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 18
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

Modern Times (1936)

The final unforgettable image of the Tramp (Charlie Chaplin) arm in arm with the homeless Gamin (Paulette Goddard) silhouetted together and walking into the sunrise to face a new day, at the film's conclusion.

Monsoon Wedding (2001, Ind./UK)
#74

Ria Verma's (Shefali Shetty) angry and malignant revelation that family friend Tej Puri (Rajat Kapoor) sexually molested her as a girl after realizing that he was repeating those offenses with 10 year-old cousin Aliya Verma (Kemaya Kidwai); and Ria's uncle and adoptive father (and father of the bride in the wedding) Lalit Verma's (Naseeruddin Shah) tearful realization in bed with his wife Pimmi (Lillete Dubey) that Ria was not lying - and that he must break with tradition by confronting Tej and telling him and his wife to never return again.

Moulin Rouge (2001)
#47

The ending in which Moulin Rouge's star and beautiful courtesan Satine (Nicole Kidman) died of tuberculosis in the arms of penniless writer/lover Christian (Ewan McGregor).

My Dog Skip (2000)

The touching relationship in 1940's Mississippi between frail, young boy Willie (Frankie Muniz) and his faithful Jack Russell terrier Skip (played by Frasier TV sitcom dog Moose); the scene in which Willie slapped Skip for running onto the baseball field to comfort him; and the scene in which Willie's older best friend and ex-star high school athlete Dink (Luke Wilson) returned home after fighting in WWII - now a broken man who never left his home: ("It isn't the dying that's scary. It's the killing"); also the scene in which Willie saw a deer die before his eyes; and Skip's sad death from old age.

My Favorite Year (1982)

The sad scene in which drunken, swashbuckling movie star Alan Swann (Peter O'Toole), hidden in his limo, watches his estranged daughter Tess (Cady McClain) ride a bicycle in Connecticut - after Swann has driven away, his daughter looks on, knowing he'd been watching; and the sentimental ending after Swann had saved the day on live TV - his last great moment - as young comic writer Benjy Stone (Mark-Linn Baker) narrated about it: ("The way you see him here, like this...this is the way I like to remember him. I think if you had asked Alan Swann what was the single most gratifying moment in his life, he might have said this one, right here. The next day, I drove up to Connecticut with him and Alfi (Tony DiBenedetto). THIS time, he knocked on the door, and when he and Tess saw each other, it was like they'd never been apart. Like Alfi says: 'With Swann, you forgive a lot, you know?' I know.")

My Girl (1991)
#10

The touching, poignant first kiss between pre-teens Vada Sultenfuss (Anna Chlumsky) and allergy-ridden Thomas J. Sennett (Macauley Culkin), and Vada's mourning over Thomas' death from a bee sting.

Mystic River (2003)
The scene of grieving ex-con and corner grocery-store owner Jimmy Markum (Oscar-winning Best Actor Sean Penn) learning of the discovery of a body in the local park - belonging to his 19 year-old daughter Katie (Emmy Rossum) and screaming out to Massachusetts State homicide detective Sean Devine (Kevin Bacon) as he was restrained: "Sean, is that my daughter in there?!"; also the powerfully-acted scene of Jimmy on the back porch with Dave struggling to grieve and let go with his tears over the hurtful, wrenching loss of Katie (Jimmy: "There's one thing you could say about Katie even when she was little. That girl was neat... And it's really starting to piss me off, Dave, because I can't cry for her. My own little daughter, and I can't even cry for her." Dave: "Jimmy. You're crying now." Jimmy: "Yeah, damn. I just want to hug her one more time. She was 19 f--king years old"); also the scene of an emotionally-scarred Dave with his untrusting, fragile, and panicky wife Celeste (Marcia Gay Harden) recalling his 4-day abuse and feeling like an undead vampire ("Maybe one day you wake up and you forget what it's like to be human...Dave's dead. I don't know who came out of that cellar, but it sure as shit wasn't Dave...It's like vampires. Once it's in you, it stays..."), and the scene of suspected teen Brendan Harris (Thomas Guiry), Katie's boyfriend, who spoke poignantly about his lost love after her death: "I'm never gonna feel that again. It doesn't happen twice"

Nashville (1975)

The concluding tragic and shocking sequence at a country music festival/political rally at Nashville's Parthenon in which popular country singer Barbara Jean (Ronee Blakley) had just finished performing "My Idaho Home" and then was assassinated - and quickly replaced with unknown performer Albuquerque (Barbara Harris) who calmed the crowd with "It Don't Worry Me".

The Natural (1984)

The final (tacked-on) concluding scene of a redeemed ballplayer Roy Hobbs (Robert Redford) finally reconciled and together with ex-girlfriend Iris Gaines (Glenn Close) and their 16 year old son as they played catch on the farm in the golden warmth of the sun.

The New World (2005)

The late scene in which the Native American ("natural") princess Pocahontas (Q'orianka Kilcher) was reunited in an England garden with her first love after a few years: regretful Jamestown explorer Captain John Smith (Colin Farrell), asking: "Did you find your Indies, John? You shall" and his response: "I may have sailed past them" - and then the following scene in which she fully expressed her devoted love with a kiss to loyal farmer-husband John Rolfe (Christian Bale) ("My husband"), with a score enhanced by Mozart's concerto and a recurring prelude from Wagner's Das Rheingold.

Nixon (1995)

The scene in which a resigning and sobbing President Nixon (Anthony Hopkins) prayed with Secretary of State Henry Kissinger (Paul Sorvino) and his poignant conversation to a portrait of Kennedy: ("When they look at you, they see what they want to be. When they look at me, they see what they ARE..."), before delivering his TV resignation speech ("My mother was a saint...").

