Movies that make you cry (or sob or blubber uncontrollably)

Desson Thomson has a wonderful piece in this Sunday's Washington Post about movies that make us cry, and a list of some examples sent in by readers. The usual suspects are there, from "Dumbo" to "Field of Dreams," but some surprises, including Adam Sandler's "Click" ("Never thought I would cry at an Adam Sandler movie -- I usually don't even admit to even going to one."), "Star Trek: The Search for Spock," and "Terminator 2: Judgment Day." I admit to tearing up at the end of that one, too. Some of the other movies that have made me cry: Waterloo Bridge, A Little Princess, Steel Magnolias, the one Thomson refers to as "that Michael Keaton movie" (My Life) and yes, An Affair to Remember.

Be sure to listen to Thomson's graceful audio commentary on his own list, with such classic choices as "Old Yeller" and "Terms of Endearment." I enjoyed the quotes from experts, especially Professor Mary Beth Oliver of Penn State, who said that these movies

cause us to contemplate what it is about human life that's important and meaningful. . . . Those thoughts are associated with a mixture of emotions that can be joyful but also nostalgic and wistful, tender and poignant. Tears aren't just tears of sadness, they're tears of searching for the meaning of our fleeting existence.

Just reading those words made me a little damp-eyed. Sorry, I just need a minute here.

Ansen's list (8000 and counting)

Newsweek critic David Ansen began compiling his list of every movie he saw when he was 12. It is now 146 handwritten pages with almost 8000 movies. The essay is a little list-y but fun to read, a sort of time-lapse photography of the last five decades.

Best Satans on film from EW

Nice going, Dalton Ross! If you are going to put together a list, it's always best to back it up with clips. Best Satans on film: Dalton's (Pacino-free!) list

20 best big-screen comic book heroes - Times Online

Another list.

I don't take these things too seriously. But the fangirl in me has to squawk a bit. Tim Burton's Batman has to be number one. It is way ahead of "Batman Begins," which has the same problem as the first "Fantastic Four" and "The Hulk" -- too much time on origins and not enough interest in the bad guys (plus "The Hulk's" CGI made him look almost weightless and let's face it, the Hulk is about Bulk). Yes to "Blade" and "Hellboy" and the Christopher Reeve "Superman" but there are some awful movies on this list, movies hugely disappointed by failing to do justice to the comic book characters like "The Punisher," "Daredevil," and "Ghost Rider."

More lists from EW

Always fun to read and debate, or just to take a look at the video clips.

The best dance moves on video. Props for some great categories here, like "best awkward solo" (odds are that Napoleon Dynamite takes that one, though always a pleasure to see Dr. McDreamy do that anteater dance), and best dance-off (I love that they included "Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo," my all-time favorite sequel title), separate categories for Michael and Janet Jackson, and a best "shock the audience" award.

And then there's Best Movie Endings. Also some great choices, though, interestingly, they include my personal choice for best movie ending, "Godfather 2," but describe a different ending. The ending I love is the flashback to the Godfather's surprise birthday dinner, when everything that will happen over the two movies begins -- Connie's introduction to Carlo, Michael's enlistment in the Army. They focus on the last shot of Michael in the movie's present day. They do the same thing with "A League of Their Own," omitting the flash-forward, which always makes me cry. I love EW's mix of canon films, undisputed classics like "The Third Man" and "Gone With the Wind" and guilty pop pleasures like "Valley Girl."

List vs. list vs. list

The AFI has come out with an updated list of the best American movies of all time. The best thing about their list is the list of what they left out.

Tim Gordon of FilmGordon writes that while he is a fan of the films on the list, it leaves off too many outstanding films featuring black performers and made by black film-makers. He suggests:

The Defiant Ones
A Raisin in the Sun
Nothing But A Man
In the Heat of the Night
Sounder
Lady Sings the Blues
Claudine
The Color Purple
Glory
Malcolm X
Boyz 'N the Hood
What's Love Got To Do With It
The Hurricane
Ray
Ali

And the Alliance of Women Film Journalists has announced its own top 100 list with emphasis on females in front of and behind the camera.

