Greatest Tearjerkers Films - Scenes and Moments

Greatest Tearjerker Films, Scenes and Movie Moments
of All-Time

Introduction: There are many names for tearjerker films - 'women's pictures', 'weepies' or weepers, melodramas, soap operas (or soapers), and more recently, 'chick flicks'. There are many kinds of touching, emotionally stirring films and dramas that bring a tear to the eye, and cause a swelling in the heart. Pathos-filled tales of doomed or short-lived romance, tragic deaths or losses (loss of life, loss of love, loss of dignity, etc.), recovery (recovery of life, recovery of love, recovery of dignity, etc.), or difficult domestic situations are common plot themes in these kinds of films.
Many sites and film books have attempted to compile listings of the most tearjerking moments, scenes and films throughout cinematic history. See various choices of great tearjerkers in Entertainment Weekly's choices for the Top 50 Greatest Tearjerkers, UK's Channel 4 website of 100 Greatest Tearjerkers (see below), and O Magazine's compilation of 50 Greatest Chick Flicks. The following sources are indicated by icons in this site's compilation:

- UK's Channel 4 website of the 100 Greatest Tearjerkers

- Entertainment Weekly's November 28, 2003 issue of the 50 Greatest Tearjerkers

Note: The films that are marked with a yellow star are the films that "The Greatest Films" site has selected as the 100 Greatest Films.

Greatest Film Tearjerkers, Moments and Scenes
(alphabetical by film title) - Part 1
Intro | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10
Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20
Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30

Movie Title
Brief Scene Description Example

About Schmidt (2002)

The scene of retiring Warren Schmidt (Jack Nicholson) writing a despairing letter to his Child Reach foster child Ndugu Umba: ("What difference has my life made to anyone?"), followed by his receipt of a letter from the boy's Mother Superior, which included the child's drawing of himself holding hands with Warren - resulting in Warren's uncontrollable weeping of tears of joy and vindication.

The Abyss (1989)

The emotionally-raw resuscitation scene in which husband Virgil "Bud" Brigman (Ed Harris) valiantly refused to accept estranged wife Lindsey's (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) death by drowning while trying to revive her: ("Goddamn it, you bitch, you never backed away from anything in your life! Now fight! Fight! Fight! Right now! Do it! FIGHT, GODDAMNED IT! FIGHT! FIGHT! Fiiiiiiiiiiight!") -- and Lindsey's awakening from death.

The Accidental Tourist (1988)

The character of fastidious, withdrawn travel guide writer Macon Leary (William Hurt) who was emotionally numbed by the violent shooting death of his son Ethan (Seth Granger) in a fast-food restaurant robbery - including his subsequent divorce from wife Sarah (Kathleen Turner); his painful flashback in which he identified his son's body with a flat, drained confirmation: "Yes, that is my son"; and the moving scene in which he attempted to break off a dinner date with his wacky dog trainer and single mother Muriel Pritchett (Geena Davis) (who was tending Macon's spunky Corgi named Edward) by a written note - and then when he tried, awkwardly in person, to explain his loss and his reasons for not wanting to get close ("I can't go to dinner with people, I can't. I can't talk to their little boys. You have to stop asking me. I don't want to hurt your feelings, but I'm just not up to this"), and her comforting hug followed by a non-sexual invitation to go upstairs to her bed to sleep - and her response of "I'm bashful" when he asked her to remove her gown next to him; and then later, the tearjerking finale in Paris when Macon (on his way to DeGaulle airport) after breaking up once and for all with Sarah and telling her that he was returning to Muriel ("I tried but I can't make this work...I'm beginning to think it's not just how much you love someone. Maybe what matters is who you are when you're with them"); after he was helped into a taxi by a blonde French-speaking boy (Gregory Gouyer) who strongly resembled Ethan, he spotted Muriel leaving the hotel (whom he'd repeatedly spurned while in Paris) - and the film ended with their mutual shocked reactions (Muriel's delighted and smiling reaction and Macon's teary-eyed look and half-smile) when she saw him in the back seat of the taxi that he had ordered stopped by her.

