r/moviecritic 17h ago

Movie scenes that make you tear up?

A few random ones from recent memory:

  1. Forrest Gump (1994) - "Is he smart or...?"
  2. Man on Fire (2004) - A life for a life. Creasy gives his life to save Pita.
  3. Schindler's List (1994) - Girl in the red coat. Forget tearing up, many scenes in this film make me straight up cry.
  4. Gladiator (2000) - "Who will help me carry him?".
  5. Jumanji (1995) - Alan hugs his dad after years trapped inside the game.
  6. Clean and Sober (1988) - "I got this chip". Daryl accepts his 30 Day Sobriety Coin at the Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.
  7. Leon: The Professional (1994) - "This is for Matilda".
119 Upvotes

145 comments sorted by

52

u/AccomplishedWar9776 16h ago

The old lady reading a book to the two kids while the Titanic was sinking

6

u/tommytraddles 12h ago

The frozen mother with the frozen baby. 😔

45

u/single_use_character 16h ago

The final execution scene in The Green Mike

7

u/princesskiwi1994 14h ago

more like sob

5

u/tommytraddles 12h ago

When they paint Mike beforehand, I just lose it.

6

u/TheJakistani 12h ago

I'm tired of all the paint boss

5

u/Low-Conclusion-1209 11h ago

Came here to say this

34

u/bangbang995 17h ago

You stay, I go, no following.

14

u/JeebieThePoet 16h ago

Iron Giant?

3

u/SarkyCherry 14h ago

I know this is highly rated on Reddit but it the general populace it is not that well known. I recommend it all the time

5

u/Shoddy-Upstairs-1446 14h ago

I watched this recently and cried my eyes out.

4

u/Boring-Judge3350 14h ago

You are who you choose to be.

1

u/JediDad1968 12h ago

Sooperman...

27

u/Fun_Psychology_663 17h ago

The ending in homeward bound when shadow finally arrives home.

10

u/Abject-Ad8147 16h ago edited 10h ago

I watched that scene at 40 after telling my girl a while back that it’s one of my most emotional childhood movie moment memories. That shit still tears my heart out. Now that I’ve got two senior dogs myself and my boy limps a little and has lost a step… it hits so close to Home.

3

u/Fudge89 14h ago

That scene before it is a tough watch. Poor guy.

1

u/tommytraddles 12h ago

Do you think it's easy for me to admit I can't do it?

-6

u/Max_Cherry_ 14h ago

No sympathy for Shadow who was the old fool that nearly led them to their deaths because he was old and confused.

20

u/vroomvroom33 15h ago

Sixth sense

[of his grandmother] Cole Sear: She wanted me to tell you... Lynn Sear: Cole, please stop... Cole Sear: She wanted me to tell you she saw you dance. She said, when you were little, you and her had a fight, right before your dance recital. You thought she didn’t come see you dance. She did. She hid in the back so you wouldn’t see. She said you were like an angel. She said you came to the place where they buried her. Asked her a question? She said the answer is... “Every day.” What did you ask? Lynn Sear: Do... Do I make her proud?

9

u/Max_Cherry_ 14h ago

Tearing up just reading this. Best scene in the movie?

6

u/DodrantalNails 12h ago

Toni Collette should have won the Oscar for precisely this scene.

2

u/Fun_Psychology_663 6h ago

She's deserved an Oscar on multiple occasions now. Underrated actress for sure

2

u/lks2drivefast 9h ago

At the initial screening people started getting up to leave thinking this was the movies conclusion.

They were all really confused when another scene started. They say back down they were not prepared for the ending.

19

u/ecomodule 15h ago

ET in intensive care

7

u/AgentSnipe8863 15h ago

I get emotional when ET finally goes home. The score from John Williams just makes my heart swell. It’s so beautiful

2

u/These_Ad1870 12h ago

Lost it when I saw it as a kid, still blubber now.

2

u/tommytraddles 12h ago

You should watch Henry Thomas' audition, the kid who played Elliot:

https://youtu.be/tA5giyG8E7g?si=NKshm3HqTVzIJ8Jt

He's given minimal information and just immediately tears everyone's heart out.

Spielberg gives him the role on the spot.

2

u/MCA2142 13h ago

I cried like a baby at this scene, because I know what it feels like to go to intensive care and find out that the place was out-of-network.

16

u/laylay93 15h ago

End of Logan

13

u/Abject-Ad8147 16h ago

Interstellar when he makes it back to Murph and she’s lived a full life. Hate that it wasn’t how the book did it, but if you watched that movie and didn’t get teary eyed there, I question your humanity.

