# What movies make men cry? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 19, 2003, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-make-men-cry/156026 "2003-02-19T01:30:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![brainfizz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/da6949/32.png) [@brainfizz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brainfizz)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2003, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-make-men-cry/156026/61 "2003-02-19T14:36:56Z")
I always burst into floods at the end of **Cool Runnings**. **Romeo and Juliet** , and **A Beautiful Mind** have also seen a few kleenex! ---
**Author:** ![Kepi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kepi/32/7251_2.png) [@Kepi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kepi)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2003, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-make-men-cry/156026/62 "2003-02-19T15:07:58Z")
_Lilo & Stitch_ makes me cry in several places, especially this scene: Stitch takes his copy of _The Ugly Duckling_ out to a clearing in the forest, looks up at the sky and calls out in a soft plaintive voice “Mama!” And I almost suffocated choking back tears while watching _My Dog Skip_. Heck, I get choked up just _thinking_ about these two films. ---
**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2003, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-make-men-cry/156026/63 "2003-02-19T15:09:39Z")
SilkyThreat, not to have a laugh at your husband’s expense, but the way you worded your post made me snort. My husband seems to never cry at movies. But I guess it’s because he can distance himself. He’s not heartless–he cries sometimes leaving our son at daycare. My ex-boyfriend always bawled over Field of Dreams. ---
**Author:** ![Winnie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e480ec/32.png) [@Winnie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winnie)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2003, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-make-men-cry/156026/64 "2003-02-19T15:24:30Z")
Mr. Winnie is an exceptionally sensitive person and cries at a ton of movies. Some of his real bad ones are: _My Life_ with Michael Keaton and Nicole Kidman _Field of Dreams_ _Independence Day_ when Bill Pullman makes his “we will not go quietly into the night…” speech before they destroy the alien ships. _Saving Private Ryan_ _Forrest Gump_ _Bye Bye Love_ with Paul Reiser when he confronts his daughter in the treehouse at the end. “You just walked out, how could you _do_ that dad?” I think it reminds him of his own father. A Christmas episode (I believe) of _The Bernie Mac Show_ when Brianna brings in a stray puppy that ends up being an angel, and then the episode when he takes the kids back to Chicago to see their mom and the mom misses her date with Vanessa at the hot dog stand. ---
**Author:** ![stolichnaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bcef8e/32.png) [@stolichnaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stolichnaya)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2003, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-make-men-cry/156026/65 "2003-02-19T15:33:16Z")
I’m always a sucker for _Glory_. When the soldiers are praying and singing on the night before the assault on Fort Wagner, Trip (Denzel): > [@](#): > > I ain’t much for prayin now. Uh… I ain’t never had no family…killed off my mama. > > This feels funny. > > Well, I just-um…you know… y’alls the onliest family I got. And I love the 54th. > > Ain’t much matter what happens tomorrow, cause we men ain’t we? > > We men ain’t we? When Colonel Shaw is speaking to the reporter before the battle, and he gives him some personal effects, and says: > [@](#): > > “If I should fall… remember what you see here today.” And several other points. Along with the music, this one seems custom-designed to break me up. I’ll second _Rudy_. ---
**Author:** ![TGWATY](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5e925/32.png) [@TGWATY](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TGWATY)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2003, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-make-men-cry/156026/66 "2003-02-19T15:50:51Z")
**Old Yeller** The scene in **Awakenings** when DeNiro’s character wakes up after all those catatonic years and meets his aged mother again. (I’m getting a little choked up right now just thinking about it.) How’s this one ? I get teary eyed during the Death Star battle of **Star Wars**. All those guys going bravely and professionally to their deaths while people back at the Rebel base listen helplessly. Especially the one who first gets off a shot at the exhaust port. He doesn’t flinch all the while his comrades are getting knocked out around him because that’s what he has to do. No tears, but I’m also moved by the way the rebels stand their ground as the troopers blast through the door in the opening scene. I most often weep over scenes of bravery like that. **Glory** is another one. I also wept at the end of reading **The Return of the King** when the hobbits of the Shire rise up against Saruman’s henchmen. I mention it because _I’ll never get to see it on screen since it won’t be in film!_ ---
**Author:** ![Ol\_Gaffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Ol\_Gaffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ol_Gaffer)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2003, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-make-men-cry/156026/67 "2003-02-19T18:14:36Z")
The movies that get me are the ones that depict historical military events. I think it is because all I can think about is how young men younger than me actually did these things you see on the screen. In that vein, **Saving Private Ryan** and **Platoon** both choked me up pretty good. But the kicker is **Gettysburg**. That movie is an emotional rollercoaster but the part that kills me every time is when Jeff Daniels’ character gives the order to “Fix Bayonets.” They are guarding the Northern army’s flank and have repulsed a number of Southern attacks. They are out of ammunition and the Rebels are coming again… Gets me every time. ---
