Maybe it's hormones. Maybe it's humidity. But lately, I've been experiencing the phenomenon known as, "Bursting into the ugly cry" when I see or hear certain things.
Last week, I was flipping channels and landing on the last 20 minutes of The Color Purple, a movie that is an absolute emotional roller coaster of highs and lows.
As soon as I realized what scene it was, I started crying—much to the dismay of my almost 14-year-old son—the ugly cry. It's when Shug leaves the speak easy, singing "God is trying to you something" and ends up in the embrace of her father. Is it just me?
And Miss Celie's blues? Seriously? Such an amazing scene.
Remind me again why this film didn't win every Oscar available?
I have asked my daughter, who has never seen this movie, to watch this movie before before she heads off to college. She has agreed. She will need tissues. I guarantee it.
Another scene that never ceases to hit me in the gut? The Forrest Gump Jenny monologe. Even this 23-second clip? I almost can't breathe.
There are so many other scenes. Old scenes, like the opera scene from The Shawshank Redpemption; new scenes, like Steve Carrell's speech in Crazy, Stupid Love. I'm such a sucker for a good cry.
This became even more evident when I was watching Pitch Perfect and found myself sobbing when Anna Kendrick breaks into the Simple Minds' "Don't You Forget About Me."
So my question for you today: what's your favorite Ugly Cry movie scenes? I'm talking the ones that even if you start to describe them out loud you feel a lump in your throat.
Please. Do tell.
Amy K says
Steel Magnolias. Sally Field’s dramatic “why” scene in the cemetery at her daughter’s funeral. I could cry just thinking about it.
Kelli says
Of course movies like Beaches and the Notebook get me every time but so do animal movies, my do ran away when I was young and every time I see Homeward Bound I can not hold it together, I miss that dog so much!
Caroline says
Bridges of Madison County truck scene at the end when her hand is on the door handle. Literally sobbing, red nose and all.
Elizabeth W. says
Okay, when I saw the image from the Color Purple I almost lost it! In Shawshank it was when the old man was released and trying to understand the world he was in, you knew the letter would end badly, and when Wilson is floating away from Tom Hanks in Castaway his only friend, I felt like I lost a loved one as well. Execution day in the Green Mile. While I could own every movie listed, for me the ugly cry comes when I see these scenes unexpectedly. It’s like the world is fine then you see “God’s Trying to Tell You Something” and the pebble of pain that’s always hanging around the heart is released, the flood gates open. I was having an awesome day – now I feel like someone died!
It’s great that your daughter will watch it before leaving for college, we all need these references in our lives to blame when someone catches us crying for what seems like no reason later, but if she doesn’t go into the ugly cry then be glad she doesn’t know that type of pain – when you soul aches, and ugly is the only way to get through it.
RitaQ says
LOL… oh Cathy… for me it wasn’t movies as much as just sitting with an old friend whom I seldom see anymore, starting to reminisce and then crying for times gone before that we can’t recapture.
Thankfully, now it’s just huge goose bumps at tear jerker movie scenes.
Kelley says
I have to preface my comment with an admission that I am, and have always been, a crier. I cry at the Hallmark ads on TV. With that said, two movies immediately come to mind. The first,a recent one called Hugo. I just felt so sad for the poor, gorgeous little boy, and happy, too. I cry for all reasons.
The ‘worst’ movie for the ugly cry for me was an old one called ‘Who Will Love My Children?’ I can remember having to pause that movie many times so I could catch my breath. I think the last time I watched that movie was 25 years ago and I can feel my eyes welling up just thinking about it.
Alissa says
My Girl, from the moment Harry tells Veda about Thomas J, through the funeral bit (‘He can’t see without his glasses!’), to the destruction of her first crush… Oh the pain! I cried as a child watching it, but I saw it as a mother last week and bawled the Really Ugly Cry.
Denise von Minden says
Sense and Sensibility when Elinor (Emma Thompson) realizes that Edward isn’t married get me every time. Also, a lot of the movie Truly Madly Deeply makes me cry. LOL, I have a thing for Alan Rickman movies.
SherriS. says
I love feeling connected with “My Sisters” and this post is perfect for that. I can not watch The Notebook ever again (maybe I will post why on my blog), P.S. I love you makes me ugly cry at the wake and then I burst out laughing and have a tremendous headache. There are several movies like that for me many mentioned in comments above.
Mary-Lou says
After all these years, I still cry at the end of The Trouble With Angels. Of course there is Sense & Sensibility, Steel Magnolias and most recently Gladiator (eyes covered in the fight scenes), at the end.
Irene says
Another Steel Magnolias shout out AND for the last sceen of Color Purple where they play pattycake. Weep EVERY TIME. Also, a new favorite is Le Mis. If you haven’t seen the play, it might not have the emotional impact. But I cry EVERY TIME I see it in person or on the screen.
cathy says
Oh man. Yep.
cathy says
I have never seen Hugo! I need to add that to my list.
cathy says
Love Alan Rickman. : )
Vi says
The transformation scene, and movie ending, of “The Last Unicorn”. I have loved this movie since it was released, and I cry despondently every time I watch it. Why??
Holly S says
Kinda cheesy but Top Gun when Mavrick is talking to Goose’s wife after Goose dies…makes me cry all the time even after seeing it many, many times…
Karen K. says
The beginning of the movie “Up,” with the montage of Carl and Ellie throughout their life. Every time. And ditto for me on the Forrest Gump scene. How I love that movie.
Michelle M. says
The scene in “While You Were Sleeping” where Lucy (Sandra Bullock) is telling the truth during the wedding. I have literally watched this movie dozens of times and still cry evey time I watch it!
Kiki says
The whole movie The Impossible with Ewan McGregor. It’s a recent one about the Thiland tsunami. Wonderful movie, but cried just about the entire time!
Deb says
OMG, all of these! But, seriously, Cathy, I thought I was the only one that got choked up in that scene from Pitch Perfect. And when her man, sitting in the audience, thrusts his fist into the air? Yeah, that. I had to duck so my hubby wouldn’t think I was a nut job.
dianne says
The end of Titanic just before the old woman dies and you see all her adventures in pictures – I majorly ugly cried in the theater so much that the people next to me asked if I needed help! My new favorite is the scene in We Bought a Zoo when Matt Damon finally looks at the pictures on his computer. Holy hell – even my handsome husband ugly cries at this one.
Jody says
This scene from Terms of Endearment kills me everytime…watch the little boy:
Just watching it now did it again.
Thanks for the early morning ugly cry, Cathy. lol
Mrie says
The movie Life is Beautiful with Roberto Begnini makes me cry every single time. What a masterpiece.
Also, it’s not a film but just last week I watched episode 19 of Chicago Fire and the build-up and ending made me cry for two hours. If you don’t plan on watching, here is the summary and the final scene:
Teal says
So many amazing moments listed above! I’d like to add the scene in Terms of Endearment where Shirley Maclaine yells at the nurses to give Debra Winger her pain shot, and the final minutes of Brokeback Mountain where Ennis visits Jack’s home, finds his shirt, then tucks the shirt inside his own and says “I swear.”
Molly says
At the end of The Journey of Natty Gann when she finally finds her dad… even my parents remember me just sobbing at that part when I was just a kid. Still gets me every time.
