# Movie/books scenes that tear you up every time. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 25, 2016, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-books-scenes-that-tear-you-up-every-time/775618 "2016-12-25T21:55:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2016, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-books-scenes-that-tear-you-up-every-time/775618/81 "2016-12-28T21:45:17Z")
> [@Sassy](#): > > Arthur C. Clarke’s The Star. Short, short story & I know exactly what will happen & I always cry. I cry trying to describe it. Oh, yeah, that’s a good one. Also “Nightfall” by Asimov. The story is at this link - [http://www.astro.sunysb.edu/fwalter/AST389/TEXTS/Nightfall.htm](http://www.astro.sunysb.edu/fwalter/AST389/TEXTS/Nightfall.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2016, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-books-scenes-that-tear-you-up-every-time/775618/82 "2016-12-28T22:03:24Z")
I’ve only seen it the once, but given that I was literally sobbing in the theater doesn’t take away the impact. Bing Bong in “Inside Out”. It’s actually very reminiscent of the Toy Story 3 example. It’s not the act itself that gets me, it’s the moments leading up to it. When I realized what was going to happen and silently saying to myself “no no no” but seeing it happen anyway. God it’s just heartbreaking. Honorable Mentions: Griphook in the 7th Harry Potter Book, while taking in the Big 3 (plus Ginny) “So young to be fighting so many.” It’s my absolute favorite line in that entire series. The sign scene in Love Actually. This is more sentimental because of an ex, but I couldn’t NOT cry every time I watched that. Last but not least. The end of Shawshank Redemption when Red is talking about life after Andy leaves and simply says “…But most of all, I missed my friend.” ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2016, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-books-scenes-that-tear-you-up-every-time/775618/83 "2016-12-28T22:07:06Z")
Neil Gaiman’s _The High Cost of Living_ has a couple of moments. The conversation with the girl wearing the long gloves and the end, when Didi talks to God. “It ended too soon.” “It always does. That’s what gives it value.” ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2016, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-books-scenes-that-tear-you-up-every-time/775618/84 "2016-12-28T22:30:48Z")
from _Lord of the Rings_: “Your father loves you, Faramir, and will remember it, ere the end.” ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2016, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-books-scenes-that-tear-you-up-every-time/775618/85 "2016-12-28T22:55:47Z")
“What’s that you’re playing?” “A little something of my own.” "Stop it. You know what I want to hear. “No, I don’t.” “You played it for her… You can play it for me.” “I don’t think I can remember…” “lf she can stand it, I can. Play it.” “Yes, boss…” ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2016, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-books-scenes-that-tear-you-up-every-time/775618/86 "2016-12-28T23:35:40Z")
I’m a softie, so there have been of tear-inducing scenes already mentioned (I do want to re-read Watership Down, but not yet). We were driving to Birmingham (UK) to see friends, and during last part of the journey I was listening to a recent BBC Radio adaptation of “_The Snow Goose_” (Paul Galico). We arrived about 10 minutes before the end of the story, and stopped at a park. Eveyone else got out, but I sat in the car to hear the end, and it took another five minutes for my face to dry and for me to compose myself. I also used half a box of tissues watching “_Les Miserables_” in the theater when it came out. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Knig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@Typo\_Knig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Knig)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2016, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-books-scenes-that-tear-you-up-every-time/775618/87 "2016-12-29T00:25:00Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > Your point? I wanted an easy way to re-add my contribution. My eyes keep tearing up here, for some reason. Another one: “Dobby is a free elf!” ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2016, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-books-scenes-that-tear-you-up-every-time/775618/88 "2016-12-29T00:47:57Z")
> [@PAjoe](#): > > When Forrest Gump meets his son and asks “Is he smart or is he like me?” For me, it was Forrest saying goodbye to Jennie at her grave. And the ending to Big Fish, for some reason, had me sobbing like a baby. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2016, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-books-scenes-that-tear-you-up-every-time/775618/89 "2016-12-29T01:28:00Z")
I read _The Tale of Despereaux_ to my students every year. It’s a phenomenal children’s book, and I super recommend it especially to adults who grew up before it was written. Don’t ever see the movie. In the final chapter, there is a paragraph about the relationship of a father to his daughter that chokes me up every time I read it. It’s short, elegant, beautiful. Another read-aloud that gets me is **The Man Who Walked Between the Towers** , a picture book about Phillip Petit and his highwire journal between the under-construction Twin Towers. I read it every 9/11 to my students as a way to introduce a conversation about the day’s significance. The last page has a ghostly image of the Twin Towers and mentions, obliquely, that the towers are no longer there, but remain in memories such as this one. I never can read it without becoming all verklemt. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2016, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-books-scenes-that-tear-you-up-every-time/775618/90 "2016-12-29T01:51:36Z")
