"It gets me every time..." - Page 2

Damn you joeypants, I made it through the thread and reading the Candy quote in his voice just kicked my heart in the balls.

I'm sure I've mentioned this in one of the past blubbery threads (these things are cyclical because they are cathartic.... and self-indulgent), but my big Aronofsky moment is still from Requiem when Burstyn's friends come to visit her in the hospital and it cuts to her ruined visage. This is likely due to her previous performance and the fact that this is a moment of release from the unrelenting buildup of the last act but when the friends are sobbing outside.... so am I.

"BROOKS WAS HERE"
Damn.

Alright, godammit.

When the Catbus switches its destination sign to "Mei".

'Forever', by Bernard Herrmann; The Ghost and Mrs. Muir

In the B-17 graveyard, Dana Andrews finally finds his purpose and says goodbye to WWII

If we're gonna drag Studio Ghibli into this: pretty much everything between Chihiro boarding the train, till she gets back to the bathhouse with Haku. Especially the train. Not a single word spoken that entire trip, and it's the most melancholy, haunting scene on Miyazaki's resume.

I can't even explain why I lose it at the end of Porco Rosso.

Ghibli's happy films always have the inexplicable tear jerk. Don't even get me started on my reaction when Kiki realizes she can't talk to Jiji anymore, or when Sophie turns young again while defending Howl.

Joe embarking on his quest in JOE VERSUS THE VOLCANO, Georges Delerue's music swelling magnificently as the boat pulls away from the harbour and makes for the open sea. Something about that gets me every time, as does the scene where Joe, having received his 'brain cloud' diagnosis, leaves the doctor's office, pats the Great Dane and then hugs it while Ray Charles' beautiful version of 'Ol' Man River' plays.

And there are so many from Wes Anderson movies it's not funny. "I've had a bad year" doesn't hit me as hard as it does some of you guys, but the sight of Stiller happily joining his sons and his father as they ride the garbage truck, followed soon after by Stiller being the only one present at his father's death - just the bond between the two as they look at one another in the back of the ambulance - is a sucker punch to the heart.

THE VISITOR's Walter Vale (Richard Jenkins, man) bidding farewell to the woman who helped bring him back to life, and then playing the djembe in the subway. For real, watch THE VISITOR.

Ok, so I don't cry, but a moment that never ceases to hit me emotionally is Robin Williams' in the Birdcage; his monologue about how he might wear foundation and live with a man, but it took him 20 years and he won't let the senator ruin it . . . It gets me every time.

You got a movie? Is there a dog in it? Does the dog die, finally find a home, or get reunited with its owner? Then, no thank you.

Do whatever you want with cats.

For me, it's when Joe's on the raft and has his epiphany with the moonrise.

Another John Patrick Shanley - the scene in Doubt when Viola Davis is basically telling Meryl Streep that she'd be okay with it if Philip Seymour Hoffman's Father Flynn were molesting her son, because it would still be better treatment than he ever received from his real father. The tragedy of that situation really got to me.

If we're going Shawshank, mine is: "I guess I just miss my friend."

Almost the fucking entirety of "Snoopy, Come Home".

Now that I'm old and have kids, Finding Nemo just destroys me. The opening sequence is like fish acting out my worst nightmare, and perfectly sets up Marlin's obsessive behavior throughout. But at the end, after everyone is reunited, and Nemo leads the escape from the fishing net, only to get pinned under it. Marlin's looks at Nemo and flashes back to picking up his egg, and promises to never let anything happen to him. I lose it.

And my obligatory LOTR moment, in ROTK when Eowyn faces down the Witch King to defend Theoden. Her loyalty and determination, "I will kill you if you touch him," has me fighting tears every time.

Fuckin' A right. That last shot is stunningly powerful.

Anyone who doesn't cry when Kirk's voice breaks during his eulogy for Spock in Wrath of Khan is a fucking ghoul with no business being in the human race.

I've said this in similar threads, but it's Saavik's tear that gets me.

Just remembered another: Hi's final dream in Raising Arizona.

Dances With Wolves, when Wind In His Hair appears on the cliff and hollers his friendship to Costner in a way which calls back to what he hollered at Costner when they first met as hostiles.

In a similar vein, in The Last Samurai, when Koyuki's son gets pissed off with Tom Cruise and Koyuki tells Tom that it's because the boy is reminded of his father, who Tom had killed. And Tom says, thinking he gets it, "Oh yeah, he's pissed off at me for killing his father." And Koyuki tells him, "No ... it's because he's afraid of losing you too."

While we're in that similar vein, about half a dozen of Michael Mann's masterfully awesome and/or heartbreaking moments from the final battle of Last Of The Mohicans


Oh yeah. I've never been huge on Trek but that movie is gold and that moment is heartbreaking.

