# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-make-men-cry/156026/101 "2003-02-20T21:30:28Z")
Oh yeah, and I’ll also chime in on the “Grandma says hey” scene in **Sixth Sense**. (That Osment kid is good…) And this doesn’t qualify as a movie, I suppose, but the farewell letter from the soldier to his wife in Ken Burns’ Civil War documentary kinda gets me right here. ---
**Author:** ![Bomzaway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e480ec/32.png) [@Bomzaway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bomzaway)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-make-men-cry/156026/102 "2003-02-20T21:38:31Z")
I second, “My Brother, my captain, my king.” Also, _City Slickers_. The part where Bruno Kirby does his “best day, worst day.” Gets me every time. _Independence Day_ when Randy Quaid’s hard luck character asks his CO to tell his kids that he loves him, then plows his jet into the alien ship. I think the _Armageddon_ scene is a bit derivative of this one. Even though the over-playing of _A Christmas Story_ has softened the impact, there are two scenes in that film that get me. When he finally gets the BB gun. Also, while Ralphie is beating up Scott Farkus ("He had yellow eyes! So help me God, yellow eyes!), his younger brother reaches down and picks up Ralphie’s glasses out of the snow. It’s very subtle, but touching nonetheless. ---
**Author:** ![Bomzaway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e480ec/32.png) [@Bomzaway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bomzaway)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-make-men-cry/156026/103 "2003-02-20T21:40:53Z")
Oops. that would be “tell his kids that he loves **them** ” “Him” would have put a completely different twist on the movie. ---
**Author:** ![stylize](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@stylize](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stylize)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-make-men-cry/156026/104 "2003-02-20T21:41:02Z")
**Courage Under Fire:** During the medal ceremony **Mr Holland’s Opus:** When he walks into the auditorium The latest is **About a Boy** ---
**Author:** ![JustPlainBryan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/57b2e6/32.png) [@JustPlainBryan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustPlainBryan)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-make-men-cry/156026/105 "2003-02-20T22:42:43Z")
I am truly surprised that **Wrath of Khan** has only been mentioned once in this thread. It was one of the very few films where I openly weeped at the end. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Dung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc348/32.png) [@Doctor\_Dung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Dung)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-make-men-cry/156026/106 "2003-02-20T22:43:21Z")
Let me preface this by saying that I am a total freak. That said, I cried during Attack of the Clones when Anakin lobbed off those Tuskens’ heads. I mean, who wouldn’t break down seeing the birth of Darth Vader? ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-make-men-cry/156026/107 "2003-02-20T23:06:01Z")
I cried in Saving Private Ryan when the old Ryan asked his wife if he’d been a good man. ---
**Author:** ![GrandfatherTrout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f17d59/32.png) [@GrandfatherTrout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandfatherTrout)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-make-men-cry/156026/108 "2003-02-20T23:11:23Z")
Oh, I second—or third, or whatever—the votes for the end of **Monsters, Inc** and the “When She Loved Me” musical number in **Toy Story 2**. But here’s where I make my Horrifying Confession: the other day? I turned on the TV and the last 20 minutes of **The Joy Luck Club** were on? And I thought, well, I never did see this movie but I loved the book, this should be diverting…and then all of the sudden I was a _mess._ Right there on the sofa. Thank god I was alone in the house. I’m so ashamed. ---
**Author:** ![avalongod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@avalongod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/avalongod)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-make-men-cry/156026/109 "2003-02-20T23:12:18Z")
I can honestly say I have never wept during a film during my adulthood. I do remember as a child bawling my eyes out at the end of the 1970’s version of All’s Quiet on the Western Front. I wept at the end of Austin Powers too, but only because I couldn’t believe that I had spent $7 to see such garbage. (Beg pardon I know many of you must be fans). ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-make-men-cry/156026/110 "2003-02-20T23:53:10Z")
The very end of _Braveheart,_ when Hamish lofts the Wallace sword; _Armageddon:_ when the shuttle _Independence_ goes down; _Iron Giant:_ one word: “Superman!” _Schindler’s List:_ An emotional brick upside the head through-and-through; _Saving Private Ryan:_ when Captain Miller, lying wounded on the bridge, pulls his .45 and begins firing on the advancing German tank _Blackhawk Down:_ the whole thing, really, but the run out of the fire zone to the U.N. stadium… _Titanic:_ the scene of Isador and Ida Strauss dying together in their cabin as the water rushed in; _American Beauty:_ Lester’s flashback of his life; _Gettysburg:_ Pickett’s charge, and the 20th Maine’s defense of Little Round Top. Also: Martin Sheen’s portrayal of General Robert E. Lee was outstanding even amongst other fantastic portrayals by talented actors; _The Road Warrior:_ yeah, I know, not the usual pick. But the ending narration, coupled with the whole post-apocaplyptic wasteland ambiance the movie achieved, left me feeling very sad; I know that there’s more that I’m forgetting… ---
