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 22
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

Pretty Woman (1990)

The ultimate rescue of street prostitute Vivian Ward (Julia Roberts) by her Prince Charming - corporate raider Edward Lewis (Richard Gere) - in the film's Cinderella-like fantasy-conclusion as he arrived in a limousine and greeted her on the fire-escape balcony (with her statement: "I want the fairy tale" accompanied by a kiss and red flowers).

The Pride of the Yankees (1942)

The emotional turmoil New York Yankees star first baseman Lou Gehrig (Gary Cooper) suffered after learning in his mid-30s that he was afflicted with the uncurable disease of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and his famous farewell speech in his # 4 uniform on July 4, 1939 in front of a packed Yankee Stadium of 62,000 fans, before which he was accompanied by his tearful wife Eleanor (Teresa Wright) in the dark tunnel leading to the infield, where he was honored and then spoke: "...People all say that I've had a bad break. But today -- today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth".

The Queen (2006)

The scene in which Queen Elizabeth II (Helen Mirren) - embattled and despised by the British public for her family's silence in the week between former Princess of Wales Diana's (played by Herself in archival footage) death and funeral - drove into the country and wept after her Land Rover stalled in a stream, and then encountered by chance a large "14 point" stag on the Balmoral estate - she shooed it away to safety when hunters approached; and the upsetting symbolic scene in which she later visited the stag in a bleeding room - it had been killed and beheaded by a paying guest/hunter on a neighboring estate - and her statement: "I hope he didn't suffer much"; and the tearjerking scene in which the Queen, forced to have a royal funeral for Diana, perused the thousands of bouquets left for "the people's princess" in front of Buckingham Palace's gates - and saw such bitter, callous sentiments as: "You were too good for them" and "Your blood is on their hands"; and the sweet moment of vindication when a little girl told the thankful Queen that the bouquet she brought was for Her Royal Majesty ("These are for you") and not the Princess; and the formal, respectful curtseys and head bows by the mourning crowds as she passed them, and the final closing shot as recently-appointed Labour Party Prime Minister Tony Blair (Michael Sheen) and the Queen walked through the Royal Gardens at Buckingham Palace and amiably chatted about the issues of the day.

The Railway Children (1970)
#53

The ending - when missing father Charles Waterbury (Iain Cuthbertson) was reunited with his three children (Jenny Agutter, Sally Thomsett, and Gary F. Warren).

Rain Man (1988)

The emotional farewell scenes between idiot savant autistic Raymond Babbitt (Dustin Hoffman) and his slick, car-dealing brother Charlie ("main man") (Tom Cruise) after a memorable cross-country road trip together; they touch heads together (Charlie: "I like having you for my brother" Raymond: "I'm an excellent driver") and then the camera slowly zooms in - also their parting after a short discussion at the Amtrak train station: (Charlie: "I'll see you soon." Raymond: "Yeah, One for bad, two for good." Charlie: "Bet two for good." Raymond: "It's three minutes to Wapner." Charlie: "You'll make it." Raymond: "Yeah.")

Ran (1985, Jp.)

The senseless death of loyal son Saburo Naotora Ichimonji (Daisuke Ryu) from a stray bullet as he rode on horseback with his newly-reconciled elderly father Lord Hidetora (Tatsuya Nakadai), who had murmured into his son's ear how hopeful he was of their newfound relationship as father and son; and Hidetora's anguish over the death after Saburo slipped off his horse to the ground.

Random Harvest (1942)

The marriage proposal scene between Charles Ranier (Ronald Colman) and former wife/secretary Paula (Greer Garson) during a picnic: "My life began with you"; and the final revelatory scene at the cottage in which amnesiac Charles unraveled clues and responded to being called "Smithie, oh Smithie, oh darling" - finally, he embraced and kissed his long-lost love.

Rebel Without a Cause (1955)

The concluding tragic scene in which panicky teen Plato (Sal Mineo), with an empty gun in his hand, attempted to flee from the observatory, but was shot down by gunfire from the police cordon; anguished by the senseless killing and his failure to avert violence with his utmost effort, Jim Stark (James Dean) kneeled and crawled next to his friend's body, mourned the death of his surrogate 'son' who was unable to reach the adult world, and asked: "Hey jerk-pot. What did ya do that for?"; Plato's distraught maid/housekeeper (Marietta Canty) delivered his epitaph: "This poor baby got nobody. Just nobody" as Jim zipped up the red jacket on his friend's corpse, and told ambulance workers: "He was always cold."

The Red Balloon (1956, Fr.) (aka Le Ballon Rouge)

The sad, tragic scene in this short 34-minute film in which bullies with a slingshot popped and deflated young towheaded schoolboy Pascal's (Pascal Lamorisse) beloved bright red balloon to the ground; and the very sweet, uplifting, magical surprise ending in which Pascal discovered his resurrected red balloon accompanied by thousands of other colored balloons from around Paris, that lifted him up and carried him off on a ride to another world.

The Red Shoes (1948)

The melodramatic tragic death scene when young, red-headed prima ballerina Victoria (Vicky) Page (Moira Shearer) fell to her death just before an encore concert presentation of The Red Shoes ballet - the controlling red shoes willfilly took her to a balcony overlook and forcefully pulled her off (into the path of an oncoming train on the tracks below), followed by a closeup of her bloody legs (and tights) and feet wearing the shoes; when she requested that conductor-composer husband Julian Craster (Marius Goring) remove her red ballet shoes, she died; and the film's final images of the ballet being performed as planned without her (with a spotlight shining on the floor where she would have been dancing) and the announcement "There will be no performance of The Red Shoes tonight."

