Manly Tears: Things That Made You Cry [Archive] - Giant in the Playground Forums

TimeWizard

2011-07-30, 12:57 AM

I trust you all have the capabilities to read the title, so I ask you: what was the last Song, Movie, Episode, or Book that made you actually produce tears. This is not a "that was Sad" thread. This is not a "Something in my eye maybe" thread. This is an "I actually cried" thread. I'll start.

* Hell is For Children (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5ATj0DG-W4) by Pat Benetar. It's about children who are beaten by their parents. "You shouldn't have to pay for your love with your bones and your flesh".

* The biography of Andre the Giant: Specifically, he acknowledged that his life ending Giantism was worth everything he went through when he saved his brother's life by overturning a tractor he was stuck under. He said "I know now it was all worth something. God had a plan for my condition." His heart gave your when he was 46.

And for all men everywhere: You either cried at the end of Marley and Me or you didn't see it. NO EXCEPTIONS.

No linking to TvTropes Tear Jerkers please. It's not the same.

Hands_Of_Blue

2011-07-30, 01:26 AM

I don't remember the last thing that actually made me cry, so I'll go with the last things that made me choke up.

The Prince's Tale part of Deathly Hallows Part 2. Especially Snape holding the deceased Lily's body.

And an episode of Star Trek: Voyager I rewatched recently, "Real Life" . The ending gets me every time.

Dr.Epic

2011-07-30, 01:47 AM

MAKO! NNNOOOOOOO!!! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFASos1G-5U):smallfrown:

Kindablue

2011-07-30, 02:08 AM

A lot with music. When I was twelve, I remember crying very manly, metal tears listening to Paschendale (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c20-fm_WNew). The climax (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4e7ftQBv6R8) of Miles Davis's version of Porgy and Bess got me multiple times.

Tengu_temp

2011-07-30, 05:12 AM

Nothing. I'm incapable of crying over fiction. I might be deeply moved by something, but tears won't flow anyway.

Ravens_cry

2011-07-30, 05:44 AM

The second time I saw Titanic when the water flowing was into the old couples room.

factotum

2011-07-30, 05:49 AM

I can't remember the last piece of fiction I cried over, to be honest...I remember doing that when watching the TV adaptation of "Kane and Abel" (specifically at the bit where Kane dies at the end), but that was 15 years ago and I'm sure there must have been something more recent!

VanBuren

2011-07-30, 05:57 AM

Only three.

1. The Lion King -- when Mufasa dies.

2. Saving Private Ryan -- everything from the end of the battle to "Tell me I'm a good man."

3. Castaway -- When Tom Hanks loses Wilson. Though a recent SNL showed that Tom Hanks still had him, which means there was a happy ending*.

* THAT IS CANON END OF STORY.

Dienekes

2011-07-30, 06:32 AM

I'm with Tengu Temp. I don't remember ever crying over fiction, that's not to say I haven't been moved by something. Iroh Story posted above was pretty sad, also I always think The Band Played Marching Matilda is about the saddest song out there.

And for all men everywhere: You either cried at the end of Marley and Me or you didn't see it. NO EXCEPTIONS.

Uhh, not technically true in my experience.

3. Castaway -- When Tom Hanks loses Wilson. Though a recent SNL showed that Tom Hanks still had him, which means there was a happy ending*.

...
It was a ball.

Ravens_cry

2011-07-30, 06:39 AM

And Wall-E was a bunch of rastered polygons and textures.

Kato

2011-07-30, 06:41 AM

I really can't recall an instance... I happen to be moved more or less often to a varying degree but crying... I really can't recall it (but I do have a poor memory)

3. Castaway -- When Tom Hanks loses Wilson. Though a recent SNL showed that Tom Hanks still had him, which means there was a happy ending*.

Yeah, that was pretty moving... but as far as I can recall he lost it. Haven't seen the SNL, though.

Dienekes

2011-07-30, 06:45 AM

And Wall-E was a bunch of rastered polygons and textures.

Aye but they at least have personalities and emotions. Wilson was a ball. When he lost it my response was: Oh, that's sad. Probably for the best though because if he brought it with him back into society he'd be sent to an asylum for certain.

Ravens_cry

2011-07-30, 07:12 AM

Aye but they at least have personalities and emotions. Wilson was a ball. When he lost it my response was: Oh, that's sad. Probably for the best though because if he brought it with him back into society he'd be sent to an asylum for certain.
Except . . .they don't. Wall-E is a fictional character, the emotions and personality are no more real than the old lamps in an IKEA ad.
Wilson just happens to be a fictional character in-universe.

Dienekes

2011-07-30, 09:14 AM

Except . . .they don't. Wall-E is a fictional character, the emotions and personality are no more real than the old lamps in an IKEA ad.
Wilson just happens to be a fictional character in-universe.

Now you're just being pedantic. As characters in the media presented Wall-E has a personality and obvious emotional displays to develop a full character to get attached to. Wilson was a ball.

Admittedly I wasn't enormously attached to Wall-E either, but that's beside the point.

Clertar

2011-07-30, 09:37 AM

I did shed one tear in the LOTR The Two Towers movie, when the elves arrive to Helm's Deep xD

Shpadoinkle

2011-07-30, 09:47 AM

Jurassic Bark.

Ravens_cry

2011-07-30, 09:52 AM

Now you're just being pedantic. As characters in the media presented Wall-E has a personality and obvious emotional displays to develop a full character to get attached to. Wilson was a ball.

Admittedly I wasn't enormously attached to Wall-E either, but that's beside the point.
Tom Hanks character was portrayed as having an emotional connection with said ball. Our feelings evoked were our empathizing with that characters point of view, we felt what he, Tom Hanks, seemed to feel.
Ever had that special toy when you were a child, that you lugged everywhere and probably loved to bits, literally? Were you devastated when it had to be discarded or if you lost it?
Wilson was that toy for Tom Hanks character. By watching him interact with an inanimate object, some of us got caught up in the madness of fiction.
Personally, I found it a carried more then a little unintentional bathos, I also never felt much for the companion cube, but I can understand the feelings of those who did.
I did cry at age six when my teddy bear Blueberry went missing though.

Yora

2011-07-30, 10:47 AM

Metal Gear Solid is pretty much "Manly Tears - The videogame franchise"

The plot and the characters are all rediculously over the top and many lines just completely cheesy, but the whole thing is exceptionally well written and the visuals and music work together perfectly.

The bosses are all very satisfying to defeat, but at least half of them are just so sad when they die.
I'd link some videos, but the scenes probably won't work without the whole background and if you have a PS2 it would spoil way to much of the uncertainties. Let's just say the survival rate of named characters is under 20%, and almost everyone dies full of regrets.

Dienekes

2011-07-30, 11:04 AM

Tom Hanks character was portrayed as having an emotional connection with said ball. Our feelings evoked were our empathizing with that characters point of view, we felt what he, Tom Hanks, seemed to feel.
Ever had that special toy when you were a child, that you lugged everywhere and probably loved to bits, literally? Were you devastated when it had to be discarded or if you lost it?

Nope, played with dinosaurs killing each other. I was a violent little bugger.

Ravens_cry

2011-07-30, 11:43 AM

Nope, played with dinosaurs killing each other. I was a violent little bugger.
Even so, you projected emotions and motives, albeit violent ones, onto inanimate objects.
Unless you had real dinosaurs killing each other, in which I am both jealous and horrified. But mostly jealous.

Marillion

2011-07-30, 12:15 PM

Metal Gear Solid is pretty much "Manly Tears - The videogame franchise"

Especially the ending of MGS 3, when Eva is telling us the truth about The Boss. I like how you can hold the first-person view button and see Snake tearing up. Nice touch. I haven't played MGS4 yet, but I hear it's even worse about making you cry.

MAKO! NNNOOOOOOO!!! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFASos1G-5U):smallfrown:

You're a jerk. :smallfrown:
When The Walls Go Down by Evergrey (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNL0TH4MQ2U) always makes me cry. The words are taken from a sermon about the importance of suffering, and it's very touching.

In a similar vein, Vocari Dei by Pain of Salvation (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlN0ihYYId8). The band put a phone number up on their website, asking their fans what they would say to God if they could. They took some of the messages and put it over music. Some of it is really heartbreaking.

Close Every Door To Me (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVWpgmiIbas) as sung by Donny Osmond makes me cry as well, but in a different way.

The scene in Fresh Prince of Bel-Air where Will's dad walks out (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Cwe6QJdru8) has me bawling every time.

