December 12, 2012 – Joni Mitchell once sang that “laughing and crying is the same release.” That’s probably why I enjoy a good tear jerker as much as a knee-slapping comedy.
Here are my picks for five of the saddest movie scenes ever.
5. Steel Magnolias (1989) – This story of southern women who meet in the local beauty shop for a good gossip has its share of laughs and tears. The heaviest tear-inducing drama occurs in the cemetery, after M’Lynn (Sally Field) buries her daughter Shelby (Julia Roberts). Field’s character breaks down and goes off on a rampage about the incredibly painful loss, bringing buckets of tears to my eyes. Thankfully, a surprising bit of comedy at the end of the scene had me laughing again.
4. Brian’s Song (1970) – The made for TV movie about real life pro footballers Brian Piccalo (James Caan) and Gale Sayers (Billy Dee Williams) is a must see for all tear jerker fans. The scene in the locker room where Williams’ addresses his fellow teammates about Piccolo’s cancer has him breaking down, and I soon follow. At the end of the movie, his speech after accepting the George S. Halas Award for Courage in Piccalo’s honor had me reaching for the tissues again.
3. Field of Dreams (1989) – The best of the three Kevin Costner’s baseball movies gets me choked up every time. The famous ending finds Ray (Costner) making peace with his long-dead father and uttering the words, “Hey, Dad? Wanna have a catch?” Just try not to cry at that one. It’s impossible. Even men admit to shedding a tear during this emotional scene.
2. Terms of Endearment (1983) – A dying mother saying farewell to her young sons – it doesn’t get any sadder than that. When Debra Winger’s plays this out in the movie, it is so incredibly gut wrenching. Adding to the drama are the acting skills of Huckleberry Fox, who plays her youngest son. How anyone can keep from bawling their eyes out when they see his little face covered in tears is beyond me.
1. Imitation of Life (1959) – The story of two single mothers (one black and one white played by Juanita Moore and Lana Turner) raising their daughters (one white, and the other appears white and pretends that she is played by Sandra Dee and Susan Kohner) is drama at its finest. Not only is the story politically poignant and ahead of its time considering it was based on a novel from the 1920s, but it has several emotional scenes that nearly kill me every time I watch. Two of the more serious crying scenes occur when the teenaged daughter leaves home after she shuns her mother and the family’s black roots, and gets a job in the entertainment industry as a white chorus girl. Realizing she is sick her mother tracks her down and asks that she be allowed to hold her just “once more…like you were still my baby”. Later, at her funeral the daughter returns wracked by guilt and sobs uncontrollably at her mother’s casket. This is hard core crying with actual shoulder action involved!
On Friday, we’ll take a look at the happier side of this list — my selection for the five most hilarious scenes in movies.
janemcmaster 
I remember being on a flight from London all by myself and they were showing Steel Magnolias. I was bawling my eyes out and I remember the airline assistant coming by and offering snacks at the saddest moment of the movie. I blubbered and said “no thanks”. I also remember you always watching that “Imitation of Life” movie at home, every time you could find it. It is a very sad movie.
Just watched Imitation of Life a few weeks ago with Mom. She thought I was insane … it just doesn’t get to her like it does to me. For her, it’s The Miracle Worker.
Sad movies make you think and provide a great release for tension. They also end and life moves on. Great reminder because if you’re like me, the storyline often stays with me for a while.
Funny, it stays with me, too. It’s supposed to be entertaining, but often these stories really hit home.
Saw “Imitation of LIfe” in the movie theater when I was nine years old. I was there alone ( you could do that in 1959). I could not stop crying. It was my first exposure and awareness to racism. I can cry right now thinking about “Mama, Mama, can you hear me Mama?”
I know…it is the movie I cry over most. And I get sucked into it each time I see that it’s on.
There is another crying just like Lora Meredith due to the death of Annie Johnson: Billy Copeland. Copeland was crying because Tyler Johnson died very unexpectedly and Johnson did kick the habit of drug addiction.
There is another one like Lora Meredith: Mandy Hyda. Hyda was crying after the hero saved her life and her son and he was shot dead. The hero was Gary Michael Joy, a man of British and Swedish origin, and he has no immediate family known to exist as of 2014.
V.E.G., you are stretching my movie knowledge to its limits. I’m not sure who Billy Copeland and Mandy Hyda are. I googled them, and still came up blank. I think you’re a truer movie fan than me…
Thank you!