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Which Movies Always Get to You?
Here’s a thesis I’ve held for a long time: we tend to use movies as narcotics. Sure, you might take intellectual content away from certain films, but the point is more often to have a synthetic emotional experience. Comedies are a laughter drug. Romantic films are a love drug. Horror movies are a terror drug — an impulse I don’t really understand, but one that sustains a pretty robust market.
Of course, we’ve all seen plenty of efforts that fail to yield the intended effect. Comedies that fall flat. Romances devoid of chemistry. Horror films that elicit more laughter than fear. So how exactly do filmmakers find that emotional pressure point that makes a film resonate? Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Don Steinberg looks at this question in one specific application: how do movies make us cry? The answer depends in large part on who’s watching:
Researchers are applying science to answer questions about movie-induced weeping. Princeton University psychologist Uri Hasson, who coined the term “neurocinematics,” led a 2008 study that used a type of magnetic resonance imaging to study brain activity while watching a film. The researchers used “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly”—hardly a tearjerker—in their project. Mr. Hasson and his colleagues identified similar brain activity among people watching the same film, and suggested such research might be useful for the movie industry.
In emotion-research labs, one clip that has become standard is the death scene in the 1979 boxing film “The Champ,” a remake of the 1931 movie. A young Ricky Schroder weeps inconsolably over the body of his father Jon Voight, wailing “Wake up, Champ!” Viewers cry, too. The film has been cited in hundreds of scientific papers.
Scholars also have studied why some scenes strike a chord with women and others affect men more. In “Sleepless in Seattle,” Rita Wilson gets misty describing “An Affair to Remember,” while Tom Hanks counters that he cried at the end of “The Dirty Dozen.” Mary Beth Oliver, a Penn State professor who has studied tearjerkers, asked students to propose movie ideas designed to make men cry. “There were a lot of father-son kind of things,” she says. “There were a lot of athletes. There were a lot of war films.”
When asked which films choke them up, many men cite depictions of against-the-odds valor or understated affection, like “Rudy,” “Brian’s Song” and “Saving Private Ryan.” Women name relationship dramas like “Steel Magnolias” or “Beaches” or “When a Man Loves a Woman,” in which Andy Garcia tries to preserve his marriage to an alcoholic Meg Ryan.
Guilty as charged. I can’t think of many scenes that will still get to me after repeated viewings, but one is surely the elderly Private Ryan in the eponymous film (the younger version of whom is played by Matt Damon) standing in the cemetery at Normandy and asking his wife to assure him that he had lived a life worthy of the sacrifice that was made for him:
How about you? Which movies are guaranteed to get you every time?
Published in General
The Passion of the Christ. Unbelievable, and all that suffering for me, for my benefit?
The Mission. I counted this among the best I had seen at the time, I pondered it for days. Must watch again. Much impact of this film comes from Ennio Morricone’s soundtrack. No tissues needed if on mute. Specific scenes, When the he tries to carry his penance of armor up the waterfall and keeps falling, and starting over. When all the natives played in their orchestra. Of course at the end, during the fire.
Schindler’s List. The part when all the descendants put the pebbles on the grave markers.
Nicky’s Family. When Nicky meets the descendants of all the people he saved, in person, and realizes exactly what he accomplished.
If I thought about these three for a little bit, I could weep, without even watching. Which just goes to show you, it isn’t the movie per se, but the ideas and emotions the movie invokes, and how a movie tattoos those responses on your heart. That could be good or bad, which is exactly why I NEVER watch a horror flick. The scenes haunt me.
Also The Green Mile.
It was his brother in law.
I feel that way about Saving Private Ryan. Not quite “A heart of stone not to laugh” but the movie just feels cinematic. Though maybe that’s age -I saw it many years after it came out.
I will not watch that movie again -excellent though it is -because of those first 10 minutes. I have no desire to feel that a second time.
For a movie that will hit a wide range of emotions, Red Cliff is pretty good (John Woo, Mandarin language). I think to get most of the spread you need something pretty epic like that, or Ten Commandments or Gettysburg. While both excellent, the first in too heroic and the second too much battle. Star Trek II is pretty evocative, but mostly from that last 15 minutes.
Duly noted. The other mistake was the reference to “Neverland”…should have been “Finding Neverland”. Cheers.