An Affair to Remember (1957)
#4
#61

After meeting during a cruise and before docking in New York during a blossoming shipboard romance on the Constitution, the scene of engaged, playboyish Nickie Ferrante (Cary Grant) and singer Terry McKay (Deborah Kerr) being together one final time (Nicky: "We'd be fools to let happiness pass us by") and vowing to reunite at the top (102nd floor) of the Empire State Building in six months time on July 1st at 5:00 pm - as Terry added: "Oh yes, that's perfect. It's the nearest thing to heaven we have in New York"; then the scene six months later when Nickie waited at their rendezvous point (a clock chimed 5 times), but Terry didn't appear (she was injured in an awful car accident (off-screen) on a busy NYC street on her way rushing to meet him) and there were ambulances heard blaring at 10 minutes after five; and then in the conclusion of this romantic, tearjerker tale of star-crossed lovers, the revelation scene six months later regarding the devastating, terrible secret of why she couldn't keep her fateful appointment: his accusatory and scolding conversation with her as she was supine on a couch (covered with a shawl from his now-deceased Grandmother Janou (Cathleen Nesbitt)) and his ultimate discovery that she bought his painting (visible in the mirror reflection in her bedroom) and kept her accident a secret ("Why didn't you tell me? If it had to happen to one of us, why did it have to be you?") - leading to their tearful reunion, her explanation ("I was looking up - it was the nearest thing to heaven. You were there"), and their kiss in the conclusion of the romantic, tearjerker tale of star-crossed lovers, when she told him: "Don't worry, darling...if you can paint, I can walk. Anything can happen", in director Leo McCarey's romantic melodrama [This film was a remake of the original shipboard romance classic Love Affair (1939) by writer/director Leo McCarey, starring Charles Boyer and Irene Dunne - and was referenced in director Nora Ephron's Sleepless in Seattle (1993), and in Love Affair (1994) with Warren Beatty and Annette Bening.]

Alice Adams (1935)

The scene of Alice Adams (Katharine Hepburn) weeping at her rain-spattered bedroom window after returning home from the dance, after she discovered that her "disappearing" and insensitive brother Walter (Frank Albertson) had been playing dice in the cloak room, dashing her hopes of respectability.

All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989)

The touching, dream-like scene in which roguish criminal dog Charlie Barkin (voice of Burt Reynolds), preparing to be consigned to Hell, said good-bye to sleepy young orphan girl Anne-Marie (Judith Barsi): (Anne-Marie: "I love you, Charlie" - Charlie: "I love you too, Squeaker"), as the Devil called out: "Chaaaaaarley."

All That Heaven Allows (1955)

The scene in which fortyish widow Cary Scott (Jane Wyman), after suspending her love affair with her handsome gardener Ron Kirby (Rock Hudson), was presented with a brand new TV set (adorned with red ribbons) as a Christmas present to keep her company - she saw her reflection on the screen as the unctuous salesman told her: ("All you have to do is turn that dial and you have all the company you want right there on the screen - drama, comedy, life's parade at your fingertips...")

Allegro non Troppo (1977, It.)

The heart-rending and nostalgic segment of a lonely, emaciated kitty-cat exploring the decaying, abandoned and crumbling tenement of its former owner, remembering when the house was full of life and how it lounged on a cushy armchair or smelled cooking food -- to the soundtrack of Jean Sibelius' mournful Valse Triste (The Sad Waltz); at the film's climax, the cat realizes that its dreams of happiness will never again be realized.

Always (1989)

The explosive death of flying forest firefighter Peter Sandich (Richard Dreyfuss) after saving the life of his best friend Al Yackey (John Goodman), who prematurely exclaimed: "Oh, that lucky son-of-a-bitch!"; the many scenes of the ghost of Peter and his unrequited love for his still-living lover Dorinda Durston (Holly Hunter), including the scene in which he agonized over watching Dorinda dance and kiss Ted Baker (Brad Johnson), crying out to angel Hap (Audrey Hepburn): "Oh, Hap! Take me out of here!", followed by the famous scene in which she was dressed in the white, skin-tight "girls" clothes he had bought her for her birthday, and was dancing around her living room to the tune of their favorite song - "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" - unknowingly accompanied by his ghost, and Peter's tearful statement to Hap: "I'm not ready to say good-bye"; also the scene of Pete's final farewell to Dorinda: ("..I love you, Dorinda. I love you. I should have told you that a long time ago...I know now, that the love we hold back is the only pain that follows us here. And the memory of that love shouldn't make you unhappy for the rest of your life...") and his "release" of her: ("I'm releasing you. I'm moving out of your heart. Go on. Go on..."), in this remake of A Guy Named Joe (1943).

Annie Hall (1977)

In the film's conclusion, Alvy Singer's (Woody Allen) wistful, resigned realization that his relationship with ex-girlfriend Annie Hall (Diane Keaton) would remain just a good friendship, but also that she would hold a special place in his heart, punctuated with a nostalgic montage of their romance as Annie sang "Seems Like Old Times."

Created in 1996-2008 © by Tim Dirks. All rights reserved.

