I was right there with you, mate. I bawled uncontrollably at that movie.
Ditto Saving Private Ryan. Seeing all those young, innocent lives end at the beginning utterly reduced me. I had a whole new understanding of why my grandfather didn’t every want to talk about that time–or why he got disgusted at the prospect of getting medals for that sort of thing. The ending got me too–the question of whether a life was worth saving really struck a nerve.
Boromir’s death in The Fellowship of the Ring. “I would have followed you my brother…my Captain…my King.” Every freakin’ time, without fail. And it’s actually the, “my captain,” that triggers the tears. The way Sean Bean sold it (and what I read into Boromir’s character) is that the title “Captain” is actually the most meaningful to him.
As for laughing, every time Mongo punches the horse in Blazing Saddles. It’s so brief and simple a scene, but it’s executed so well. Never fails to make me laugh.
Zefferelli’s Romeo and Juliet
The moment we first see Juliet across the courtyard and she gives that radiant smile. My 15 year-old self fell instantly in love. I’m 48 now and still get a thrill when I show the movie to my students.
Up made me cry a ton. It also made me laugh a ton (being a dog owner helped - the dog scenes were just too funny!) It’s the only movie I can think of that makes me swing so hard into both of those emotions.
I still laugh though when they are under attack from the English archers and Stephen says to Wallace “God tells me he can get me out of this mess…but he’s pretty sure you’re fucked.”
I get “happy tears” from the ending of **Babe **(specifically, just after when the scorecards are shown).
Here are some off the top of my head, from movies or plays (not books).
Laughter: If you know the movies you’ll recognize the lines; if not, they won’t seem funny.
“That’s when I developed my drinking problem.”
Visual joke: a portly, hog-tied man in his undergarments slams his head against the floor as a nearby TV shows another man butchering the Star-Spangled Banner with the subscripted name ENRICO PALAZZO.
(And then about 20 minutes later in the same movie: “Hey! That’s Enrico Palazzo!”)
Tears of sorrow:
The scene in The Iron Giant when said giant tells Hogarth: “I go. You stay. No following”, then murmurs “Superman…” to himself (both echoes of several of his earlier interactions with the boy) just before… he closes his eyes.
The last few scenes of Schindler’s List, where he tells the soldiers who troop into his factory that he knows their orders are to execute his unarmed and helpless workers, but that the war is all but over and they can choose for themselves whether to go home to their families as murderers, or as men. And then afterwards, bemoans how he could have saved more, and done more, who had done so much, and himself changed so much.
Several scenes from Saving Private Ryan, including the totally silent scene when Ryan’s mother sees a dark car with an insignia on it coming towards her house while doing some dishes, dreadfully goes to her front porch, and collapses gently as she sees a man in military uniform emerge, accompanied by a religious minister. There could only be one reason for such a personally delivered message…
The animation and song When She Loved Me from Toy Story 2. Bwaaaaa-aaah.
And if longhair75 is going to bring up Shakespeare, the one that gets me every time is the final scene of King Lear where he enters holding Cordelia’s dead body. And that was before I became a father.
The Who’s on First routine, performed by Abbott and Costello in Naughty Nineties (They performed abbreviated versions elsewhere, but NN has the longest rendition by far)
The much-imitated Mirror Scene between Groucho and Harpo Marx in Duck Soup. There are lots of wonderful Marx Brothers bits, but I know most of them too well. For some reason this piece of slapstick continues to work.
Well, I don’t know the line exactly, but when Sam tells Frodo:
I can’t carry the ring for you, Mr. Frodo…but I can carry you!!
I still think the final line of Some Like it Hot is a killer comedy line:
“You don’t understand…ahhhhhh…I’m a man!!!”
“Nobody’s perfect!”
Another Leslie Nielsen deadpan classic:
“What --? Who are you, and how did you get in here?”
“I’m a locksmith. And, I’m a locksmith.”
From To Kill a Mockingbird:
“Miss Jean Louise, stand up. Your father’s passing.”
The ending to A River Runs Through It
“I knew I was witnessing perfection. I also knew that the moment would not last…”
It is a known fact that no guy can get through this 2 minute speech without bawling like a little girl.
I still laugh my head off every time I see Abigail Breslin dance in Little Miss Sunshine.
I still kinda lose it when Mama dies in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape.
I still laugh at the scene in the Big Lebowski when Jackie Treehorn takes a phone call and while on the phone, jots something down on a pad of paper and then hillarity ensues.
I am a HUGE Zucker fan…so my laugh moments are from his/their movies.
In Naked Gun:
Drebin: Give me the strongest thing you got.
(A really buff man walks out)
Drebin: On second thought, make that a black russian.
(waiter walks away…stops…looks into the camera…and shakes his head)
From Hot Shots Part Deux
War…it’s faaaaaaantastic! (smile)
Cry: The scene in Love Actually where “carolers” are singing, when it’s in fact signs of love being shown. The reason I cry is for personal reasons/bad breakup…but every time he holds up the sign that says “To me you are perfect”. I frigging die.
i knew what your link was to before ever clicking it. i love you brian piccolo.
This one more than any other. Just thinking about it makes the welling start.
Two scenes come to mind that are guaranteed to get me crying. The first is the superman scene from Iron Giant that has already been mentioned.
The other is the last scene in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.
Eleanor: “It is beautiful Steve.”
Steve: “Yeah, it’s pretty good, isn’t it? I wonder if it remembers me.”
That last line has me bawling every time. Hell, I just watched it on youtube to make sure I had the exchange right and I’m teary eyed. It’s that look on Bill Murry’s face after delivering that line that gets me.
Got another one.
The ending of Pan’s Labyrinth…
when Mercedes starts humming the lullaby while cradling Ofelia’s lifeless body.
Hell, just hearing the lullaby itself gets to me.
I suppose I should post one that always makes me laugh.
The scene in The Emperor’s New Groove when Kronk…
is sneaking around with Kuzco’s unconscious body in a sack. Especially the part where he tries to flatten himself against a wall when two people walk by.