Tear-jerkers (merged: Fictional Tears)

[Robin S]

What movies make you cry, and why? Here are a few which did it for me, off the top of my head:

Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story
Pleasantville
A Knight's Tale
AI

Strangely enough (or not), it seems to me to be to a large extent the music which creates the tear-jerker moment. The plot moment feels like it's there almost more for reinforcement.

[Teh Russians]

Atonement
The Godfather(the part when his wife blew up)
Life is Beautiful

[Malice]

La Vie en Rose (you'll know the moment when you see it)
Schindler's List (I was mostly fine until the part with the ash...)

That's all that comes up off the top of my head, but then I watched them both in the past week, so probably I'm just not recalling others.

[PatrickRsGhost]

Schindler's List (I was mostly fine until the part with the ash...)

As was I. What's really gripping is that the prisoners thought it was snowing at first, but then look towards the chimney. Ugh. There were a few other parts that did me in. Mainly, when the SS shot the old man while they were clearing the road of snow (or was it railroad?) and he was getting tired, and of course the Little Girl In The Red Dress. Especially when Oskar sees her being carted off in a wheelbarrow, dead.

[Mighty Jalapeno]

Schindler's List
The Crow
Eternal Sunshine Of That Thing... You know... brain...

I KNOW I have more, but I can never think of them when I want to...

[Rodan]

Let's see...

Jurassic Bark
The special features of Firefly

that's about it. Haven't seen to many sad movies, though I've been meaning to.

[Cyy]

I immediately think of The Land Before Time. The first one, not any of the thirty odd sequels that it spawned.

I mean, remember that part when Littlefoot's mom died? Than he chased his shadow thinking it was her? And that tiny Pterodactyl who offered his piece of fruit to Littlefoot?

God that's sad.


That and like, Homeward Bound maybe? That part at the end when you're not sure if Shadows coming home or not?

Depressing.

[Narsil]

I teared up at 2001: A Space Odyssey. Only time it's ever happened. The scene where HAL "dies", it's just so sad. He never had any choice in anything he did, always following the programming, and because of it he's destroyed and villified.

[Amarantha]

The Bridges of Madison County

and probably some others I can't recall

[Malice]

Ah, yes. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

I can't remember if I actually cried during Requiem for a Dream so much as felt like shit. Well, either way, it's mind-numbingly sad. I might have teared up during Burstyn's speech about how damn lonely she is.

[Mighty Jalapeno]

Requiem just sort of bummed me out about society, but it wasn't sad...

[Jesse]

Requiem made me cry, the phonecall towards the end, where she's crying and begging him to just please come home, and he's saying that he'll be home tomorrow, just hang on until tomorrow, and they both know he's lying and gah I'm nearly in tears just remembering it.

[Kabann]

I always choke up around the end of the Firefly episode Out of Gas. Best. Episode. Ever.

[Gaz]

I am Legend.

Spoiler:

SAMANTHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

Sad as sad can be.

[PatrickRsGhost]

I always get choked up at the end of the Futurama episode where Fry finds the grave featuring his name, and he thinks it was his brother, when it turns out to be his nephew. The flashbacks to when his brother was alive, and finally when he decides to name the baby after him really got to me. What was really moving was as Fry is standing over the grave, the song "Don't You Forget About Me" plays.

And, of course, the episode with the dog. I had only seen that once, and not in its entirety. The parts I did see were still moving.

[PS_Mouse]

Million Dollar Baby

[Vanguard]

Movies don't make me cry. However, "Happy Feet" came extremely, extremely close. It was shocking how depressing that movie was.

[Masuri]

I always choke up around the end of the Firefly episode Out of Gas. Best. Episode. Ever.

Me, too!

I also cried with Inara during Heart of Gold. I'm a sap.

[Aleril]

The ending of Click.




What?

[segmentation fault]

grave of the fireflies.

if you do not cry during this movie you have no soul. not that thats bad or anything.

[yellie]

The Iron Giant always, always has me in tears by the end.

Also:
- Pan's Labyrinth (sad in it's own right, but for me it's the music, like the OP said, that makes this film a tearjerker)
- Atonement (Granted, I've only seen it once, but when the 88 year old Briony reveals the "twist" of sorts about the fate of Robbie and Cecilia, I just lost it)
- The Pianist (V. difficult to watch, but the bit that makes it a tearjerker [for me, anyway], is the German at the end of the film. The fact that he actually existed and was that kind to Wladyslaw... Awh.)
- The Wind That Shakes The Barley
- Grave Of The Fireflies (for obvious reasons)

Uh. War films always get to me, I guess?

And regarding TV shows:
- The Office Christmas specials.
- When Denny dies in Grey's Anatomy
- The Message episode of Firefly
- Jurassic Bark

[Izawwlgood]

Anyone see Koyanuskonsi (thats spelled beyond wrong). Some of the riot scenes/glorified violence scenes made me cry, mostly for the introspection.

The Sea Within. Sobbingly blubbery.

Lesser moments include when Spike and Jet are eating the eggs just after Fey and Ed have left.

[odayjuarez]

I always choke up around the end of the Firefly episode Out of Gas. Best. Episode. Ever.

Yes!

And Remember the Titans. If you've seen it, you'll probably know the part I mean. When...

Spoiler:

Julius visits Gary in hospital.

Alice, are you blind? Don't you see the family resemblance? That's my brother.

That whole scene gets me.

[OmenPigeon]

Requiem just sort of bummed me out about society, but it wasn't sad...

The first time I saw Requiem for a Dream was at the tail end of an evening that began with a disc of Lain in an auditorium, then moved into a basement with some friends to watch Pi for the first time, then we decided it would be a good idea to watch Requiem.

I spent the rest of that night just sort of sitting in a corner, thinking about how much the world sucked. Good times.