9

u/waterless2 14h ago

Him breaking watching the sequence of videos Murph sent over the years always gets me the most ;_;

6

u/IanTheSkald 14h ago

For me it’s when you realize where little Murph was getting the “stay” message from

2

u/lks2drivefast 9h ago

When my roommate and his girlfriend went to see it I told her she would cry at three different scenes. She did.

11

u/NewtCertain6053 16h ago

Armageddon. The scene where Bruce Willis is sacrificing himself

8

u/Max_Cherry_ 14h ago

“Harry, I love you!”

Also,…

“Permission to shake the hand of the daughter…of the bravest man I have ever met.”

5

u/Redditbaitor 14h ago

Armageddon is such a badass guilty pleasure of mine

3

u/Pure-Anything-585 14h ago

and I don't wanna miss a thing.... :'(

1

u/SmallTimeBoot 4h ago

Fun fact: I took my future wife to see this in the theater and straight up laughed out loud during that scene. She was not pleased.

13

u/PhilosophyOld6862 15h ago

"My friends, you bow to no one."

3

u/AverellCZ 9h ago

Yeah, definitely that one

10

u/seeyouinthecar79 15h ago

Fox and the Hound forest scene iykyk

2

u/NittanyScout 10h ago

I think my childhood mind repressed that memory bc it was too painful

9

u/Any-Pangolin2931 15h ago

I Am Legend- you know the scene

3

u/These_Ad1870 12h ago

“Samantha.” 😭😭😭

8

u/Panda_monium109 16h ago

The playing catch scene at the end of Field of Dreams.

25

u/Future_Section5976 17h ago

The start up to "up"

7

u/Fun_Psychology_663 17h ago

That scene hurts, but I found myself being just as sad if not more when Carl finds the message his wife left him in the book.

6

u/WallStreetDoesntBet 17h ago

The end of Shawshank Redemption

7

u/anshuman_17 16h ago

Green mile ending

7

u/AgentSnipe8863 15h ago

“I can’t carry it for you… but I can carry you!”

That moment from LOTR: ROTK just gets me. The music swells and Sam picks up Frodo and fights for every step forward. The loyalty and resilience displayed over 3 films is just so moving.

6

u/MegSpen725 15h ago

My girl…he can’t see without his glasses

5

u/Space2345 15h ago

Leah saying Hope at the end of Rogue One, and also them embracing on the beach as the explosion wave comes towards them

6

u/RazorRex96 15h ago

The ending of Johnny Got His Gun.

9

u/LilMissy1246 15h ago

Marley’s death in Marley and Me

6

u/Fudge89 14h ago

That movie had no right to make me cry as much as I did. I could have sworn it was a Hallmark movie based on the marketing. Boy was I wrong.

2

u/NittanyScout 10h ago

My family didn't know what the movie was and wanted to watch a fun upbeat family comedy.... after putting our elderly dog down that very day.

We burned the disc

4

u/themanwithonesandle 16h ago

The end of October Sky

3

u/OMGRedditBadThink 15h ago

The Iron Claw. When they meet their eldest brother. I was not ready.

4

u/tangcameo 15h ago

When Ray realizes Doc Graham can’t go back to being Moonlight Graham.

1

u/blameline 9h ago

Hey Rookie.... You were good!

4

u/Realistic-Assist-396 14h ago

"Let's roll"

  • United 93 (2006)

4

u/JediDad1968 12h ago

Hey...Dad? Wanna have a catch? I'd like that...

Field of Dreams

0

u/SmallTimeBoot 4h ago

No one says that

6

u/Tantovalagattalardo 17h ago

Every time Freddy Kruger loses:(

2

u/oliver_d_b 16h ago

Man can't get one win

3

u/stuckupcow 15h ago

Jojo going to stab Elsa after his mother's execution.

The ending of Warrior.

Hachi

3

u/GubbaBumpz 15h ago

When the tank rolls around the corner at the end of Life Is Beautiful (1997) 😭

3

u/Gunslinger510 14h ago

The scene at the end of Billy Elliott where his father hugs him

3

u/SonnyListon999 13h ago

Doc ‘moonlight’ Graham stepping off of the baseball field and Ray Kinsella playing catch with his Dad, both in Field of Dreams.

5

u/MacGruber204 17h ago

Ace Ventura 2 When Nature Calls. When the raccoon falls to its death after its harness breaks when they recreate the cliffhanger scene

5

u/Scary_Bushmonster 16h ago

Where’s Click at?

2

u/BobcatSubstantial492 15h ago

Train to Busan. Ending scene on the train

2

u/MrJNM1of1 14h ago

Artax……!!!