And finally, the scene in A Game of Thrones. If you've seen it, you know, and if you haven't, it's an enormous spoiler. I knew it was coming because I'd read the book, but it was just so perfectly made.

MCerberus

2011-07-30, 12:23 PM

Seymour from Futurama. He was Fry's dog in one of those heartwarming flashback to the 20th century episodes. Long story short
The dog was fossilized and was going to be cloned. Then it was found out he died of old age and Fry decided to let him stay dead to be happy with his long doggy life.

Then there was the flashback to sad music. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjNw75bJyuM&feature=related) Since 'losing your dog' is on the acceptable list of things to be sad about:
man tear.

Tragic_Comedian

2011-07-30, 12:53 PM

MAKO! NNNOOOOOOO!!! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFASos1G-5U):smallfrown:
That one makes me cry too. Iroh crying is what does it.

Kindablue

2011-07-30, 01:00 PM

The scene in Fresh Prince of Bel-Air where Will's dad walks out (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Cwe6QJdru8) has me bawling every time.
That got me.

Antonok

2011-07-30, 01:09 PM

Seymour from Futurama.

This is one that got me too. That was just a really sad episode. And its still one of my favorite episodes too.

the only other ones I can really remember ever making me shed a tear was in FF7:
Aeris's death scene. I don't know if it was more that she died, or that I lost my healer that I had put ALOT of work into.

and in the show MASH when Henry Blake died.

Starbuck_II

2011-07-30, 01:09 PM

Dobby dying in Harry potter movie...

How to train your Dragon: I thought he was dead...

Never saw Marley and Me: I assume it's sad?

Tengan Toppen Gurran when K died...leaving Simon without his best friend...

Starwulf

2011-07-30, 01:12 PM

Uhh, Ladder 49? & My Sisters Keeper made me choke up, maybe shed a few tears, but yeah, not outright. Definitely Ladder 49 though. Hated that ending :-(

Traab

2011-07-30, 01:13 PM

There was a battle in the Wheel of Time series, in book 4 I think, where Perrin went back to the Two Rivers, and defended the village against a trolloc army. The final fight scene where there are so many enemies its like watching a black cloak sweep across the earth, the villagers are being pushed back, they cant hold the line, when suddenly the women, who were supposed to be hiding or making their escape come streaming out with butcher knives and crude spears and start fighting for their town. The whole scene was a really emotional one for me. I didnt quite cry but my eyes did burn a bit.

VanBuren

2011-07-30, 01:14 PM

Tom Hanks character was portrayed as having an emotional connection with said ball. Our feelings evoked were our empathizing with that characters point of view, we felt what he, Tom Hanks, seemed to feel.
Ever had that special toy when you were a child, that you lugged everywhere and probably loved to bits, literally? Were you devastated when it had to be discarded or if you lost it?
Wilson was that toy for Tom Hanks character. By watching him interact with an inanimate object, some of us got caught up in the madness of fiction.
Personally, I found it a carried more then a little unintentional bathos, I also never felt much for the companion cube, but I can understand the feelings of those who did.
I did cry at age six when my teddy bear Blueberry went missing though.

It's more than that, even. It was also the closest thing he's had to human contact for all those years he was on the island. But that did mean that he had to lose Wilson for there to be any chance of him properly reintegrating into society.

And this was the link I mentioned:
http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/digital_short_laser_cats_the_musical/1317561

averagejoe

2011-07-30, 01:25 PM

Million Dollar Baby. Not even Hilary Swank's whole deal; I've never really gotten choked up about injury/deaths in fiction. I mean, it can be tragic, but it's never really produced a reaction. But the idea of a guy who just had nothing left really got to me.

cleric_of_BANJO

2011-07-30, 04:57 PM

I'll second Jurassic Bark: It was the saddest episode of any cartoon ever.

Other than that, I cried the first time I saw Forrest Gump (When he says: "...I may not be a smart man, but I know what love is...")

Also cried during an episode of Buffy, The Body, when Buffy tells Dawn that Joyce is dead (it's been 11 years, it definitely does not need spoilers).

Ravens_cry

2011-07-30, 05:13 PM

It's more than that, even. It was also the closest thing he's had to human contact for all those years he was on the island. But that did mean that he had to lose Wilson for there to be any chance of him properly reintegrating into society.

Oh, I understand why they did it, just the actual execution felt a little hammy.

Maho-Tsukai

2011-07-30, 07:33 PM

The ending of mother 3 when...

Your character(Lucas)'s brother Claus who had been under the mind control of porky for most of the game and who you have been fighting so hard to free gains temporary control if his mind(he's the final boss) long enough to make one final decision...killing himself. Yeah....the mother seires is perhaps one of the most beautiful, emotion-filled game seires ever produced, and this horrible part of mother 3's ending is one of the reasons for that...oh...and the fact that the beautiful yet so sad song of love plays during that boss fight makes it no less a tearjerker.

Likewise, Miyazaki has a way of making me cry, though in different ways...Princess Mononoke and Spirited away both made me cry, though in Princess Mononoke it was more tears of rage and in Spirited Away, tears of joy...and of course both had their sad bits for me too. Miyazaki just has an gift for crafting powerful anime that few have matched....He's like the Itoi of anime...or rather Itoi is the Miyazaik of videogames...

Other then that I am fairly dry-eyed when it comes to media and have a love of horror films in which the people who get butchered in all honesty deserve it for being total idiots.(Anybody who watches horror films should know of what I speak.)....but something about Miyazaki's films always gets me emotional..

Archpaladin Zousha

2011-07-30, 07:40 PM

I'd say the last thing I genuinely cried at was the ending of Big Fish (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Fish). Each death in cinema is different, but I felt the death here was probably one of the closest to how many people die in the real world, comfortable in bed with their loved ones near, and fully ready to go. And during the son's story, seeing everyone from the dad's stories there, all the lives he'd touched, was simply overwhelming for me. I thought that that's how I'D want to go out. To see everyone whose lives I made better just by being there. That'd be the greatest feeling in the world to have before passing on.

WampaX

2011-07-30, 11:07 PM

Most recently was the Brother's Bloom . . . again.

Most protracted lasted for two years. The sadness arrived in two parts.
The first part was the end of Series 4 of the New Doctor Who.
The companion for the season has to have her memory of all her travels and the development of her character wiped in order to survive, returning her to a lesser state before having met The Doctor.
The second part repeated itself across every DVD release of the old Series with the ad for the Season 4 boxset over the next two years.
Its a montage backed by a speech that the companion gives at the beginning of the season asking for her grandfather to let her know if he ever sees the Tardis in the night sky. It was a twist of the knife every time it came up for me. Not the original intent, I'm sure, but the way the season played out, it was just a constant reminder of what could never be.

Yora

2011-07-31, 07:50 AM

Especially the ending of MGS 3, when Eva is telling us the truth about The Boss. I like how you can hold the first-person view button and see Snake tearing up. Nice touch. I haven't played MGS4 yet, but I hear it's even worse about making you cry.
I think MGS3 is "just" sad. Sad and tired and feeling betrayed, but not that agonizing. They were soldiers, they lived only for battle, and always expected to be killed at any moment.
But MGS4, that's a different thing. Things are looking really bleak straight from the beginning and as the truths get revealed, it only gets more hopeless. Think of Sniper Wolf and Emma, just much more often in a single game. :smallbiggrin:

Ricky S

2011-07-31, 09:35 AM

I havent cried in sadness for a long long time. Nothing really has an effect on me anymore.

When I laugh really hard tears come out. Does that count?

Typewriter

2011-07-31, 10:05 AM

Anything that has a father figure being there for his kids gets to me, but I have father issues. Big Fish, Lion King, etc. are examples of movies that make me sad and mist up.

Only one movie has ever made me bawl though.

Life is Beautiful. If you haven't seen it, go watch it now.

Basically

Movies about a guy and his kid getting sent to a concentration camp in WW2. He convinces his (very young) son that everything there is a game, and that everything they do is getting them points, and that at the end of the game the winner gets a tank.

He creates this elaborate fantasy that involves such rules as "If you're seen you lose points, if you cry you lose points, etc. etc", and the entire time he makes his kid think they can leave at any time and the kid buys it.

At the end of the movie a nazi is marching him off to die, and he knows his son is watching so he acts goofy, but as soon as he's out of sight he goes somber, knowing his end is coming. He dies, but the kid gets to be reunited with his mom.

I really don't do the movie any justice with my description.

