Scenes in movies that bring a tear to your eye.

[Mistral]

One scene that never fails to choke me up a bit comes at the end of DS9's "The Visitor." An elderly Jake has dedicated his life to trying to bring his father back from the timeless realm from which he has periodically, and inadvertantly, haunted his son throughout his life. Jake has, in point of fact, ruined his life trying to save his father -- his career as a novelist abandoned, his marriage destroyed, he lives alone, and he has no family or friends anymore.

Sisko is brought back into his son's life one last time. Jake's apparent age is at least his eighties; given how humans age in Trek, he's probably closer to 120 or some such. He is asleep. Sisko is sitting there, looking at him, love in his eye, the way he might have when Jake was a little boy.

But when Jake wakes up, Sisko realizes that Jake has ruined his life for his sake. And then he realizes that Jake intends to kill himself, which will have the effect of flinging Sisko back in time to the instant of the accident -- or so Jake hopes. Sisko is crying, trying to get his son to stop it. "I would never have asked you..."

It's such a heart wrenching moment -- especially for a character, Jake, that DS9 often underserved. It's beautiful and painful, especially for those of us in the audience who recognize how complicated and painful relationships with one's parents can be.

This isn't a movie-but I won't nitpick 'cause it tears me apart every time I see it. And in keeping with your individual take on the theme-The ending of the Inner Light-as soon as his old friend and wife re-appear I start leaking around the edges and it doesn't stop 'till the credits roll.

 

[kitkat]

Another one that I remembered just now, not sure why; the scene in Love Actually when Jamie shows up to propose to Aurelia and they have both learned each other's language (more or less) without the other knowing they did. Their storyline was my favorite in that movie, incredibly romantic.

 

[Norrin Radd]

1. Somewhat obscure movie called "The Fourth Wise Man", when Martin Sheen (the title character) misses out on seeing Christ's birth. He keeps just missing out on seeing Christ throughout his life, but decides to devote it to helping the poor. On his death bed, he finally meets a resurrected Jesus who tells him that he did see him; when he was helping the least of his brothers, he was doing it for him. Anyway, that's how I remember it; it was a hell of a scene.

2. The end of Excalibur. Arthur fights his last battle, kills his son, and forgives a dying, but redeemed, Lancelot. Only Percival, the most unlikely of knights has survived. Arthur tells Percival to throw Excalibur into the water, that a king will one day come again to wield the sword. Percival reluctantly does so, where it is reclaimed by the Lady of the Lake. He returns only to witness the body of Arthur being brought to someplace across the sea.

3. Henry V. After the main battle, Kenneth Branagh carries the body of a young boy across the field where the dead and dying lie, while a beautiful song plays. I think it's actually Christian Bale as the boy...funny...

 

[The Lady Eve]

"Sullivan's Travels" written and directed by Preston Sturges. Sullivan, a Hollywood comedy director, hasn't much respect for comedy. He wants to explore trouble and poverty and make a downbeat film called "O Brother, Wherefore Art Thou." (The Coen brothers are huge admirers of Sturges.)

Through a series of misadventures Sullivan winds up on a chain gang. Nobody knows he's alive. One evening as a treat the prisoners are taken to a rural church where primitive cartoons are projected on a sheet. All the prisoners begin to laugh as the camera pans over their beaten, weary faces. Sullivan looks around and finally understands the importance of comedy and laughter.

That scene sounds corny, but Sturges was a brilliant director and handles it beautifully. It always gets to me.

 

[Luckyflux]

Can I post a TV show without getting lynched? An episode of The New Fantasy Island with Malcolm McDowell called Secret Self.

I'll try to be brief, but basically a guy wants to get ahead in the corporate world but he is too nice. He asks Roarke to make him more cut-throat, more ruthless and without a conscious, so he can climb the corporate ladder. He is on the Island with his pet dog. A playful little doggie, loyal to the end.

So Roarke grants him his wish and as the episode progresses this guy starts turning into the Devil (the only being without a conscious). As he is transforming, he starts to get very paranoid that other people are after his job, and he starts firing everyone from the company. He gets even more paranoid and builds a bunker to protect himself. He is so evil and ruthless that he won't even play with his little doggie.

Near the end, after he has fired his staff and locked himself in his bunker, he panics about something and his bunker gets set on fire. He calls for help but since he fired everyone, there is no one left to help him. He realizes that his evilness has caused his loneliness and starts to regret everything. As the blaze flares up around him, he starts to cry and screams "Why has everyone abandoned me?!?!".

As the flames are closing in, we see the guy sitting in the corner about to be consumed by the flames, when a tennis ball bounces into the room. The ball rolls to the mans feet, and stops crying and looks down at it. As he picks it up, his little doggie comes into the room. The dog stops briefly and then runs in and leaps into the arms of his master. Wiping the tears the guys says "You didn't leave me, you never left me" and the flames start to die down. The image fades out with the guy holding his doggie in his arms...

OH man, that is breaking me up just writing about it now....sorry for not being brief, but I have remembered that scene for many years now. I would love to see it again.

 

[DanCPA]

For me, when Forrest loses his Jenny

 

[MikeGainer]

1. "Hey Dad, wanna have a catch?" scene from Field of Dreams.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XS2UtAlmX4

2. The "Ring" Scene from Schindler's List.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMLpET9Ddcc

3. The Ending scene from Big Fish.

 

[archeryguy1701]

From Radio, after Radio's mom died, basically everything from The coach's daughter telling him to the end of his visit to Radio tears me up every time.

