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Tearjerker scenes in movies

8 years ago

Perhaps the viewer is being manipulated. And these scenes though traditionally a part of the women's picture sentimental melodrama genre need not be confined to them. Here are a few of mine: the reverend reading Psalm 121 at Annie Johnson's funeral in the 1959 version of Imitation of Life. The death albeit temporary of E.T. The moment in Stella Dallas played by Barbara Stanwyck when Mrs Morrison aware of why Stella is giving up her daughter says to her I never thought anyone could be so unselfish. Tom Hanks translating for Demzel Washington the words to the aria La mamma morta as Maria Callas sings it on a recording in the movie Philadelphia.

Comments (68)

  • 8 years ago

    'The Champ' with Jon Voight, Ricky Schroder and Faye Dunaway. I'm apparently not alone...2 psychologists from Smithsonian Magazine did a survey, with 500 people and 250 tearjerker movies and the final 3 minutes of 'The Champ' got it rated as 'the saddest movie in the world.'

    User thanked amicus
  • 8 years ago

    There are lots of them. The first that came to mind was Bridges of Madison County. The scene where Kincaid is leaving and Francesca is behind him with her husband debating whether to get out of the truck. I've seen it many times and each time hoping she'll make a different decision. I cried even harder reading the book (first). I didn't find it sad so much, as poignant. And I've blocked Bambi out of my memory - now that was sad.

    User thanked skibby (zone 4 Vermont)
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  • 8 years ago

    we lost Luke and Han Solo!!! YIKES, that shows, that I haven't been to see the other Star Wars movies....

    Moni

    User thanked OklaMoni
  • 8 years ago

    I cried my eyes out for most of "The Bridges of Madison County". Yes, I understand if you don't understand. But that movie really, really got to me. And, even now, I can't make it through without convulsing in tears.

    User thanked Suzieque
  • 8 years ago

    Alisande, that is hysterical!

    The list of movie/tv/commericals scenes that have brought tears to my eyes is waaaaaaay too long to type here.

    User thanked Lindsey_CA
  • 8 years ago

    Where the Red Fern Grows (dog movie)

    The clay scene in Ghost

    User thanked socks
  • 8 years ago

    "Back Street" with Susan Hayward and John Gavin--the end requires lots of kleenex. Also, "Madame X" with Lana Turner and John Forsythe. In my opinion, John Gavin and John Forsythe were the two best-looking movie stars ever!! Of course, I've only seen those two movies about 12 times each, so maybe I need to watch them again....

    User thanked wanda_va
  • 8 years ago

    Whenever the dog dies in a film. I may have cried for most of My Life as a Dog.

    User thanked lisaam
  • 8 years ago

    There are so many. Definitely have to agree with Wanda_va about "Madame X". And my husband refuses to see a dog movie because it just rips up the heart. Ditto the Humane Society ads.

    Years ago my sweetie wanted to see "Space Cowboys". It definitely wasn't on my list but I went to be a good sport. Oh my goodness...what a surprise - I definitely wasn't prepared tissue-wise!! Exited through the side door of the theater with my head bowed, hoping no one would see my swollen red eyes and the tears still streaming down my face.

    User thanked juneroses Z9a Cntrl Fl
  • 8 years ago

    When Sophie had to make her choice. The last scene in Ghost & Mrs. Muir. The last scene in Driving Miss Daisy. The funeral scene in Imitation of Life and also the scene when Annie's daughter sent her away the last time. The last scene in Mrs. Miniver and the scene where the son comes home to his dead wife. The scene in Terms of Endearment when the daughter dies and also when the mother begs the nurses for her to get pain meds. The last scene in Wuthering Heights.

    User thanked User
  • 8 years ago

    When John Coffey starts down the Green Mile. Every. Darn. Time.

    I don't recall crying when I read the book, but the movie always gets me.

    User thanked mama goose_gw zn6OH
  • 8 years ago

    John Gavin is also in Imitation of Life. And Psycho. I will add I was totally traumatized by The Passion of the Christ. Not a good cry at all. Serious PTSD from that experience. Same with Schindler's List. Once was enough. And Bambi. And Dumbo. And that special about Nestor the Donkey who later became the Donkey Mary rode on. Never again.

  • PRO
    8 years ago

    The book, "Sophie's Choice", affected me far more than the movie. It just tore my heart out and I can remember going into my young daughter's room and climbing in bed with her and just holding her so very, very tight. It bothered me for weeks after I read it.

    User thanked Anglophilia
  • 8 years ago

    Steel Magnolias did me in. I sobbed. Took my sons and nephew to see Where the Red Fern Grows and we all cried all the way home.

    User thanked mrskjun
  • 8 years ago

    Steel Magnolias when M’Lynn is losing it at Shelby’s funeral. Terms of Endearment when Aurora is begging the nurses for Emma’s meds. The Color Purple when Celie and Hattie are reunited. Beaches when CC is helping pack up Victoria and the cat after Hillary dies.