Yora

2011-07-31, 04:55 PM

MCerberus

2011-07-31, 05:16 PM

Not watching movies that have the premise of "everone will die in a horribly way" helps a lot in avoiding such situations.
I never understood why people watch them. If I want to know more about a specific kind of tragedy, I will read up the details in a non-fiction book. If I want entertainment, I watch movies or read novels. How anyone seems to be comfortable with mixing these two things has always been a mystery to me.

Good tragedy isn't about the tragedy itself. For example: Where the Red Fern Grows isn't about the ending, it's about the happy that precedes it.

Tyrant

2011-07-31, 07:55 PM

I've noticed that it has happened to me more often (though still not all that often) when I have really tried to empathize with the characters and understand their mindset instead of just looking at things on the surface. That's probably to be expected though, but for a long time I never really looked at movies beyond the surface as far as the characters are concerned. And it's happened in some odd moments.

Two Dragonlance related ones spoilered in case someone hasn't read them.
-In the second Dragonlance trilogy when Railstilin dies. I don't know why, because he definitely had it coming and I knew he was going to die. He wasn't a likeable character. I think it was because he is able to see, through his brother, what the end result of his plans will be and he chooses to sacrifice himself to undo it. I think the other part was how he saw that his actions were going to kill Bupu (one of, if not the only, people he cared about) and that it seemed to get to him.

-Also in Dragonlance and also Raistilin related. When he later is back in the world for a short time he has a conversation with Astinus and asks how Crysania is doing and mentions that in his endless dreaming since his death that he sometimes dreams of her.

Despite those two moments, the two deaths that usually get comments, Sturm and Flint, didn't tear me up. They were sad and tragic though. Sturm's death itself didn't get to me because I expected him to go out like a hero. It was who killed him that made it really tragic to me. With Flint, it was him dying of a heart attack after everything they had been through. Not some epic battle, but a bad heart. Coupled with Sturm's death it made the whole cast seem more real.
-I'll second the end of Saving Private Ryan from the end of the battle up to his question to his wife in the modern day.

-The last 3 or 4 Drizzt novels started to get to me as his companions all started dying off. I don't care so much for Drizzt, but having read all the books in the last 3-4 years the rest of the cast started growing on me.

-The only TV show that ever brought a tear to my eye, and it's kind of silly that it did, was the season 1 finale of Highlander. His mortal girlfriend survives the whole season which was filled with various attempts on her life by Duncan's enemies. She is rescued by Duncan and told to go outside while he tries to find out more about the man who kidnapped her to draw him in. While going to the waiting car, she is gunned down by a mugger. I'm pretty sure it was the montage after the commercial break where Duncan relives the season set to Dust in the Wind that did it. The cheap move with the music (even though it was quite fitting) coupled with the confirmation that she was dead and not just wounded did it.

Ravens_cry

2011-07-31, 08:41 PM

Not watching movies that have the premise of "everone will die in a horribly way" helps a lot in avoiding such situations.
I never understood why people watch them. If I want to know more about a specific kind of tragedy, I will read up the details in a non-fiction book. If I want entertainment, I watch movies or read novels. How anyone seems to be comfortable with mixing these two things has always been a mystery to me.
Why do we eat spicy foods? Why do we ride amusement park rides? Why do we read fiction at all?
We like to feel in measured, safe, conditions. Different kinds of fiction can evoke different emotions. Tragedy fiction allows us to feel without the actual risk of tragedy itself.

NikitaDarkstar

2011-07-31, 10:34 PM

I'll have to second the Doctor Who moments, the Dragonlance moments and the Highlander moment.

But the things that has gotten to me the most are A Dog's Prayer (http://www.petloss.com/poems/maingrp/dogspryr.htm) and the song You're Missing - Bruce Springsteen (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4O0MC5HQwI)

Lady Moreta

2011-07-31, 11:26 PM

And an episode of Star Trek: Voyager I rewatched recently, "Real Life" . The ending gets me every time.

Oooh, yes. That makes me cry too.

The absolute most recent thing that made me cry was Dead Poet's Society which I watched last night. I cry every time I see that movie.

Um... the end of The Power of One made me bawl so hard my father came into my bedroom to check on me. Stupid book :smallredface:

H Birchgrove

2011-08-01, 04:52 AM

Good Bye, Lenin!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Bye,_Lenin!

McStabbington

2011-08-01, 10:42 AM

The ending of King Kong and The Iron Giant. If you can't cry through those, you don't have a heart.

Zen Monkey

2011-08-01, 10:54 AM

Ken Watanabe's final scene in The Last Samurai. The entire last battle scene has a lot of little moments, like the final scene for 'Bob,' but Katsumoto's takes the prize.

I watched Batman Begins because I read that Watanabe was playing Ras, and then felt cheated by the actual story.

IcarusWings

2011-08-01, 12:02 PM

Moulin Rouge is the only piece of media that has actually made me cry, a few things have made my eyes go teary, but that's the only thing that actually made me shed a few drops.

thompur

2011-08-01, 03:36 PM

*NYPD Blue - the death of Andy Jr.
*NYPD Blue - the Death of Bobby Simone
*Buffy, the Vampire Slayer - The Body (Joyce dies. Especially the scene in Willow and Tara's dorm with Anya. gets me every time.)*Buffy, the Vampire Slayer - The Gift (Yeah, I know Buffy comes back for Two more seasons, but the end always brings the tears.)

Giggling Ghast

2011-08-01, 04:01 PM

MammonAzrael

2011-08-01, 04:47 PM

Jurassic Bark is one of the most emotionally touching cartoon episodes I've ever seen. Along with Luck of the Fryish, it's the main reason I feel like Futurama is such a fantastic show. It can be full of humor and still hit those moving notes.

I agree with Inner Light - One of Patrick Stewart's best performances in TNG, with the end of the episode being simply outstanding and moving.

Personally I've always been a bit of a sucker for Field of Dreams.

None of these have made me actually cry, but they've all brought tears to my eyes.

Ravens_cry

2011-08-01, 04:50 PM

I cry a fair bit, but probably the manliest tears I've ever shed were at the end of The Inner Light (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5EluFlra2A) for Star Trek: TNG. You have to watch the episode to know why.
Oh yes, one of the best episodes of TNG to boot. It gave a side to Picard we hadn't seen before and it was such an achingly sad story as well.
If humanity ever finds it is doomed, I hope we can send out as fitting a memorial, a shout into the infinite

Starwulf

2011-08-01, 07:06 PM

Avilan the Grey

2011-08-02, 01:39 AM

I am a crybaby.

Things that has made my bawl my eyes out:

The ending of ROTK
The (very) ending of AI (all the rest of the movie is horribly bad)
The intro and ending of Lion King

And many more.

Marillion

2011-08-02, 03:52 AM

I'll nth the Jurassic Bark and Luck of the Fryish episodes of Futurama. I've never outright cried, but I've certainly shed a tear or two over them, probably every time I've watched them ^^

Speaking of Futurama, probably the ones that get me the most are the holophonor episodes. After he loses his ability (and Leela's love) in Parasites Lost, he plays some awful, ear-aching notes, and forms a picture of Leela's face that looks like a 2 year old drew it... And it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

And then in Devil's Hands, it finally pays off. Ish. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIYj9IJFhlg)

Somebloke

2011-08-02, 07:34 AM

Not that I cry a lot, but....

The ending to The Book Thief. Even though technically it's happy. Death finally comes for her, decades after she manages to be happy.

The ending to Silent Hill: Shattered Memories. Especially for the 'good' ending.

Okay...shut up...I know it's corny but...the Dresden Files: Grave Peril, with 'I'm thirsty'.

Of course, the end to Shindler's List is practically weapons-grade crybaby material.

Strangely enough, the ending to A Tale of Two Cities, since I didn't know the ending when I started it. Sydney's choices seem so damn cruel. Plus, the girl who goes in front of him taking a moment of comfort from his words.

Amelie. The scene where she imagines the love interest walking into her apartment...then the cat brushes aside her curtains, causing her to momentarily confuse fantasy with reality. When she re-asserts herself, the terrible gulf between the fantasy world in her head and her reality leaves her utterly crushed. It struck a chord...

Loki_42

2011-08-02, 06:25 PM

It was a ball.

Yeah, and Weighted Companion Cube was just a weighted Companion Cube.

byaku rai

2011-08-02, 07:31 PM

Another vote to the Futurama episodes... :smallfrown: It's something about Fry and all he's lost, and all he's left behind.

The final charge in The Last Samurai. And Katsumoto's death... Superbly done. Gets me every time...

The ending to Toy Story 3. OMFG.

Forb

2011-08-02, 07:46 PM

Angel Beats.

Over... and over...