Ellen Burnstein's monologue to Leto in Requiem. It makes me think of my mother.

This is not a good thread for me right now, me being all insomnia ridden and floating high as a kite on ineffective sleeping pills.

I saw Big Fish a week after my father died and the film destroyed me, in a good way. I'm not the type to cry, most of the time it just won't come. Big Fish allowed me to let go of all my emotions I had built up. I have not scene the movie since.

Fluke got to me when I was a kid. Pretty much any movie about the life and death of a dog.

Though I loved Up, I never really bought into that scene where he turns to the back of the album and finds the note. it was too much of a stretch for me, I kept on thinking "Really, his entire life and he never bothered to look that thing all the way through?"

It might still be contrived for you, but Ellie didn't add the 'epilogue' to her adventure book until she was on her death bed. You see that she has some time with it on her hospital bed before she gives it to Carl. Now, you might not be able to buy that he wouldn't have looked through that book thoroughly after she passed away... but there you go.

Back on the Ghibli train: I've posted about this scene before, but there's something I can't explain about the way all the elements come together in the "Country Roads" sequence of Whisper Of The Heart that is just so ineffably perfect that it destroys me every time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_rlJbwsbs4&sns=em

The whole movie is suffused with that kind of mingled joy and melancholy. The fact that the director only made this one, amazingly promising, life-affirming film before dying young only adds to its power.

GREAT, unexpected pick. There's just something about Ghibli films that radiate a bittersweet, hopeful melancholy (if that makes sense).

And this may be nostalgia talking, but yeah I'll go there.

Couple scenes in Empire of the Sun. The first is when Jamie walks up to the Japanese Zero and touches it with an awe and innocence as a kid's toy brought to life: combined with the Japanese captain almost freaking out but the pilots just stop and salute with the kid, stopping the captain dead. The music, sparks in the background, sunset...everything.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SS6JyNQepAQ

The second is the fly by on the tower, with the pilot waiving at him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ouJ_...eature=related

'Boo?'
'Kitty!'

Also: the ending of 'Wall-E', where it looks like Wall-E's personality and soul have been permanently lost. Even though I know that he comes back, that scene, with its sense of profound loss, tears me up every single time.

The destruction of the Ziggurat as Tima suddenly regains her memories in "Metropolis"(anime) gets me every single time.

Also, the cutting of the rope during the Cape Horn Storm in "Master and Commander: TFSOTW" maks me choke in despair.

Ah, let's not do the Pixar thing, but aside from Up?

....yeah.

Also, "Tears in Rain" in Blade Runner, dammit!
It never fails to get me. Never.

You bloody bastard.

There.

As for Blade Runner, huh. I love the scene, but it doesn't break me up or anything.

....I supposed I earned that. Motherfucker.

'Goddammit, you bitch! You never backed away from anything in your life! Now fight!'

and

DON'T CRY BABY. KNEW THIS WAS ONE WAY TICKET BUT YOU KNOW I HAD TO COME. LOVE YOU WIFE.

The first one works because of Ed Harris. He's fantastic in that entire scene.
The second one works because of ME Mastrantonio. Her acting here is flawless.

Both instances of highly charged emotion are delivered perfectly.

There's a Samurai film called When The Last Sword Is Drawn. Came out about six or seven years ago but kind of got eclipsed by Yoji Yamada's 'The Twilight Samurai'. Anyways When The Last Sword Is Drawn is more of an action packed samurai film, filled with intrigue and warfare. But there's a scene towards the end where one of the main characters, a dirt poor Samurai who has lost the respect of several men around him due to his need to get food and provisions for his family, is fatally wounded and is offered a chance for Harakiri. Finding his sword in a terrible state the clan give him a new sword to perform the deed and a last meal of rice balls.

The wounded Samurai asks that they pawn off the new sword and send the money to his family and then takes a mouthful of the riceball before asking for that to be sent to his family. He then commits Harakiri with a blunted sword.

It's a scene designed to get the maximum emotional impact, but it just gets me every time.

Someone at work reminded me of this, and almost got choked right there: Brian Cox envisioning what happens if he and Ed Norton keep driving at the end of 25th Hour.

Back on the Ridley boat...

The c of "Kingdom of Heaven" has two scenes that really get me; Sybilla poisoning her own son and the death of Baldwin, specially when his sister removes his mask and we see what leprosy had actually done to his body.
God dammit, Eva Green shines in both scenes.

You bastard, id forgotten about that...that whole sequence is just heartbreaking, specially the shot of old Monty telling his family the truth.
Why the hell i still dont own that movie?

That sounds awesome, I'm going to netflix this immediately.

I lose it more at the ending. I'm so deliriously happy that the Giant is putting himself back together that I turn into a blubbery mess.

The end of Die Hard, when McClane and Powell see each other for the first time, McClane mouths "Powell?" (I think) and Powell just smiles and nods then they hug.