    Where The Red Ferns Grows, or any time a dog dies in any movie.

    User thanked Annette Holbrook(z7a)
  • 8 years ago

    The Notebook, and others like it. I'm not a crier in general, but I will cry at any book or movie where an old couple is being separated by death.

    @bfenton and the commercials - my sister says that since menopause hit, she cries at laundry detergent commercials. LOL!

    User thanked aok27502
  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Definitely Steel Magnolias when Sally Fields character is losing it in the cemetery, " I want to know why, whhhhhhyyyyyy", ugh.

    The opening scene of Saving Private Ryan, when those boys where being mowed down. Some dying on the boat, others drowning from their heavy gear, the sheer number being cut down on the beach, I was openly sobbing in the theater. I will never, ever watch that movie again.

    I also can't watch anything about the crucifixion of Christ, it feels like a physical pain.

    User thanked katlan
  • 8 years ago

    Oh wow...forgot about Steel Magnolias..get tears in my eyes just remembering.

    User thanked Uptown Gal
  • 8 years ago

    As I said upthread, I don't like to cry. Now I know why I've avoided so many popular movies! I have no idea what Sophie was choosing between. The war movies, clearly I don't want to see. Old people being separated by death? that opening scene of "Up" was tough enough on me :-(

    User thanked User
  • 8 years ago

    Oh Gosh, I am such a sap there are many, many...

    Legends of the Fall, when Tristan finds his younger brother Samuel blinded & dying on the barbed wire was a full on, out loud sobbing for a full 10 minutes, then when Tristan came home to find his father had a stroke, when Alfred lost his wife & when Izzy gets killed by ricocheting bullets. I seriously cried through the whole movie & yet it is my all time favorite movie.

    A River Runs Through it, again I balled through the whole thing, my DH sat in complete silence for quite a while when it was over. One of those that truly make you think.

    Coal Miners Daughter when Loretta hears over the radio that Patsy Cline has been killed in a plane crash and when Dew has to carry her off the stage when she has her break down....ugh, I have chills all over just thinking about it.

    The Bridges of Madison County - same aas mentioned above, very sad moment when she lets the true love of her life walk away.

    My Dog Skip...And yes, ANY movie where a dog dies, I am crushed beyond consoling...E.V.E.R.Y.T.I.M.E.

    User thanked lisaw2015 (ME)
  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    I agree there are soooo many....................but since Marley and Me hasn't been mentioned, I'll say that one. I went fully knowing what was going to happen and figured I would be okay but it can't help bringing back all those memories of when you were faced with the same scenario.

    User thanked Georgysmom
  • 8 years ago

    I agree about children's movies always having sadness. But it wasn't just Disney (a few of those mentioned aren't Disney movies I think) -- it goes back to Shirley Temple!

    I noticed when my DD was in elementary school, it seemed that the only books that won awards for children's literature involved death or some other traumatic event.

  • 8 years ago

    - The Fault In our Stars, the whole last half of the movie had me in tears

    - P.S. I Love You, whenever you stop crying something else comes up to make you cry again.

    - Titanic , when they show the elderly couple holding each other in bed as the boat is going down.

    - Ghost, it's been a while since I've seen it but I remember it made me cry

    I refuse to watch movies where I think an animal will pass or get hurt. I also cry at animal commercials whether good or bad. I have cried at pet food commercials or videos of soldiers coming home and their pets going crazy. Can't watch them and my husband is always trying to show them to me. When I worked the evening shift I'd stay up late and watch tv. They'd always show "those" commercials. So I wrote the channel and asked them to stop. They did for about 6 months. lol I also cried the last time I went to Sea World during the Shamu show. I think part of it was how beautiful they are and also feeling sad that they have to entertain a bunch of people all day.

    I also refuse to see movies about Christ being crucified. Can't even seen church plays about it with out bursting into tears.

    User thanked Hareball
  • 8 years ago

    marilyn_c - I'm weird too haha Buffalo 66 is a pretty interesting movie. I hope it didn't make you cry haha

    User thanked Hareball
  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    I have not seen most of the movies mentioned above because I don't want to feel those emotions over a movie. I don't watch violent movies for the same reason.

    User thanked graywings123
  • 8 years ago

    Definitely Steel Magnolias at the cemetery. My daughter was 6 at the time and diabetic. When I was younger I cried at Old Yeller.

    User thanked natesg
  • 8 years ago

    The Magic of Lassie, just the opening music will set me off. In Lonesome Dove when the young woman gets a letter from Gus after he’s dead. She can’t read but she hugs that unread letter like it’s better than a million dollars. I hate tearjerkers, I get such a headache from holding back tears.

    User thanked FlamingO in AR
  • 8 years ago

    The death scene in "Terms of Endearment." Each and every time.


    User thanked nannygoat18
  • 8 years ago

    The last one that made me sob was The Martian, when they left without him, when all of his crops died, and again when they rescued him. I really try to avoid anything emotional because I am such a big crybaby. This one was a surprise because I was thinking that it was a simple sci-fi movie.