Loki_42

2011-08-02, 07:52 PM

I'll echo the Futurama episodes. Most recent thing though would probably be Snape's Backstory in Deathly Hallows part II.

Dienekes

2011-08-02, 08:15 PM

Yeah, and Weighted Companion Cube was just a weighted Companion Cube.

Aye to me it was. I never had a problem with destroying it.

The final charge in The Last Samurai. And Katsumoto's death... Superbly done. Gets me every time...

I know it's sad, I just can't help but think that tactically the charge was pretty stupid.

Sinfonian

2011-08-02, 08:35 PM

The ending to Toy Story 3. OMFG.
This. I can't really even verbalize what about the last few scenes moves me so greatly, but they do. It's probably the only thing in fiction that's made me actually shed tears since I was a child.

Another Pixar example is the opening montage of Up. I maintain that if you're not emotionally moved by that sequence (even if not to tears), you must have no soul.

Starscream

2011-08-02, 10:30 PM

I agree with Jurassic Bark. I'd also like to throw in the end of Luck of the Fryish (Heartwarming tears count).

The end of Schindler's List, for obvious reasons.

A few scenes from Doctor Who. Donna's Mindwipe, Ten's regeneration, the end of Father's Day, and the end of Forest of the Dead. It's a very emotional show for me, I've been a fan since I was five.

The funeral scene from the end of Neil Gaiman's Sandman.

But here's the big one. I get a little misty just thinking about it.:
When I was little, Jim Henson died. They aired a special in remembrance, and it was all about the Muppets hearing that they had to put on a show about some guy named Jim Henson. But, being characters, they have no idea who he is. Kermit might know, but he's not around (he was played by Henson).

So the entire special plays out with them watching his life story, and various celebrities show up to talk about how brilliant he was. The Muppets don't get it at first, and decide that he must be an accountant because they've seen his name on their paychecks. Finally, as the special continues and they learn more about him, they learn what a swell entertainer he is. So they start putting together a big chaotic comedy show in his honor.

Finally someone finds a bunch of letters addressed to them and about Jim. These are all real letters from fans, and the Muppets enthusiastically begin to read them, excited to finally find out who this guy is. They start reading a letter out loud, and it's from a small child who wants them to know how much they love Jim Henson's work, and how said that are that he...died.

The Muppets are stunned. They have just heard about this guy, and all the lives he touched, and now they suddenly learn that he's dead. They stand there in shock reading these real fan letters mourning Jim. Suddenly the big comedy act they have planned doesn't seem so funny.

So instead they sing the most heart-rending rendition of "If Just One Person Believes in You..." ever, and just as they are finishing...in walks Kermit. He's now played by Jim's son Brian, and hearing his voice is some bizarre combination of complete shock and utter relief. Kermit thanks the other Muppets for their heartfelt song, and they apologize, saying that what they really had planned was big and loud and funny and utterly inappropriate. Kermit corrects them: Jim Henson loved big and loud and funny, and he would have wanted it that way. So they put on their show, and Kermit addresses the audience, saying that the Muppets will continue, even without their founder.

I was six when I saw that. To this day, there has never been a celebrity death that I have cried over, except for Jim Henson.

BadJuJu

2011-08-02, 10:42 PM

Uhh, Ladder 49? & My Sisters Keeper made me choke up, maybe shed a few tears, but yeah, not outright. Definitely Ladder 49 though. Hated that ending :-(

Yeah, pretty damn sad. Great movie.

In dragons of winter night, when Sturm dies is a pretty gut wrenching moment.

BadJuJu

2011-08-02, 10:58 PM

Anything that has a father figure being there for his kids gets to me, but I have father issues. Big Fish, Lion King, etc. are examples of movies that make me sad and mist

I really don't do the movie any justice with my description.
[/SPOILER]

I feel ya on the father stuff. I have a bit of unresolved issues than make me more emotional to that stuff. As silly as it is, on this season of How I met Your Mother was a little rough with the Barney stuff.

Jerthanis

2011-08-02, 11:24 PM

Yeah, and Weighted Companion Cube was just a weighted Companion Cube.

Uh... yeah. That was the joke. The suggestion that it was anything more meaningful was so absolutely absurd that the computer's misunderstanding of emotion and irate jealousy were funny.

Did you seriously grow attached to an object in a puzzle game that you had for only 5 minutes or so? I find this hard to understand primarily because in my experience spacial reasoning and problem solving is specifically hard to combine with emotional connection.

Anyway: The things that have made me cry: the movie Creation. It's about the death of Charles Darwin's young daughter... oh yeah, and some book he wrote. I'm told it isn't accurate at all, but I don't care, it was heartrending.

Also: the good ending of Infamous 2 threatened tears, although never quite managed to pull them out.

Shadow Hearts 2 made me cry huge manly tears several times.

Secondhand Lions made me cry when they finish telling the last part of the Arabian story. It was just so unfair and such a mundane ending that could still land the hero of the tale in the middle of nowhere. After doing everything right and earning his fairytale ending, he got cheated in the highest degree.

It might not count because I was a kid at the time, but I almost drowned in tears and passed out from screaming at the end of The High King, the last book of the Prydain Chronicles.

Jan Mattys

2011-08-03, 01:17 AM

Avilan the Grey

2011-08-03, 02:17 AM

Oh, God, this.
I thought I was the only one on the planet to have cried at the final scene of Big Fish.
Thanks for letting me know I wasn't.
:smalleek:

I have to rewatch this movie now. I haven't watched it since it came out on DVD...!

Geddoe

2011-08-03, 03:49 AM

I'm kind of a big softy in a lot of ways but also kind of stonehearted in others. But one that sticks out for me is chapter 15 of the manga Change 123!.

I didn't out and out bawl, but no matter when I read it(having read the rest of the series as well of course), I still get a little misty eyed. It seems ridiculous to end up teary eyed reading the chapter if I look at it, objectively, since I am sure there are far more moving things even in other manga, and they don't affect me the same way.

Not linking because the series isn't safe for work.

The Succubus

2011-08-03, 06:46 AM

The end of the Sandman series and Jurrasic Bark.

But my number one is one that I share with Tim Bisley from Spaced:

"I cried like a child at the end of Terminator 2, y'know, the bit with the thumb." :smallfrown:

Game-wise? Shadowhearts, the true ending was heart breaking but eclipsed by the final scences of (for the moment) the final Legacy of Kain.

TimeWizard

2011-08-03, 11:16 AM

Defiance a movie about russian jews will wreck me every time.

Jurassic Bark didn't get me at the time, but after my dog died I realized it was the same reason Marley and Me was so hard to watch- even tough you're watching that dog you brain is thinking of your dog.

To paraphrase Mark Wahlberg in Shooter
"Are you doing all this cause they framed you for murder?"
"Framing me for murder made me angry. Killing my dog made it personal"

Loki_42

2011-08-03, 11:37 AM

Uh... yeah. That was the joke. The suggestion that it was anything more meaningful was so absolutely absurd that the computer's misunderstanding of emotion and irate jealousy were funny.

No, I was making a joke. Sorry if it wasn't clear. I destroyed it in about 30 seconds and my friends called me a monster. I wasn't attached to it.

Why will they never understand our love?:smallfrown:

turkishvan2

2011-08-03, 01:56 PM

The ending of Portal 2 in general, but especially the turret opera. So beautiful it makes me shed tears, and they are not at all manly.

Eldan

2011-08-03, 02:01 PM

A few scenes from Doctor Who. Donna's Mindwipe, Ten's regeneration, the end of Father's Day, and the end of Forest of the Dead. It's a very emotional show for me, I've been a fan since I was five.

Fires of Pompeii.

Axolotl

2011-08-04, 12:33 PM

I saw this thread yesterdays and thought "There's several films and books that I've found very emotional or depressing but nothing that really made me cry".

Then today I watched Grave of The Fireflies.

Mordar

2011-08-04, 04:11 PM

Tom Hanks character was portrayed as having an emotional connection with said ball. Our feelings evoked were our empathizing with that characters point of view, we felt what he, Tom Hanks, seemed to feel.

Crying over fiction? Lame.

Of course, that is, unless you have empathy...particularly if you have had any poignant/emotional moments in your life that something in said fiction connects you viscerally to the memories thereof. A huge number of people, including those paragons of manly men in professional sports, speak of tears flowing freely for Brian's Song, Field of Dreams and Rudy - not because they are fans of the Bears, care about Ray Kinsella or wanted to play Notre Dame football. It is because these films (if a bit ham-handed) remind them of their hopes, dreams and aspirations. Of struggling to live, to reconcile with a dead father or to overcome deficiencies of stature or athleticism by strength of character. Not an athlete, never played catch with dad? Fine, I can understand how they wouldn't do it for you.