[Sartorius]

I always get choked up at the end of the Futurama episode where Fry finds the grave featuring his name, and he thinks it was his brother, when it turns out to be his nephew. The flashbacks to when his brother was alive, and finally when he decides to name the baby after him really got to me. What was really moving was as Fry is standing over the grave, the song "Don't You Forget About Me" plays.

And, of course, the episode with the dog. I had only seen that once, and not in its entirety. The parts I did see were still moving.

I started tearing up just reading that.

[Mighty Jalapeno]

[smallvoice] Fist of the North Star

[McLovin]

grave of the fireflies.

if you do not cry during this movie you have no soul. not that thats bad or anything.

Quoted for fuckin truth. I mean, I'm a sap, I cry at movies, yeah. But god damn. This movie had me in a goddamned fetal position for a good 15 minutes.

Also Finding Neverland.

[Izawwlgood]

Oh sweet jesus Fry's dog during the credits of that episode.... WHY IS THE WORLD SO CRUEL?!

[zingmaster]

Anyone cry during Bambi?

[Mighty Jalapeno]

Yeah The hunter went to all that trouble, and didn't get any venison...

[Ubik]

Dancer in the Dark, Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain and Pan's Labyrinth moved me to tears. I at least almost cried at the ice sculpture scene in Edward Scissorhands. It wasn't sad in a tragical sense, but still very moving. I blame Elfman's music. The ending of Big Fish comes to my mind now as one the moving ones.

[cyberdeftly]

I agree wholeheartedly with the Futurama episodes, both of them. I tear up everytime. It's such a weird feeling, tearing up over a cartoon. Quite possibly the only cartoon that I could ever tear up for. Futurama does have pretty fantastic character development though, especially with Fry. lol, I love Fry. Actually, just talking about Futurama makes me all fuzzy feeling. LOVE THAT SHOW!


Interesting event with I Am Legend. I didn't cry, but my gf was a fuckin mess afterwards. Forward to why:

Spoiler:

She just lost her dog that their family has had since she was a little girl and he was a really smart spaniel. Well, the part where the dog dies was bad enough, but the way he did really did it in for her. The entire scene where Smith is crying and the dog has just turned into a whatever they turn in to, and Smith chokes and kills his OWN dog - man, that was rough.

Also, Firefly got me a few times. Interesting how there's a general consensus for Firefly and Futurama.

[Nath]

I teared up at 2001: A Space Odyssey. Only time it's ever happened. The scene where HAL "dies", it's just so sad. He never had any choice in anything he did, always following the programming, and because of it he's destroyed and villified.

You know what that reminds me of? Every human being who ever lived. (Apart from the 'destroyed' part, I guess.)

Sorry, that was off-topic. On topic: another vote for "The Luck of the Fryrish". I didn't literally cry (I normally don't unless I accidentally ingest marmite), but it really did take me by surprise.

[Izawwlgood]

I watched Serenity lastnight. In the very beginning, when the ship is *serenely* drifting planet side, and the violin is gently playing, when SUDDENLY THE SHIP HITS ATMO, THE THRUSTERS FIRE AND THE GUITAR KICKS IN! Its overwhelming and beautiful, and followed by a walk through the ship, aft to stern, and we meet everyone and it's all quintessential interactions, and I love Mal.

[cyberdeftly]

Nathan Fillion and Adam Baldwin are the big reasons I watch that show. Though all the characters I've grown to love and admire.

[Rodan]

I just finished watching Grave of the Fireflies and holy crap...
I mean, Jurassic Bark got maybe a tear or two,
this got open weeping for 5-10 minutes...

damn I'm depressed right now...

[Mighty Jalapeno]

I never heard of this movie before this thread, and after reading all the pre-spoiler stuff on Wiki, I need to see it now.

[Rodan]

I never heard of this movie before this thread, and after reading all the pre-spoiler stuff on Wiki, I need to see it now.

Yes. Yes you do.

I hadn't heard of it until the sad/depressing movies thread.

[Mad Cow Bomber]

Related to Firefly, I think the first moment that got me hooked on Buffy the Vampire Slayer was the Season 1 finale, [i]Prophecy Girl[i], where Buffy says, "I'm sixteen years old, Giles... I don't wanna die." Also, the Season 5 episode, in the dialogue quoted below. That was the first
time I ever really liked Anya. That whole episode was really intense. I'm tearing up just thinking about it. (I know it was a long time ago, but this is the thing that was spoiled for me before I ever even saw the show, so I wanted to avoid it.)

Spoiler:

Anya: "Are they gonna cut the body open?"
Willow: "Oh my God! Would you just... stop talking? Just... shut your mouth! Please!"
Anya: "What am I doing?"
Willow: "How can you act like that?"
Anya: "Am I supposed to be changing my clothes a lot? Is that the helpful thing to do?"
Xander: "Guys—"
Willow: "The way you behave—"
Anya: "Nobody will tell me."
Willow: "Because it's not okay for you to be asking these things!"
Anya (crying): "But I don't understand! I don't understand how this all happens. How we go through this. I mean, I knew her, and then she's, there's just a body, and I don't understand why she just can't get back in it and not be dead anymore! It's stupid! It's mortal and stupid! And, and Xander's crying and not talking, and, and I was having fruit punch, and I thought, well Joyce will never have any more fruit punch, ever, and she'll never have eggs, or yawn or brush her hair, not ever, and no one will explain to me why. (She puts her hand over her face, crying.)"
Willow (after a long pause): "We don't know... how it works... why."

Oh, and the last episode of Babylon 5, Vir's toast: "To absent friends, in memory still bright."

[__Kit]

The only movie I've ever cried in is Lilo and Stitch, and I'm pretty sure I saw Schindler's List when I was younger.