My God John Campea, what have you done to all of us?
Everybody’s crying, EVERYBODY!
Jan 3rd, 2009
Abu-Dun
Some tears came me at “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King”. But I really cried only in the last minutes of the best TV series ever made… Six Feet Under. Just mind-blowing! (The scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=el4eUKmLujg)
Jan 3rd, 2009
Helen
The end of The Colour Purple when her children come back…or for that matter when Shug sings her way into her father’s church….in fact most of that film!
Should I even mention Terms of Endearment when Debra Winger is saying goodbye to her children and the eldest one is being so obnoxious and she’s trying to tell him she *knows* he loves her so he mustn’t feel bad about not saying it when she’s gone *SOB*
Jan 3rd, 2009
snarf
It’s a Wonderful Life, altough i didn’t watch the whole movie it really got to me in the end.
Jan 3rd, 2009
Kevin
End of Saving Private Ryan
Transformers - When Bumble Bee says he wantes to stay with the boy
(coked up, not a full cry)
End of Braveheart
that goddamn bear at the end of A.I
Jan 3rd, 2009
John
Caitlin - oh my gosh, I can’t believe it. I thought I was the only one for that scene in Dumbo. That was the first time I ever cried in a movie. I was like 5 years old when I saw it, but it still touches me. Saddest scene ever.
John, why do you have to bring this stuff up?! *sob*
Jan 3rd, 2009
Kimberly
Where to begin?
The end of Less Than Zero
The end of Atonement (yeah…I LOVED that movie despite some naysayers)
The end of The Savages…last night actually…when I saw the dog still alive
Terms of Endearment, Schindler’s List, The Pianist, Steel Magnolias (at the funeral when Sally Field’s character breaks down), Ghost (first time I watched it), and any movie that has an animal death (I’m a sucker that way).
,
Jan 3rd, 2009
Kimberly
I forgot Gladiator, Legends of the Fall and The Last American Virgin (I was 14 at the time LOL)
Jan 3rd, 2009
Kimberly
Mask, Mystic River (the part with Sean Penn re: his dd), My Girl, Stand By Me, The Abyss (Breathe!), Castaway (Wilson! I’m sorry!) and Somewhere in Time (That PENNY!)
After my multiple posts…I’m realizing I cry too much..
Jan 3rd, 2009
AARON
yes i will admit i cried during the dark knight after Rachel died………..
i know i know
Jan 3rd, 2009
Dragonslayer
I cried during Pan’s Labyrinth because it was so beautiful
I cried during Seven Pounds or at least felt like crying because it was so sad (even though the film wasn’t that great)
and I cried during Camp Rock BECAUSE IT WAS THE WORST PIECE OF SHIT I’VE EVER SEEN!!!
Jan 3rd, 2009
Dragonslayer
I also came close to crying when Wade died in Saving Private Ryan
Jan 3rd, 2009
AARON
hey Dragon Slayer is back!
Camp Rock was worse then Disaster Movie………………
Jan 3rd, 2009
Shane
I totally get what you’re talking about John, and I’m the same, that’s the sort of thing that gets to me.
I just watched The Wrestler, and I had tears welling up when Randy is about to go out to the ring for his match with The Ayatollah, and tells Pam “Hey, you hear them? This is where I belong”.
Being a wrestler myself, I could relate to so much of that film, that by the time it got to that stage, and all the personal rejection he’d faced, I know how much it can mean to you to hear a crowd cheering.
That film had a lot of that ‘acts of kindness’ that you’re talking about. And I think I found that connection with the crowd so tear-jerking, is because it’s such an intangible relationship. You can’t become friend’s with “the crowd”, you can’t move anywhere with that relationship.
Oh, and in Rocky, when he tells a dying Mick, that he’d won. It’s not the fact he’s dying that gets to me, it’s that he knows how much it would mean to tell him that.
Jan 3rd, 2009
RiZE
I won’t lie, I lol’d hard at John crying to Titanic.
But, I haven’t seen the movie in years.. and nowadays im pretty much a sucker for love so I might to if i ever do see it again.
The movie that always gets me a bit teary is Terminator 2, in the end. The bond between John and Arny, ooo it gets me everytime. I just wish he lived
Jan 3rd, 2009
ronsalon
Sobs are abundant in Walnut Grove. I have bawled more times to Little House on the Prairie.
Jan 3rd, 2009
ronsalon
Oh, and I know it’s not a movie.
Jan 3rd, 2009
Kristina
MULAN!!!!!
At the end when they all bow to her, I LOST IT. I think that one hit me so hard because of the whole girl-power message. I was fucking inspired.
Jan 3rd, 2009
Mike
ever since I’ve become a father, I cry about 10x more than I used to with emotional movies, or shoot, even commercials!. But especially with the character on screen is crying.
here’s my top eye-wiping moments (not necessarily in order)
- It’s a Wonderful Life - at LEAST four scenes and/or lines make me cry (especially the classic ending, “To my brother George, the richest man in town” and THEN James Stewart’s reaction to his brother’s toast, and THEN Clarence’s final message about having friends. - it’s a killer.)
- …Benjamin Button - his final breath
- Schindler’s List - the last scene, when Oskar realizes he could have saved more lives
- The Green Mile - when they’re strapping John Coffey in the chair
- Old Yeller - (guess!)
- Field of Dreams - when Ray asks his dad to play catch
- Groundhog Day - when Phil can’t save the old man from dying
- League of Their Own - when one of the ballplayers receives a telegram that her husband died in the war
- American Beauty - Lester’s “life flashing before his eyes”
- Wall-e - when Eve finally revives Wall-e
- The Santa Clause - when Laura finally realizes that Scott is actually Santa
- The Champ (1979) - “wake up, Champ!”