When Steel Magnolias came out I was a teenager and it broke my movie-crying cherry and ever since I'm a movie-crying fool. Hell, yesterday I walked past the tv as Criminal Minds was ending and that made me shed a few tears, and I don't even like/watch that show.

The first always gives me goosebumps. Just awe of that kind of love and belief in someone.

The second one brings me to tears.

Despite its flaws, really love this flick.

Okay, we haven't had nearly enough embarrassing admissions here yet, so here goes:

When Mel Gibson's youngest daughter finally talks in The Patriot.

Have at me.

I lose it when Gabriel passes away and the camera's just on Gibson's face, trying in vain to not let it hit him. That man does breakdowns like no one's business.

See also: the dinner scene in Signs.

Several years ago, I conducted an experiment involving Rudy. No matter how many times I'd seen the film, I'd lose it during the film's uplifting ending. One lazy weekend, I watched the whole movie and yep, here come the waterworks.

However, seeing as how no one was around, I decided to watch the ending again and see what would happen. I ended up watching that last sack in isolation about four times, and every time garnered the same result. I imagine an outside observer would find my reaction both hilarious and bizarre; I know I did. Still, I am almost certain that there's something about Jerry Goldsmith's score that -- when wedded to the images presented onscreen -- activates the "Cry, you dumb bastard!" button in your brain -- or, at the very least, mine.

I have the same, almost involuntary, reaction to the ending (the final story) of Big Fish. I even flipped past it dubbed in Spanish in a Mexican hotel room and immediately started tearing up. Deep seeded father issues I guess.

Well, if we're bringing Mel into this, the final oh-god-I-know-it's-manipulative voice over/battle charge at the end of Braveheart. James Horner would go onto rip himself off for nearly every other film, but it's beautiful here. The speech, the imagery and that haunting voice over. God damn, gets me every time, not to tears but that special tingly feeling you receive when it feels like something great and memorable just happened.

When Goose dies in Top Gun...bringing back that lovin' feeling since '86

or

When Goose dies in Top Gun...taking my masculinity riigghht innnnto to the danger zone...

Lots of Big Fish love. Guess I better check it out.

I agree about two of the top vote-getters here. I'll chime in to say that I find Up to be incredibly moving throughout, and not just that amazing montage early on. My girlfriend had almost no reaction to it, which effectively made her dead to me (the good news is it was due to a misunderstanding).

The Lord of the Rings still works on me in a lot of different moments, even the little ones. I'm not bawling by any means, but it's a cross between being moved and having your adrenaline kick in. I think that's the difference between Star Wars and Return of the King for me; I gotta lot of love for the Original Trilogy, but it's not hitting that emotion button as heavily or in quite the same way as LOTR does.

And that sort of brings me to this -- The funny thing is that, by and large, I don't get too upset about scenes that are supposed to be upsetting: deaths of major characters, watching other characters cry, etc (Sean Penn in Mystic River anyone?). There has to be some amazing acting going on/a great score/some huge investment in the story/characters for that to register with me on that level.

What's weird, however, is that I can often feel tears well up (if not actually spill over) in scenes of pure exhilaration, especially when wedded to an amazing soundtrack. For instance, one scene that has affected me in the past -- although I have no idea if it would now -- is the precise moment that the bikes ridden by Elliott, E.T., and the rest of the kids take off as the cops chase them (with guns, of course). There's just something about the score and how the film is able to make an audience feel that moment of liftoff. I guess that's what they call "movie magic," folks.

No, I really think you're on to something there and I've wondered if someone figured out that a certain pitch of a certain note when combined with blah, blah actually makes you choke up. Because that score is very similar to Hoosiers and it puts a knot in my throat every time. Along with Rudy. It's gotta be something with the score.

Still havent seen either of those flicks, but Goldsmith does things to my heart with Carol Anne's theme in Poltergeist that only Amrish Puri should be capable.

There's nothing especially sad about it, but the whole 'Concerning Hobbits' section from the EE of FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING really does a number on me, probably because it conjures up such a vivid, loving picture of life in the Shire (and what Frodo and his companions will have to leave behind). I think it's the combo of Ian Holm's narration and Howard Shore's music that does it.

Backdraft - "Look at him ... that's my brother God damn it."


That's similar to how moments of triumph in sports movies work. A character or characters overcoming setbacks and odds stacked against them right as the score hits the sweet spot. I'm a total sucker for that stuff.

This works so much better for me in the theatrical. It just has a better flow to it.

The EEs are meant to throw flow out the window, though. The entire trilogy is bolstered by having such an extensive look at Hobbit life right upfront. Especially Bilbo's bit about there always being a Baggins under the hill.

.....I swear to Christ I had no intention of making that first bit rhyme.