 

[JacksonArcher]

In The Fountain, when Thomas starts tattooing his finger.

That's a great scene. The entire last thirty minutes or so of that movie are just amazingly emotional.

I also nominate the last ten or so minutes of United 93. Harrowing stuff.

 

[TrekNut87]

Spock's scene just before he dies in TWOK

The end of Finding Forrester

In Radio, the scene where Radio finds out that his mom has died

This last one isn't a movie, but Wolfwood's death near the end of Trigun gets me every time.

 

[Caliburn24]

Only three movie scenes can reliably bring a tear to my eye.

The end of Braveheart.

The end of Glory.

The end of TWOK.

Yeah, James Horner did the music for all three, and it gets to me for some reason.

 

[Roshi]

When Chief killed MacMurphy and the music with the saw starts in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
When Carolyn realizes the Lester is dead and she goes in the closet where his shirts hang and she starts sobbing in American Beauty.

and...


"I... am... Superman..."

 

[The Lady Eve]

she goes in the closet where his shirts hang and she starts sobbing in American Beauty.

That just reminded me of the last scene in "Brokeback Mountain" where all Ennis has left of Jack is their shirts hanging together on the door. That scene combined with Willie Nelson singing "He was a Friend of Mine" under the closing credits is heartbreaking.

 

[John Picard]

and...


"I... am... Superman..."

Not a tear, but a lump in my throat.

 

[Gil T.Azell]

At the end of "Return of the King," when the hobbits are about to bow at Aragorn's coronation, and he holds up his hand and says "My friends, you bow for no one." And then everyone, including Aragorn, bow to the four hobbits.

They look so frail and hurt, even though they've won the war. Because it took so much pain and sacrifice.

that scene leaves a huge lump in my throat.
very moving and powerful.

 

[ladyheather69]

Ok....grabs another tissue.....blows nose, wipes eyes.....

I got all choked up reading these posts!!

Frankly, I couldn't tell you what scene gets me...I am a complete sap. I cry at the weirdest things, and those everyone else does too.

But definitely, ET, Iron Giant, ROTK, and plenty other.

 

[Emher]

In The Fountain, when Thomas starts tattooing his finger.

Most of the last third of that movie was incredibly emotional. My favorite is the moment of something that can only be describe as joymixed terror as he realises that he's going to die. A lot of that is due to Hugh Jackman's FANTASTIC performance.

The execution of John Coffey in The Green Mile

That's the first time I cried when watching a movie in theatres.

Not a movie but the end of the second episode of "From the Earth to the Moon" where the dead astronauts wifes givees Deke the wings they guys where gonna give him. Gets me every freaking time.

The part of that episode that gets me, is when we first cut to Mission Control after the fire is reported. The flight controllers are all just sitting there, absolutely numb, with that sad piano music playing...

That is sad indeed, and there a lot of sad moments in that episode. Still can't top the one I mentioned though for some reason.

One scene that never fails to choke me up a bit comes at the end of DS9's "The Visitor." An elderly Jake has dedicated his life to trying to bring his father back from the timeless realm from which he has periodically, and inadvertantly, haunted his son throughout his life. Jake has, in point of fact, ruined his life trying to save his father -- his career as a novelist abandoned, his marriage destroyed, he lives alone, and he has no family or friends anymore.

Sisko is brought back into his son's life one last time. Jake's apparent age is at least his eighties; given how humans age in Trek, he's probably closer to 120 or some such. He is asleep. Sisko is sitting there, looking at him, love in his eye, the way he might have when Jake was a little boy.

But when Jake wakes up, Sisko realizes that Jake has ruined his life for his sake. And then he realizes that Jake intends to kill himself, which will have the effect of flinging Sisko back in time to the instant of the accident -- or so Jake hopes. Sisko is crying, trying to get his son to stop it. "I would never have asked you..."

It's such a heart wrenching moment -- especially for a character, Jake, that DS9 often underserved. It's beautiful and painful, especially for those of us in the audience who recognize how complicated and painful relationships with one's parents can be.

Oh yes, bawl like a baby every time.

For me, when Forrest loses his Jenny

What gets me is when he talks about how little Forrest has written her a letter and he leavs it at the grave since little Forrest said he couldn't read it.

 

[Twilight]

Oh god, the Forrest at Jenny's grave scene is a killer.


Also The Color Purple, where she reads the letter.


Ugh, and Schindler's List, I always lose it at the "It grows there still" title card about the tree. It's not the scene itself, it's just that the whole enormous weight of the movie comes crashing in on the viewer at that point and I just start balling like a school girl.


Saving Private Ryan, the scene where the woman is about to be informed of her sons' deaths, and she falls down.


...and I just realized that I listed three Spielberg films without realizing it. The man has a gift for creating emotional scenes, I guess.

 

[TGTheodore]

Edward G. Robinson's death scene in Soylent Green. So poignant, beautiful and tragic on so many levels. After nearly a lifetime of lost hope for Earth (which has itself has essentially committed metaphorical suicide), he reaches some measure of peace and happiness just before he dies by choice, meanwhile Charlton Heston is banging on the glass, trying to get him to reconsider his suicide.

The movie collage Robinson's character chose, the colors in the room, and the music are all amazing.

Also, it was Robinson's final film.

Whew ...

--Ted

 

[Star Treks]

That scene in "Along Came Polly" where Ben Stiller popped out of my television and poked me in the eye. That brought a tear to my eye, as I recall.