“The Green Mile,” without a doubt.
Testament
Terms of Endearment gets me every time. That little boy crying over his Mom is too real.
Titantic broke me up too. The scene where the Father tells his young family that “there will be another boat for the Daddies” just broke my heart.
I’ll second The Green Mile. Very few movies get me teary, but this is one of them.
Shadowlands
Jack the Bear
Though some (like me) might find it melodramatic.
Beaches.
JOHNNY GOT HIS GUN has my vote for the most depressing movie.
But there’s just something about the end of FLESH AND BONE, where Dennis Quaid is trying not to cry. It’s tragic, and I loved it.
http://us.imdb.com/Details?0106926
Stand by Me
I’m with cmkeller. I always cry at the end of Beaches.
Casablanca.
One of the saddest movies I ever saw was Gorillas in the Mist. I was quite young when I saw it but I still have pretty strong memories of it.
For me, the saddest movie is definitely The Mission with Jeremy Irons and Robert DeNiro. I bawled like a baby the first time I saw it, and every time I watch it since I start crying earlier and earlier in anticipation of the ending.
Sad, sad, depressingly sad movie. But incredibly well-acted, and the cinematography is amazing. Plus, the musical score by Enio Morricone is simply haunting (it’s the only movie sountrack I’ve ever purchased).
I wish it would be released on DVD…
Barry
I’d like to point out that “sad” and “depressing” are two different things. I found American Psycho to be depressing (partly because I wasted a bit of my life watching it). Grave of the Fireflies was incredibly sad. Didn’t make me cry, though; sadness doesn’t do that, only scenes of self-sacrifice, conceptual breakthroughs and people being better than they have to be.
Forgive the geekiness, but:
Those weren’t aliens; they were advanced AI’s in a future when humans are exstinct. The AI’s have inherited the world, and study humans the way we study Australopithecus, which is kind of sad. Still, an unnecessary “extra” ending.
Well, waddayaknow? I just checked Amazon.com and discovered that The Mission has, in fact, been released on DVD. Oh, happy day! Or should that be sad day?
Barry
Jude - not having read the book, I thought the movie was a period piece with a somewhat twisted love affair. By the end, I realized I was oh so wrong. When Chris Eccleston cries, I cry.
Requiem for a Dream - sad because it’s too accurate.
My all-time winner has to be Magnolia, but I think it just hit me at the right time. Anyway, I saw it alone (I don’t mean just that nobody went with me, I mean I was the only one in the theater) in a little movie theater in Quebec, and afterwards, I was destroyed. I found an out of the way spot and was just paralyzed with the sadness of it. I don’t know how long it was before I could get myself together.
Next would be Dancer In The Dark. That movie hurt way before bad things even started happening, because you could see the way it would go, and then it was like all your worst fears slowly came true. I watched it once, and I could never watch it again.
Other high scores-
The Ice Storm
American History X
The Talented Mr. Ripley
And in a separate category: Life as a House and Titanic. These are unique in that I think these movies suck, but they’re carefully crafted to mess with your emotions. We often think of bad movies that have some great gags in them, good for laughs, but it’s pretty rare to see a bad movie that’s good to make you weep like a baby but then not think the movie was any good the next day. In Life as a House, I usually make it about until they start using Radiohead’s How to Disappear Completely as the background music, and then I’m done. And every time, I think the same thing: “OK! Fine! You win! I’m not made of stone… I can’t believe I’m crying at this crap…”
LC
I find Bridges of Madison County very sad. Not being able to be with your soulmate, kinda hits home.
And Ole Yeller.
I’ll nominate The Elephant Man. Incredibly sad what John Merrick goes through because his of his appearance.
Bravo, Albert Rose!
Thank you for mentioning one of my all time favorite foreign movies. Personally, I think the ending is quite a nice touch of poetic justice. It is a bit wrenching but pretty d@mn apt. Hard to feel sorry for those stuck-up provincial @ssholes.
I’m (not really) amazed that no one has mentioned “A Hatful of Rain.” Considered to be risque because of its dealing with narcotics addiction back in 1957, it is still a real three hanky film with a lot of fine acting.
If one has read the book or seen the movie before, “Cyrano de Bergerac” can be pretty wrenching. Make sure to watch the earlier version with Jose Ferrer. “Bring me giants!” What a classic line.
Although American History X was a very sad movie, I didn’t end the movie thinking that it was so sad, my reaction was more along the lines of that was fucking brilliant! Everyone should see that movie.
I’m going to be honest here, I clicked on this thread purely to see where Requiem for a Dream, Dancer in The Dark, and The Green Mile ranked. The saddest movie I have ever seen was definitly Dancer in the Dark, but the dummy I am thought it was so brilliant that I wanted to watch it again. I bawled the entire movie the second time I watched it. Now I can handle it with mild tears.
On the depressing lines, I thought Muriels Wedding was very depressing for a “romantic comedy”.