Chloe Murray says
I honestly cry at everything, even adverts haha! I broke into the ugly cry last night though, when I watched Now Is Good… I cried the whole way through, but when her little brother leans in as they’re all saying goodbye and whispers “you can haunt me if you want, I don’t mind”.. well… ugly cry came out in full force!
My Girl is another one that emotionally drains me.
April says
Exactly what I was going to mention. I always end up crying in that scene when she is so mad and doesn’t know what to do and she can’t do anything.
angie urbon says
Life is Beautiful near the end (Spoiler alert!!!)when the little boy shouts, “Mama”, literally took my breath away the first time I saw it in the theater, and the tears were unstoppable. Even now when I know it’s coming…can’t watch without the sob.
Linda says
I will have to admit, I am probably one of the few non criers. Life was too hard as a child, and I feel like sometimes I am cried out. That being said, It’s a beautiful Life, did get me and a few hallmark ads do too, not sure what sets me off.
cathy says
My daughters favorite movie is Les Mis, and I have yet to see it! Adding it to the list. She says it makes her cry like crazy.
cathy says
TOTALLY! Me too! Ha!
cathy says
Oh yeah, forgot about Titanic. I start to cry when they play Nearer My God To Thee and show the montage, the old couple on their beds… oh man.
cathy says
Oh. My. God. I cried so hard in the theater, that I had to sit there, for a good five minutes before I could leave. Talk about beautiful and devastating. That was amazing. Just amazing.
cathy says
Oh, I want to see that. Remember reading about it.
cathy says
I have chills just thinking about that scene. I cried SO hard in the theater. I think Aidan and Cole thought I was crazy. The most touching animated sequence of all time. Truly.
Shereen says
Amy K took the words outta my mouth with Steel Magnolia’s, so lets go further back in movie history.
How about the scene in Stella Dallas when Barbara Stanwyck watches her daughter get married, through a window, in the rain.
Or about a dozen scenes in Random Harvest, but most especially the final scene when Greer Garson goes back to the little house and Ronald Colman is there. Get me a tissue.
And I can’t forget, I went to see Up! with my mom and sister not long after my dad passed away and the part where Ellie dies and all the memories! Seriously, an animated movie should NOT make a girl cry.
Kira says
Cathy, You should watch “Senior Year” sometime. That whole year is just one big ugly cry after another. And then graduation – ugh. It took me a month to pull it together! 🙂 Good luck with that.
Ann says
Emma Thompson standing in her bedroom during “Love Actually” when she realizes her husband played by Alan Rickman is cheating on her. All she gets is the Joni Mitchell CD when she knows about the lovely gift the woman with whom he is cheating gets. No words need be said. Ugly cry every time.
Lynn says
NetFlix is going to be busy today and tomorrow! My first ugly cry was while watching “Where The Red Fern Grows” in middle school language arts class. We had just finished reading the novel – this was our reward. We all knew what was coming. 🙁 *sniff*
Diana says
So many above got me..another for me is Toy Story 3 at the end….such a perfectly crafted scene of leaving childhood behind…then adding that music to it….still chokes me up to think about it!
Anya says
Couldn’t agree more… that movie slays me. Also, the end of Toy Story 3. Damn Pixar! 🙂
AnneLBMom says
Truly Madly Deeply – one of my all time favs – good call!
bdaiss says
I’m a crier. I hate it, but it’s true. Drop of the hat happy cry, sad cry, ugly cry, laughing cry. Sheesh. I could probably find something to cry at in most movies.
Bridge to Terebithia is another one – although the book more than the movie. I think I’m too mad at them for messing with the book to get on too good of a cry at the movie.
I agree with many of the above. But the movie that probably does me in the worst is Schindler’s List. I adore that movie, but oh man. I remember seeing it in the theater. The scene at the end where you see the red coat. I realized I hadn’t even processed that the film was black and white until THAT moment. Then I realized what that coat meant. And I bawled….ridiculously.
Cindy aka Scrapcollectr says
The scene in Philadelphia when Joanna Woodward approaches a dying TomHank’s hospital bed, strokes his head and asks “How’s my angel?” I refer to my own children that way so I really felt that tug. ;-/
Carole Jordan says
I agree with so many of the above scenes!! My current “guarantee to trigger the ugly cry” is “Les Miserables”. The end when Jean Valjean dies & his spirit is greeted by the bishop & you hear Fantine singing, “Take my hand / And lead me to salvation / Take my love / For love is everlasting / And remember the truth that once was spoken: / To love another person is to see the face of God.”
Then when they are all singing on the barricade the final “Do You Hear the People Sing”…well, my shirt is usually wet from all the tears streaming down my face…every time!
Jessica Cornman says
I had a major ugly cry in the theatre watching “War Horse.” I still cry thinking about it.
Heidi says
The English Patient, when Ralph/The E.P. finds his love, Kirsten Scott Thomas, in the cave, and he carries her through the desert sobbing, but there’s no sound — just the music…ugh-gly cry! And Anne of Green Gables, when Matthew dies, and Anne sees him fall from across the field…I haven’t seen AofGG since before my dad died, cuz it would just hit a little too close to home.
www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1528713203 says
The opening credits to Up! Cannot watch them and I was a bawling mess before the movie even started!!!
Cheri says
Ghost – the scene with the pottery wheel where Demi can feel Patrick Swayze in the room with her. Several other scenes in that movie too. Of course, I was a big sucker for anything Patrick Swayze…
Marjorie says
Fried Green Tomatoes … When Ruth sends the bible verse from the book of Ruth and of course when Ruth is dying…. And the end when Evelyn finds the honey on Ruth’s grave… I love that movie!!!
Pamela K. says
I swear, I have been the same way lately. I blame it on lack of vitamin D since we have only had like 15 minutes of sunshine in my neck of the woods in the past week. (How do people in the Pacific Northwest do it?) Anyhow, my first real cry when watching a movie is the death scene in “Terms of Endearment*. I saw this with my aunt and she had to sit with me afterwards to calm me down. And the scene in “Shawshank Redemption” that a poster mentioned above. Gets me teary-eyed just thinking about it. 🙁
Margy Eastman says
Since my son is seven, I see a lot of Pixar movies. I cried at the beginning of “Up” and the end of “Toy Story 3.” My sister and I saw the later in the theater with our then littler boys and our dad. We’re sitting there bawling, and all three boys are looking at us like we’re nuts. We agreed it was truly the first episode in what will be a long tradition of embarassing our children.
Shanna says
I saw a trailer for Chimpanzee in the theater and I sobbed. Hence, I can never watch the full movie.
Kate says
Out of Africa when she’s leaving at the end and he talks about making a fire big enough for her to find him.
Life is Beautiful.
The Iron Giant (actually lots of kids movies get to me..,). The end where (spoiler) he flies up and says Superman. Geez, wildly sobbing.
Joy says
Oh boy. Big ugly cry over movies/tv shows is my middle name, seriously. It’s a big family joke around here. I have watched “Ghost” exactly once. Why? Because the first time had me sobbing so hard and so long that I nearly hurled and gave myself a 2-day migraine. “Steel Magnolias”? Again, once and done.
