Posted on 01/15/2015 12:39:40 PM PST by DogByte6RER
Which Movies Make Grown Men Cry?
After an evening at Grassroots Tavern, some friends and I got into a heated argument about “Love Actually,” which I contend is a good movie. This eventually became a slightly less heated argument about which movies make people cry. The consensus was that everyone has at least one movie that gets them. The lone dissenter was my friend Alex Kaufman, who claimed he had never cried during a movie. After we listed approximately half the films on IMDb, he eventually recanted, saying that “Saving Private Ryan” had, at points, briefly broken his steely resolve. This leads us to this week’s question:
What movies make people cry the most?
I asked SurveyMonkey Audience, which conducts polls for us from time to time, to ask people what films — if any — had ever made them cry, or at least made them choke up a bit. Respondents could volunteer up to five films.
About 92 percent of the 665 respondents said a movie had made them cry. The dry-eyed 8 percent were asked whether a movie had ever at least gotten them misty-eyed or choked up. A little more than half of them conceded that yes, they had been close to crying before. Call this the “Alex Kaufman Group.”
Still, this leaves us with 4 percent of respondents — about 1 in 25 — who have never been moved even close to tears by any film. Such stoic souls are rare, but they do exist.
Here are the biggest tear-jerker films, with the number of times they were mentioned. In total, 596 films were mentioned 2,615 times.
But men and women don’t tear up at the same films. Looking at films with more than five mentions, there are several that stick out.
“Field of Dreams,” “Rudy,” “Brian’s Song” and “We Were Soldiers” were the most likely to be listed by men rather than women. On the other end of the spectrum, “Beaches,” “P.S. I Love You,” “Steel Magnolias” and “A Walk To Remember” skewed heavily female.
I also asked about the relative tear-jerker-ness of different genres. It’s somewhat interesting to zero in on the 523 respondents for whom we have gender data.
Finally, I inquired about television shows and novels to see whether those were any more likely to cry.
Only 29 percent of male respondents admitted they had ever been brought to tears by a novel, which probably means our civilization is in desperate need for more books about World War II. What’s more, 61 percent of dudes said they have never been brought to tears by a television show or miniseries.
A final note of a personal nature: To the single respondent who listed “Jurassic Park” as a film that has brought them to tears, I need you to contact me as soon as possible. I’m pretty sure you’re my soulmate.
I went in to see Ghost with three men, two of whom were straight. All three had had some alcohol. I was crying away at the sad scene with her husband and the guys - all three - were saying “Just die already, Swayze” and laughing. They ruined it for me.
"Wee Willie Winkie"
When Shirley Temple is singing to a mortally wounded Victor McLaughlin.
Tears of joy it would be for me :)
Gallipoli. The very end.
Hoss
Oh yeah! That and the scene where George and Mary kiss for the first time in the foyer of her house while they are on the phone with Sam. Boy oh boy does that make me leak at the eyes.
Schindler’s List where he wonders if he did enough and if his ring could have bought one more life.
Vanishing Point is one of my favorites and I love the song by Primal Scream too.
Since my mind is on motorcycles I will say, The World’s Fastest Indian.
Wow, how did I overlook that one? A definite tearjerker. Wasn’t a dry eye in the house.
You know, I was trying to remember the name of that movie...it devastated me. I could never watch it again and had to forget the name of it as a survival mechanism of sorts. Your post brought it all back.
I gotta go...can't see the monitor...
Wow, that is much better than the image I originally posted!!!
The Passion, directed by Mel Gibson.
The last free man in America vs the big blue meanies on wheels.
Grand Torino. Too many excellent portrayals of the type of men I looked up to, including my father.
Hay fever is a bitch, isn't it? Always cropping up at inappropriate times.
How about the final scene in “Saving Private Ryan”?
“Was I good man. Did I deserve this?” Ryan asks his wife.
Breaks me up.
He's presented a ring made by the Jews from gold fillings they took out of their teeth, etched with the saying...
"He who saves One live saves them all".
Schindler says.."I could have done more"....
'I could have saved more...one more...two more".....
"You did so much, there will be Generations because of what you did"
As he falls to the ground gripped in tears saying... "And I didn't!"
The Shootist with John Wayne. Aging gunfighter (actor) dying of consumption (cancer). I knew John Wayne was terminal and I felt like I actually watched him die in the movie.
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