Greatest Tear Jerker of all time - Page 2

frenchman · April 23rd, 2007, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Does Schindler's List qualify?

...absolutely! One of the most powerful movies ever made.

I was going to mention "Life is Beautiful" as well

Quote:

2 very choices...

...I mentioned Old Yeller as # on the thread...but "On Golden Pond"??
No offense, but only skirts cry at movies about "relationships" (father/son excluded) like an annoying Jane Fonda with her father...or that equally annoying bratty kid of hers.

Perhaps the poster forgot Henry Fonda does NOT die of a heart attack in that movie

ctjayfan · April 23rd, 2007, 01:09 PM

"On Golden Pond"??
No offense, but only skirts cry at movies about "relationships"

I shed a tear when Kate and Henry had that scene where Kate said, "Listen to me, mister. You're my knight in shining armor. Don't you forget it. You're going to get back on that horse, and I'm going to be right behind you, holding on tight, and away we're gonna go, go, go!"

I don't know why, but it just touched me.

G-Man · April 23rd, 2007, 03:15 PM

Oh, come on, girls

The final Normandy cemetery scene in Saving Private Ryan [paraphrasing] "Tell me I was a good man". I don't see how anyone could emerge from seeing this with dry eyes.

Charlie Sheen's voiceover at the end of Platoon as he is boarding the medevac helicopter.

The 54th Massachusetts, en route to a near-suicide mission, passing the white soldiers that started trouble with them earlier, with the white corporal shouting "Give 'em hell, 54th!" in Glory.

At the end of the same film, Denzel Washington picking up the Stars & Stripes from a fallen soldier and advancing toward the enemy after saying he wouldn't carry the flag.

The ending of Donnie Darko, where Jake Gyllenhaal sacrifices himself to save his girlfriend, and in doing so, she never finds out who he was.

Morgan Freeman's voiceover at the end of the Shawshank Redemption: "I just want to see my friend and shake his hand", to the swelling music and final beach scene.

TylerDurden · April 23rd, 2007, 04:56 PM

I laughed so hard that I cried while watching this last night.

YouTube - Red Sox 4 Home Runs in a Row

frenchman · April 23rd, 2007, 05:25 PM

Quote:

The final Normandy cemetery scene in Saving Private Ryan [paraphrasing] "Tell me I was a good man". I don't see how anyone could emerge from seeing this with dry eyes.

...I felt a bit cheated at this moment. the movie begins with the camera zooming into this man's eyes...it goes into the film long flashback and into Tom Hank's eyes...makingme think the narrator was him along.
I felt was confused when Hanks dies at the foot of the bridge and we then learn the old man is Matt Damon.

I here you on the emotion, but at the time...I thought "BS"

Nat · April 23rd, 2007, 05:55 PM

I guess I was too young to know or care about Jane Fonda the actress at the time...
"Sophie's Choice" was another heartbreaker along the same theme as SL.

Nighthawk · April 23rd, 2007, 05:58 PM

Agreed on SPR...I actually felt that after the powerful initial 20 minutes....it was an arduous, plodding script that negated the emotion of the initial foray.

Quote:

...absolutely! One of the most powerful movies ever made.

And they may revoke my Jewish credentials, but I have to demur slightly...while it was a critically important film...SL really wasn't that good. It resonated with a lot of people, but I didn't find that the acting nor the writing were particularly poignant. I didn't find it bad, just quietly disagreed that it was a cinematic masterpiece. How can a Holocaust movie not be emotional?

Quote:

The 54th Massachusetts, en route to a near-suicide mission, passing the white soldiers that started trouble with them earlier, with the white corporal shouting "Give 'em hell, 54th!" in Glory

An excellent, excellent film to pick up on, G-man. One of my favorites, and the first (and only) time I actually caught myself crying by surprise, although it was slightly later in that sequence when they are piling the corpses in the trench after the battle and the white Lieutenant is interred with his black regiment....I wept. Unexpectedly powerful.

