Top 5 Saddest Movies
1) Brian’s Song
2) Beaches
3) The Passion of the Christ
4) Old Yeller
5) Terms of Endearment
Runners up: Steel Magnolias, My Life, Fried Green Tomatoes, Where the Red Fern Grows, Sophie’s Choice, Bambi
April 23, 2008 in Uncategorized |
Steel Magnolias? Really?
I think Bambi belongs at the top of the list. I would also add Charlotte’s Web and Mary Poppins.
Comment by Allison — April 23, 2008 @ 8:21 am
Oh, and Dumbo, Big Fish, Life is Beautiful, The Namesake. If we’re talking mega-depressing instead of straight tearjerker, then I’d add Farewell My Concubine, Schindler’s List, probably a few others.
Beaches didn’t make me cry. Probably I was too busy being annoyed by Bette Midler to notice the sad stuff.
Comment by Allison — April 23, 2008 @ 8:30 am
A Walk to Remember is my favorite tearjerker. As soon as she tells him not to fall in love with her, and he says he’d never do it in a million years, you immediately know two things: He’s going to fall in love with her, and she’s going to die.
When A Man Loves A Woman is a real wringer.
Comment by Susan M — April 23, 2008 @ 9:37 am
I cried at the end of The Orphanage. Even though I thought it frankly cheesy until the surprise reveal at the end. (I won’t spoil it for anyone but if you have young kids it suddenly hits you hard)
Anyone see Ikiru by Kurasawa? That one always brings a tear to my eye.
When I was younger Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence really got to me with the scene where David Bowie is dying and thinking of his brother.
The ending of Life is Beautiful where the dad dies to save the son really cracked me up.
Comment by Clark — April 23, 2008 @ 9:41 am
The Passion of the Christ was sad? I felt no emotion watching that movie, other than boredom intersperced with nausea.
I’ll give you Brian’s Song, Old Yeller, and Terms of Endearment.
You need to revoke your Guy’s Club Card for including Steel Magnolias and Beaches on your list.
Some movies I’d include:
The Champ
Running on Empty (last scene with River Phoenix and Judd Hirsch just kills me)
Into the Wild
Savannah Smiles (it’s been years since I’ve seen it, but it killed me when I was a pre-teen)
Edward Scissorhands
E.T.
Glory
Kraemer vs. Kraemer
Still seems like we’re missing some biggies…
Comment by Matt Thurston — April 23, 2008 @ 10:09 am
Love Story.
Sophie’s Choice really is pretty sad, too.
Comment by Supergenius — April 23, 2008 @ 10:10 am
Beaches gets me every time. For some reason my Mom let us watch it at my 13th birthday sleepover and had a group of sobbing girls on her hands.
Hilary and Jackie and Steel Magnolias are my other two sure fire tear jerkers.
Comment by Brooke — April 23, 2008 @ 10:21 am
Two lesser-known gut-wrenchers: Brokedown Palace (1999) and Other Side of the Mountain (1974). Claire Danes acting in Palace was exceptional.
Comment by larryco_ — April 23, 2008 @ 10:26 am
The Dirty Dozen! Who’s with me, guys?
Comment by Supergenius — April 23, 2008 @ 10:30 am
Into the wild
Kite Runner
Glory
Last of the Mohicans
I almost want to put Braveheart in
I second the Dirty Dozen.
Comment by jay s — April 23, 2008 @ 10:54 am
Shadowlands, definitely.
Comment by Anna — April 23, 2008 @ 10:59 am
Movies that have made me cry:
AI
Watership Down
Return of the Jedi
Comment by The Brit — April 23, 2008 @ 11:07 am
Attack of the Clones made me cry, too, but the sadness was unintentional on Lucas’ part.
Comment by Supergenius — April 23, 2008 @ 11:16 am
Steel Magnolias? Beaches? Fried Green Tomatoes? All suck. You may as well throw Titanic and Ghost in there for top 5 worst movies ever list…
Comment by gabby — April 23, 2008 @ 11:21 am
Hasn’t anyone ever seen The Bicycle Thief? One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest? Cool Hand Luke? Of Mice and Men?