I’m a huge “The West Wing.” I routinely watch episodes from all 7 seasons. We’re talking nearly daily here. I often finding myself mouthing the dialogue along with the actors. There are a handful of episodes I routinely avoid because, despite watching them nearly a dozen times each, I can pretty much be guaranteed a big ugly cry while watching them again. In fact, I can barely watch any episode season 7 (its final season), but the one were they have “Leo” die because the actor John Spencer had actually died and the final episode are just too hard to watch.
One of my daughter’s “childhood” memories will be of coming down the stairs the night the last episode aired and finding me sobbing even before the first scene was over. Sobbing, big ugly, gulping for air sobbing. She was 12. Seriously, she brings it up once or twice a year!
The fact that I can be sobbing over a simple commercial…well, that should help give you the whole picture 😛
Joy says
OMG. I use Homeward Bound (the remake with Michael J. Fox and Sally Fields doing the voices) as my “I need a good cry today” movie. That scene waiting for the Golden to appear at the end. I lose it every time.
tonya says
Beaches…
I watched it for the first time with my best friend when I was about 16. I heard her sniff and then it released my own dam of tears. Big ugly cry. I think it was my first one from a movie.
Chris O says
Drop Dead Fred. It’s a silly, crazy movie, but oh, it gets me as she realizes that it’s okay to love herself, that she is enough and she frees the little girl inside.
Ugly cries every time.
Megan says
The end of Armageddon when Bruce Willis stays behind to detonate the bomb, and he’s talking to Liv Tyler (his daughter) is the most heart wrenching scene!!
Kathy PDX OR says
ever since i was just little, the end of Wizard of Oz when Dorothy (Judy Garland) leaves Oz, i sob like there’s no tomorrow.
H2 says
The Color Purple in its entirety keeps me a bit weepy. I caught it on Sunday and had to change the channel to keep from getting very emotional. The opening credits when Ceclie comes out of the sunflower patch pregnant, you know what is going to happen next. The entire move, just simply awesome. I share your sentiment about that movie not winning A SINGLE OSCAR. Whoopi should have won the statue for this one instead of Ghost–everyone was robbed with this one!
Another I caught just recently is Jerry McGuire–forgot how good this one is. The relationship between Cuba Gooding Jr. and Regina King (Rod and Marcy) is awesome–warms my heart.
Too many more to name, but as I’m thinking through your question I realize that the “Ugly Cry” is a big part of my life!!
Joy says
Oh man! I can’t watch the first 5 minutes of “Up!”
Joy says
Oh yes! The scene where he goes running through the barb wire? Oh my, just got the chills and teared up remember that scene again.
Heather says
Same here. I go from ugly cry to laughing within seconds.
Also? The end of Moulin Rouge. Gets me every time.
Joy says
One of my all time favorite movies. Ever. And this scene? Crazy ugly cry every time.
Colleen says
Oh geez. Most of these. But how about that scene in Joy Luck Club where the mother gives June her necklace and says, “I see you.” Gah. I was trying not to disturb the entire theater with my sobbing.
Kitsa says
I couldn’t agree more.
Amy says
I’m a self described emotional boob. I cry at everything…parades, almost every play I’ve ever been to, any tv or movie scene that involves old people or kids.
The Champ with Ricky Schroder used to get me every time. The Green Mile and Steel Magnolias send me off the deep end.
Claire C says
Oh, Marley and Me – at the end and Hachi:A Dog’s Story with Richard Gere. Sob city. The whole family cried at both of those …
Wendy says
OMG…this is not from a movie, but from the Showtime series, “The Big C”. Cathy, who is a young mom fighting skin cancer, but knowing she is losing the battle, has a storage locker. Her 15 year old son finds the key, and goes to see what is in this locker. When he opens the door, it is FILLED with a car, and all wrapped presents. All with notes on them from her, for his different birthdays, holidays, and life events (graduation, marriage, etc), that she will miss when she is gone. My GOD, the scene still haunts me, and I cried uncontrollably when I first saw it and even now if I think about it.
Suzette says
My Dog Skip absolutely KILLS me. At the end my husband and I were absolute puddles.
cathy says
I totally forgot about My Girl. Someone else posted about that too. That was a good one!
cathy says
I just posted on another comment, I couldnt get out of my seat after that movie. Just sat there and sobbed. Devastating on so many levels, and yet beautiful too.
cathy says
Kira, Ive never even heard of that one. But oh yeah, Im guessing Ill be crying WAY too much in the next year. Sigh.
Will check it out for sure. With tissues in hand.
cathy says
OH yeah, that and Finding Nemo, when Nemo says, I CAN DO THIS! Okay, that made me choke up just typing it.
Pixar!
cathy says
OH MY GOSH! ME TOO! While READING it. That was the first time I cried and I was like, 10. Totally forgot about that story.
cathy says
Ann, I JUST watched that movie recently, again, for like the millionth time and yes… that scene. Its so drawn out. So heartbreaking.
Stacia says
Oh yes, Hugo. The whole thing, so achingly beautiful and sad and amazing at the same time. I loved that movie.
Stacia says
Terms of Endearment! Oh man, I can’t watch that one again, yikes.
Lohersh says
My Sister’s Keeper. Oh my gosh. We were all bawling. Others that made me cry – Hotel Rwanda made both my hubby and me cry just thinking about the hopelessness and the human spirit. The part in Jesus of Nazareth where Jesus’ mother is at the foot of the cross and it’s pouring, just throws back her head in grief in the rain and just wails. I was sobbing into a dish towel. Anyone who is a mother would do the same! Same for the opening sequence of Saving Private Ryan – it all came out thinking about it from a mother’s perspective. ET has always made me cry, ever since I first saw it in 1985. Even Bambi and Up! Did it for me. I must be a sappy soul.
Stacia says
I was going to say Brokeback Mountain too, oh, just gut-wrenching.
cathy says
I applaud criers! : ) And yes, that movie. No words. Devastating and beautiful.
cathy says
One of my ALL TIME favorite movies.
cathy says
I hear you Margy. The start of Up took me completely by surprise. Cant even think about it without getting choked up.
cathy says
Classic crying movie. : )
Stacia says
One that I remember had me sobbing in the theater (the can’t-get-out-of-my-seat-to-leave kind) was “Michael Collins.” Just couldn’t believe he was so close, at an impossible task, and then brought down like that. Aiiieeee…
cathy says
Oh man, and the wake scene, with the Neil Young song playing, and the video of him as a child. Beautiful. So heartbreaking.
cathy says
You know, Jerry McGuire makes me sob too, and I am not a real fan of Tom Cruise, but something about that movie hit the mark.
cathy says
Love that movie.
cathy says
Gulp. : )
cathy says
I loved that movie. A big Rik Mayall fan here.
cathy says
My daughter has watched all of the West Wing, and it makes her cry too!
Danell Manchee says
The Way we Were with Streisand and Redford. “Your girl is lovely, Hubble.” Ugh!! Ugly cry everytime!
cathy says
Okay, that would make me sob. Never seen that show but heard it was good.
cathy says
ET! Okay, truth time: It was the first movie I cried at. And I was 17. And I cried SO hard, sitting in the front row of a movie theater in downtown Everett, Washington. I never understood before that day why my mom got emotional at certain movies. I still cant watch ET die without completely losing it.
Shelly says
Field of Dreams – when Kevin Costner realizes the baseball player is his father, his father in his youth. And then when he asks his Dad if he can have a “catch.” Never fails to make me fall apart.
