Shed A Tear
Well, maybe these movies don't make ALL grown men cry—but they make THIS grown man cry, every single time. I'm not ashamed to admit that these films always get me shedding at least a tear or two, or three or four or..you get the idea. Okay, I've admitted it. How about you? Do any of these great movies have you wiping away a few tears?
ET The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
This one had me crying as a kid in the theatre and now as a fully grown adult—it still does. When Elliott tells ET that he loves him and the alien's heart begins to glow again. When ET touches Elliott's heart and tells him, "I'll be right here". How can you not cry, right?
Universal, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Dead Poets Society (1989)
"Oh Captain, my Captain". No matter how many times I watch those students get up onto their desks and speak those words to Robin Williams as he is leaving the classroom—it always hits me right in the feels. By the time Williams says, "Thank you boys. Thank you" the tears are already there.
Touchstone, Dead Poets Society (1989)
The Green Mile (1999)
I don't want to give away too much here—for those who haven't seen it. But I'll just say that when all of the prison officers are crying at the end...well, so am I.
Castle Rock, The Green Mile (1999)
Rudy (1993)
Yes, I know it's a cliche for a man to say that Rudy made him cry. So, call me a cliche—because when that crowd starts chanting "Rudy! Rudy! Rudy!" and he gets into the game for one play and is carried off the field...here come the waterworks. Who's with me?
Stand By Me (1986)
"I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was 12. Jesus, does anyone?" Anyone else crying yet?
Sophie's Choice (1982)
At this point, over 40 years since its release, everyone pretty much knows what "choice" Sophie has to make. However, knowing the choice doesn't make it any less heartbreaking.
Man On Fire (2005)
One doesn't usually associate action movies with audience tears. But that final scene in Man On Fire with Denzel Washington and Dakota Fanning on the bridge—well, director Tony Scott got me with that one.
And if this one got you to tear up, then you're probably with me on this next one also...
New Regency Productions, Man on Fire (2004)
Léon: The Professional (1994)
Jean Reno and a young Natalie Portman build a bond that leads to a great friendship and a great sacrifice in this 1994 Luc Besson action-thriller.
Columbia, Léon: The Professional (1994)
Toy Story 3 (2010)
In a season 7 episode of The Big Bang Theory, Penny and Leonard are at a funeral. Penny wants to cry but can't, so she asks Leonard to start, because he is a big "cry baby", and she will join in. When Lenny pushes back on the "cry baby" thing—she looks at him and says, "Toy Story 3". To which he forcefully responds, "The toys were holding hands in a furnace!" I couldn't have said it better myself.
Walt Disney, Toy Story 3 (2010)
Big Fish (2003)
Tim Burton's Big Fish doesn't get as much love as some of his other films, but this beautifully-told story of a father-son relationship gets me every time. How about you?
Up (2009)
You know that 10-minute long montage that opens the film? Need I say more?
Schindler's List (1993)
Another one that has multiple "always cry" moments for me is Spielberg's Oscar-winning masterpiece, Schindler's List. From the girl in the red coat to the ring engraved with "Whoever saves one life saves the world entire", to the epilogue featuring real-life holocaust survivors, it is harrowing, heavy, and will leave your cheeks lined with tears (at least it does to me).
Universal, Schindler's List (1993)
Almost Famous (2000)
Of course I'm talking about the "Tiny Dancer" scene. Once that one guy starts singing along and then everyone joins in, well that's when the happy tears start flowing.
DreamWorks, Almost Famous (2000)
My Girl (1991)
This Macaulay Culkin and Anna Chlumsky coming-of-age film is the reason so many of us of a certain generation are hyper-aware of the existence of bee allergies.
Magnolia (1999)
Tom Cruise trying not to cry at the deathbed of his estranged father makes me cry every time. As does the scene in which all the individual characters sing along to the Aimee Mann song, "Wise Up". A scene that probably shouldn't work—but in the hands of Paul Thomas Anderson, works on a heartbreaking level.
New Line Cinema, Magnolia (1999)
The Aristocrats (2005)
Not to be confused with the sweet 1970 Disney animated movie The Aristocats—The Aristocrats is a documentary about one of the funniest and most famous dirty jokes of all time. And when I say famous, I mean among comedians. And when I say dirty, I mean really, really dirty. The documentary looks at the history of the joke as well as various comedians and actors telling their version of it.
I get that it might be a little too much for some people—but I laughed so hard in the theater that I was literally ROFLOL (rolling on the floor laughing out loud) and crying. Yes, literally.