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 22 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
Pretty Woman (1990)	The ultimate rescue of street prostitute Vivian Ward (Julia Roberts) by her Prince Charming - corporate raider Edward Lewis (Richard Gere) - in the film's Cinderella-like fantasy-conclusion as he arrived in a limousine and greeted her on the fire-escape balcony (with her statement: "I want the fairy tale" accompanied by a kiss and red flowers).
The Pride of the Yankees (1942)	The emotional turmoil New York Yankees star first baseman Lou Gehrig (Gary Cooper) suffered after learning in his mid-30s that he was afflicted with the uncurable disease of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and his famous farewell speech in his # 4 uniform on July 4, 1939 in front of a packed Yankee Stadium of 62,000 fans, before which he was accompanied by his tearful wife Eleanor (Teresa Wright) in the dark tunnel leading to the infield, where he was honored and then spoke: "...People all say that I've had a bad break. But today -- today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth".
The Queen (2006)	The scene in which Queen Elizabeth II (Helen Mirren) - embattled and despised by the British public for her family's silence in the week between former Princess of Wales Diana's (played by Herself in archival footage) death and funeral - drove into the country and wept after her Land Rover stalled in a stream, and then encountered by chance a large "14 point" stag on the Balmoral estate - she shooed it away to safety when hunters approached; and the upsetting symbolic scene in which she later visited the stag in a bleeding room - it had been killed and beheaded by a paying guest/hunter on a neighboring estate - and her statement: "I hope he didn't suffer much"; and the tearjerking scene in which the Queen, forced to have a royal funeral for Diana, perused the thousands of bouquets left for "the people's princess" in front of Buckingham Palace's gates - and saw such bitter, callous sentiments as: "You were too good for them" and "Your blood is on their hands"; and the sweet moment of vindication when a little girl told the thankful Queen that the bouquet she brought was for Her Royal Majesty ("These are for you") and not the Princess; and the formal, respectful curtseys and head bows by the mourning crowds as she passed them, and the final closing shot as recently-appointed Labour Party Prime Minister Tony Blair (Michael Sheen) and the Queen walked through the Royal Gardens at Buckingham Palace and amiably chatted about the issues of the day.
The Railway Children (1970) #53	The ending - when missing father Charles Waterbury (Iain Cuthbertson) was reunited with his three children (Jenny Agutter, Sally Thomsett, and Gary F. Warren).
Rain Man (1988)	The emotional farewell scenes between idiot savant autistic Raymond Babbitt (Dustin Hoffman) and his slick, car-dealing brother Charlie ("main man") (Tom Cruise) after a memorable cross-country road trip together; they touch heads together (Charlie: "I like having you for my brother" Raymond: "I'm an excellent driver") and then the camera slowly zooms in - also their parting after a short discussion at the Amtrak train station: (Charlie: "I'll see you soon." Raymond: "Yeah, One for bad, two for good." Charlie: "Bet two for good." Raymond: "It's three minutes to Wapner." Charlie: "You'll make it." Raymond: "Yeah.")
Ran (1985, Jp.)	The senseless death of loyal son Saburo Naotora Ichimonji (Daisuke Ryu) from a stray bullet as he rode on horseback with his newly-reconciled elderly father Lord Hidetora (Tatsuya Nakadai), who had murmured into his son's ear how hopeful he was of their newfound relationship as father and son; and Hidetora's anguish over the death after Saburo slipped off his horse to the ground.
Random Harvest (1942)	The marriage proposal scene between Charles Ranier (Ronald Colman) and former wife/secretary Paula (Greer Garson) during a picnic: "My life began with you"; and the final revelatory scene at the cottage in which amnesiac Charles unraveled clues and responded to being called "Smithie, oh Smithie, oh darling" - finally, he embraced and kissed his long-lost love.
Rebel Without a Cause (1955)	The concluding tragic scene in which panicky teen Plato (Sal Mineo), with an empty gun in his hand, attempted to flee from the observatory, but was shot down by gunfire from the police cordon; anguished by the senseless killing and his failure to avert violence with his utmost effort, Jim Stark (James Dean) kneeled and crawled next to his friend's body, mourned the death of his surrogate 'son' who was unable to reach the adult world, and asked: "Hey jerk-pot. What did ya do that for?"; Plato's distraught maid/housekeeper (Marietta Canty) delivered his epitaph: "This poor baby got nobody. Just nobody" as Jim zipped up the red jacket on his friend's corpse, and told ambulance workers: "He was always cold."
The Red Balloon (1956, Fr.) (aka Le Ballon Rouge)	The sad, tragic scene in this short 34-minute film in which bullies with a slingshot popped and deflated young towheaded schoolboy Pascal's (Pascal Lamorisse) beloved bright red balloon to the ground; and the very sweet, uplifting, magical surprise ending in which Pascal discovered his resurrected red balloon accompanied by thousands of other colored balloons from around Paris, that lifted him up and carried him off on a ride to another world.
The Red Shoes (1948)	The melodramatic tragic death scene when young, red-headed prima ballerina Victoria (Vicky) Page (Moira Shearer) fell to her death just before an encore concert presentation of The Red Shoes ballet - the controlling red shoes willfilly took her to a balcony overlook and forcefully pulled her off (into the path of an oncoming train on the tracks below), followed by a closeup of her bloody legs (and tights) and feet wearing the shoes; when she requested that conductor-composer husband Julian Craster (Marius Goring) remove her red ballet shoes, she died; and the film's final images of the ballet being performed as planned without her (with a spotlight shining on the floor where she would have been dancing) and the announcement "There will be no performance of The Red Shoes tonight."