Maybe Toy Story 3, Old Yeller or (if you can stomach Owen Wilson) Marley and Me should take you back to those toys that meant *EVERYTHING* to you, or the first pet you were old enough to really care about. It's not that you had a cowboy doll or a big yellow dog...but it reminds you of the toy you did have, or the dog/cat/rabbit/turtle that first taught you about death (hopefully you didn't have to learn it through a relative or friend first) and rekindles those feelings and memories.

Then there are the works like Castaway (which didn't do much more me), Life is Beautiful (which did, despite only seeing the last half) or Steel Magnolias (which I put here for the female readers, since my list has been male-centric) which might well not link to something in your memory but are well-enough done that you feel a real connection to the characters that can elicit a cathartic emotional experience.

Sure, you have to "buy in" to the fictions to have these sorts of emotions, and it's a voluntary choice...but to dismiss the power of fiction to elicit these responses suggests something a bit more or different than "I'm a hard-boiled realist"...particularly given the nature of the board on which this discussion is occuring.

To answer the original post question, I think probably Up was the last one to get a legitimate tear...Toy Story 3 got most of the way there...

Oh, here's a good one - a short story I remember from 8th grade called "The Scarlet Ibis"...quality stuff there!

- M

Tazar

2011-08-04, 04:19 PM

Wesley's death in the final episode of Angel, "Not Fade Away". I didn't actually cry (I never do, really, for TV/film), but it was as close as I've ever gotten. Just profoundly sad and moving.

"Would you like the lie now?"

Buffy's sacrifice and tombstone in "The Gift" runs a close second.

Kindablue

2011-08-05, 08:02 AM

Yoko Kanno - "Blue" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03qBqP2I4p8&feature=related)

Karl Jenkins - "Grey" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cx7Y4QngqgQ&feature=related)

jidasfire

2011-08-05, 11:09 AM

The episode "Code of Hero" from Transformers Beast Wars. where Dinobot, in an attempt to atone for his brief betrayal of the Maximals, faces down the entire Predacon army by himself, beating them all and saving a small tribe of proto-humans at the cost of his own life.

"Tell my tale to those who ask. Tell it truly, the evil deeds along with the good, and let me be judged accordingly. The rest...is silence."

No, I'm not misting up now. That's just...something in my eye.

Tengu_temp

2011-08-05, 11:13 AM

Crying over fiction? Lame.

Of course, that is, unless you have empathy...

So people who don't do that don't have empathy?

Crusader808

2011-08-05, 12:42 PM

Another Pixar example is the opening montage of Up. I maintain that if you're not emotionally moved by that sequence (even if not to tears), you must have no soul.

This.

It was like someone had let off a tear gas grenade in the theater.

Viking_Mage

2011-08-05, 12:59 PM

Young Avengers - when Iron Lad realizes that in order to save the universe, he must do what he's been fighting against and return to the path that will lead him to be Kang the Conqueror.

It was surprisingly moving and the conundrum of becoming a villain being the most heroic action someone can take is so painful because of how much Iron Lad did not want to become a bad guy.

Angel When Angel tells Cordelia that he'll run through the sunlight to get baby Connor to a hospital if it was needed.

Eon

2011-08-05, 01:07 PM

Pikachu's Goodbye (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaVwhG5ygss) :smallfrown:

Among other's, but that one is the that gets me every time.

Archpaladin Zousha

2011-08-05, 01:29 PM

Oh, God, this.
I thought I was the only one on the planet to have cried at the final scene of Big Fish.
Thanks for letting me know I wasn't.
:smalleek:
You're not. :smallsmile:

Also, I recall a short story I read once called "A Bear At The Gate." Even now when I remember it I tear up because it's such a beautiful story. Be warned, it may be potentially not board-safe as it deals with the nature of souls and the afterlife.

It starts with St. Peter up in Heaven surprised to see a teddy bear at the gates, since toys definitely don't have souls. The bear, Henry, explains that he belonged to someone called The Old Man, and must have died when The Old Man's grandson accidentally tore him apart. St. Peter's unsure of what to do, so he begins asking Henry about his past. Henry tells him that he was The Old Man's favorite toy when he was a child, and that they did everything together. Perfectly normal "toy loves his owner" stuff. But then The Old Man got sick with a terrible fever, and it didn't seem like there was anything the doctors could do. And Henry is there by his side the whole time. And finally...The Old Man dies.

Naturally, St. Peter is confused. "If he died as a child, how did he become The Old Man?" Henry tells him that in that last moment, as the child hugged him, Henry was so scared at being left all alone and filled with love for his owner, he begged him, "Come back. Please come back." And then, miraculously, his heart started beating again and the fever broke. St. Peter realizes this must have been what caused Henry to gain a soul, his faith and unyielding love for his creator. He opens the gates to let Henry in, and The Old Man is waiting there for him, a child once again. They hug and go off together, leaving St. Peter completely bewildered by the whole affair.
I always tear up when reading that story. In fact, I teared up just now writing about it. :smallfrown:

TheThan

2011-08-05, 03:41 PM

If the death of Optimus Prime doesn’t bring a tear to your eye, then you’re not human.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcHOM_465Vw&feature=related

Another great one that’ll bring a tear to your eye is the death of Dinobot in beastWars.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0u7Rb2fU4cA&feature=related

averagejoe

2011-08-05, 03:51 PM

So people who don't do that don't have empathy?

In terms of syntax, I think he was talking about the lameness, not which groups of people have empathy. That is, "Crying for fiction is only lame if you lack empathy," does not imply, "Only people who cry for fiction have empathy."

Drascin

2011-08-06, 05:04 AM

I have trouble crying at massively sad scenes. This is not because I don't get choked or sad - I am way too empathic and suffer every time I see anyone suffer, be it fiction or reality - but rather because crushing sadness usually manifests in me as a really uncomfortable pressure in the chest and pains all around the body rather than tears. I do remember that Jurassic Bark had me almost unable to breathe. Tears, rather, seem to happen more in bittersweet stuff, and such.

Stuff that caused actual tears.... CLANNAD, episode... around 8, if I remember right. For those who have seen it - if I say Fuko you probably will understand.

Dumbledore lives

2011-08-06, 06:33 AM

Actual bawling, nothing has really done that to me, but a few things have made me tear up, or at the very least feel incredibly sad. Toy Story 3, The Body, Snape's final hurrah in the final Harry Potter movie, they all create a huge sense of empathy, and created intense emotions.

byaku rai

2011-08-07, 05:54 PM

Just watched Dr. Horrible... The ending had me tearing up. I didn't cry, but yeah...

Soras Teva Gee

2011-08-07, 07:11 PM

Grave of the Fireflies. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grave_of_the_Fireflies)

It would be unmanly to not cry at this movie.

H Birchgrove

2011-08-08, 05:12 AM

Other examples I remember:

The end of Valkyrie.

The Brothers Lionheart.

The end of The Death of the Incredible Hulk. (Most. Pathetic. Example. :smallyuk: Unless Bill Bixby was really a great actor.)

Near the end of Disney's Beauty and the Beast, I really thought the monster was dead! :smalleek: (In my defence, I was a kid when I saw it.)

Not sure but I might have:

The end of Spirited Away.

Radio play version of Mio in the Land of Faraway a few years ago; maybe when I saw the film version too but that was a long time ago (over a decade) and my memory is subjective to say the least.

Zaggab

2011-08-08, 05:40 AM

The last time I felled actual tears over a work of fiction was ages ago, over a disney movie I think (maybe the Lion King? I don't really remember, I was'nt that old).

However, there's a book I read last year that I cried so much over that I could hardly see the letters on the pages most of the time.

That book is, unfortunately, not fictional. It's an autobiography by the late Swedish newsanchor Ulla-Carin Lindquist that she wrote during her last year alive, suffering from the 100% lethal neuronal disease ALS (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ALS), a disease that slowly causes paralyzation of most voluntary muscles, including those of respiration, while sparing cognitive and sensory function. The title of the book , "Ro utan åror" (~ "Row without oars") is by the way a reference to the song "Vem kan segla förutan vind" (~"Who can sail without wind"), which also happens to be one of the most tearjerking songs I know.

At first, she could type using her hands, so in the beginning of the book the sentences and chapters are wuite long, while at end she could only type with a nose-controlled computer, so the sentences and chapters are shorter and more concise. It's details like that that heightens the emotional impact.