D says
Know you asked for movies, but a Quantum Leap TV episode – MIA – makes me totally “ugly cry.” General plot is that Al [a hologram in our world] was a POW for many years. His wife, Beth, painfully decided to have him declared dead so she could move on with her life. The last scene is where Beth and Al “dance” together to “Georgia” sung by Ray Charles. Al’s line to Beth: “I want you to wait for me, Beth. Don’t give up, honey. ‘Cause I’m alive out there… and I’m only alive because of our love… And someday… Oh, Beth… someday, I’m gonna come back home to you.”
As for movies – besides Sense & Sensibility & Up:
Casablanca where Rick is reading Ilsa’s letter to him;
WALL-E;
Roman Holiday when Audrey leaves Gregory Peck & then the ending when they go on with their separate lives;
Waterloo Bridge [poor Vivien Leigh]
Queen Christina at the end of the movie
Debbie S. says
I am a big movie cryer, especially the older I get. The one that I’ve seen watched again recently that’s jumping to mind is 13 Going on 30. When she goes back to her parents’ house and gets into bed with her mom…and the whole redemption theme, and the 80’s music. No matter how often I watch it, I love it and bawl like crazy. 😀
Nicole says
Steel Magnolias, everytime
Beaches gets me too
The Neverending Story has a few points too I still cry like a kid when the horse dies in the swamp
The end of Les Mis (always loved the play, saw it at least 4 times & the most recent movie was amazing)
Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood
wow I never realized how many movies make me cry…
Annemarie says
Cried like a baby reading it, and ugly cried again at seeing it in Deathly Hallows Part 1 & 2, but when Dobby is killed and Harry buries him???? I’m choked up now thinking about it… Damn Bellatrix!!!
Andrea Grimes says
I tend to cry more at happy than sad–don’t know why that is. The final scene in Mr. Holland’s Opus, where all of his students from 30+ years of teaching show up to perform his unpublished symphony, and he realizes that he has had a profound effect on so many, many people and that far from being a failure as a composer, he was instead a towering success of a man as a teacher–well, that gets me every time. (Of course, it may be because I am a teacher too…)
Sarah says
I was about to post the same thing. As soon as I hear the opening strains of Nearer My God to Thee, I start to tear up. The old couple, the mom tucking her kids into bed and telling them a story… I cry just thinking about it.
Suzanne says
Not a movie but there are two songs from Les Mieserables make me cry every time… when Fantine sings “Come to Me,” and then the finale song at the end of the play when Jean Valjean dies. Both make me weep when I hear them!
Sarah says
I mentioned about Titanic above, but had to add Little Women – book and movie – when Beth dies. Leading up to her death she tells Jo that she’s not scared, and that how all of her life she’s been left behind but this time she gets to go first. It gets me every time.
PatB says
West Side Story – the climactic scene where Chino shoots Tony and Maria (Natalie Wood) pours out a heart-wrenching verbal attack on those who gather around. Even though I’ve seen the movie many times and know this scene is coming, it still gets me every time.
Christie says
I remember sitting in the theater with my mom and brother on opening night for ET and thinking I am not going to cry over this ugly alien thing. I am not going to cry. Nope, not going to cry. And then he isn’t dead, and I start blubbering.
Toy Story 3 gets me every time too. And Terms of Endearment, when Shirley Maclaine saying she thought it would be a relief when she died and how she was so wrong.
Amy Walker says
Oh geez there are just so many!! The one besides “Steel Magnolias'” that comes to the forefront of my mind is “Marley and Me”, right at the part where they are at the vet. I have tried so many times to watch that movie without crying and it gets me every single time. The first time I saw it was the Christmas before my parents put their beloved Boxer, Copper, down. Since then I just bawl every time. Now that I have two dogs of my own it’s even harder and I forbid myself from watching it. I also cry the ugly cry during “Soul Surfer” when Bethany is talking to her dad on the beach, and the movie “My Sister’s Keeper” when the father sees his daughter all dressed up and she asks, “Do I look pretty Daddy?” and he can’t really answer. Ok I need to stop now and go get some Kleenex.
Amy Walker says
That gets me every time too!!!
Amy Walker says
Love that movie!!!!
Amy Walker says
Oops…I just remembered one more. Hope Floats!!! Gets me every time!!!
Sarah says
My most recent was watching The Odd Life of Timothy Green with my kiddos. Jennifer Garner is crying after their trip to the doctor. I’m SOBBING (this right after a conversation with someone about their infertility) and my 6 and 9 year old are just staring wondering what is wrong with me.
PatB says
Loved Random Harvest! Another great Greer Garson movie (and opportunity for an ugly cry!) is Mrs. Miniver. The scene where their village is getting bombed & her little boy says, “They nearly got us that time, didn’t they, Mummy?” Pass the tissues!
Robyn G. says
Not for me, but my Mom can’t watch Armageddon without crying. The first time she watched it, she burst into tears when she saw the missing man formation fly overhead. Now she cries earlier and earlier, just because she knows it’s coming.
I have to say that, for myself, I cry at nearly everything since becoming a mother. It’s pretty pathetic. 🙂
Robyn G. says
*sniff sniff* I adore Mr. Holland’s Opus!
Sarah says
OMG and watch the Vincent Van Vogh episode of Doctor Who. The WHOLE thing. I sob hysterically EVERY TIME!
Hilary says
Anne of Green Gables, when Matthew dies…I just skip that part now! I can’t take the tears.
Also, Fried Green Tomatoes has 3 or 4 good crying scenes.
The ugliest cry I ever had during a movie was Schindler’s list. I didn’t have any kleenex with me, so let’s just say by the time I left the theater my sweatshirt needed to take a turn in the dryer. The scene where they make the old man with one arm shovel and because he can’t they shoot him…Oh goodness…my (Jewish) grandfather had one arm and that scene sent me over the edge. My husband (boyfriend at the time) kept asking me if I was okay!
So many of the movies listed above make me weepy…let’s face it, I’m the type of person who cries when I’m angry (especially at myself), so a movie, tv show, or even commercials (!) will make me cry.
Jen S says
OMG CZ! I’m not a crier at all & I couldn’t breathe through my nose for about 10 mins after I left the theater seeing Les Mis! Several scenes got me in that one… But other than that… Steel Magnolia’s… ehhh. Titanic – I went for more popcorn while my bff was sobbing hysterically. Shawshank… nothing…
Angie says
I don’t think I’ve seen The Boy in Striped Pajamas mentioned…. Oh man, UGLY cry.
Kim L says
Steel Magnolias gets me every time.
But I have to tell you that I cried the first time I watched Lion King with my son, many, many years ago. The scene where Mufasa dies – bring on the kleenex!
Cassie says
Toy Story 3 at the end when Andy is remembering all of the fun he had with his toys as he gives them away. Crying just typing about it! We saw this in June of 2010 about 2 months before my son went off to college. Our little family of 4 left the theater in tears:( My son called it an “emotional hangover”. I just returned from dropping my daughter off at the U.S. Air Force Academy last week and when my son picked us up at the airport he said,”Got the emotional hangover like from Toy Story?” I must have looked pretty rough!
