Tear-Jerkers for the Weekend

Yes, I cry. I cry at movies, the occasional church meeting, and even at TV. Just yesterday, I cried at the season 3 finale of Lost, when one of my favorite characters accepted his fate of dying so his friends could be rescued (thus being prompted to write this entry).

Now, when I say "cry," I don't sob. I rarely sob. I can't remember when I last sobbed at such an occasion (though my wife would mistakenly argue it was during "Blades of Glory"). When I "cry," usually my eyes get a little wet- sometimes, I get as far as the "tears running down face" level. But I don't so, I don't whimper, and I don't ball.

Do I get embarrased? Not really. Well, there are moments that I chuckle sheepishly at, like sobbing when Noah, the black guy on Young Riders, got killed in the series finale. But overall, I'm not ashamed to admit that I cry. In fact, I'll go a step further. I'll tell you about movies that make me cry. I'll even provide the clips of five sure-fire ways to get me all vaklempt.

5. Gettysburg- There are several parts of the movie that moisten my eyes, but this one, the final charge at the Battle of Little Round Top, is my absolute favorite:





4. Glory- Again, several scenes which are well worth crying over, but this one really ges me every time I watch it:





3. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe- This scene is so well done, particularly the music. I am convinced that the music, in large part, accounts for my emotions getting all roused up (especially at 3:40 in the clip):





2. Field of Dreams- Partly because I love baseball, but mostly because I love my parents, this scene gets me the closest to sobbing on a regular basis. I love this movie, and I love crying at this part. That may sound weird, but whatever. This is my favorite part of one of my favorite movies:





1. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King- I left this one for the top spot, because it comes from my favorite movie of all time. Funny story about this movie- when I first saw it, I only cried at one part. Doesn't sound strange, you say? Well, considering my family and considering I had cried often at the first two parts, I felt odd that nothing else in the movie made me cry: not Sam carrying Frodo up the mountain, not Theoden's death, not even everyone bowing to the Hobbits. Just this one part. And since then, having seen the movies many times over, this is still the singular scene that never fails to bring tears to my eye. It did, a little, even as I watched it in preview for this entry:





So there you have it. If you want to see me cry, now you know 5 guaranteed ways to accomplish that objective. If nothing else, you got to enjoy 5 wonderful pieces of cinema.