Anyone have an opinion on what scenes from a movie caused the tears to flow??

1. Thorn Birds.. forget it.. almost every scene was a tear jerker.. Probably the confrontation between mother and daughter at the end..was the hardest

2. East of Eden.. James Dean crying at the rejection of his gift to his father by his father

3. The Search.. When Montgomery Clift as an American GI is trying to explain to alittle boy why he won't find his mother in post WW II Germany//

4. Ordinary People.. Choose...

How about when little PeeWee got run over in "Boys Town"?

The very first movie scene that brought tears to my eyes, and to this day has not left me:

The final scene from "On the Beach".

More recently:  The opening scene in the Normandy cemetary in "Saving Private Ryan".

-- Modified on 2/1/2003 10:42:25 PM

The one scene that brings me to tears every time I watch it and I've watched it a lot is when Shelby dies and the sad part of the funeral scene in "Steel Magnolias."  I know that this is an total chick flick, but if any of you guys out there can stand it, you need to watch the movie.

Also, the scene in Braveheart when Mel Gibson's character is dying and he sees his dead wife walking through the crowd.  You know, when he screams "Freedom."  See, I don't just watch chick flicks!!!!  LOL!!!

-- Modified on 2/2/2003 1:52:32 AM

The part of the Mel Gibson movie, "We Were Soldiers" when the telegrams start arriving was pretty emotional.  
Also, the scene in, "Imitation of Life" when Susan Kohner's mother dies was a real tear-jerker.

"Schindler's List" when that psychopath Nazi officer shoots the young Jewish girl in the head at point blank range.
That scene stayed with me for a very long time.
It just shows you the terrible inhumanity of the Holocaust.

Another Schindler's List scene.

When Schindler is gien the ring at the end and he is shaking so bad he drops it on the ground and has such a hard time picking it up.

The intensity of that scene is so powerful to me. It brings tears to my eyes everytime I see it.

Its still when Ole Yeller dies  for me

That whole movie, every scene is heartbreaking and touching.
I still sob when I watch that movie, even though Ive seen it several times

Dear Talkingbacktonight:

1] Are we related?  Search is an obscure movie, but it was (God Bless Her soul) my mother's all time favorite.  I finally saw the movie just a few months before her death in a late night televison station.  There was no Block Buster those days.  

2] In keeping with the theme of this board, the nominee for the most dramatic tear jerker, ought to be Camille (the final scene) ... especially for those who have experienced falling in love with a provider ...  this is a very old movie, and yet timeless ...

Okay,
Chic movies like Steele I have to check out.. But I am surprised that not one person here mentioned one of the greatest chick movies of all time..  Beaches?? What about Terms of Endearment?
There have to be half a dozen scenes from each of those movies..

Schindler's List made me sad but no tears as most of the scenes are expected.  It is a very moving film and a great one except for the crying scene of Schindler in the factory.  I thought it was the only fault of this great film.

Saving Private Ryan is a very good movie, probably a great one.  The fate of most of the individual soldiers in that company covered most if not all of the stereotypes of how soldiers in war perished.  The battle scenes of the beginning and the end are pure tour de force.

Even though I knew the fate of the Captain (Tom Hanks) for a long time, I was extremely moved by his death scene.  He is such a good actor.  His shock and near motionlessness alongside the armor vehicle (tank) when he was mortally wounded culminated the hopelessness of his situation and the sacrifice of his company to their fellow soldiers.  I couldn’t help but shred a few tears.  It is the only movie that had its images seared in my mind for days after.

When Maximus (Russel Crowe) dies at the end in "Gladiator"

Has to be almost any thing with Susan Hayward...I'll Never, Ever, Forget "Back Street" The story of an intense affair, full of passion and love, between a married man and his mistress, I won't tell you the rest, Just see it, It will rip your heart out!!! And of course "Sophie's Choice" with Meryl Streep...What can I say...I'm a chick..ha  Hugs, Robyn

First one that comes to mind is "THE CHAMP" when Ricky Schroder went to see his dad in jail. I almost started crying thinking about it.

I still mist up even thinking about the scene at the end of The Color Purple when Whoopi's character and her sister are re-united. That one made my Dad cry and he never cried at a movie before in his life!

Oh, the Elephant Man! I love that movie, too!
And 'Mask', also made me so sad.

There are many - Steel Magnolias, for sure. Yes, Gladiator (mmm. Russell Crowe!)
But, the scene in 'Castaways' (Tom Hanks) where he loses the ball, "Wilson" just had me sobbing!

xo
Sedona

MIchael Keaton in "My Life".  When he is video taping lifes lessons to is unborn son as he fights cancer. Great movie.

For me (a vet) it wasn't Captain Miller's fate as much as the last scene of the elder Ryan at the cemetary, wondering if he had lived his life in a way that properly honored Miller's sacrifice.  (I'm crying as I type this now)  That scene, along with the reading of Meg Ryan's posthumous letter in "Courage Under Fire" capture the essence of something that makes me bawl like a baby...  Okay, I gotta go cry now.

Two that always seem to come to mind for me are from old films.  As I think it was Emeril who mentions..when Old Yeller dies (hey, I'm a dog lover).  And the final scene from "Spartacus" when Kirk Douglas has been nailed to the cross for his Christian beliefs.  His wife, played by Jean Simmons, had to pass by him as he was dying & all they could do was look at each but display no recognition for fear the Romans would realize who she was & execute her as well.  Sometimes eyes alone can say so much.

Even the ones that aren't sad.  Don't aske me why.