Anne says
It’s My Party – an old movie from the 90s about a man dying of AIDS on his own terms. Eric Roberts plays the lead, and he is devastating; the whole movie takes place during his last night surrounded by all his friends and loved ones. It’s a great movie, but the ending leaves me a sobbing mess every time.
patty m says
“Best” cry: The final, random reunion scene of “The Way We Were”
Biggest gulp: Forrest Gump asking if his son is smart.
Worst cry EVER: The entire last third of “Terms of Endearment”
-can’t even Think about the scene with the make-up in the hospital before the kids come to visit.
cathy says
Oh you and me both!
cathy says
I remember that show! : )
cathy says
I love that movie too!
cathy says
Oh man, I start sobbing in the beginning when all of the animals bow to the baby lion.
Every time.
cathy says
Yeah, I think its going to be hard to watch that movie when my girl heads off to school. Sigh.
Wendy says
The ugly cry oh ya, it’s been a while since I rewatched the color purple what an epic movie.
I thought I could watch your clip and not cry not a chance still wiping my tears.
thank you Cathy for sharing this.
Marina D-K says
Great post! Similar to a few others I cry at almost anything, commercials, movies, tv shows…watch out. My hubs and 5yo are totally used to it. My famous words are crying gets the toxins out. So he likes to say “that was a good release of your toxins”. Anyways, all of these movies are definitely on my cry list. Most recently though I watched wreck it ralph, when he wrecks her car, or the end when he almost sacrifices himself in the soda mountain…yup I cry…
Mona S says
Rudy. When the team one by one leaves their jersey on the coach’s desk saying “For Rudy” and then of course when the crowd is chanting “Rudy, Rudy” (and I am not even a sports fan! LOL) Also, The Man in the Moon. When Maureen is saying her good bye’s at the grave as Dani looks on –
Kim says
Teal, that is one of thee most powerful moments I have ever seen. I remember getting goosebumps when I first saw it….but then when I became a mother. Man oh man….she played it brilliantly.
Stephanie Baxter says
The ending of The Notebook. The ending of Breakfast at Tiffany’s. When Beth dies in Little Women. I’m sure there are hundreds more but those are the ones that stand out!
Kim says
You’ve just taken me back 40 years…I feel like crying right now;)
Kim says
ok, I can’t take much more of this!!!!
Kim says
one big bawl fest!
Stephanie Baxter says
Oh, and in Les Mis from the moment Hugh Jackman starts singing, which is like 1 minute in. Haha. I’m such a cry baby! I even cry when Goose dies in Top Gun.
Kim says
I think we need to make a list of these sobbers:) We all need a good fulfilling cry every now and then.
AnneLBMom says
Ann, or when she says to him “you’ve made a fool out of me, and you’ve made the life I lead foolish too”. Wow. (Good thing all the corny heathrow arrivals gate also gets me in that good cry way!)
Monica Williams says
OMG!! Just reading this made that Neil Young song pop into my head a tears come out of my eyes!! So heartbreaking! 🙁
AnneLBMom says
Oh, for some reason, oh Captain my captain from Dead Poets sticks out. It can make me cry thinking about, maybe as I was leaving teenage-hood on the cusp of adulthood. Still love that so much.
Stephanie Baxter says
One last one, I swear! Have you seen Awakenings?! Oh my lord. Sob fest! And ditto to the person who said War Horse.
Laura Lee says
Ok…me too on Steel Magnolias…I was very preggers on an airplane from Boston to Atlanta first time I saw it! That scene with Sally Field’s and she is so MAD!!! that she should just punch Weeza…lol. OH Gosh go from mad hysterical crying to laughing.
Monica Williams says
Hmmm … So many good ones listed! My mom and sisters and I all watched “Up” together a few months after my Dad died. Sob fest!! “Toy Story 3” is a killer, too.
I also lose it every time during the ending of “Billy Elliott”. And girl, if you ever decide to watch “In America” (came out in 2002), make sure you have the extra large box of tissues! Maybe even some paper towels! Gawd!! The music, alone, from that movie is enough to get me going!
Terry says
I actually am NOT a crier, but if you want to go for devastation, watch Jean de Florette first and then the sequel Manon of the Spring.
Gabriella says
Oh my gosh–that scene. That little boy KILLS me. Every Single Time. I would never have been able to direct that scene–I would have kept stopping to hug him.
alise says
For me it is the movie “I AM SAM”. gets me everytime.
Still think Sean Penn deserved the oscar for that role.
cathy says
I think a lot of people cry when Goose dies. For reals. ; )
Ginger Watson says
I agree with so many here! The one that really tears me to shreds – totally ugly cry – is “Places in the Heart” with Sally Field, Danny Glover, John Malcovich. What happens to Danny Glover . . . and then THAT ENDING! When this straight ahead narrative becomes magical realism and they are all sharing communion together, the black and the white, the living and the dead, the ones who killed and the ones who were killed. SO BEAUTIFUL IT KILLS ME!!
Cassie says
Yes! I had forgotten about this one. Must re-watch so that husband can experience the ugly cry too!
Tracy Richards says
So funny that you said that about Pitch Perfect because I just watched it Saturday and when I cried at that part both my husband and daughter looked at my like I was from another planet! Good to know I am not crazy (well maybe a little)! Lol!
Kacy V says
My mom used to watch two old “tearjerker” movies when we were kids:
Imitation of Life (with Lana Turner) – mom wanted us to learn about racism: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052918/reviews
The funeral scene at the end is so sad, that we would cry uncontrollably, and hours later still have the “crying hiccups” (where you are breathing funny).
And Madame X (again with the Lana Turner): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060645/plotsummary?ref_=tt_ov_pl
You can watch Imitation of Life streaming on Netflix, and I think they will mail you a DVD of Madame X if you subscribe. Highly recommend them both, if you get a chance!
Kacy V says
A friend and I watched this in the theatre when we were in Jr. High, and were still SOBBING more than an hour later after the movie ended and we had walked home.
Katy says
Oh, I just watched this with my 13-year old daughter. I sobbed so hard she had to pause the movie so I could compose myself. Several times.
Kacy V says
And how could I forget Mermaids?!?! (facepalm!)
Darlene says
The little girl at about the 4 minute mark made me sob. http://nation.foxnews.com/2013/07/01/could-be-most-patriotic-video-youll-ever-see
mrsgeek says
I loose it at the final scene from the Help with the little girl crying after Aibileen.
Up gets me every time. Both the opening montage and then when Carl looks through the scrapbook. In fact my hubby was a mess in the theater when we saw it. I asked him why he was so emotional, he answered, “She’s a red head and she scrapbooks, how am I not supposed to be effected by that?!” 🙂
Natalee says
The Notebook. I’ve seen it a couple dozen times….still have the ugly cry at the end EVERY TIME.
Another one that came to mind was “A walk to remember” with Mandy Moore. I can’t even watch that movie!
Caroline C. says
Toy Story 3: cried like a big ol’ baby when all the toys hold hands in the face of demise! Oh man! And then at the end when Andy is playing with his toys one last time! Killer. My list of Kleenex-required movies is loooong. Pollyanna when the entire town turns out to make her smile when she’s paralyzed?! Ol’ Yeller. Cocoon. Harry Potter when Dumbledore dies or when Harry goes to face Voldemort. And the onstage musical Wicked? Like a baby!!! Out of Africa. That soundtrack brings tears to my eyes. And who could forget that old McDonald’s commercial: “I had blue eyes first!” Oh my. I’m really getting all worked up.