Mighty Cheese Productions, The Aristocrats (2005)
Good Will Hunting (1997)
I might do some happy crying at the end when Ben Affleck shows up to get Matt Damon in the morning and he isn't there because he went to "see about a girl". However, the scene that hits me hard, right in the gut, every time is when Robin Williams and Matt Damon both reveal their childhood trauma. "It's not your fault," Williams tells him. Bam!
Miramax, Good Will Hunting (1997)
Mr Holland's Opus (1996)
Richard Dreyfuss is Glenn Holland, a composer who takes a job as a music teacher in a high school in 1964 and ends up staying at the school for over 30 years—affecting the lives of many many students. The importance of which is exemplified in the final scene of the movie that hits a big emotional crescendo and is a big happy cry moment for me.
Hollywood Pictures, Mr. Holland's Opus (1995)
White Squall (1996)
In the vein of Dead Poets Society, 1996's White Squall comes to a close with a big emotional scene in which a bunch of students stand up for their captain from a sailing trip gone bad. One after another, they show their support when everyone is against him. Oh Captain, my Captain (they don't say it, but there is an actual captain in this one).
Hollywood Pictures, White Squall (1996)
Big Daddy (1999)
You'd think an Adam Sandler movie on this list would be part of the "cried with laughter" category. But while Big Daddy is one of Sandler's funnier films, it's the pulling-at-the-heartstrings moments that draw a few tears out of me—Sandler saying goodbye as the kid is taken away from him, being the big one.
Jack Giarraputo Productions, Big Daddy (1999)
Moulin Rouge! (2001)
Baz Luhrmann's brilliant 2001 film is a stunning visual and musical achievement that makes you feel things big—whether it be the joy, the excitement, or the sorrow and sadness.
Twentieth Century, Moulin Rouge! (2001)
Charlotte's Web (2006)
The book made me cry when I was a kid and the movie did the same thing all those years later. I still don't love spiders though.
Paramount, Charlotte's Web (2006)
Brokeback Mountain (2005)
I can't quit you—and by "you," I mean a few tears being shed whenever I watch this emotional drama and the beautiful performances by Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal.
Focus Features, Brokeback Mountain (2005)
A Perfect World (1993)
This great under-seen and under-appreciated Clint Eastwood movie stars Kevin Costner as an escaped convict who takes a young boy hostage as he tries to outrun the law. While on the run, Costner and the boy bond and when the end finally comes, it's that bond that brings up the tears during the film's final moments.
Warner Bros., A Perfect World (1993)
Dancer In The Dark (2000)
The emotional buildup in this musical tragedy is powerful and real. And if you haven't cried yet, you will during the film's climactic scene—Selma's final song...that she doesn't get to finish.
Zentropa Entertainments, Dancer in the Dark (2000)
Terms Of Endearment (1983)
James L Brooks' great 1983 film picked up an amazing 11 Oscar nominations and won five of them: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor. If there was a "tear-jerker" Oscar, it would've picked up 12 nominations and probably a sixth win.
Paramount, Terms of Endearment (1983)
Amour (2012)
Without giving anything away—if you've seen Michael Haneke's amazingly-heart wrenching love story then you know why it's here.
Les Films du Losange, Amour (2012)
The Bridges Of Madison County (1995)
Clint Eastwood managed to take a somewhat corny and melodramatic novel and turn it into a really good romantic drama with a believable love story that doesn't have a happy ending. And it is that love-doesn't-always-conquer-all story that makes for a most tear-wrenching conclusion.
Warner Bros., The Bridges of Madison County (1995)
Love Actually (2003)
With 10 interwoven stories of love and loss, if one doesn't make you tear up then one of the other nine probably will. There are happy tears to be shed as well as sad ones. Which of the stories get you wiping your eyes?
Universal, Love Actually (2003)
The Pursuit Of Happyness (2006)
Will Smith spending the night in the public bathroom with his son and holding the door closed with his foot as people knock and try to get in. It's not a great film, but that doesn't take away from the emotional impact of that scene.
Columbia, The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993)
I know it's coming and it's going to be a happy ending, but when Shadow comes limping over the hill when all hope is lost—I'm a sucker for it every time. I'm more familiar with the 1993 movie, than the 1963 original. Does that one do it also?
And while we're talking about dogs...
Walt Disney, Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993)
Old Yeller (1957)
Duh!
Walt Disney, Old Yeller (1957)
What Are Yours?
How many on my list make you cry, too? What other films would you add?
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Columbia, The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