    User thanked PKponder TX Z7B
  • 8 years ago

    I can't recall any movie that caused me to cry. I can see and understand and appreciate the emotional content they are trying to convey but it never seems to affect me in any way. I don't think it is that I lack empathy, since in my view empathy is crucial to recognizing and interpreting the emotions being conveyed, but perhaps I lack something.

    User thanked bob_cville
  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    To many to list here.. I agree about Terms Of Endearment (same scene).

    Beaches-where Bette Middler and Barbara Hershey are sitting on the beach and Bette looks over at Barbara and she's passed away. Also, when Bette is talking to Barbara's daughter. Maybe I'm odd but I think sad movies are at times a release for pent up emotions.

    User thanked User
  • 8 years ago

    I agree MM_gw, I always feel better after a good cry, almost cleansed.

    User thanked lisaw2015 (ME)
  • 8 years ago

    Bambi traumatized me so much as a kid that when a relative got the video for my kids when they were small, I immediately gave it away. My daughter had already been traumatized by the death of Shamu the whale which she had seen at Sea World the day before his death. It affected her so much she had to go into therapy at age 4. I wasn't about to let her see Bambi! Old Yeller also made me sob when I was a kid.

    And yes, the "death" scene in ET got to me as well.

    User thanked Jodi_SoCal
  • 8 years ago

    I’ve never watched Bambi or Old Yeller. I hate movies that make me worry about an animal. Even “Alien”, I worried more about the cat than any person.

    User thanked FlamingO in AR
  • 8 years ago

    Oh it does not take much for me to cry....maybe "Wonder" because I know a little girl with the same disease.

  • 8 years ago

    Hareball, I can't remember a thing about Buffalo 66. All I remember about it was my daughter was a freshman in college and she asked me if I wanted to go because she knew I liked kind of off the wall movies. Back when I used to rent movies....a couple of eons ago, I would end up renting movies over that I had already seen, but I had forgotten I had seen them.


    User thanked marilyn_c
  • 8 years ago

    Recently watched Pursuit of Happyness (happiness) several scenes were tearjerkers for me. Although a few scenes brought the opposite effect. The mother, I could have told her a few things. grrr. I do love this movie though.Also, a true story.

    User thanked User
  • 8 years ago

    If a sad event takes me by surprise, it can make me cry. But movies that set you up from the very beginning to be tearjerkers, I refuse to watch. I especially disliked "The Champ". I knew where it was going from the first scene. Unfortunately, I can be difficult to watch films with. I might laugh when the obvious setup happens.

    User thanked Elizabeth
  • 8 years ago

    I cried at all the movies above, had to leave during "Sophie's choice" as I was a mess. Scott, I'm an opera buff and weep hearing a spectacular aria. Allesande, that clip was hysterical. Steve lives in the town next to me and owns a general store which I frequent. I've run in to him at fundraisers etc. and he's just as funny in person, extremely witty. He's wonderful in donating his time and effort to children's causes. We love him.

    User thanked Yayagal
  • 8 years ago

    "Old Yeller"... "love Story"

    User thanked anoriginal
  • 8 years ago

    I posted this on the other movie thread. Some of the East of Eden (James Dean) scenes make me tear up, especially as Cal tries to please his father and tries to make amends as his father is dying.

    A River Runs Through It is a tear jerker for me too. I think any movies about intense or tragic family relationships, especially child/parent relationships, are tough. Ordinary People hit close to home.

    User thanked Rudebekia
  • 8 years ago

    Didn't see the movie "Wonder"..but I sobbed my way through the first part of the book. It also had a "feel-good" tone after finishing it. But...don't want to

    see the movie.

    User thanked Uptown Gal
  • 8 years ago

    I saw Bambi as a child and it didn’t even register that Mom died until I saw it again with DD. However, that event was overshadowed by the irksome realization that Bambi was a “he”. We still can’t process that!

    User thanked nannygoat18
  • 8 years ago

    The Notebook, without fail.

    User thanked Jasdip
  • 8 years ago

    will admit to not reading every post but if "Brian's Song" isn't here, it should be!

    User thanked anoriginal
  • 8 years ago

    An old Betty Davis movie, Dark V,ictory, she plays a spoiled rich girl who gets sick with a deadly brain tumor, marries her handsome doctor and quietly goes up to bed alone when she knows it's the end. Anyone notice the music usually swells up at these scenes?

    User thanked vicsgirl
  • 8 years ago

    Don't think anyone mentioned "Mask". I tell ya what, when Cher goes in to wake up Rocky (her son) and realizes that he has died during the night., omigosh! First time I ever saw it my daughter and I were folding clothes. We were cryin' and laughin' and wiping our noses on clean socks! LOL It was horrible.

    User thanked Greta Seward
  • 8 years ago

    "Hachi" if you've seen the movie no further description is needed.

    User thanked User
  • 8 years ago

    I stay away from tearjerkers, at all costs. I cry at the drop of a hat.

    User thanked sjerin