Twenty films that make men cry
In response to the Magazine's discussion about why Toy Story 3 makes men cry male readers have been getting in touch with their emotional side and opening up about their own private tear-jerkers. Here is a selection.
1. There's one scene for me, it's the Grey Havens at the end of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. I've seen it loads of times, but even as a man in my 30s, it still manages to get me going every single time! The emotion of the characters, having gone through their personal sacrifices (particularly Frodo of course), coupled with Howard Shore's brilliantly moving score always makes me weepy with that lump in the throat feeling. Andy Bishop, Bromley, Kent 2. The Shawshank Redemption had me in fits of tears because of the joy and happiness that ensues when those two lifelong companions are reunited on that beach. The hardships they've endured and the power of their friendship stirs the longing for good friends in me. Yep, I'm a weeper and proud! Chris Mattley, Lincoln 3. Picture this: me, my wife, her mom and dad, my mom and dad, the kids. We go to a movie all together for the first time ever. We go to Up and the only person in the group not sobbing is my father in law. Now I finally have proof that he is a robot. My dad cried for an hour. I tried to hold it back, but my throat was throbbing so hard it felt dangerous not to give in. Then I let it rip like a little girl. Steve, West Kelowna, British Columbia 4. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest has a tragic ending, and makes me bleary eyed when I think too hard on it, but the tears strangely intensify upon the victorious final shot, to see something positive and good come from such bleakness and despair. Mike, Essex 5. The one film that makes me cry every time I watch it is Marley and Me. When he says goodbye to the dying Marley... I'm starting to fill up just thinking about it. I don't know if it's because I have a dog and have had to go through the heartache of saying goodbye before to my previous dog when she passed away but this film makes me cry more than any other. Chris Hennessey, Manchester 6. When I was a tender 18-year-old in the RAF, they showed The Champ to a bunch of us raw recruits. The room filled with male bravado soon quietened down and although dark you could see sparkling eyes. Nobody dared talk for fear of showing a trembling voice. Keith Aisthorpe, Colombo, Sri Lanka 7. I wailed out loud at the end of The Notebook which wouldn't have been so bad except I was in the middle row in a packed 747 and I don't think anyone else was watching it. Oh the shame. Bob 8. I'm a 48-year-old man, ex-rugby player and motorcycle racer and I admit that Babe did it for me. Right at the end when the farmer says "That'll do Pig". I start welling up at the thought of it. Chris, Bromsgrove, UK 9. I never cried at movies until after my daughter was born. The first time was Field of Dreams. When Kevin Costner had a catch with his father, I was bawling. I purchase the film every time it comes out on a new medium (video, DVD, anniversary edition, Blu-Ray), and I still cry. In fact, I cry before that scene, in anticipation. Some day, when the holographic version is released, I will cry on James Earl Jones when he says "for it is money they have and peace they lack". Anon, Westchester, USA 10. I have only seen my Dad cry on two occasions, and one of them was during Chariots of Fire. Lauren McConnell, Taunton 11. The end of The Railway Children, with Jenny Agutter running down the platform crying "Daddy, my daddy" gets me every single time. I must have seen it 25-30 times over the years and on every occasion, I am a gibbering wreck. Ian Dickens, Beeston, UK 12. The Finnish sauna documentary, Steam of Life, had a reputation for being a tear-jerker. I didn't believe it until I went to see it myself, and all the men in the cinema were in tears. Fantastic doc, by the way. Anu, Helsinki, Finland 13. The 1941 Tom and Jerry cartoon The Night Before Christmas has a very emotional ending. Tom sees Jerry freezing in the cold bitter snow outside the house and then feels bad for Jerry. He warms him up by the fire and gives him a Candy Cane as a present and Jerry then takes a mousetrap hidden in Tom's bowl of milk and Tom and Jerry become friends. This is probably the most emotional scene in a Tom and Jerry cartoon. Joe Ross, Shoeburyness, England 14. Man On Fire, with Denzel. A hard hearted soldier of fortune discovers the inherent goodness of human nature in a child and gives his life in exchange for hers. I can't watch it without crying. Christopher, Milton Keynes 15. The only film that got me blubbing was Life is Beautiful right at the end when the little boy gets to ride on the tank after winning hide and seek and then finding his mother. What made it worse was I was in the middle of a flight to New Zealand, it was half past something in the morning, everyone else was asleep and I was crying like a three-year-old whose balloon had burst. Mike Riley, Hampshire 16. Bridge to Terabithia had both myself and my 12-year-old son in tears in the cinema, openly asking each other why the girl had to die. I am not worried about being teary in front of my sons; I think it's good to let them know it's OK to let your feelings show. Terence Fisher, Crawley, England 17. The bit in The Italian Job where the Mafia smash Michael Caine's Aston Martin and the two E-Types had me crying like a baby. Ben Halstead, Leeds, UK 18. Rocky winning the title and manages to say "'except for my kid being born this is the greatest day in the history of my life, I just want to say one thing, to my wife at home, Yo Adrian... I did it!" Gets me every time! Ben, Hartlepool 19. My Life as A Dog, a Swedish film that observes a 12-year-old boy, Ingemar, struggling with life with a terminally ill mother and an absent father as well as meeting all the normal developments that life presents us. The tear-jerker for me is how Ingemar tries to come to terms with the story of Laika (a theme that runs through the whole film), a dog sent to space with a guaranteed death sentence. Ingemar consoles himself constantly with "life could be worse" - [I'm] in tears now. Patrick, Newcastle upon Tyne 20. If I want a really good purgative cry then it has to be Truly, Madly, Deeply. That's one film I can only watch on my own. Simon, Horley, UK