Dmatix

2011-08-08, 11:04 AM

Uh... yeah. That was the joke. The suggestion that it was anything more meaningful was so absolutely absurd that the computer's misunderstanding of emotion and irate jealousy were funny.

Did you seriously grow attached to an object in a puzzle game that you had for only 5 minutes or so? I find this hard to understand primarily because in my experience spacial reasoning and problem solving is specifically hard to combine with emotional connection.

Anyway: The things that have made me cry: the movie Creation. It's about the death of Charles Darwin's young daughter... oh yeah, and some book he wrote. I'm told it isn't accurate at all, but I don't care, it was heartrending.

Also: the good ending of Infamous 2 threatened tears, although never quite managed to pull them out.

Shadow Hearts 2 made me cry huge manly tears several times.

Secondhand Lions made me cry when they finish telling the last part of the Arabian story. It was just so unfair and such a mundane ending that could still land the hero of the tale in the middle of nowhere. After doing everything right and earning his fairytale ending, he got cheated in the highest degree.

It might not count because I was a kid at the time, but I almost drowned in tears and passed out from screaming at the end of The High King, the last book of the Prydain Chronicles.

I know what you mean about "The High King", I was almost crying as well. It just seemed so unfair that after everything the party has been through, now they have to say goodbye and never see each other again. Kind of reminded me of the end of the Lord of the Rings.

Jerthanis

2011-08-08, 01:52 PM

I know what you mean about "The High King", I was almost crying as well. It just seemed so unfair that after everything the party has been through, now they have to say goodbye and never see each other again. Kind of reminded me of the end of the Lord of the Rings.

They are both adaptations of the Mabinogi myths, (with Lotr taking as much or more from Norse mythology as Welsh) so the comparison is totally apt.

I didn't cry over Lord of the Rings' ending, because I was older for one thing and because I didn't have a great sense that each one was leaving someone they had the same level of admiration and friendship as between the characters in Prydain. Frodo didn't look up to Aragorn the same way Taran looked up to Gwydion. Gurgi's doglike loyalty was similar to Sam's, but it was clear Sam had a life outside of Frodo's company.

Grave of the Fireflies didn't make me cry because all my tears were already gone after reading Black Rain.

Mr Stereo1

2011-08-08, 04:07 PM

The last time I cried, rather than just blinked and avoided eye contact with everyone else in the room, was watching the ending of Dragonheart years ago. There's something irrevokably tragic in seeing the last Dragon alive, voiced by Sean Connery no less, asking his best friend to kill him to stop the evil king. (Who Draco, Sean Connery's character, had given half of his heart to save as a child to try and save the rest of the dragons from being exterminated, and bring back the 'old ways' (chivalry) which the prince was meant to follow after being tutored by the main character.)

Moff Chumley

2011-08-08, 05:29 PM

nthing Futurama.

There are a couple of songs, I've shed a tear or two to.
Nobody Gets Me But You, by Spoon. My friend gave me a copy of Transference while I was in the middle of a pretty awful breakup, and I must've listened to it... thirty? Forty times? This is the last song on it, and the first time I heard it was after a particularly unpleasant argument with my ex. I think I kinda broke down around the line "nobody cuts me like you", if memory serves. That was a pretty nasty month. >.>
No Children by Mountain Goats, and The Past is a Grotesque Animal, by Of Montreal. Both of those are pretty much concentrated self-loathing, which isn't really something I generally go in for, but there's something about 'em that had me tearing up.
All My Friends, by LCD Soundsystem, is the only song that's had me in active "lying there, sobbing" mode. I was a freshman in high school at the time, I had... let's go with next to no friends, and I was pretty damn miserable. The end of this song is "where are my friends tonight? Where are my friends tonight?", not so much sung as wailed, and that kinda struck a nerve...

There've been a couple more songs or books that've elicited a tear or two, but nothing else springs to mind.

Giant Panda

2011-08-08, 06:12 PM

I don't actually cry at fiction, but I kinda cry emotionally, if that makes sense.

The Night Angel trilogy of novels did this to me. Everything the main character did ended up screwing everyone he knew over in some way, and the end is pretty heart-wrenching.

I was pretty depressed after the ending of Orwell's 1984.

I cried at a film a long time ago, but was recovering from a family members death at the time, and the same relation died in the film, so it wasn't manly tears.

That's all I can think of, but there must be more.

Curious

2011-08-11, 09:28 PM

Well. . . If it counts, I literally wept tears of manly joy while watching TTGL.

Adrayll

2011-08-15, 07:37 PM

Final episode of the first season of the anime Clannad. It's been commonly said that if you can sit through the whole season without a single tear, you have no soul.

Weimann

2011-08-16, 04:46 AM

Fiction very rarley manages to make my cry, and has never to date done so drawing on sad emotions. Some time, however, I have shed tears of joy. The most recent time was probably in the last episode of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. Damn that show is great.

I also think I cried at the ending of Strangers in Paradise. It's to date the only time a comic has affected me to the point where I literally could not sit still; I actively tried to hinder my movement but it was actually impossible. I beleive it was the closest I've ever come to understanding what makes people do drugs, because I'm pretty sure up-dope must feel something like that.

The end of Phoenix Wright Ace Attornet Trials and Tribulations also produced a reaction, but I'm uncertain if I actually cried then.

Nameless

2011-08-16, 05:01 AM

Someone got one of my favourite animated shorts, cut it down and put the song "From my Hands" by VNV Nation over the top. The original animation is horribly sad, and the song isn't exactly a happy one either. The two together genuinly made me cry.

"Father & Daughter" by Michael Dudok De Wit (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSyXSeAHL_k)

Lord.Sorasen

2011-08-16, 06:46 PM

I'm a sucker at movies and reading books and such, but I'll list the notable ones, at least the recent notable ones.

A couple months ago, my friend got me to watch Land Before Time again. Remember that movie? Cute little dinosaurs on an adventure?
When he hears his mother's voice in the wind I all but lost it.

Fox and the Hound is the saddest thing Disney will ever throw at me.

The end of Blankets by Craig Thompson was heartbreaking for me, mostly because at the time I was having some real emotional issues with my own girlfriend and knew I was heading in that same direction.

Also Stubb (a dub) by Mr. Bungle remains one of the most depressing things. I'd link it but I'm not sure if it's ok to within forum rules due to language.

Terry576

2011-08-16, 07:18 PM

Code Geass, the ending.

That ending gets me every time.

MASSIVE SPOILERS

Lelouch died in infamy - purposely, so that the world would be saved. He gave up everything so that the world would be a happy place again.

And the line that I always begin my cryfest with?

"Hey Suzaku, Geass power is similar to a wish; don't you think?"

I can't not cry during that scene. I still refuse to watch CG again, solely because both times I've seen it, I can't not cry.

Another vote for Jurassic Bark.

Iroh's scene gets me every time.

A bug just flew into my eye. That's all. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9kT1xIpZ4E&feature=related)

K's death in TTGL.

TTGL's ending.

Marley and Me, although I agree with whoever said that it's because you're remembering your dog. And my dog died in a pretty similar way.

Iroh's Story with his son gets me quite a lot.

I cry a lot at fiction stuff. But I also laugh a lot at fiction stuff.

Ironically, I didn't cry or laugh at Snape's scene in Deathly Hallows Part 2, although I did choke up quite a bit. It was a really touching scene, but not touching enough for me.

I remember crying at Land before Time every. single. time. That movie is the saddest movie of all time at the ending.

POOR LITTLEFOOT :smallfrown:

Jalor

2011-08-16, 08:47 PM

As a child, I cried at the predictable moments in The Lion King and The Land Before Time and whatnot, but sometime around the beginning of high school I stopped getting emotional from fiction. My friends joke that I don't even have tear ducts, because they've seen me sit stoically through Wall-E, Up, Toy Story 3, Where The Wild Things Are, Deathly Hallows Part 2... yeah, I'm inhuman. The closest I've come to crying in the past year or so was last month, when I saw The Protomen play live, but even that failed to provoke actual tears.

Things that actually did make me cry:

- Rush's 2112, and several other songs when I saw them live. Also, the first time I listened to Hold Your Fire all the way through.

- The ending of Nick Sagan's Idlewild.

- A couple of parts in The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, and one particular part in We The Living.

- Watching the 14th episode of Firefly (I saw Serenity first, before I knew there was a TV series) and realizing there would never be a 15th.

- Gurren Lagann. You can guess when.

- End of Evangelion. Once again, you can guess which parts.