Want a silly, out-of-leftfield one? This wasn't a real tear-jerker moment, but I watered up and then was embarassed that I had. In, of all movies, 'The Birdcage' (a film that has a lot to say on a lot of subjects in that preachy way Williams took up in the second half of his career), towards the end when it is revealed that Nathan Lane is masquerading as a woman with whom Gene Hackman is quite taken an interesting exchange takes place. As Hackman is trying to parse what is happening vis a vis his crush on the character of the female Lane, his wife (played by Dianne Weist, as I recall), overcome by the whole exchange, blurts out in what turns out to be pretty much her last line in the film "Why doesn't anyone like ME?". I'm not sure why, but I was overwhelmed with empathy for her character, and found myself choked up.

Silly? Perhaps. But what can I say, it spoke to me.

frenchman · April 23rd, 2007, 06:18 PM

Quote:

And they may revoke my Jewish credentials, but I have to demur slightly

...we have many christian denominations for you to choose from.
I can remeber thinking, "not another jewish guilt/Holocaust movie" when SL came out. I found it novel in its approach and beautifully filmed in its almost exclusive black and white.
Acting...Liam Nieson was great...but Ralph Fiennes was over the top outstanding. true story...his wife Alex Kingston (she was the brit Dr. in "ER" left him while he filmed this...he was "in character" and she could not live with him"

Take it from this gentile...this film got us. It cames from a different direction, and it got us

Nighthawk · April 23rd, 2007, 06:36 PM

Absolutely agreed that the filmwork was excellent....I call it the 'anti-Titanic' in that austere power. Very beautifully filmed, but cold...cold...

I had heard the story about Fiennes before. Interesting stuff. As far as acting goes, I just disagree. I found everyone competant, but nobody outstanding. Fiennes was solid, but didn't bring anything to the table any other serious Nazi actor. Nieson was fine, but repeatedly came across as distant, even beyond the capitalist aloofness lens the character normally is viewed through.

Not a bad film, at all, just not as good in my eyes. No problem with the acclaim, however. I was pleasantly surprised at how well it was received...as I recall it was up against the landmark Jurassic Park and held its own. Or am I a year off there?

SL Trivia - The closing track, 'Jerusalem, City of Gold' is a haunting melody which fit beautifully in the American version....but that song was written after 1967 as an Israeli rock tune, and people actually laughed in the Israeli theatres at the choice. Thus, a redubbed version of 'Eli, Eli' (a prayer used to conclude silent meditation) was substituted as a more appropo closing song.

Trivia #2: Polanski and Scorsese both passed on the film because they didn't think they could handle it (!). Spielberg also refused to be paid for the film, saying it would be 'blood money'.

G-Man · April 23rd, 2007, 07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nighthawk

And they may revoke my Jewish credentials, but I have to demur slightly...

The Elders are going to want to speak with you.

perfectstormhits · April 23rd, 2007, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by G-Man

The final Normandy cemetery scene in Saving Private Ryan [paraphrasing] "Tell me I was a good man". I don't see how anyone could emerge from seeing this with dry eyes.

That was my first choice.

Also several scenes from Forrest Gump..especially the scene where he puts his kid on the school bus.

Grandstander · April 24th, 2007, 08:32 AM

There have been numerous nominations with which I agree...and am not listing myself because others have already mentioned them. It did strike me that my list should have included "The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter." This film was the debut of a very young Sondra Locke whose character has befriended Allan Arkin, playing a shy deaf man. Both are fragile, emotionally damaged people. The scene that gets the moisture flowing is where Locke is trying to convey to Arkin what music means to her, she so very badly wants to connect to him on some mutual emotional level. To that end she turns the music up so that Arkin can feel the vibrations of it and she actually gets him dancing to it. To all appearances she has made that connection, Arkin seems to be completely in sync with the music and grasping the beauty of it as he dances. It's a very uplifting moment until.....the record ends, the music stops....and Arkin keeps right on dancing with exactly the same level of appreciation. The look on Locke's face says it all....from the incredible joy of believing that she had reached Arkin, to the realization that he was faking it for her sake...awfully hard to get through that scene without watering up.

With regard to "Schindler's List"....the majority of the film's powerful emotional moments are ones of emotional horror. The boy hiding in the latrine, Schindler on horseback on the hill, watching the ghetto being swept with gunfire and grenade explosions, the prisoners packed onto the train like cattle. There were so many of these terrible emotional moments that any scene which featured a glimmer of humanity had its emotional power greatly magnified.