Cara S says
If anyone has ever seen “the Snow Goose”……with Jenny Agutter. I can feel tears welling as I just think about it.
Judy Lucas says
Up – the beginning – the first 15 minutes – Gets.Me.Every.Time……
Oh and Far and Away – bawled and English Patient – sobbing –
And lets not forget Sixteen Candles when she looks out of the church and there is Jake – ugh – It’s sad I know –
cindy b says
Oh SWEET JESUS..I can’t even begin to list the movies (and/or commercials) that put me in a tail spin of deep sobbing. And believe me, once the flood gates are open, it’s impossible to stop. Just to name a FEW: The Notebook, A Walk to Remember, Dead Poets Society, The Gladiator, Patriot…I could go ON ANA ON and another one: Now mind you, I am not a big animal lover but OMG the movie Marley and Me had me bawling as well. And ANYTHING related to Cancer I pretty much either turn off and throw everyone out of the room so I can bawl like a baby!
Janne says
Hachi: A dog’s tail
Audrey says
Your timing is impeccable! I was just weeping in public this past Sunday night. I went to a GoGo’s/B52s concert with my husband and teen son just looking forward to dancin’ and good fun. The GoGo’s came on stage first and almost the minute they started playing I started weeping.
These women, these old women ROCKED. I was overcome by how fierce and powerful and talented and gorgeous they were and that time had not diminished any of that. (I’m getting teary eyed just typing this.)
Maybe it’s hormonal — PMS on top of Peri-menopause hormones. I don’t know. At any rate, I was embarrassed and thought I must be the only one crying in this audience and I didn’t want anyone to see my tears even my son and husband because it’s weird, right?
So thanks for writing this post and thanks for all the people who responded and shared their stories, because I see I’m not the only one. (Yes I cry in movies too. Most recently I cried during Pitch Perfect! Any movie with women kickin’ ass makes me cry.)
Bonnie says
I cry at quite a few of the movies mentioned. The last time we watched Up, my 6 yr old daughter didn’t really understand the beginning and asked me about it. I had to try and explain it to her through my tears.
The Help is another big one for me. I listened to the audiobook first and just sobbed through the last half hour or more. The movie got the feel of it just right and I lost it at the end.
Melanie says
The Notebook, Schindler’s List, and Where the Red Fern Grows (book only) Total blubbery mess, and my husband totally lost it for The Notebook too… Turned to me at the end of the movie and just said “You can’t die first, okay?”
Dianne Denhem says
Even the 58th time has me sobbing.
Cathie says
Damn Pixar, indeed! I don’t know if I can ever watch the end of Toy Story 3 again. I saw it in the theatre with my my 3 year old so the ugly cry was not an option but I was ugly-crying on the inside.
Veronica says
Lately, everything makes me cry. Even 007 in Skyfall when “M” dies and there is a tear falling down his gorgeous cheek. Might have something to do with the emotional roller coaster I am in with hormones (48 years old now) and the fact that I have to say goodbye to all three of my sons in two short months. All three will be in university next year, and it is not the just the pain of an empty bank account for four years, but also the empty house, the empty hugs, the empty fridge, the empty pantry, and the empty hole in my heart as they leave on this next stage of their lives.
Shannan says
I am not a crier, but ET get’s me every time. I even put it on when I feel like a cry.
genevieve says
The trampoline scene in Away We Go. Though, a lot of scenes in that movie make me cry.
Cathie says
Absolutely! I love that movie and cry like crazy every time. I can’t even hear “Somewhere” without crying.
Cathie says
Ol’ Yeller gets me everytime. I was young when I saw it and cried so hard. I couldn’t believe my parents rented it thinking I would enjoy it.
Leanne in CA says
I start crying at the beginning of the Notebook because I know what’s going to happen and love the story. It’s a long cry all the way thru the movie!! One of my favorites and so worth it.
Cathie says
great post and wonderful comments. I loved reading it all.
J3SS1C4 says
I’ve never been much of a cryer, but the last 6 months or so, that seems to have changed. I cried like crazy in “Up” and recently started watching “Over the Hedge” and cried at how mean they all were to the turtle who was trying to protect them 🙁
It’s funny… I watched Titanic when I was about 14 or so, and thought it was pretty standard when Jack died… I bet if I watched it now, I’d cry too!
cathy says
I loved that movie!
cathy says
Great recommendations! Thanks. : )
cathy says
Wasnt Jenny Agutter the actress from American Werewolf in London? That rings a bell!
cathy says
Empty… sigh, I hear you. Its coming to my house eventually too.
cathy says
Love that movie.
Liz says
How about Stepmom where a dying Susan Sarandon calls her children in one at a time to give them their Christmas presents, so sad!! You can’t not cry. Cold Mountain for sure. King Kong!
Carolyn says
This may sound crazy – but Rudy makes me cry. Yes, the football movie. In like 5 different places – and EVERY time. Also the same as most, Steel Magnolias, Up, Toy Story, Shawshank Redemption. This post sponsored by Kleenex.
Tanya says
I live in a total geek house – of which I’m one. So for me, it’s Star Wars Episode III – the last one of the new ones. I’ve seen it once in the theater and I’ll never watch it again. I started crying an hour before anything bad happened – anytime Anakin and Padme were together. You just knew that he was going to betray her and break her heart. She literally dies of a broken heart at the end! Oh my god, I’m tearing up just writing this. Must stop.
Tanya says
Oh. I totally forgot about The Descendants. Went to see it with friends. I’m not sure why I ever agreed to it. I don’t usually see movies like it because I know I’ll cry too much. My dad died when I was 13. It hit way too close to him. I was the only of of the 5 of us crying. One of my friends didn’t get the ending at all. But that’s life – you have to just keep going and have some sense of normalcy at some point.
Katy says
All the above…
The one I haven’t seen mentioned doesn’t make me ugly cry, but makes my tough guy husband sob is “High School Musical.” Gets him every time… He says because it is so Disney-esque. He can’t watch “Finding Nemo” without tissues either (me too).
Christie M says
The final scene in House of Sand and Fog. If you haven’t seen it, I won’t spoil it. But Ben Kingsley broke my heart! The book is fantastic if you’re looking for a depressing read! Haha
Shannon Mc says
The “Captain My Captain” scene from Dead Poet’s Society. Every. Fricking. Time.
Christine says
This one’s kind of weird, but the scene in Gladiator when he dies and sees his family in heaven…brings me to my knees. Also, did anyone watch Thirty Something? I still remember sobbing my head off when Gary died!
Ilona says
My life with Michael Keaton, omg when his dad is shaving his face and when they surprise him with the carnival in the backyard, sobbing!
Susanne Nash says
The original Brian’s Song gets me from the moment the music starts, but the biggest cry ever for me was Cinema Paradiso. When it gets to the end and you realize what the end means, I cried for days after, every time I thought about it, and I usually cry if I try to tell some one about it!
Susanne Nash says
Rudy is one of my favorites, and I cry every time he opens the blasted envelopes, and I have seen it 20 or more times.
Kathleen says
I always am so relieved when I hear someone else sobbing in the movie theater. Then, I don’t feel like I have to hold it in any longer!
We watched “Silver Lining Playbook” last night. I don’t want to wreck it for those who have not seen it …. but the dance competition and the following scenes …. I could not hold it together.