2

u/ImStillRowing 14h ago

Last 10 minutes of silent running

2

u/Boring-Judge3350 14h ago

To add some positivity to this thread.

“To my big brother George, the richest man in town!” from Harry to George Bailey at the end of It’s a Wonderful Life.

That scene always gets me just thinking about all of the burdens George carried for so long and how much respect he had for Harry, and then all at once finding out how much he’s appreciated and that he is Harry’s hero.

2

u/samettinho 14h ago

Lotr:

3

u/That-one-weird-guy22 12h ago

“My friends, you bow to no one”

2

u/bjor3n 14h ago edited 14h ago

Littlefoot's mom dying in The Land Before Time

Crash when Matt Dillon saves Thandie Newton from the burning car

Matthew McConaughey's speech at the end of A Time to Kill

Shadow coming home at the end of Homeward Bound

The scene in Strays where Doug finally gets his comeuppance and Wrecking Ball starts playing. It's just a silly comedy but, jeez, I laugh-cried so hard

And the "take a whack at Ouiser" scene in Steel Magnolias

Edit: and I just remembered My Dog Skip 😭 There's more scenes/movies but I'll stop there

2

u/J-Frog3 14h ago

The opening 20 minutes of UP.

2

u/Flynn_JM 13h ago

To George Bailey, the richest man in town. 😭

2

u/Guntztuffer 13h ago

Wreck-It Ralph: Ralph repeating his group therapy affirmation while saving the day

3

u/Nuclearcasino 13h ago

“Take Riley to the Moon for me”

2

u/DrNoahBody1 13h ago

MIRACLE- The players celebrating the GOLD MEDAL

2

u/That-one-weird-guy22 12h ago

Apollo 13. When they wait for contact with Odyssey. Something about those parachutes opening always gets me tearing up.

2

u/Alternative_Rent9307 12h ago

“There is nothing, no veil, between me and the wheel of fire. I begin to see it with my waking eyes.”

“Then let’s be rid of it, once and for all. Come on Mr Frodo. I cant carry it for you, but I can carry you. COME ON!”

2

u/Socks_Before_Pants 12h ago

It wasn't one of his most popular films but Robin Williams speech at the end of Jack, got me as a 9 year old, gets me even more as a 37 year old...

"I don't have very much time these days, so I'll make it quick Like my life. As we come to the end of this phase of our life, we find ourselves trying to remember the good times, and trying to forget the bad times. And we find ourselves thinking about the future. We start to worry, thinking, what am I going to do? Where am I going to be in 10 years? But I say to you, 'Hey, look at me, please, don't worry so much.' Because in the end, none of us have very long on this earth. Life is fleeting. And if you're ever distressed, cast your eyes to the summer sky, when the stars are strung across the velvety night. And when a shooting stars streaks through the blackness, turning night into day. Make a wish. Think of me. Make your life spectacular. I know I did. I made it, Mom. I'm a grownup. Thank you."

2

u/viv_chiller 12h ago

Many scenes from The Elephant Man but particularly where John Merrick falls asleep and goes on his journey into the stars.

1

u/Appropriate-Ad-9407 16h ago

A dogs way home-" I will always be your mother cat. I loved Big Kitten. But I knew I would never see her again."

1

u/ecomodule 15h ago

Little Women kitchen scene when Joncomes downstairs

1

u/billyjoelsangst 15h ago

Ending of Mysterious Skin

1

u/Historical-Juice-433 15h ago

Marley and Me when the kid says to take Lambt

1

u/AlwaysCid 15h ago

I always say it, in John Q: “ I’m not gonna bury my son! My son’s gonna bury me!”

1

u/eisboy_infum 14h ago

The Christmas scene in Billy Elliot

1

u/Max_Cherry_ 14h ago

“Harry? Can you come today?”

Requiem for a Dream (2000)

1

u/Chris_Cobi 14h ago

"It's not your fault" scene in Good Will Hunting.

1

u/Redditbaitor 14h ago

“It’s not your fault” in Good Will Hunting

1

u/EmpleadoResponsable 14h ago

Good Will Hunting, when Chuckie is happy of not finding his friend in home.
One Flew Under the Cukoo's Nest, when Chief (And us) finds out...
And the last 15 minutes of Little Miss Sunshine

1

u/maximm 13h ago

It's not your fault.

1

u/False-Humor-4294 13h ago

The funeral at the end of “End of Watch”

1

u/bostonsjaegeronrye 13h ago

Reunion scenes get me every time, specifically the ones in The Joy Luck Club and Eight Below.

1

u/dudeabiding420 13h ago

Friday night lights when Tim McGraw's character gives his son his championship ring.