Yep. Mr Rattler’s grandad was that way, too, and there’s every reason to suspect the same thing is gradually happening to Mr Rattler.
Since getting married, my own cry-factor at movies has increased tenfold, perhaps even a hundredfold. Until my twenties, the only movie that had made me cry, ever, was Fiddler on the Roof. Crying was bad, after all, and even if I couldn’t control my tears in all real-life situations, I could at least control them during movies.
Now tons of stuff makes my eyes leaky.
The scene of all scenes is in The Natural, when Robert Redford breaks his bat. He turns to the kid and says, “Go pick me out a winner, Bobbie.” The kid goes and gets the bat that Redford helped him work on. Redford just looks at him, takes the bat, and steps back up to the plate.
“Old Yeller” (Full Movie) almost killed me. I was in first grade. The first time I can remember the phrase, “It’s only a movie.”
“The Blob” (Trailer) scared the %&*# outta me. When it took over the audience in the movie theater just like the one we were sitting in…. That was the first time I heard the phrase, “No more horror movies for you young man.” (It wasn’t the last though.)
“Sometimes a Great Notion” is one of my favorite movies. And books, for that matter. Michael Sarazin was the brother.
For some reason, the scene in “Casablanca,” where Victor Lazlo marches down the stairs and says “Play it. Play the Marseilles,” and following always gets me.
The first 10 minutes of Up? There may have been 10 minutes of that film in which I wasn’t crying. I don’t remember. What I do remember: desperately feeling like throwing up when Carl blew up at the city employee who touched his mailbox. Wondering how many elderly people have to hang on to one last physical thing that’s a remembrance of a loved one. Wondering why it all has to be taken away from us. Always.
The World at War, but anyone who doesn’t cry at some point through that is pretty obviously not a human being.
Field of Dreams: of course, “You wanna have a catch?” but also Burt Lancaster’s wonderful “Now, if I’d only gotten to be a doctor for a season… that would have been a tragedy.” And to be honest, Kevin Costner’s smile in response is a thing of sheer beauty.
Oh, heck. While we’re on Phil Alden Robinson films, I break down watching the late River Phoenix dancing with Mary MacDonald in Sneakers, but that’s because of his tragic loss, not the subject matter of the film (which, is, BTW, absolutely, positively the best suspense film involving cryptography yet made).
Sean Connery and Sam Neill, The Hunt for Red October. “I will live in Montana… and drive from state to state. Do they let you do that?” “I suppose.” “No papers?” “No papers, state to state.” Not in the book; this is screenwriter/Chief of the Boat Larry Ferguson’s brilliant, elegant reminder of one of the little things we take for granted. By the way, exactly how awesome was Scott Glenn as Capt. Mancuso, anyway?
Nicolo Bussotti making The Red Violin. Maybe hit me all the harder because of the frankly obvious telegraphing; I knew the scene was coming for almost an hour and a half, and that may have intensified, rather than attenuated, the gut-punch.
What Dreams May Come. The whole film is, of course, unbelievably disturbing (all the more so since losing Robin Williams to suicide), but his utter dismay when he says “not only Asian women,” that horrifying realization that the smallest offhand comment can lodge itself in the heart and mind of someone you love, making them feel not-enough for the rest of their life, has (unfortunately) stuck with me ever since.
Joshua Bell’s gorgeous violin playing weaving with the woman’s haunting voice accentuated that scene, but it was the burning of western music and instruments in China that brought a tear to my eyes when it cuts to the Chinese delegation hoping to recapture the red violin in the auction.
Great suggestions all. A couple more: the scene that moved me most in Schindler’s List is watching Ben Kingsley’s reaction to Schindler returning with the women after a week at Auschwitz. So understated. I can’t understand how someone could not be affected by that film. Also the ending where the script tells you his tree of the righteous grows there still. I’m not Jewish but I can feel the passions aroused by singing Jerusalem of Gold.
For chick flicks I didn’t cry but I thought it very effective when Leo DiCaprio’s character tells Rose/Kate that getting on that boat was the best thing that ever happened to him.
“Terms of Endearment” when Debra Winger is in the hospital dying of cancer and she is saying goodbye to her sons. The older one is such a jerk and she is really nice to him. The littlest one is trying not to bawl. It gets me every time.