Here are two that go way back.
“Love Story” – The scene when Oliver crawls in Jennifer’s hospital bed is just too much to take.
“The Champ” – I think I needed a paper bag because I started to hyperventilate when the little boys cries out, “Wake up, Champ! You can’t go to sleep now! Wake up!” I get teary just thinking about it.
Becky A says
The Help. You is kind. You is smart. You is important.
Christine says
OMG – that’s exactly the other scene I was going to mention – My Life when His dad is shaving his face…I get goosebumps thinking about that!
Sally says
Mr. Holland’s Opus makes me completely fall apart. My little brother is 13 years younger than me and went deaf when he was two. The scene where the mom is looking through the cupboards asking him what he wants- I did that countless times with my brother. That one hits way to close to home.
Debbie in AZ says
The Prince of Tides — an older drama with Nick Nolte and Barbra Streisand does it for me.
Jo says
Not a movie, but as a child i used to watch ‘The Littlest Hobo’ – dog that goes from town to town helping people. well the end credits and song when the dog is walking away made me cry every time haha!
Heidi says
I watched Brave with my two little children, and in the end when it gets a little scary just before sunrise we sobbed really, really hard… Also, Up really got me too.
Love Actually, yup.
Also The Sixth Sense. Major cry.
The Green Mile and the Shawshank Redemption.
And Million Dollar Baby. Wow, that hit me hard!
To tell the truth, I cry from everything. I think it’s an ST thing, because my NF boyfriend never cries. He says it’s because he has the movie all wrapped up before he gets to the cry parts, and doesn’t get caught by a surprise.
Heidi says
Oh and if you haven’t already, watch the Spanish movie El Laberinto del Fauno. You can cover your eyes in the violent parts.
Gina says
I can’t talk about “Wizard of Oz” without starting to cry in the process. My husband has never seen it, but he’s seen me cry about it! Big ugly cry at the end of “Cinema Paradiso.” There are many more, but those are the first two that come to mind.
Barb in AK says
I still cry my eyes out when Old Yeller has to be shot! :'(
Barb in AK says
Oh! And don’t watch “On Borrowed Time”— a really oldie— unless you have stock in Kleenex! Oh! And don’t forget “Captains Courageous”! Can you tell I’m of a totally different generation???
cathy says
That was a powerful movie.
cathy says
Oh yes, read the book and saw the movie. So sad.
cathy says
I need to watch that again some time. I remember loving it… and crying.
cathy says
Oh man, I forgot about Brians Song. I totally forgot. THAT was the first movie to make me cry and I was young, maybe 12. I always thought it was ET but no, it was Brians Song!
cathy says
OH Man, The Champ. I can HEAR little Ricky Schroeders voice. Gulp.
cathy says
Thirtysomething. Oh man. I watched that in my early 20s and I cried ALL the time. I loved that show so much.
Banu H says
WOW, this post made me nostalgic. I am a sucker for older movies and two movies which never fail to get the UGLY Cry out of me are – Roman Holiday (esp the last scene when he gives her the photos) and also Sound of Music – esp the dance scene…..Now I have to go back and watch both these movies again.
But there were surely some mentioned here that resonated with me as well. Jerry McGuire, Forest Gump, The Lucky One, Steel Magnolias :)) The list is getting bigger I think. I have to go back and see a few of these again.
Kim says
I can’t believe no one mentioned Imitation of life with Lana turner. There are way too many scenes that have me crying.
cathy says
Kim, someone did, in an earlier post! I have never seen that movie so it is now on my list for sure!
Cris says
Hormones. Nuf said.
Judy Webb says
A great day on Bits and Pieces.
Jessica B says
Anne of Green Gables gets me every time!!! Love that movie the book is even worse for me!
Jessica B says
LOVE Fried Green Tomatoes!!!
Jessica B says
Love the Movie! Love Bette! I cry before the scenes even start because I know they are coming. If you haven’t read the book make sure you have boxes of tissues before you do.
Jessica B says
Little Women gets be everytime!! So does the Notebook.
Jessica B says
Love A Walk to Remember!! Love that Nicholas Sparks!
Jessica B says
There is a remake of Pollyanna called Polly with Rudy from the Cosby Show! Hands down one of my favorites. I wore the tape out watching it again and again. They also did a sequel, Polly coming home. I believe. I’m blanking on the exact title.
Jessica B says
Ok, so I have done a lot of commenting today! 🙂 I realize that I cried at just about all these movies and wrote down about 5 that I hadn’t seen to check out. One movie I didn’t see on the list is Where the Heart is. The book made me cry much more than the movie but it is a tear-jerker for sure!
Great post today! It was fun reading through everything.
pam says
Yes, when everything turns to color. I couldn’t even see for the tears.
pam says
I reread the Anne books every summer and have a good cry fest.
Angie Kyle says
Major Ugly cry for Color Purple, Beaches, Notebook, Steel Magnolias, Bridges of Madison County and Imitation of Life (at then end)…it’s an oldie with Sandra Dee. Also, many episodes of Little House on the Prairie get me as well.
Amy says
A movie from 2000 called ‘My Dog Skip.’ It’s about a little boy growing up in the South during WWII. He doesn’t have any friends, so his parents buy him a puppy. Finally bought it last week and watched it with my kids. I’m totally bawling by the end, and only one of my kids shed a tear. Are they dead inside?
Kari Daverson says
Terms of Endearment…in the hospital when she is saying goodbye to her kids. ugh! Then there is StepMom – so many scenes. Susan Sarandan is amazing in that movie.
Kendra B says
In reading through the comments, I’ve cried in all the movies people have listed so far! One that makes me cry (that I didn’t see above) is The Other Sister. I cry near the end when the marching band comes marching over the hill … gets me every time!!!
angela ezzell says
I totally agree about that scene in Pitch Perfect! My other unexpected cry scene is in Easy A. Emma Stone is in her counselor’s office (Lisa Kudrow) as the couselor is detailing how her life and marriage is falling apart…when Emma says, “I could have chlamydia…” Uggghhh, so selfless towards someone who’s been rotten to her!
My ugly-cry-through-the-whole-movie is the Italian film “Life is Beautiful.” You need a box a Kleenex AND an ice pack for your eyes!
Janie says
Out of Africa – when she finds out his plane wnet down and he’s not coming back to her.
RobynS says
Ok I have two. They each need their own post. I have watched City of Angels 792356713 times. Really that many times and sob each time.
Seth: I would rather have had one breath of her hair, one kiss of her mouth, one touch of her hand, than eternity without it. One.
I Grieve – Peter Gabriel
Love-love-love it. How can you not!! just saying.
RobynS says
Number two for me is Four Weddings and a Funeral when W. H. Auden – Funeral Blues is read.
John Hannah playing Matthew reads it.
Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.
Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message ‘He is Dead’.
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.
He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.
The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun,
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood;
For nothing now can ever come to any good.
Sue says
Saving Private Ryan – when the mother looks out her kitchen window while washing dishes and sees the police car coming up the road. When she goes to the front porch and sees both the priest and the sheriff get out of the car and take off their hats, she collapses because she knows how bad the news is going to be.
Or the entire movie The Road. I could only watch the movie in sections – never saw it all the way through and couldn’t bare to read the book.