Introduction: There are many names for tearjerker films - 'women's pictures', 'weepies' or weepers, melodramas, soap operas (or soapers), and more recently, 'chick flicks'. There are many kinds of touching, emotionally stirring films and dramas that bring a tear to the eye, and cause a swelling in the heart. Pathos-filled tales of doomed or short-lived romance, tragic deaths or losses (loss of life, loss of love, loss of dignity, etc.), recovery (recovery of life, recovery of love, recovery of dignity, etc.), or difficult domestic situations are common plot themes in these kinds of films. Many sites and film books have attempted to compile listings of the most tearjerking moments, scenes and films throughout cinematic history. See various choices of great tearjerkers in Entertainment Weekly's choices for the Top 50 Greatest Tearjerkers, UK's Channel 4 website of 100 Greatest Tearjerkers (see below), and O Magazine's compilation of 50 Greatest Chick Flicks. The following sources are indicated by icons in this site's compilation: - UK's Channel 4 website of the 100 Greatest Tearjerkers - Entertainment Weekly's November 28, 2003 issue of the 50 Greatest Tearjerkers Note: The films that are marked with a yellow star are the films that "The Greatest Films" site has selected as the 100 Greatest Films.
Greatest Film Tearjerkers, Moments and Scenes (alphabetical by film title) - Part 1 Intro \| Part 1 \| Part 2 \| Part 3 \| Part 4 \| Part 5 \| Part 6 \| Part 7 \| Part 8 \| Part 9 \| Part 10 Part 11 \| Part 12 \| Part 13 \| Part 14 \| Part 15 \| Part 16 \| Part 17 \| Part 18 \| Part 19 \| Part 20 Part 21 \| Part 22 \| Part 23 \| Part 24 \| Part 25 \| Part 26 \| Part 27 \| Part 28 \| Part 29 \| Part 30
Movie Title	Brief Scene Description	Example
About Schmidt (2002)	The scene of retiring Warren Schmidt (Jack Nicholson) writing a despairing letter to his Child Reach foster child Ndugu Umba: ("What difference has my life made to anyone?"), followed by his receipt of a letter from the boy's Mother Superior, which included the child's drawing of himself holding hands with Warren - resulting in Warren's uncontrollable weeping of tears of joy and vindication.
The Abyss (1989)	The emotionally-raw resuscitation scene in which husband Virgil "Bud" Brigman (Ed Harris) valiantly refused to accept estranged wife Lindsey's (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) death by drowning while trying to revive her: ("Goddamn it, you bitch, you never backed away from anything in your life! Now fight! Fight! Fight! Right now! Do it! FIGHT, GODDAMNED IT! FIGHT! FIGHT! Fiiiiiiiiiiight!") -- and Lindsey's awakening from death.
The Accidental Tourist (1988)	The character of fastidious, withdrawn travel guide writer Macon Leary (William Hurt) who was emotionally numbed by the violent shooting death of his son Ethan (Seth Granger) in a fast-food restaurant robbery - including his subsequent divorce from wife Sarah (Kathleen Turner); his painful flashback in which he identified his son's body with a flat, drained confirmation: "Yes, that is my son"; and the moving scene in which he attempted to break off a dinner date with his wacky dog trainer and single mother Muriel Pritchett (Geena Davis) (who was tending Macon's spunky Corgi named Edward) by a written note - and then when he tried, awkwardly in person, to explain his loss and his reasons for not wanting to get close ("I can't go to dinner with people, I can't. I can't talk to their little boys. You have to stop asking me. I don't want to hurt your feelings, but I'm just not up to this"), and her comforting hug followed by a non-sexual invitation to go upstairs to her bed to sleep - and her response of "I'm bashful" when he asked her to remove her gown next to him; and then later, the tearjerking finale in Paris when Macon (on his way to DeGaulle airport) after breaking up once and for all with Sarah and telling her that he was returning to Muriel ("I tried but I can't make this work...I'm beginning to think it's not just how much you love someone. Maybe what matters is who you are when you're with them"); after he was helped into a taxi by a blonde French-speaking boy (Gregory Gouyer) who strongly resembled Ethan, he spotted Muriel leaving the hotel (whom he'd repeatedly spurned while in Paris) - and the film ended with their mutual shocked reactions (Muriel's delighted and smiling reaction and Macon's teary-eyed look and half-smile) when she saw him in the back seat of the taxi that he had ordered stopped by her.