I don’t know how many times I watched “Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey” with my kids, but every time (Spoiler) Shadow, the Don Ameche dog, came over the hill I’d get misty. So glad I’m using an alias here. (Others, the end of “It’s a Wonderful Life”, and the already much cited “Field of Dreams”.
Field of Dreams.
Field of Dreams
Field of Dreams.
Doesn’t matter how often I watch it, or how recently the last time I watched. Kills me every time.
Here’s one that hasn’t been mentioned – The Right Stuff. The scene at the end as Gordo Cooper launches and the look on his face as he says “The sun is coming through the window now. Oh Lord, what a Heavenly light”, followed by the monologue about the end of the Mercury program and Gus Grissom beign killed in Apollo 1 as the music soars. It’s exciting and uplifting and melancholy all at the same time.
Gödel’s Ghost wrote:
“Nicolo Bussotti making The Red Violin. Maybe hit me all the harder because of the frankly obvious telegraphing; I knew the scene was coming for almost an hour and a half, and that may have intensified, rather than attenuated, the gut-punch.
What Dreams May Come. The whole film is, of course, unbelievably disturbing (all the more so since losing Robin Williams to suicide),”
I agree with both of those…I had forgotten them.
The Red Violin is among my faves, but I will never watch What Dreams May Come again. Disturbing beyond any horror movie for me.
Another I won’t ever watch again, “Last Love.”
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Yup, that scene from The Best Years of Our Lives and the first ten minutes of Up really get me every time. So does the “letter delivery” scene in We Were Soldiers. The “around the horn” scene in Master and Commander tears me up, too. Aubrey gives the only order he can, and it’s just awful to watch.
I cannot help but agree, Sam. Actually, it’s the only part of the film I’ve seen yet. Walking toward that tree….oh no….I’ll see you guys in a few minutes…talk among yourselves….
The Sunrise, Sunset scene guarantees weepies here. Especially now that Maedel is all of seven and Honorary Son is starting his senior year. “I don’t remember getting older….”
My tear-jerking kryptonite: The 2005 Pride and Prejudice near the end, when Lizzie Bennett is telling her father that she really loves Mr. Darcy after all, and Donald Sutherland cries with laughter at the sight of his happy daughter. Perhaps it’s because I, too, am the father of daughters.
I’m an easy mark….doesn’t take much to get to me including most all of the examples mentioned here. Any time I see a character struggling with deep emotional turmoil or the opposite extreme, being uncommonly loving and kind I’m done for.
There used to be a McDonald’s commercial where the kid brings his dad to show-n-tell…that would get me every time.
The wife and kids are merciless in their abuse when it happens…usually ends with me shouting “you are all DEAD inside!”.
tears, sobs, cry, weep, faint.
“Of my friend, I can only say this: Of all the souls I have encountered in my travels, his was the most… human.”
<bagpipes>
<weeping>
Pixar also has a way of opening the spigots; as a Dad, I have a hard time not misting up just thinking about the very last moments of “Monsters Inc.” The song sung by Jesse in “Toy Story 2” is just brutally sad. “Up” may rip your heart out, but that song puts it in a blender and sets it on puree.
O.M.G, is everyone posting an agent for Kleenex?
That line and it’s delivery may be the very best one in the Star Trek universe.
Although I’ve found various movies moving, they don’t make me cry. I could name some books and songs that will do it, but it’s hard to think of a movie that has.
The gender aspect is interesting. I’m realizing more each day that I’m definitely wired a little differently than most women. Although I enjoy romantic movies they rarely make me cry, the exception was The Notebook. What made me weep was not the young love but the devotion of a man to his ailing wife. Many of the war films and against all odds films strike a deeper cord with me. The sacrifice, persistence, loss, deep but understated emotion feels more real than most “tear jerker” love stories.
I will speak for someone who is almost closer to me than my own heart, The Shawshank Redemption.
Old Yella.. you ain’t kiddin’.. dogs and kids.. I can still see that scene. Damn Disney.
My wife and I refer to this as the world’s worst proposal. The second worst comes at the hands of Mr. Collins.
There are a lot of flicks that can tear you up.. but off the cuff the end of The Five Pennies has a few but the end is a killer.. Tuesday Walks. Never a great fan of Kaye but in this he was great. I think it’s the genuine catch in Geddes voice when she sings Five Pennies.. pass a tissue..