Lee says
So many of the films listed I too have cried at.
I almost collapsed in the movie theater over “Terms of Endearment”. Afterwards, I had to sit in the car for ages, sobbing uncontrollably.
But two I haven’t seen mentioned are:
“It’s A Wonderful Life” – the final scene when George comes home and Mary arrives with all the residents of Bedford Falls!
And “Notting Hill” – the last scenes where Will realizes he shouldn’t have refused Anna and his friends rush him to the press conference!
Both films trigger a deluge of tears – but happy ones!
;o)
Karen (NZ) says
I’m a crier so tears often fall during movies. Staunch teenage son, who thinks I’m a softie, ALWAYS has a moment during Bucket List.
lohersh says
Oh gosh, there are so many…aside from all the TV commercials that get me, where do I begin? Up! for sure, and the part in The Holiday where Jude Law is crying…and West Side Story when Tony dies…Hotel Rwanda made both my husband and me cry at the end, just from the prospect of such hopelessness and that amazing human spirit…Two scenes that made me bawl like a baby from the perspective of a mother: The scene in Jesus of Nazareth where his mother, Mary, is at the foot of the cross and it’s pouring, and she just puts her head back and WAILS her grief. Oh man, I was sobbing into a dishtowel. The other is the opening sequence of Saving Private Ryan when all those young men were just sitting ducks as they got off the boats – really got to me. One of the worst tear-jerkers I remember is ‘My Sister’s Keeper’. Had us ALL in tears. There are so many!
christine Farndon says
My Girl where the girls father is telling her that Macauly Culkin has died.
Monsters Inc the end where Sully goes back into Boo’s room.
Pretty much all of Lion King, lol, yeah i’m a sucker for a good cry too.
jacquie says
Ordinary People and Sophie’s Choice…
Robyng says
All of the above and The Way We Were when Barbra sees Hubble and touches his hair!
Jeanna Cata says
I can actually hold my own through almost any movie. My ENTIRE family can recall the first time I ever broke down, which was Armageddon. You’d think I was a freak of nature! There are a handful of others since then, such as Moulin Rouge and the new Star Trek movie. I will, apparently, show real human emotions if you give me a good book or a Soldier Family reunion video.
Happy WOYWW!
Tracy says
Oh gosh – are you ready? The new Muppet Movie, at the end, when Kermit and Miss Piggy are singing The Rainbow Connection, and all of the other Muppets join hands and come out to sing with them… I sobbed. So glad there were no witnesses. Until now. 🙂
Tracy says
Makes me cry every time!
lohersh says
Sorry I posted twice – couldn’t find my first one, so posted again because I thought I did it wrong! duh! But I thought of another one – Brian’s Song made me really cry when I was a kid.
Karen says
Not sure if it’s already been mentioned but Pearl Harbour is another. Tears streaming down my face when the lights came on.
cathy says
Oh yes, that PG song… its perfect in that movie. I loved that movie too!
cathy says
I have never seen either. Must add to my list!
cathy says
That is kind of awesome!
cathy says
Yep. That movie was the very first movie I cried at, and I was 10. I had forgotten about it until a reader posted it.
mrsgeek says
I <3 West WIng and am thrilled that Netflix has the entire series now. The one that jumps to my mind is the Stakhouse Filibuster. "My question is in 22 parts and might take quite a while. Perhaps you might like to sit and have some water while I ask it."
Lois says
Here’s an old one…On Golden Pond…when Jane Fonda tells her father that she wants to be his friend. And I’ve never seen “Up” but from the posts I’ve read here, I’m not going to watch it!!
Britiney @ Consider the Lilies says
I think at least one other person said this, but the end of Toy Story 3. Tears well up in my eyes just thinking about it. Andy driving away and looking back at his toys. My kids think I’m a lunatic that I cry every. single. time. It’s ridiculous. But of course I’m always watching with them, which I think makes it worse!
Liz says
Marley & Me, I love the movie but I’m not sure why I put myself through it when I know the ugly cry is on the way at the end when he is at the vet with the dog & he makes the decision to have him put to sleep. Choaking, blubbering tears streaming down my face every time. I usually need to just go to sleep after watching that movie, emotionally exhausted.
ARC says
I was just going to post this as we watched this the other night. I KNEW what was coming and still got weepy. And actually, the entire movie where he talks to Ellie, just gets me.
ARC says
Oh wow, I had forgotten about this. That entire movie made me weepy because it’s the first one I had ever seen with Asian-American characters, so a lot of it rang true in a way other movies hadn’t.
Nicole Prather says
Finding nemo !! My daughter loves that movie always at the end I cry ! I think it’s just the whole moral of our children growing up trying to shelter them and realizing that we have to let go and let them grow up and prey that we have raised them right !
Lori Gentile says
The all time movie that made me cry in too many scenes to mention is The Power of One with Morgan Freeman and Stephen Dorph. It’s brilliant and one of the best movies I’ve ever seen.
I’m a huge geek and Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan kills me ever time at the end when Spock says “I have been, and always shall be, your friend”. The new Star Trek in theaters now made me cry too, but it’s not the same as the impact of the original.
Jenny B. says
The first one I thought of was Sweet Home Alabama when Reese Witherspoon’s character is in the pet cemetery apologizing to the dog for leaving him.
Chancy says
I’ve never commented before but your Color Purple story was enough to make me break my silence. Once when I was home from undergrad, I stayed up late watching TV and came across The Color Purple, which I had already seen and read and loved. And of course, there are multiple moments when you just have to sob during the story. So there I am in the middle of the night, probably around midnight or 1am, bawling my eyes out and my mother comes home from the late shift and walks in and catches me. Of course, at first she is worried, but then I explain that I’m really fine, I’m just watching The Color Purple, to which she looks at me, then looks at the TV, and then asks, “why?!” Clearly she thought I was torturing myself. Hahaha. Another one that does that to me every time is Steel Magnolias…oooh, and Fried Green Tomatoes….and The Fox and the Hound. Apparently I’m a sucker for friendship movies.
cathy says
Yep. Its a tear jearker at SEVERAL spots. Glad you posted. Nice to hear from a fellow movie cryer! : )
RHG says
Cathy, I’m with you on a few scenes you mentioned.
-The Color Purple “God is Trying To Tell You Something” scene where Shug “”See Daddy, even sinners have soul too.”
-The Shawshank Redemption Opera scene
-The Shawshank Redemption rooftop beer scene
-The Shawshank Redemption Red arrives in Zihuatanejo scene
-Wuthering Heights (1939)-the Cathy dying scene with Heathcliff cursing her
-Wuthering Heights – the ghosts of Cathy and Heathcliff walking together
-Pride of the Yankees- “Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth” scene
-Field of Dreams-Shoeless Joe Jackson first appears on the field
-Field of Dreams-Ray Kinsella and dad finally having a catch
-Field of Dreams-Dr. Moonlight Graham morphs from young Archie back to old doctor and sacrificing his dreams to help Ray Kinsella’s daughter
-WhaleRider- when Paikea rides the whale at the end
-Contact- Dr. Ellie Arroway (Jodie Foster) meets her dad on the beach
-Joy Luck Club- Waverly scene with mom saying “”You don’t know the power you have over me….”
-Joy Luck Club- “you have best quality heart” scene
-Philadelphia-the Maria Callas aria scene