**Author:** ![raz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@raz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raz)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-make-men-cry/156026/111 "2003-02-21T00:23:03Z")
My boyfriend and I both _bawled_ at the end of **8 Seconds**. Lane’s final wave broke my heart. And Tuff’s ride for Lane…and how Lane and his wife made up after all the cheating and lies and then he died Anyone that doesn’t cry at that movie is heartless! I Am Sam is really sad too. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-make-men-cry/156026/112 "2003-02-21T00:49:34Z")
The last line in \*\*Stand By Me \*\* (paraphrased) \*I have never had any friends like I did when I was 12. Christ, does anyone? \* I always bawl my eyes out. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-make-men-cry/156026/113 "2003-02-21T01:48:51Z")
I have to admit after reading so many replies that there are quite a few more movies that have brought tears to my eyes than I recalled in my OP. I didn’t intend to tell an untruth, but perhaps I’ve suppressed the memory of some of my more intense emotional reactions. Some other movies I now recall tearing up to: [list=1] [li]Empire of the Sun; when Jim is reunited with his parents[/li][li]Henry V; at Agincourt[/li][li]Titanic; the passengers in the water[/li][li]Awakenings[/li][li]Gallipoli[/li][li]Mr Holland’s Opus[/li][/list=1] Nevertheless, apparently I am a rather strange guy, as nobody else seems to cry to _Rocky._ Some of the movies people have noted, I don’t get at all why someone might cry. But I suppose we all have our own unique emotional hot buttons. This has turned into a much better thread than I imagined. ---
**Author:** ![japatlgt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df705f/32.png) [@japatlgt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/japatlgt)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-make-men-cry/156026/114 "2003-02-21T02:17:27Z")
I needed a hug at the end of **Titanic**. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-make-men-cry/156026/115 "2003-02-21T02:22:28Z")
Another vote for _I Am Sam_. I saw it for the first time last night. Cried my little eyes out. ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-make-men-cry/156026/116 "2003-02-21T02:28:17Z")
The flower in the book scene in **Braveheart**. The Disney version of **Tarzan**. The look on the mother ape’s face when she hears Tarzan walking in shoes tore me up, as if she knew she was going to lose him to the human world. I welled up at the end of **The Killing Fields** as well, but that was due to my having been giving false spoilers before seeing the movie. You seeI’d been told the Cambodian guy didn’t make it out alive, so it was tears of relief when he ended up reuniting with the American at the end. Strangely enough, I thought the endings of **Saving Private Ryan** and **Schindler’s List** were blatently manipulative attempts to make me cry, and so I didn’t. Last shot of **Monster’s Inc.** got me, though. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-make-men-cry/156026/117 "2003-02-21T02:30:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness \* > \*\* > I welled up at the end of **The Killing Fields** as well, \*\* Ooh, good one. I knew he made it out, but the end always get me going too. ---
**Author:** ![Sylkyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/da6949/32.png) [@Sylkyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylkyn)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-make-men-cry/156026/118 "2003-02-21T02:43:10Z")
I forgot about this one. Yes, I \* know\* the book, “A Prayer for Owen Meany” is better, but we didn’t know it at the time. My husband, my eldest son (aged 20 at the time), his best friend (aged 20, also), my husband, my daughter, and youngest son had to take an intermission twice during “Simon Birch”. We sat out on the deck and gathered our reserve to be able to watch the last half. My five year old son was the only one that didn’t SOAK his blanket with tears, (that we had wrapped around us…it was winter) and my husband said he’d never watch it again. He was livid because he thought I’d rented it just to make him cry! (Hell…I already owned Field of Dreams, if I’d wanted that!) My oldest son and his friend were mad at me for over a week because “I made them” watch it. Yes, it’s nowhere as near as awesome as the book, but it’s the saddest, most gut-wrenching movie we ALL had the misfortune to watch. I told my sister if she ever actually _wanted_ me to hang myself, set up the VCR with “Simon Birch”…I’d be swinging from the rafters within the first fifteen minutes. I can’t watch it again, either, having given all the valium to my husband during “Field of Dreams”. ---
**Author:** ![Gaijin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/838e76/32.png) [@Gaijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gaijin)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-make-men-cry/156026/119 "2003-02-21T03:33:38Z")
I’ve yet to cry during a film, probably because I’m an inhuman, stone-hearted monster. But if I could have, I would have at the end of **The Deer Hunter**. Walken: (smiling) “One shot.” BAM! Al Pacino’s face, man. I can’t believe I didn’t break down. ---
**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 21, 2003, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-make-men-cry/156026/120 "2003-02-21T04:45:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness \* > \*\*I welled up at the end of **The Killing Fields** as well, but that was due to my having been giving false spoilers before seeing the movie. > \*\* **ChockFull** I don’t know if you know this already, it may tear your heart out if you don’t:Haing S. Ngor’s real life wasn’t that far off from the movie. He was a physician before the war. During the war he was captured by Khmer Rouge and was imprisoned and tortured. He moved to the U.S. as a refugee in 1980 and was picked to play the movie role because of his history. He had no acting experience – won an Oscar. February 25, 1996, Ngor was found shot to death in the garage of his apartment building in LA, victim of a robbery. If you look him up at the IMDB, you can read other heartbreaking tidbits of his history. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-make-men-cry/156026.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-make-men-cry/156026.md?page=7)