Because of this magnification, because even the slightest flicker of hope had such power, any and all such scenes worked best when underplayed and understated. It is for that reason that the Schindler breakdown scene at the end did not work nearly as well as it might have. It was overdone, overwrought and it was gratuitous in that it was the filmmaker's invention. (In reality, Schindler's last few hours with his workers were invested in trying to get his getaway car repaired after it wouldn't start.) What Spielberg should have done was showed the presentation of the ring and the document explaining what Schindler had done, signed by all of the workers, and then put him in the car and had him driven away. Instead we got some hysterics and melodramatic acting. The director did not trust the audience to get it on their own, he had to get too heavy handed.

SamJ · April 24th, 2007, 12:20 PM

How about Bambi?

Love Story - Ali McGraw's Death

The Seventh Sign - when Demi Moore dies

Terms of Endearment - Debra Winger's last talk with her boys

Ghost - The end when Demi Moore sees Sam again.

Beaches - When Barbara Hershey dies. But, what a way to go. Sitting on the beach watching the sun set. Wind Beneath My Wings was my wife's favorite song so it has some sentimental meaning for me too.

Stepmom - The last Christmas before Susan Sarandon dies. She says goodbye to her children and finally accepts Juia Roberts

Braveheart - Not as much as the others, but I had to mention this to regain my balls that I checked when entering this thread.

Nocahoma · April 25th, 2007, 09:55 AM

Not when you started the thread, Sam, but definitely after you mentioned the wretched Beaches for your list. Ugh, man.

frenchman · April 25th, 2007, 11:52 AM

Oh Sam!
...Beaches? ...Terms of Endearment?

woosie!

April 23rd, 2007, 03:15 PM	#18 (permalink)
G-Man Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Darkness on the edge of town Posts: 2,495	Here be spoilers Oh, come on, girls The final Normandy cemetery scene in Saving Private Ryan [paraphrasing] "Tell me I was a good man". I don't see how anyone could emerge from seeing this with dry eyes. Charlie Sheen's voiceover at the end of Platoon as he is boarding the medevac helicopter. The 54th Massachusetts, en route to a near-suicide mission, passing the white soldiers that started trouble with them earlier, with the white corporal shouting "Give 'em hell, 54th!" in Glory. At the end of the same film, Denzel Washington picking up the Stars & Stripes from a fallen soldier and advancing toward the enemy after saying he wouldn't carry the flag. The ending of Donnie Darko, where Jake Gyllenhaal sacrifices himself to save his girlfriend, and in doing so, she never finds out who he was. Morgan Freeman's voiceover at the end of the Shawshank Redemption: "I just want to see my friend and shake his hand", to the swelling music and final beach scene.

April 23rd, 2007, 06:36 PM	#24 (permalink)
Nighthawk Moderator Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: NYC Posts: 2,716	Absolutely agreed that the filmwork was excellent....I call it the 'anti-Titanic' in that austere power. Very beautifully filmed, but cold...cold... I had heard the story about Fiennes before. Interesting stuff. As far as acting goes, I just disagree. I found everyone competant, but nobody outstanding. Fiennes was solid, but didn't bring anything to the table any other serious Nazi actor. Nieson was fine, but repeatedly came across as distant, even beyond the capitalist aloofness lens the character normally is viewed through. Not a bad film, at all, just not as good in my eyes. No problem with the acclaim, however. I was pleasantly surprised at how well it was received...as I recall it was up against the landmark Jurassic Park and held its own. Or am I a year off there? SL Trivia - The closing track, 'Jerusalem, City of Gold' is a haunting melody which fit beautifully in the American version....but that song was written after 1967 as an Israeli rock tune, and people actually laughed in the Israeli theatres at the choice. Thus, a redubbed version of 'Eli, Eli' (a prayer used to conclude silent meditation) was substituted as a more appropo closing song. Trivia #2: Polanski and Scorsese both passed on the film because they didn't think they could handle it (!). Spielberg also refused to be paid for the film, saying it would be 'blood money'. __________________ "Whenever the word 'fair' features so prominently in legislation, the odds are that it is economically illiterate" -Rich Lowery What am I doing with your tax money? Sustaining the realm according to caprice.