None of these had any eyewitnesses, and the most recent one was almost two years ago. I am starting to doubt my humanity.

Kindablue

2011-08-19, 06:07 AM

Manly tears:
Townes Van Zandt - "Waitin' Around to Die" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTGKzWDakK8)

Cheesegear

2011-08-19, 09:30 AM

The scene in Fresh Prince of Bel-Air where Will's dad walks out (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Cwe6QJdru8) has me bawling every time.

Oh. Wow.

My ones that I remember;
The Season 7 Christmas Episode for NCIS. Kangaroo Cry (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUZM5erDbho&feature=related) plays.
A very early episode of Bones, The Boy In The Shroud where at the end Bring on the Wonder plays, by Susan Enan and Sarah McLachlan.

The part where Dr. Cox loses it (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoCzJmPuo1I&feature=related). Its extremely rare that Scrubs shows scenes like that. Fast Forward to 7:35 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rrDdmy0Caw&playnext=1&list=PLCCA86305358064C3). It's weird that one of the very first episodes of Scrubs is their very best one. I broke down in a very similar way to this and I quit Nursing because of it.

And...Angel. Quite seriously, when you don't watch shows on DVD, and actually have to watch them on TV, Angel (and Buffy) was a very large portion of my life. Wesley's death got me. Hard.
1. Wesley is the hero of Angel, much like Sam is the hero of LoTR.
2. Seriously. When something is five years of your life...

Ulysses WkAmil

2011-08-19, 08:59 PM

When Gandalf and Frodo leave in the end of the Lord of the Rings. Makes me choke up every time.

Mutant Sheep

2011-08-19, 09:06 PM

Thinking about Justice League and how I ignored it, along with general DC nostalgia. Really that's it. No it is! I'm serious!

HFool

2011-08-20, 12:44 AM

Oh man, What Dreams May Come. Perhaps the phrase "like the entire movie" is bit overused, but that's how I feel about the movie. As in from beginning to end credits is where I'm the edge of tears, and that just feels like the perfect movie for it. Which is unfortunate for 2 reasons because

A) I would not describe any tears that come from as "manly" and

B) I think that movie occupies that spot for dubious reasons

But still, tears. Just endless tears for 2 hours.

Kindablue

2011-08-20, 05:34 AM

Aaron Copland - "The Promise of Living" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLVyRvp2Qbg)

Jalor

2011-08-20, 08:52 AM

Aaron Copland - "The Promise of Living" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLVyRvp2Qbg)

Also, Fanfare for the Common Man (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cr6CnG5dmvM).

cleric_of_BANJO

2011-08-21, 01:21 AM

- Rush's 2112, and several other songs when I saw them live. Also, the first time I listened to Hold Your Fire all the way through.

Couldn't agree more. Listening to 2112 for the first time was one of the most incredible experiences I've ever had. That song takes you places, and it's crazy that it gets even better with age.

And...Angel. Quite seriously, when you don't watch shows on DVD, and actually have to watch them on TV, Angel (and Buffy) was a very large portion of my life. Wesley's death got me. Hard.
1. Wesley is the hero of Angel, much like Sam is the hero of LoTR.
2. Seriously. When something is five years of your life...

I unfortunately never watched either of these shows as they were coming out, but even seeing them later, they definitely take up your life while you're watching them. Even after, since I've watched like 250 episodes of the two shows combined, there are tons of situations where I get reminded of a Buffy/Angel quote. And, especially with these two shows, the sad moments are sad. Honestly, between Wesley, Fred, and Cordy's deaths in season five, I was devastated by the end. I don't know how, but Joss and co managed to give these shows an emotional weight that is astounding. Going through the whole series is quite a personal experience, so I can see where you're coming from.

FlashRah

2011-08-21, 07:51 AM

"Love and Theft" by Bob Dylan gets to me.
"I know you're sorry, I'm sorry too"
"I've got nothing but affection for all those who've sailed with me"

Modern Times by Bob Dylan squeezed a couple out of me.

Delwugor

2011-08-22, 02:10 PM

Honorable mentions first:
"That was my son, Mr. President!"
The old couple laying together in bed as the Titanic sinks.
The ending of Schindler's List where the survivors place the stones on his grave.

But only the Lay of Leithian (http://www.glyphweb.com/ARDA/l/layofleithian.html) has brought tears to my eyes, and still leaves a lump when I read it now 25 years later.

Neko Toast

2011-08-22, 03:57 PM

The ending to both Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puella_Magi_Madoka_Magica) and Ano Hana (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ano_Hana). Ano Hana was just straight tears through most of the last episode. Both are fantastic anime that I think more people should check out.

In non-anime media, I cried during the final scene of The Dark Knight with Harvey Dent and Gordon. They were the two characters I enjoyed the most in that movie, so seeing the two of them have to confront each other like that was heart-wrenching for me.

I also teared up a bit when Dr. Manhattan confronted Rorschach at the end of Watchmen. Now, I had a lot of problems with that movie (they completely ruined Nite Owl II, who is my favorite character in the comics), but that was one of the best scenes of the movie... until Nite Owl II ruined it with his stupid Darth Vader "NOOOOOOO" impression. :smallannoyed: Anyway, before he came in and totally botched the scene, I was tearing up. I hadn't liked Rorschach a lot in the comic, but seeing that actor play him made me like the character a lot more.

Rockbird

2011-08-23, 07:44 PM

This song has made me cry since i was about six

Balladen om Briggen Blue Bird of Hull
Balladen Om Briggen Blue Bird Av Hull

Det var Blue Bird av Hull
Det var Blue Bird en brigg
Som med sviktade stumpar stod på
Över soten i snöstorm med nerisad rigg
Själva julafton sjuttiotvå
-"Surra svensken till rors, han kan dreja en spak."
Ropa skepparn
-"Allright boys, lös av!"
Och Karl Stranne från Smögen
Blev surrad till rors
På Blue Bird som var dömd att bli vrak

Han fick Hållö-fyrs blänk
Fast av snöglopp och stänk
Han stod halvblind
Han fick den i lov
Och i lä där låg Smögen
Hans hem där hans mor
Just fått brevet från Middelsborough
-"Nå vad säger du Karl?"
-"Går hon klar?"
-"Nej, kapten!"
-"Vi får blossa för här är det slut."
-"Vi har Hållö om sytrbord och brott strax i lä."
-"Ut med ankarna båtarna ut."
Men hon red inte upp
Och hon fick ett par brott
Som tog båten dom hade gjort klart
-"Jag tror nog" sa Karl Stranne "Att far min gått ut."
-"Emot oss, jag litar på far!"

-"Båt i lä!"
-"Båt i lä!"
-"Det är far, det är vi!"
-"Det är far min från Smögen. Hallå!"

-"Båt i lä!" sjöng han ut
-"Dom är här jumpa i, alle man vi blir bärgade då."

Det var Stranne den äldre
En viking en örn
Tog sitt renade brännvin
Ur vinskåpets hörn
Till att bjuda dom skeppsbrutna på
-"Hur var namnet på skutan?"
Han sporde och slog
Nio supar i spetsiga glas
-"Briggen Blue bird."
Det tionde glaset han tog
Och han slog det mot golvet i kras
-"Sa ni Blue Bird kapten? Briggen Blue Bird av Hull?"
-"Gud i himlen var är då min son?"
-"Var är pojken kapten för vår frälsares skull?"
Det blev dödstyst

Gubben Stranne
Tog sakta sydvästen utav
-"Spara modern kapten, denna kväll."
-"Nämn ej namnet på briggen som har gått i kvav."
-"Nämn ej Blue Bird av Hull är ni snäll."
Och kaptenen steg opp
Han var grå han var tärd
Stormen tjöt knappt man hörde hans ord
När han sa med självande röst till sin värd
-"Karl stod surrad och glömdes ombord."

Now that's in Swedish. I wrote a (very) rough translation years ago:
The ballad of Blue Bird of Hull

T'was Blue Bird of Hull
T'was Blue Bird, a brig
Who pressed on, 'gainst wind heaving to
In a blizzard that covers the rigging with ice
On Christmas eve seventytwo
-”Bind the Swede to the wheel, he can hold her in check.”
Cried the Cap'n
-”All right boys, switch off!”
And Karl Stranne from Smögen
Was tied to the wheel
Of Blue Bird who would be a wreck

He saw the lighthouse on Hållö
Though by spatter and snow
He was blinded
He caught it behind
And leeward lay Smögen
His home where his ma
Just got the letter from Middelsborough
-”What say you then Karl?”
-”Will she pass?”
-”'Fraid not sir!”
-”We'll have to book it, for this is the end.”
-”We've got Hållö off starboard and soon leeward'll break.”
-”Low the anchor and out with the boats.”
But she didn't ride up
And took a couple of breaks
What took the boat the'd readied to go
-”I believe” said Karl Stranne ”That father's gone out”
-”To meet us, I trust in my da!”