Ikiru is a very good call.
I was surprised how choked up I got at the end of King of Kong.
Comment by Brian G — April 23, 2008 @ 11:44 am
Brian, you got choked up in Cool Hand Luke? Good call on The Bicycle Thief, though.
Comment by Supergenius — April 23, 2008 @ 11:48 am
Wait. Was this Saddest Movies, or Movies I got choked up in? Two different things.
Comment by Brian G — April 23, 2008 @ 11:56 am
Dirty Dozen? Really? That’s like crying at the end of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
Into the Wild really deserves to be there as well. Usually Sean Penn’s movies are pretty nihilistic. This one wasn’t but the way you know what’s coming with the interspersing of him selfishly leaving so many behind makes the final moments of both realization and dying that much more profound. Of course what’s worse is I spent much of my 20’s doing pretty much the same sort of thing. Only I fortunately didn’t die. (Of course I need to read the book since in the movie couldn’t for the life of me figure out why I couldn’t hike out)
AI is a great movie. I know there are tons of haters. But the ending choked me up pretty profoundly.
Comment by Clark — April 23, 2008 @ 11:59 am
Was that tears or sweat that you had with Cool Hand Luke?
Shadowlands I liked but it didn’t choke me up at all. Oddly a stylistically similar film with Johnny Depp about the author of Peter Pan called Finding Neverland did a bit. Not like most of the other movies I listed.
Comment by Clark — April 23, 2008 @ 12:02 pm
Spitfire Grill =(
Comment by FHL — April 23, 2008 @ 12:27 pm
Amen to Shadowlands.
Grave of the Fireflies.
Comment by Scudworth — April 23, 2008 @ 12:40 pm
Dead Poets Society.
First movie to make me cry.
Comment by Dan — April 23, 2008 @ 12:46 pm
I second “Grave of the Fireflies.”
That is probably the ultimate saddest movie I have ever seen. I just cannot watch it again.
Comment by Dan — April 23, 2008 @ 12:46 pm
Brian,
Saddest, not movies you got choked up in.
Comment by Rusty — April 23, 2008 @ 1:12 pm
Unstrung Heroes
Comment by C Jones — April 23, 2008 @ 1:34 pm
Terms of Endearment
American Beauty
Schindler’s List
Passage to India
A. I.
Dead Poet’s Society
If you want to go way back in film history, there’s The Blue Angel with Emil Jannings and Marlene Dietrich.
Comment by meems — April 23, 2008 @ 1:51 pm
Rusty, that’s a good qualification. However most “sad” movies I perceive as sad don’t affect me emotionally the way the ones that got me choked up did. I can think, “that’s a sad story” but not particularly care.
Comment by Clark — April 23, 2008 @ 1:57 pm
Not mentioned yet:
1. The Passion of Joan of Arc
2. Requiem for a Dream
3. Come and See
4. Boys Don’t Cry
5. United 93
6. Oldboy
7. House of Sand and Fog
Comment by kuri — April 23, 2008 @ 2:04 pm
Here’s a third for “Grave of the Fireflies.” As soon as I saw the title of this thread I hoped to find it listed.
Comment by Chad Too — April 23, 2008 @ 2:42 pm
I have to vote for Grave of the Fireflies as well. I used to make myself watch it whenever I was tempted to think that my life was tough - and the first five minutes was usually enough to give me the needed perspective.
Comment by DCL — April 23, 2008 @ 4:12 pm
Seems like I might have a different idea of what constitutes “sad” because The Searchers and Annie Hall are the two that first come to mind.
Comment by Brian V — April 23, 2008 @ 5:30 pm
I think the ending of The Searchers is very sad.
Comment by kuri — April 23, 2008 @ 6:42 pm
Remains of the Day is a very sad movie too.
Comment by Brian G — April 23, 2008 @ 7:21 pm
Moulin Rouge!
Comment by Eric Russell — April 23, 2008 @ 7:33 pm
Remains of the Day is a great movie. I’m not sure it’s sad. At least it wasn’t for me. Tragic, yes. Sad? I’m not sure. Ditto with Age of Innocence.