April 25th, 2007, 11:52 AM	#30 (permalink)
frenchman Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 2,969	cry Oh Sam! ...Beaches? ...Terms of Endearment? woosie!

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April 23rd, 2007, 01:09 PM	#17 (permalink)
ctjayfan Hall of Famer Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: CT Posts: 5,472	"On Golden Pond"?? No offense, but only skirts cry at movies about "relationships" I shed a tear when Kate and Henry had that scene where Kate said, "Listen to me, mister. You're my knight in shining armor. Don't you forget it. You're going to get back on that horse, and I'm going to be right behind you, holding on tight, and away we're gonna go, go, go!" I don't know why, but it just touched me.

April 23rd, 2007, 05:55 PM	#21 (permalink)
Nat Moderator Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Ohio Posts: 1,351	I guess I was too young to know or care about Jane Fonda the actress at the time... "Sophie's Choice" was another heartbreaker along the same theme as SL.

April 24th, 2007, 08:32 AM	#27 (permalink)
Grandstander Hall of Famer Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Parts Unknown Northern California Posts: 6,599	There have been numerous nominations with which I agree...and am not listing myself because others have already mentioned them. It did strike me that my list should have included "The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter." This film was the debut of a very young Sondra Locke whose character has befriended Allan Arkin, playing a shy deaf man. Both are fragile, emotionally damaged people. The scene that gets the moisture flowing is where Locke is trying to convey to Arkin what music means to her, she so very badly wants to connect to him on some mutual emotional level. To that end she turns the music up so that Arkin can feel the vibrations of it and she actually gets him dancing to it. To all appearances she has made that connection, Arkin seems to be completely in sync with the music and grasping the beauty of it as he dances. It's a very uplifting moment until.....the record ends, the music stops....and Arkin keeps right on dancing with exactly the same level of appreciation. The look on Locke's face says it all....from the incredible joy of believing that she had reached Arkin, to the realization that he was faking it for her sake...awfully hard to get through that scene without watering up. With regard to "Schindler's List"....the majority of the film's powerful emotional moments are ones of emotional horror. The boy hiding in the latrine, Schindler on horseback on the hill, watching the ghetto being swept with gunfire and grenade explosions, the prisoners packed onto the train like cattle. There were so many of these terrible emotional moments that any scene which featured a glimmer of humanity had its emotional power greatly magnified. Because of this magnification, because even the slightest flicker of hope had such power, any and all such scenes worked best when underplayed and understated. It is for that reason that the Schindler breakdown scene at the end did not work nearly as well as it might have. It was overdone, overwrought and it was gratuitous in that it was the filmmaker's invention. (In reality, Schindler's last few hours with his workers were invested in trying to get his getaway car repaired after it wouldn't start.) What Spielberg should have done was showed the presentation of the ring and the document explaining what Schindler had done, signed by all of the workers, and then put him in the car and had him driven away. Instead we got some hysterics and melodramatic acting. The director did not trust the audience to get it on their own, he had to get too heavy handed.

April 24th, 2007, 12:20 PM	#28 (permalink)
SamJ Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 420	How about Bambi? Love Story - Ali McGraw's Death The Seventh Sign - when Demi Moore dies Terms of Endearment - Debra Winger's last talk with her boys Ghost - The end when Demi Moore sees Sam again. Beaches - When Barbara Hershey dies. But, what a way to go. Sitting on the beach watching the sun set. Wind Beneath My Wings was my wife's favorite song so it has some sentimental meaning for me too. Stepmom - The last Christmas before Susan Sarandon dies. She says goodbye to her children and finally accepts Juia Roberts Braveheart - Not as much as the others, but I had to mention this to regain my balls that I checked when entering this thread.

April 25th, 2007, 09:55 AM	#29 (permalink)
Nocahoma Moderator Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 1,238	Not when you started the thread, Sam, but definitely after you mentioned the wretched Beaches for your list. Ugh, man.