-”Lee, a boat!”
-”Lee, a boat!”
-”'Tis my father, it's us!”
-”'Tis my father from Smögen. Hello!”

-”Lee a boat!” he sang out
-”They are here, now get in, every one will be saved if we do.”

'Twas Stranne the elder
A viking, a hawk
Took his clear spirits out
From a cupboard he had
To offer the stranded men drink
-”What was the name of the ship?”
He asked as he poured
Nine drinks into thin measured cups
-”Blue Bird, a brig.”
The tenth glass he took
And smashed it to pieces at once
-”You said Blue Bird, good sir? The brig Blue Bird of Hull?”
-”God in heaven, then where is my son?”
-”Where's the boy cap'n tell, in the name of the lord?”
There was silence

Old man Stranne
He slowly took off his coat
-”Spare the mother, dear captain, this night.”
-”Do no mention the name of the ship that's been lost.”
-”Name not Blue Bird of Hull, it's not right.”
And the Captain he rose
He was gray, he was gaunt
The storm almost drenched all his words
When he said to his host so he barely was heard
-”Karl stood bound and we left him onboard.”

Avilan the Grey

2011-08-24, 01:25 AM

AtlanteanTroll

2011-08-24, 01:40 AM

The deaths of Ace and Whitebeard in One Piece. The living embodiment of never say die. A whole arc (and arguably more) is spent on the chasing down of Ace so that he can be rescued, but he dies protecting Luffy from Admiral Akainu.

The gathering of the GantZ members in Japan when they decide to save the humans who are being held by the aliens. It seems no one is pure enough to want to assist in the saving of mankind, and just when you lose all hope, people show up, proving that human kindness and brotherly love exist after all.

Also the biography of Christopher Reeves. But that ... That's ...

Akiosama

2011-08-25, 12:48 PM

Let's see...

Scrubs did that a few times to me - for sadness, in the aforementioned episode "My Lunch" (enhanced due to the soundtrack of The Fray's "How to Save a Life") and "My Screw-Up" (the Sixth Sense-esque episode with Brandon Frasier) - and for happiness, in the final epsiode of the original series "My Finale" (during the montage of the future after JD leaves Sacred Heart).

A lot of other instances have been mentioned, too... Where the Red Fern Grows, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows (the book - the epilogue really got me in a happy way), some of Miyazaki's works, Up (both the opening and the part near the end when Carl finally goes through Ellie's scrapbook and sees her message at the end to him), Saving Private Ryan... And, I remember the death of Optimus Prime getting me back when I saw that movie in the theater ages ago.

I'm surprised, though, that The Green Mile hasn't been mentioned yet, though. The scene where Coffey was executed, and the end, when you watch what happens to Paul because of Coffey (his long life, the mouse, and what he has to endure because he will outlive everyone in his life) was intensely emotional.

And the end of the major story arc for Hikaru no Go - for the manga, especially. That was really heart-wrenching for me.

And the death of Eponine in Les Miserables musical. "A Little Fall of Rain" is a very touching song, for me.

I will admit, though, that I'm easily moved, and I don't think it's a bad thing.

My 2 yen,

Akiosama

Balain

2011-08-26, 01:02 AM

...
2. Saving Private Ryan -- everything from the end of the battle to "Tell me I'm a good man."
...

That had me crying too. Actually more like balling my eyes out like a little baby, It came out almost exactly a year after my dad passed and the scene with him saying "tell me I'm a good man" reminded me of dad, even down to the way he dressed.

AFS

2011-08-26, 07:23 AM

This:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=606Vk2iSFNk

I am sure there are better videos, but the song is what does it.

Especially when you start to get older and have a family of your own.

Even the episode itself tears me up:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Inner_Light_%28Star_Trek:_The_Next_Generation% 29

MLai

2012-03-18, 06:48 AM

I define manly tears as "tears that a woman wouldn't cry." Don't tell me I'm a misogynist; I didn't invent the phrase. So, by the above definition...

1. When movie Boromir died and his last words to Aragorn, "My captain, my brother, my king."
2. When in the LOTR: TT movie, the Uruk-Hai were marching off to war. I had testosterone-fueled tears.
3. Basically every 15 minutes in LOTR: RoTK movie. Testosterone-fueled tears from the endless epicness of great armies riding across the lands.

Not-so-manly tears:

1. When Gandalf fell in LOTR: FotR. Yes I know he doesn't die. But the characters didn't, and I was immersed. Ian McKellen brought Gandalf to life better than I had ever expected in FotR.
2. In Yu-Gi-Oh the TV series, when the 2 protags parted forever in the last episode. Keep in mind I watched this show through 224 episodes over many years (stopped following it for a while, but never lost interest, then picked it up again later), loving almost every episode. I was invested in their friendship, and I never saw the parting coming, because I had thought this was a typical cartoon with no sad endings.
And for a often-cheesy cartoon show with bad animation, the ending sequence was PERFECT.

hamishspence

2012-03-18, 06:58 AM

I define manly tears as "tears that a woman wouldn't cry." Don't tell me I'm a misogynist; I didn't invent the phrase.

But your interpretation of the phrase may be biased.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ManlyTears

None of this description says "moments when a man would cry but a woman wouldn't"

MLai

2012-03-18, 07:06 AM

After reading the TVtrope (Without clicking on a SINGLE link!!!! Gaze upon my shounen willpower, AND DESPAIR!!!!!!1), I take it that manly tears mean:

Tears by a man that is not due to pain or fear.

Since I've met many many ordinary women with higher pain tolerance* than men**, I will now revise my personal definition forever. Thank you Hamishspence.

*I regularly inflict pain and terror on people in my line of work. That's how I know.
**Except Australian men, who seem to have pain tolerance equal to women.

hamishspence

2012-03-18, 07:26 AM

the point being that the hypothesis "A woman wouldn't cry while watching the same scene" is dubious.

Bastian Weaver

2012-03-18, 07:32 AM

Movie Boromir's final battle was badass. His dying scene? Meh.
Some poems by Anna Akhmatova made me cry. And also the Comedian's opening scene in the Watchmen movie.

Yora

2012-03-18, 07:38 AM

the point being that the hypothesis "A woman wouldn't cry while watching the same scene" is dubious.

It's when even a macho would say the tears are justified for macho mens.

hamishspence

2012-03-18, 07:51 AM

This does seem like a better definition-

not "the point where only macho men cry, but not women"

but

"the point where even macho men cry"

Greensleeves

2012-03-18, 08:26 AM

The opening of Up makes my cry so bad. When I watched it the first time I had to pause the film, get a bunch of tissues and cry a freaking torrent of tears and let myself cry it all out before I could make myself continue. And then... Then they give us the scene with the Adventure Book where Carl sees all the pictures of his and Ellie's life... Crap, I'm getting misty just from thinking about it all now...

Secondly, episode 24, Hard Luck Woman, of Cowboy Bebop. The ending where they play Call me, Call me (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPbBhvv6GI8) to scenes of Faye lying in the outlines of her bed in the ruined house, Ed and Ein leaving for good, and then the icing on the cake: Spike and Jet eating the eggs in dead silence, trying to deaden their pain and sadness with the food, the way they wordlessly dig into the baskets meant for Ed and Faye...

Only two pieces of fiction that's ever made me cry.

Rae Artemi

2012-03-18, 08:32 AM

Three comic book related thingies that always get me:

The Death of Spiderman: In handy Motion Comic form! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POXxmaJ_cV8)

Dex (http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110215213931/greenlantern/images/2/25/A9444201-16-1-.jpg)-Starr's (http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110217165931/greenlantern/images/0/0d/A9444201-17-1-.jpg) Origin (http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110217165960/greenlantern/images/d/d8/A9444201-18-1-.jpg): Poor (http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110217170028/greenlantern/images/a/aa/A9444201-19-1-.jpg) Little (http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110217170048/greenlantern/images/c/c5/A9444201-20-1-.jpg) Kitty (http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110217170160/greenlantern/images/f/f4/A9444201-21-1-.jpg). It doesn't even matter that he goes on to become the most angry and viscous ragemonster in the universe.

And a particularly touching scene after Batman's death. (http://i49.tinypic.com/2ic1lwj.jpg)