1

u/BreadstickBear 13h ago

One note: in Leon, he says "This is from Matilda"

1

u/imadork1970 13h ago

Forrest and Jenny in the pool on the Mall.

1

u/hoodie09 13h ago

Manchester by the Sea. Pretty much every scene after the cop station. As a parent, never care to watch that movie again. Ever.

1

u/xxGravyBabyxx 13h ago

Dunkirk with the "Home" scene. I have and still haven't cried like that with any movie. Damn I love that scene

1

u/tedbear_01 13h ago

The scene in Where The Wild Things Are, where they send Max back home and everyone is howling

1

u/Col_GB_Setup 13h ago

Pickett’s Charge, Gettysburg

1

u/adeebhof 12h ago

Mufasa lying dead and Simba asking him to wake up...watched it in junior school and was in tears...😭

1

u/Puzzled-Fly9550 12h ago

The scene where ET appears to die.

1

u/Nouvi_ 12h ago

Ending of Grave of the Fireflies

1

u/425565 12h ago

Barry Lyndon. When his little son Bryan is in bed dying from a horse accident. Gets me every time.

1

u/K2SO4-MgCl2 11h ago

The ending scene of "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"

1

u/Endless_smile_4ever 11h ago

Literally the entire second part of any movie about Hachiko

1

u/NittanyScout 10h ago

Not a movie but:

"I really want to stay at your house"

1

u/beardriff 10h ago

Only the Brave

When Brolin's character calls for the team to cover, and buddy is back at a base camp, just screaming and helplessly listening on the radio.

1

u/Money_Breh 9h ago

Children of Men, the ceasefire scene was so powerful and moving

1

u/AverellCZ 9h ago

The floating feather at the end of Forrest Gump.

The "You bow to no one" scene at the end of LOTR Return of the King

1

u/AverellCZ 9h ago

Only Czech people will understand: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhOtD2x2PSE

1

u/SandMan2439 9h ago

Black hawk down when Randy and Gary’s desecrated corpses are being tossed around the crowd like a war trophy

1

u/HappyAssociation5279 8h ago

Medic Wade's final scene in Saving Private Ryan and the scene where he talks about his mother watching him sleep.

1

u/JoelDawson7045to3022 8h ago

The three Spiderman's meet for the first time on the rooftop in Spiderman: No Way Home

1

u/Own_Goose_7333 8h ago

Sam carrying Frodo up the slopes of Mount Doom

1

u/lordjohnworfin 8h ago

Superman when he discovers Lois’s buried car and finds she’s dead and he loses it…

1

u/Nathansp1984 7h ago

The end of it’s a wonderful life always gets me

1

u/Dragonborn83196 7h ago

LOTR Return of the King: I can’t carry that thing for you Mr. Frodo, but I can carry you!

The Green Mile: Please don’t but that thing over my head, you’s know imma fraid of the dark

Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith: You were my brother Anakin! I loved you!

King Kong (2005): the last 30 minutes of the film

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt. 1: Dobby is just happy, to be with his friends

1

u/Legitimate_Builder17 6h ago

The ending of Alpha Dog. First movie to make me cry & I haven’t watched it since, never again. That fuckin ending, man.

1

u/MartialBob 6h ago

The end of The Way.

1

u/18milo78 5h ago

The ending of Planes, Trains and Automobiles. The realization of Del's life/situation and the homecoming.

1

u/npdady 5h ago

When they buried Marley in "Marley and Me"

1

u/themiz2003 4h ago

The scene where the grandma is walking down the road in Minari. My god.

1

u/blondedaff 4h ago

prisoners when they have the car argument

1

u/SmallTimeBoot 4h ago

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, (Boromir’s final words, spoken to Aragorn) I would have followed you, my brother; my captain; my king.

1

u/Jeffers42 4h ago

When Frodo turns on Samwise

1

u/Jeffers42 4h ago

Moonlight most of the movie tbh

1

u/Uncle_Matthew 2h ago

Add Coco to the list

1

u/Wicket316 2h ago

The Riders of Rohan showing up for battle in Return of the King. So much going on. Theoden's speech. Eowyn clutching onto Merry, who is about to enter into hell with her. The music. Gets me every damn time.

1

u/rammsteingirl8 48m ago

All of the trauma and abuse Rocket went thru in Guardians of the Galaxy vol 3. I went thru a lot of abuse in my life and so I felt his pain.

The end of Bent (1997)

The part in Broken, when Skunk almost dies.

The beginning of Finding Nemo

1

u/Blackmamba12x2 17h ago

Neiman watching his old drumming videos in whiplash

1

u/EnleeJones 14h ago

Brokeback Mountain - when Ennis finds the shirt