What movie chokes you up?

[racquetman]

Alright, I know we are all manly men here (except for the ladies), but is there a certain movie that tugs at you a bit emotionally. Since all our identities are confidential, this could be interesting if we are all honest (or are you all dead inside )

I have a couple of obscure movies that took me by surprise and choked me up a little.

American Flyers is one of Kevin Costner's first movies and follows him and his brother competing in a bike race called The Hell of the West. If you want to learn a little bit more about bike racing and see some nice photography work, this is a nice movie with a sad ending.

Also, the movie Wisdom with Emilio Estevez and Demi Moore got to me a little. I'm not sure why, just the way the actors performed was touching I guess.

Alright, let's hear from ya!!

* No Dirty Dozen references, that was used in Sleepless in Seattle .

 

[supervij]

I can't believe I'm about to betray my manly exterior, but . . .

Gandhi does it for me. Maybe because I'm Indian myself, but it always gets me. At the end of the movie, Gandhi is shot and the screen goes black and he murmurs, "Oh God." Ben Kingsley, playing Gandhi, doesn't say it melodramatically or anything; it seems more like prayer. It's at that moment that I get a lump in my throat, and my eyes start to water. I think about the life he's led and all the extraordinary things he's done. And two bullets from a religious fanatic ended it all. Kills me every time.

I remember feeling a little choked up at the end of Big Fish. The old man is dying, and all his friends have turned up to say goodbye. I get a little choked up, but in a good way; I feel sort of priveledged to have been witness to this amazing and extraordinary life, and I feel like I'm losing someone I know.

I know it's not a movie, but it is available on DVD. The season five episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "The Body". The most painfully realistic and honest portrayal of the dealing with the death of a loved one I've ever seen. It may be difficult to believe that a show entitled Buffy the Vampire Slayer could possibly be emotionally moving and dramatic, but watch this episode and see if you can get through its forty-five minutes without feeling the tears threaten.

Okay now. I'm off to pump some iron, drink some brew, play with my rifle and watch some football. And pretend that I didn't write a single word of this post!

cheers,
supervij

 

[GettinDegreez]

I started to tear to cry a little at the end of "The Green Mile". I was like..."but he's innocent...no!!!"

The Notebook was a kinda sad too.

 

[anamorphic96]

The Notebook

The Notebook is the most recent for me, and gets me every time. Yes its a bit shmaltzy in some ways but its done with taste and true sincerity for the material. This movie stayed with me for several days. Very rare for a movie to stick with me like this one did.

So theres my honesty. Come on fellas lets hear yours.

 

[Rob Babcock]

I'd say The Grave of the Fireflies is hard to get thru. Very moving. It's the animated story of an orphaned brother & sister trying to survive during WWII in Japan. Another anime flick that really gets to me is Windaria.

You wanna talk smaltzy? I really loved What Dreams May Come and Always. The former is set in the afterlife- Robbin Williams plays a man that must travel to Hell to try to bring back the soul of the woman he loves. That latter is a really corny Speilberg film about a man (played by Richard Dryfuss) who dies and comes back as subconcious inspiration & guidance for the man who falls in love with his old flame. Yeah, really cheesy but a good tear-jerker.

 

[brian32672]

There are a ton, but before reading the posts after the original I had already made up my mind. Then kept reading and someone had chosen mine. So I will have to second The Green Mile.

Another good one was Ice Castles. (Lynn Holly Johnson, drewl....)

 

[JohnA]

I got a little choked at the end of Million Dollar Baby. If you haven't seen it, go rent it, you won't be sorry... Also Mystic River...not so much tear jerker more of a rip out your heart and stomp on it, then kick you when you are down.

 

[Spiffyfast]

Remember the Titan's does it for me, we lost someone on our football team my senior year of college in a car accident so I can kind of relate to it

 

[Audioholics]

The Passion of the Christ and Saving Private Ryan are two that come to mind...

Selfless sacrifice always gets me. "Greater love hath no man than to lay down his own life for another."

 

[claudermilk]

I'll second Saving Private Ryan.

If you want to talk about ripping your heart out & stomping on it, remember Schindler's List?

 

[Takeereasy]

Schindler's List and to a lesser extent Hotel Rawanda. Also Tears of the Sun, during that pay back scene in the village. Also last of the Mohicans and I agree with SPR and Million Dollar Baby. When I was a kid it was Old Yeller and Call of the Wild.

Quick question, was I the only one traumatized when Bambi's mom got capped?



All of those movies are OK to get choked up by. Here are my shameful movies: Jerry McGuire. There I said it. I just about teared up when he did the whole "you complete me" thing at the end. As Good as it Gets (fantastic movie IMO) and to a tiny degree the Notebook.

 

[jeffsg4mac]

I second Clint's choices, but two that really stand out for me are many parts of the Lord of the Rings and the all time choker for me is the end of The Empire Of The Sun. That one always gets me

 

[JohnA]

Not a movie but...Extreme Makeover Home Edition...some of those stories just tear at the heart, make you realize you have it pretty good and motivate you to start helping others.

 

[DTS]

Wow, tough one. Lots of good ones already mentioned. October Sky sticks in my mind on some levels, and more recently, but not a movie, is "Into the West", the 6 part series on TV. The way the native americans were treated sickens me.

 

[philh]

Deep Space 9 episode where Jake grows up with and Sisko keeps popping in and out of reality. I remember the first time I saw that episode, thinking, someday I'm going to miss my dad, and the second time realizing I do miss dad. Saved the episode on the TIVO, don't know if I can watch it again.

 

[jeffsg4mac]

Wow, tough one. Lots of good ones already mentioned. October Sky sticks in my mind on some levels, and more recently, but not a movie, is "Into the West", the 6 part series on TV. The way the native americans were treated sickens me.

You know what sickens me more is the way native Americans treated native Americans! Human sacrifice, cannibalism, etc. All races of people have done bad things, no one is innocent my friend. That view is even held by my brother in law who is half Mohawk. However, I really liked the end of Dances With Wolves, very touching.

 

[malvado78]

I'll Second Passion of Christ

But the other on that always get me no matter how many times I watch it is...

Braveheart

At the end when he yells freedom

 

[Francious70]

For me:

Gladiator
Braveheart
Saving Private Ryan
King Arthur
Ray

Paul

 

[Sleestack]

Il Postino. The scene where he goes to the rally and dies (as symbolized by the wafting paper). It is a sad moment in an otherwise relatively upbeat movie. It chokes me up b/c I knew the actor was dying in real life throughout the filiming of the movie and died during the end of production. Nevertheless he gives a wonderful performance in a one of my all time favorite foreign films.

When I was a kid, I recall that the Champ got me choked up.

To the person who said Extreme makeover : Home Edition... I have only watched it 2 times, but I have to agree that they have some extremely moving stories on there.

 

[j_garcia]

Titanic LMAO! It was so booooring in the middle that I was almost in tears (or asleep). Though I figured it wouldn't go over well if I cheered when DiCrappio's character died...

Million Dollar Baby didn't move me. You could pretty much see that one coming.

Seriously though, Green Mile got to me.

When I saw SPR in the theater, there was an older gentleman sitting next to us. He was clearly THERE during the invasion of Omaha Beach and he was in tears. That was far more moving that the movie itself.