From the webcomic turned graphic novel, **Digger** : “Name is Ed!” It’s still available online. It starts[here](http://diggercomic.com/blog/2007/02/01/wombat1-gnorf/). ---
**Author:** ![Quercus\_alba](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quercus_alba/32/4061_2.png) [@Quercus\_alba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus_alba)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2016, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-books-scenes-that-tear-you-up-every-time/775618/91 "2016-12-29T05:01:54Z")
+1 on “Have a catch”, Scrooged, (and just about any Christmas Carol–but especially Michael Caine w/the Muppets.) Also the ending of ET, and when Zoey Deschanel gets the crowd singing in Elf. I’m falling apart in my old age… ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2016, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-books-scenes-that-tear-you-up-every-time/775618/92 "2016-12-29T05:58:40Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > For me, it was Forrest saying goodbye to Jennie at her grave. > > And the ending to Big Fish, for some reason, had me sobbing like a baby. I don’t often agree with you, but _Big Fish_ gets me, too. It came out just a little over 2 years after my own father died unexpectedly, and right after my grandfather (Dad’s dad) lost his battle with cancer. To the people that knew them, they were “larger than life” characters like Edward Bloom. ---
**Author:** ![janis\_and\_c0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janis_and_c0/32/21_2.png) [@janis\_and\_c0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janis_and_c0)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2016, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-books-scenes-that-tear-you-up-every-time/775618/93 "2016-12-29T18:00:00Z")
From **ROTJ** : You were right… you were right about me. Tell your sister…you were right. Kicks the dust up in the room every time… _sniff_ ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2016, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-books-scenes-that-tear-you-up-every-time/775618/94 "2016-12-29T18:15:14Z")
> [@Typo\_Knig](#): > > Another one: “Dobby is a free elf!” There. Now it looks like he’s sleeping. ☹ Or when Luna is posting notices asking for her belongings to be returned, saying they hide them all the time. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2016, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-books-scenes-that-tear-you-up-every-time/775618/95 "2016-12-29T18:33:42Z")
By the hammer of Grabthar, by the Sons of Warvan, you shall be avenged. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2016, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-books-scenes-that-tear-you-up-every-time/775618/96 "2016-12-29T18:54:45Z")
Sorry if it’s been mentioned - I didn’t see it upthread- the last scene in\* Brokeback Mountain.\*Fuck me, that movie wore me out emotionally. When the lights came on all you could hear was the occasional sob in the sea of dead silence. _Girl Interrupted_ - The discovery of Daisy’s dead body, with _End of the World_ playing in the background. Lots of scenes from _Requiem for a Dream_ but the one that comes to mind first is Marlon Wayans thinking about his mother. All of the above are outstanding movies that I don’t think I will ever watch again. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2016, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-books-scenes-that-tear-you-up-every-time/775618/97 "2016-12-29T20:30:06Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > I’ve only seen it the once, but given that I was literally sobbing in the theater doesn’t take away the impact. > > Bing Bong in “Inside Out”. “Take her to the moon for me.” Absolutely crushing, and yet magnificent. If there’s a little girl you love, “Inside Out” kills you. ---
**Author:** ![JXJohns](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jxjohns/32/469_2.png) [@JXJohns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JXJohns)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2016, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-books-scenes-that-tear-you-up-every-time/775618/98 "2016-12-29T20:34:40Z")
At the end of the movie _Titanic_ when the camera pans out and we see hundreds of people frozen and floating in their life jackets. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2016, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-books-scenes-that-tear-you-up-every-time/775618/99 "2016-12-29T20:43:56Z")
I am literally incapable of reading his passage from _The Velveteen Rabbit_ without tearing up. I’m doing it right now. > [@Margery Williams](#): > > “Real isn’t how you are made,’ said the Skin Horse. ‘It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.’ > > ‘Does it hurt?’ asked the Rabbit. > > ‘Sometimes,’ said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. ‘When you are Real you don’t mind being hurt.’ > > ‘Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,’ he asked, ‘or bit by bit?’ > > ‘It doesn’t happen all at once,’ said the Skin Horse. 'You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.” Also, the scene with the cat from _Allegro Non Troppo_. I won’t link it here. You’re welcome. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2016, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-books-scenes-that-tear-you-up-every-time/775618/100 "2016-12-29T20:55:07Z")
The Ending of **AI, Artificial Intelligence** , when Teddy is the only thing still “alive”, sitting patiently next to David for eternity. Sob. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-books-scenes-that-tear-you-up-every-time/775618.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-books-scenes-that-tear-you-up-every-time/775618.md?page=6)