I agree with you.  The whole movie was very hard to watch.. It is a movie that you do not easily put in the back of your mind once you have seen it... Never look at war the same way again.. It was ridiculous that it did not win  best picture of the year..
It lost to Shakespeare in Love, which while certainly a great movie, Know where need the same level of Saving Private Ryan...

Yes we are related. Both of us are using handles to songs. I don't know who wrote Stangers in the Night. I think it was made famous by Frank Sinatra. "talking back to the Night"  is a Stevie Winwood song.. I use it when I am suffering from Insomnia and I am posting at 2am in the morning...

I think Russell Crowe in a Beautiful Mind, when he thanks his wife for her support and devotion.  That was a powerful movie..
Never realized how horrible and how much people with Schizophrenia suffer.. Gave me a new perspective on mental illness.

I don't see Sophie's choice as a chick movie.. Written by William Styron, it is a great story, that certainly tugs at the heart, and shows beyond the physical, how many people were damaged by the holocaust...

ok, it was a "TV" movie, but come one it was absolutely moving

Probably the most frightening movie or book ever made because it is so real and could happen. However, because the subject matter is so utterly depressing, and you are pretty much aware of what is going to happen at the end, I was pretty much drained by the time the ending came.

You want to see more impacting on the same subject matter, go rent Testament. Shows you the end through the eyes of a suburban family in San Francisco Suburbs. Jane Alexander gives a Tour-de-force performance as a mother trying to cope with the unthinkable...

I almost forgot...The last movie I cried in..."Dragonfly", just saw it this last week..What a great film...I think I was crying through-out the entire thing...and when Kevin Cosner makes it to the village, and they show him the "Dragonfly" OMG I laughed and cried from pure joy....Amazing story...

LOTR - The Fellowship of the Ring - The fall of Gandalf at the bridge of Kazad Dum, and Boromir's Death at Amon Hen.

Immortal Beloved - When young Beethoven is reliving the beatings by his father.

Platoon - Willam Dafoe's death at the end of the movie.

Come on man... HOld in.. Don't want anyone to think your soft??
Go to a bar.. look to pick a fight..you will feel better..


Please don't take this seriously.. I think you hit two for two on the most powerful scenes in both movies..

I went through an entire Kleenex box on that one... What a SAP I am.

Okay here is my list..

1. Ordinary People
2. Terms of Endearment
3.  Saving Private Ryan
4. Elephant Man
5. Places of the Heart
6. The Heart is a lonely Hunter
7. East of Eden
8. Thorn Birds
9. Gladiator/A beautiful Mind
10. Spartacus
11. Rich Man Poor Man (mini serious that made Nick Nolte)

I would not call those tear jerking, but very dramatic death scenes..

Oh, I just saw that too and it was a good movie!

were uttered.

Boromin - "The world of Men will fall...  And all will come to darkness... and my city to ruin."

Aragorn - "I do not know what strength is in my blood... but I swear to you... I will not let the White City fall... nor our people fail."

Boromin - "Our people... our people."

Boromin - "I would have followed you, my brother... My captain... My king."

Sean Bean was simply amazing in that scene.  The extended DVD edition of LOTR - The Followship of the Ring is a must have.  The cinematic version is better than the extend version.  The commentaries and extras in the extended DVD are full of material.  Peter Jackson should be the best director last year.

I did see "Testament" and I agree with your analysis.  The main difference was that I saw "On he Beach" as a child of 14 and "Testament" as an adult of around 40.  By that time I suppose I was more jaded re nuclear war and the efect was not nearly as intense.

I think Freddie Bartholomew in Captain's Courageous matches it.

At the hospital when Debra Winger's character is dying from cancer and her youngest little boy starts sobbing and the whole theater let out a collective sob too.  The biggest tear-jerker I have ever seen.

Second would be Map Of The Human Heart, at the end.

Sophie's Choice for genuine, heart-wrenching tears, and A Beautiful Mind for "feel-good" tears.

Titanic...I cried at the movies, went out and bought it, then cried at least 5 times after seeing it the first time.  Now I just know all the words.

RE Shakespeare...  I agree, what a travesty.  I acknowledge Shakespeare as both a culturally important figure and the movie as unquestionable artistic excellence.  But view Private Ryan from any measure--complexity of story, quality of character development, grandness of setmaking, caliber of cinematography--it is one of the great technical film making acheivements of our time.  Couple that with a relevant and compelling historical theme, and I'm not sure how you could lose Best Picture to ANY recent movie.

I remember Roger Ebert expressing sheer disappointment, saying that Best Picture isn't about art or culture or technique alone, it's about being the movie that people talk about at work and the movie that film classes study years later.  SPR clearly is, and Shakespeare clearly is not.

Where Kevin Cosner is playing catch with his father. It mirrors my relationship with my dad.

eom

I totally agree....hearing him sounding all choked up and say "Hey, Dad, want to have a catch". Always brings tears to my eyes.

the Best Picture came Oscar time.

Dude,

I'm totally with you on that. I can watch that scene over and over and it never loses its drama.  Sean Bean was simply so powerful in that scene, it tears my heart out every time.

I have the extended version and I get a kick out of the story about Sean Astin playing BK (both in Samwise Gamgee outfits) with Dominic Monaghan doing the Indian accent.

"Then he tries to put my King in Check. . . and I take his beesh-wop"  I just fall out every time I hear that!!

That's the beauty of movies, everyone gets something different.  To me, the scenes in the movie, as in the books are both very emotional scenes!  There were a lot of sniffles in the theater during both.

All through the movie, I found myself laughing, shouting, and crying with Celie and wanting to personally kick "Mister's" behind. lol


Mel..meow