**Author:** ![Ol\_Gaffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Ol\_Gaffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ol_Gaffer)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2003, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-make-men-cry/156026/68 "2003-02-19T18:16:54Z")
Oh, and I have to add **Gallipoli** to the ones I mentioned above. If anyone has seen it, you know the scene I’m talking about. ---
**Author:** ![soakman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@soakman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/soakman)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2003, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-make-men-cry/156026/69 "2003-02-19T19:56:59Z")
E.T.–the whole farewell scene totally does me in. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2003, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-make-men-cry/156026/70 "2003-02-19T21:02:47Z")
I’ll not admit to crying at a movie, but I have choked back a manly lump in my throat at the appropriate moments in the following films: **The Cowboys** **Saving Private Ryan** **Awakenings** **The Iron Giant** **Grave of the Fireflies** **Braveheart** **Glory** **It’s a Wonderful Life** **Old Yeller** **Tender Mercies** (“On the wings of a snow white dove…”) **Last of the Mohicans** (That little speech at the end…) But I think I may have to turn in my guy card, because **Field of Dreams** doesn’t do it for me. I think maybe it only works on guys whose fathers are dead, or guys who have unresolved conflict with their fathers, based on a sampling of guys I know who _are_ deeply affected by FOD. ---
**Author:** ![dil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f04885/32.png) [@dil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dil)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2003, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-make-men-cry/156026/71 "2003-02-19T22:32:17Z")
**My Life** has gotta be the ultimate guy cryfest. **I am Sam** is another one. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2003, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-make-men-cry/156026/72 "2003-02-19T23:51:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kepi \* > **And I almost suffocated choking back tears while watching _My Dog Skip_.** I thought _My Dog Skip_ was a how-to guide to make your dog skip on the surface of a lake, if you threw him at a shallow enough angle. ---
**Author:** ![Moonchild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@Moonchild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonchild)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-make-men-cry/156026/73 "2003-02-20T00:40:03Z")
I very much didn’t see it coming, but I really cut loose at the end of: “About Schmidt.” I could be the president of the Field of Dreams Bawl Club and also hang my head in shame for the Schindler’s/Glory/Awakenings blubberfest. Nobody’s mentioned it, and maybe it’s time for me to get fitted for my first manziere, but, umm, “Ghost” was, umm, kinda touching. Oh, and League of Their Own. And Parenthood, at the end. But I’ll never admit to how much I cried when I saw “Untamed Heart.” No way you’re getting me on that one. (Hmm, maybe it’s all that soy.) Hey, wanna see someone cry? Try to guard me on a basketball court, punk. ---
**Author:** ![widdershins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f0a364/32.png) [@widdershins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/widdershins)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-make-men-cry/156026/74 "2003-02-20T01:34:03Z")
John Wayne also dies in _Shepherd Of The Hills_. So sob away. ---
**Author:** ![Lostboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Lostboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lostboy)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-make-men-cry/156026/75 "2003-02-20T01:53:45Z")
The end of Apollo 13 always gets me Sorry can’t do spoiler boxes Especially when his son is sitting so stoicly in class, transfixed to the TV, waiting to see if his father is alive or dead. ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-make-men-cry/156026/76 "2003-02-20T01:55:07Z")
_Life is Beautiful_ is the last movie I saw that made me cry. _Signs_ came close, though. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-make-men-cry/156026/77 "2003-02-20T02:05:16Z")
Okay, now _somehow_ my proud, Latino Uncle (read “his greateness, Mr. **Macho Guy** , in the flesh”) did _not_ know that Richie Valens died in a plane crash with Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper. On our recommendation, he took his family to see a matinee screning of _La Bamba_. Around suppertime, they returned. My little, then 3-year-old cousin proudly announced “Dad cried like a girl!” ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-make-men-cry/156026/78 "2003-02-20T02:10:32Z")
The ending of Ordinary People. “I’m not disappointed, dad, I love you.” _Sob._ Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-make-men-cry/156026/79 "2003-02-20T02:21:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ol’Gaffer \* > \*\*Oh, and I have to add **Gallipoli** to the ones I mentioned above. If anyone has seen it, you know the scene I’m talking about. \*\* Disclaimer: I am female, but a cold-hearted, former film student. It takes something extraordinary on celluloid to make me cry. Oh, yeah. That scene made me feel like utter crap (didn’t cry though). The only movies that have ever, genuinely made me cry: The end of _Shine_ and the end of the Charlie Chaplin film _City Lights_. _City Lights_ has what is considered one of the best endings in film history because it combines pure joy with utter disappointment. The first itme I saw the ending it was “spoiled” in a documentary. I still teared up. And I fight the documentary _Night and Fog_ unbearably explicit in it’s documentary, concentration camp footage – it so traumatized me, that I have been unable to see films like _Schindler’s List_ and _Beautiful Life_ because after _Night and Fog_ I don’t thinkI could handle it. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-make-men-cry/156026/80 "2003-02-20T02:23:15Z")
_ahem_ Beg your pardon (distracted by the TV), I meant _Life Is Beatiful_ is a film I won’t see after _Night and Fog_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-make-men-cry/156026.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-make-men-cry/156026.md?page=5)