Comment by Clark — April 23, 2008 @ 8:07 pm
The Mission
A River Runs through It
Howard the Duck
Comment by a random John — April 23, 2008 @ 10:25 pm
Give me a break, arJ!
Taps.
Legends of the Fall.
The Outsiders.
The English Patient.
Out of Africa.
Saving Private Ryan.
Philadelphia.
Comment by MCQ — April 24, 2008 @ 12:12 am
I choke up easily, so I got nothin’ to add.
Although around the time our oldest was turning one year old, we saw Charlie. My wife was so affected that she told me we could never watch that movie again.
Comment by mistaben — April 24, 2008 @ 12:22 am
I was going to second the nomination of The Mission, but saw it was on the same ballot as Howard the Duck, so I’m not sure it was meant seriously.
Comment by Last Lemming — April 24, 2008 @ 7:18 am
LEGENDS OF THE FALL!?!?!?!?
Pppsshhh!
Here’s a hearty second for Unstrung Heroes, also one of the most underrated films of recent memory.
Comment by Scudworth — April 24, 2008 @ 11:45 am
To me the saddest part of the mission is after De Niro kills his brother and not the end. Since the ending is explicitly supposed to be a kind emulation of Christ.
Comment by Clark — April 24, 2008 @ 1:12 pm
The saddest movie of all time is Jude, with Christopher Eckelston. It rather goes beyond sad. Mind numbling without the palest sliver of of hope. *shudder* (That Thomas Hardy sure was a cheerful sort. Spread sunshine wherever he went.)
~
Comment by Thomas Parkin — April 24, 2008 @ 1:59 pm
Flowers for Algernon
Comment by a random John — April 24, 2008 @ 3:35 pm
mcq,
What kind of break would you like? Which of my choices is so offensive to you? All are very sad movies, but for different reasons.
Comment by a random John — April 24, 2008 @ 3:38 pm
The Good Mother
Comment by D. Fletcher — April 24, 2008 @ 5:26 pm
I’m glad to see Remains of the Day has already been mentioned. It’s the first movie that came to my mind. Anthony Hopkins’s performance in that movie really broke my heart.
Comment by Sean Cassity — April 24, 2008 @ 11:41 pm
Step Mom
Requiem For A Dream
Irreversible (Also the most disturbing film ever)
Terms of Endearment
Comment by Giancarlo — May 10, 2008 @ 7:46 am
no particular order..
Rudy
The Deer Hunter
The Killing Fields
Dead Poets Society
Comment by Josef — May 19, 2008 @ 10:46 pm
o yeh…The Green Mile anyone?
Comment by Josef — May 19, 2008 @ 10:47 pm
i keep adding..lol but o yeah..
The Hours
Life as a House
Comment by Josef — May 19, 2008 @ 10:57 pm
brokeback mountain
Comment by plain jane — May 20, 2008 @ 2:13 am
Definitely Life as a House. Despite knowing what’s going to happen, I sobbed like a baby. Also Finding Neverland
Comment by Courtney — May 20, 2008 @ 9:35 am
Grave of Fireflies is by far the saddest movie I have seen, other review was right. Really makes you thankful for what you have. Excellent heart wrenching movie.
Comment by Domenic — May 31, 2008 @ 8:58 pm
The Pianist 2002
The schindlers list
Hotel Rawanda
Titanic
World Trade Center
John q
Comment by Jeff — June 3, 2008 @ 4:50 am
-Bichunmoo- Absolutelly.
Comment by Eko — June 23, 2008 @ 5:20 pm
uhh..
gladiator!
and blood diamond of course..
a beautiful mind is one of the saddest movies i ever watched
Comment by blahblah — June 29, 2008 @ 7:55 pm
ummm
everyone is forgeting what i think is a very sad movie and gets me everytime…
My Girl..
Comment by Tom — July 10, 2008 @ 11:35 pm
I think that both Phantom Menace and Crystal Skull make the top 5 for completely different reasons…
Comment by clark — July 11, 2008 @ 12:17 am
Babel
Comment by Martha — July 13, 2008 @ 8:46 pm