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 18 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
Modern Times (1936)	The final unforgettable image of the Tramp (Charlie Chaplin) arm in arm with the homeless Gamin (Paulette Goddard) silhouetted together and walking into the sunrise to face a new day, at the film's conclusion.
Monsoon Wedding (2001, Ind./UK) #74	Ria Verma's (Shefali Shetty) angry and malignant revelation that family friend Tej Puri (Rajat Kapoor) sexually molested her as a girl after realizing that he was repeating those offenses with 10 year-old cousin Aliya Verma (Kemaya Kidwai); and Ria's uncle and adoptive father (and father of the bride in the wedding) Lalit Verma's (Naseeruddin Shah) tearful realization in bed with his wife Pimmi (Lillete Dubey) that Ria was not lying - and that he must break with tradition by confronting Tej and telling him and his wife to never return again.
Moulin Rouge (2001) #47	The ending in which Moulin Rouge's star and beautiful courtesan Satine (Nicole Kidman) died of tuberculosis in the arms of penniless writer/lover Christian (Ewan McGregor).
My Dog Skip (2000)	The touching relationship in 1940's Mississippi between frail, young boy Willie (Frankie Muniz) and his faithful Jack Russell terrier Skip (played by Frasier TV sitcom dog Moose); the scene in which Willie slapped Skip for running onto the baseball field to comfort him; and the scene in which Willie's older best friend and ex-star high school athlete Dink (Luke Wilson) returned home after fighting in WWII - now a broken man who never left his home: ("It isn't the dying that's scary. It's the killing"); also the scene in which Willie saw a deer die before his eyes; and Skip's sad death from old age.
My Favorite Year (1982)	The sad scene in which drunken, swashbuckling movie star Alan Swann (Peter O'Toole), hidden in his limo, watches his estranged daughter Tess (Cady McClain) ride a bicycle in Connecticut - after Swann has driven away, his daughter looks on, knowing he'd been watching; and the sentimental ending after Swann had saved the day on live TV - his last great moment - as young comic writer Benjy Stone (Mark-Linn Baker) narrated about it: ("The way you see him here, like this...this is the way I like to remember him. I think if you had asked Alan Swann what was the single most gratifying moment in his life, he might have said this one, right here. The next day, I drove up to Connecticut with him and Alfi (Tony DiBenedetto). THIS time, he knocked on the door, and when he and Tess saw each other, it was like they'd never been apart. Like Alfi says: 'With Swann, you forgive a lot, you know?' I know.")
My Girl (1991) #10	The touching, poignant first kiss between pre-teens Vada Sultenfuss (Anna Chlumsky) and allergy-ridden Thomas J. Sennett (Macauley Culkin), and Vada's mourning over Thomas' death from a bee sting.
Mystic River (2003)	The scene of grieving ex-con and corner grocery-store owner Jimmy Markum (Oscar-winning Best Actor Sean Penn) learning of the discovery of a body in the local park - belonging to his 19 year-old daughter Katie (Emmy Rossum) and screaming out to Massachusetts State homicide detective Sean Devine (Kevin Bacon) as he was restrained: "Sean, is that my daughter in there?!"; also the powerfully-acted scene of Jimmy on the back porch with Dave struggling to grieve and let go with his tears over the hurtful, wrenching loss of Katie (Jimmy: "There's one thing you could say about Katie even when she was little. That girl was neat... And it's really starting to piss me off, Dave, because I can't cry for her. My own little daughter, and I can't even cry for her." Dave: "Jimmy. You're crying now." Jimmy: "Yeah, damn. I just want to hug her one more time. She was 19 f--king years old"); also the scene of an emotionally-scarred Dave with his untrusting, fragile, and panicky wife Celeste (Marcia Gay Harden) recalling his 4-day abuse and feeling like an undead vampire ("Maybe one day you wake up and you forget what it's like to be human...Dave's dead. I don't know who came out of that cellar, but it sure as shit wasn't Dave...It's like vampires. Once it's in you, it stays..."), and the scene of suspected teen Brendan Harris (Thomas Guiry), Katie's boyfriend, who spoke poignantly about his lost love after her death: "I'm never gonna feel that again. It doesn't happen twice"
Nashville (1975)	The concluding tragic and shocking sequence at a country music festival/political rally at Nashville's Parthenon in which popular country singer Barbara Jean (Ronee Blakley) had just finished performing "My Idaho Home" and then was assassinated - and quickly replaced with unknown performer Albuquerque (Barbara Harris) who calmed the crowd with "It Don't Worry Me".
The Natural (1984)	The final (tacked-on) concluding scene of a redeemed ballplayer Roy Hobbs (Robert Redford) finally reconciled and together with ex-girlfriend Iris Gaines (Glenn Close) and their 16 year old son as they played catch on the farm in the golden warmth of the sun.
The New World (2005)	The late scene in which the Native American ("natural") princess Pocahontas (Q'orianka Kilcher) was reunited in an England garden with her first love after a few years: regretful Jamestown explorer Captain John Smith (Colin Farrell), asking: "Did you find your Indies, John? You shall" and his response: "I may have sailed past them" - and then the following scene in which she fully expressed her devoted love with a kiss to loyal farmer-husband John Rolfe (Christian Bale) ("My husband"), with a score enhanced by Mozart's concerto and a recurring prelude from Wagner's Das Rheingold.
Nixon (1995)	The scene in which a resigning and sobbing President Nixon (Anthony Hopkins) prayed with Secretary of State Henry Kissinger (Paul Sorvino) and his poignant conversation to a portrait of Kennedy: ("When they look at you, they see what they want to be. When they look at me, they see what they ARE..."), before delivering his TV resignation speech ("My mother was a saint...").