- A Christmas Story - when the Old Man is telling Ralphie how to load the BB gun and the mother is looking at him with this great joyous smile on her face
- Monsters Inc - “kitty!”
Jan 4th, 2009
Brian Bircham
WOW this post is an eye opener, hope people are still checking back to it.
1.) Gladiator - first time, almost burts out in tears
2.) Green mile - countless moments, especially the execution of the black guy, they all knew it shouldnt happen
3.) Monsters inc. - when he opens the door to her and says ‘kitty’
LOST - penny and desmond countless scenes
Jan 4th, 2009
AARON
oh yeah! the music at the end of Gladiator brings tears to ANYONE’S eyes
Jan 4th, 2009
roguepirate
“With Honors” when Joe Pesci’s character meets his son that he abandoned, when his son tells Pesci’s granddaughter he’s just a salesman.
Jan 4th, 2009
bobsyeruncle
Some of this has been said, but:
Yeah, the aforementioned Monsters Inc. spot.
That friggin’ Sarah McLachlan sequence in Toy Story 2. I played that scene back again just to see if it was a fluke. Holy crap - I was hoarse and my ribs were sore from all the wailing.
A Few Good Men: “Why do you love them?”/”Because they stand on a wall, and they say ‘Nothing’s gonna happen to you. Not on my watch’.” Nice goin’, Demi.
A Charlie Brown Christmas: “Lights, please?”, and Linus recites that beautiful passage from Luke’s Gospel.
Jan 4th, 2009
Rachele
I agree with a lot of what’s been written.
Animal deaths always sock it to me. My favorite movie as a kid was The Neverending Story, and I always used to sob when Atreyu’s horse died. I watched it again recently, and whaddya know? Even after all this time, I still cried my eyes out.
The ending of Pan’s Labyrinth is another big tearjerker for me.
And I would also like to add that I cannot watch Extreme Makeover Home Edition because it’s impossible for me to avoid crying.
Yes, I’m a big sap.
Jan 4th, 2009
Sabs
End of “Finding Forrester”. Holy crap, I bawled.
“Hotel Rwanda” as well. My Cross Country coach is Gilbert Tuhabonye, the only survivor of a Hutu massacre against the Tutsi, and each time his story is shared or I watch this movie…there’s no words for the sadness I feel, and also the shame for my country.
And of course, “The Lion King”.
Jan 4th, 2009
Caitlin
Since everybody keeps bringing up Jessie’s scene in Toy Story 2, I thought I just had to watch the scene and see if I still teared up any, and OMG. I cried so much I couldn’t see five seconds into the scene. That tore me up…
And it’s nice to know I’m not the only one who can’t watch Extreme Home Makeover without tearing up. I can’t watch that show without a reaction.
John- I really did think I was the only to cry at that Dumbo scene. Good to know I’m not! I youtubed it earlier today, and I still wailed just like when I was a kid.
Jan 4th, 2009
Kristina
The end of King Kong 2005 tore me up. As soon as he starts climbing the ESB, I was cringing in my seat. And when his eye dilates and goes dark, I’m a goner.
Jan 4th, 2009
theduckthief
I don’t know why you seem to think it’s a bad thing that a movie gets an emotional response out of you. That’s what they’re supposed to do. Some movies deliberately manipulate the audience while others truly touch you with their raw and honest portrayals.
From time to time I find myself tearing up at a scene. I do however take umbrage with your statement, “I cried like a freaking chick watching Leo sink at the end of Titanic.” While I am a girl, I’m not a “freaking chick”, nor did I cry at the end of Titanic. The stereotype of women crying at romantic movies is so frustrating, especially because of the fact that having an emotional response seems to be looked down upon.
Jan 5th, 2009
Anders
Forrest Gump (Forrest stands by Jenny’s grave)
Philadelphia (the ending where one of Beckets brothers starts to cry when saying goodbye)
Crash (When the little girl gets shot. I saw it in the cinema and the entire audience started sobbing)
The Patriot (Mel Gibsons mute daughter suddenly says “papa” when her father is leaving her)
Jan 5th, 2009
tee
i actually had a tear in my eye when i went to watch gladiator at the cinema. the ending at the first watch is really emotinal. after the film talking to my mate, i was like to him “bro, that was an emotional ending nearly had a tear in my eye there.”
Jan 5th, 2009
STEVE
Frist movie that I cried while watching was Brian’s Song. My girlfriend balled her eyes out while watching Eight Below.
Jan 5th, 2009
total jiu jitsu
Rudy: at the end of the movie where everyone chants “Rudy, Rudy, Rudy!”
Rocky Balboa: at the end when he raises his hands before going back to his locker
Lord of the Rings: at the end when Boromir dies, “I would have followed you anywhere, my brother, my captain, my king.”
The Passion of the Christ: when Jesus as a child scrapes his knees and Mary consoles him
I never sob, I tear up.
Jan 5th, 2009
MR. TIBBS
Any movie where a dog dies…
- My Dog Skip
- Marley and Me (first time I’ve ever done that in a theater)
Jan 5th, 2009
Kryptonite
“MULAN!!!!!
At the end when they all bow to her, I LOST IT.”
I agree, but it wasn’t a feminist thing for me. For me it was the fact that EVERYTHING SHE DID was for her father.
Jan 5th, 2009
AARON
King Kong was one of these moments
Jan 5th, 2009
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