An Affair to Remember (1957) #4 #61	After meeting during a cruise and before docking in New York during a blossoming shipboard romance on the Constitution, the scene of engaged, playboyish Nickie Ferrante (Cary Grant) and singer Terry McKay (Deborah Kerr) being together one final time (Nicky: "We'd be fools to let happiness pass us by") and vowing to reunite at the top (102nd floor) of the Empire State Building in six months time on July 1st at 5:00 pm - as Terry added: "Oh yes, that's perfect. It's the nearest thing to heaven we have in New York"; then the scene six months later when Nickie waited at their rendezvous point (a clock chimed 5 times), but Terry didn't appear (she was injured in an awful car accident (off-screen) on a busy NYC street on her way rushing to meet him) and there were ambulances heard blaring at 10 minutes after five; and then in the conclusion of this romantic, tearjerker tale of star-crossed lovers, the revelation scene six months later regarding the devastating, terrible secret of why she couldn't keep her fateful appointment: his accusatory and scolding conversation with her as she was supine on a couch (covered with a shawl from his now-deceased Grandmother Janou (Cathleen Nesbitt)) and his ultimate discovery that she bought his painting (visible in the mirror reflection in her bedroom) and kept her accident a secret ("Why didn't you tell me? If it had to happen to one of us, why did it have to be you?") - leading to their tearful reunion, her explanation ("I was looking up - it was the nearest thing to heaven. You were there"), and their kiss in the conclusion of the romantic, tearjerker tale of star-crossed lovers, when she told him: "Don't worry, darling...if you can paint, I can walk. Anything can happen", in director Leo McCarey's romantic melodrama [This film was a remake of the original shipboard romance classic Love Affair (1939) by writer/director Leo McCarey, starring Charles Boyer and Irene Dunne - and was referenced in director Nora Ephron's Sleepless in Seattle (1993), and in Love Affair (1994) with Warren Beatty and Annette Bening.]
Alice Adams (1935)	The scene of Alice Adams (Katharine Hepburn) weeping at her rain-spattered bedroom window after returning home from the dance, after she discovered that her "disappearing" and insensitive brother Walter (Frank Albertson) had been playing dice in the cloak room, dashing her hopes of respectability.
All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989)	The touching, dream-like scene in which roguish criminal dog Charlie Barkin (voice of Burt Reynolds), preparing to be consigned to Hell, said good-bye to sleepy young orphan girl Anne-Marie (Judith Barsi): (Anne-Marie: "I love you, Charlie" - Charlie: "I love you too, Squeaker"), as the Devil called out: "Chaaaaaarley."
All That Heaven Allows (1955)	The scene in which fortyish widow Cary Scott (Jane Wyman), after suspending her love affair with her handsome gardener Ron Kirby (Rock Hudson), was presented with a brand new TV set (adorned with red ribbons) as a Christmas present to keep her company - she saw her reflection on the screen as the unctuous salesman told her: ("All you have to do is turn that dial and you have all the company you want right there on the screen - drama, comedy, life's parade at your fingertips...")
Allegro non Troppo (1977, It.)	The heart-rending and nostalgic segment of a lonely, emaciated kitty-cat exploring the decaying, abandoned and crumbling tenement of its former owner, remembering when the house was full of life and how it lounged on a cushy armchair or smelled cooking food -- to the soundtrack of Jean Sibelius' mournful Valse Triste (The Sad Waltz); at the film's climax, the cat realizes that its dreams of happiness will never again be realized.
Always (1989)	The explosive death of flying forest firefighter Peter Sandich (Richard Dreyfuss) after saving the life of his best friend Al Yackey (John Goodman), who prematurely exclaimed: "Oh, that lucky son-of-a-bitch!"; the many scenes of the ghost of Peter and his unrequited love for his still-living lover Dorinda Durston (Holly Hunter), including the scene in which he agonized over watching Dorinda dance and kiss Ted Baker (Brad Johnson), crying out to angel Hap (Audrey Hepburn): "Oh, Hap! Take me out of here!", followed by the famous scene in which she was dressed in the white, skin-tight "girls" clothes he had bought her for her birthday, and was dancing around her living room to the tune of their favorite song - "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" - unknowingly accompanied by his ghost, and Peter's tearful statement to Hap: "I'm not ready to say good-bye"; also the scene of Pete's final farewell to Dorinda: ("..I love you, Dorinda. I love you. I should have told you that a long time ago...I know now, that the love we hold back is the only pain that follows us here. And the memory of that love shouldn't make you unhappy for the rest of your life...") and his "release" of her: ("I'm releasing you. I'm moving out of your heart. Go on. Go on..."), in this remake of A Guy Named Joe (1943).
Annie Hall (1977)	In the film's conclusion, Alvy Singer's (Woody Allen) wistful, resigned realization that his relationship with ex-girlfriend Annie Hall (Diane Keaton) would remain just a good friendship, but also that she would hold a special place in his heart, punctuated with a nostalgic montage of their romance as Annie sang "Seems Like Old Times."