I'm in favor of everyone seeing all of the movies on all of these lists. And I am delighted that my friend Tim and my Film Institute colleague Jennifer Merin are there to remind us of films every bit as worthy as the more conventional and traditional choices made by AFI.

AFI list (2007 edition)

1. Citizen Kane, 1941.

2. The Godfather, 1972.

3. Casablanca, 1942.

4. Raging Bull, 1980.

5. Singin' in the Rain, 1952.

6. Gone With the Wind, 1939.

7. Lawrence of Arabia, 1962.

8. Schindler's List, 1993.

9. Vertigo, 1958.

10. The Wizard of Oz, 1939.

11. City Lights, 1931.

12. The Searchers, 1956.

13. Star Wars, 1977.

14. Psycho, 1960.

15. 2001: A Space Odyssey, 1968.

16. Sunset Blvd., 1950.

17. The Graduate, 1967.

18. The General, 1927.

19. On the Waterfront, 1954.

20. It's a Wonderful Life, 1946.

21. Chinatown, 1974.

22. Some Like It Hot, 1959.

23. The Grapes of Wrath, 1940.

24. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, 1982.

25. To Kill a Mockingbird, 1962.

26. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, 1939.

27. High Noon, 1952.

28. All About Eve, 1950.

29. Double Indemnity, 1944.

30. Apocalypse Now, 1979.

31. The Maltese Falcon, 1941.

32. The Godfather Part II, 1974.

33. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, 1975.

34. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, 1937.

35. Annie Hall, 1977.

36. The Bridge on the River Kwai, 1957.

37. The Best Years of Our Lives, 1946.

38. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, 1948.

39. Dr. Strangelove, 1964.

40. The Sound of Music, 1965.

41. King Kong, 1933.

42. Bonnie and Clyde, 1967.

43. Midnight Cowboy, 1969.

44. The Philadelphia Story, 1940.

45. Shane, 1953.

46. It Happened One Night, 1934.

47. A Streetcar Named Desire, 1951.

48. Rear Window, 1954.

49. Intolerance, 1916.

50. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, 2001.

51. West Side Story, 1961.

52. Taxi Driver, 1976.

53. The Deer Hunter, 1978.

54. M-A-S-H, 1970.

55. North by Northwest, 1959.

56. Jaws, 1975.

57. Rocky, 1976.

58. The Gold Rush, 1925.

59. Nashville, 1975.

60. Duck Soup, 1933.

61. Sullivan's Travels, 1941.

62. American Graffiti, 1973.

63. Cabaret, 1972.

64. Network, 1976.

65. The African Queen, 1951.

66. Raiders of the Lost Ark, 1981.

67. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, 1966.

68. Unforgiven, 1992.

69. Tootsie, 1982.

70. A Clockwork Orange, 1971.

71. Saving Private Ryan, 1998.

72. The Shawshank Redemption, 1994.

73. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, 1969.

74. The Silence of the Lambs, 1991.

75. In the Heat of the Night, 1967.

76. Forrest Gump, 1994.

77. All the President's Men, 1976.

78. Modern Times, 1936.

79. The Wild Bunch, 1969.

80. The Apartment, 1960.

81. Spartacus, 1960.

82. Sunrise, 1927.

83. Titanic, 1997.

84. Easy Rider, 1969.

85. A Night at the Opera, 1935.

86. Platoon, 1986.

87. 12 Angry Men, 1957.

88. Bringing Up Baby, 1938.

89. The Sixth Sense, 1999.

90. Swing Time, 1936.

91. Sophie's Choice, 1982.

92. Goodfellas, 1990.

93. The French Connection, 1971.

94. Pulp Fiction, 1994.

95. The Last Picture Show, 1971.

96. Do the Right Thing, 1989.

97. Blade Runner, 1982.

98. Yankee Doodle Dandy, 1942.

99. Toy Story, 1995.

100. Ben-Hur, 1959.

Long shots (literally)

Thanks to my DH for showing me another great list, this one from Daily Film Dose, of the greatest long tracking shots in the history of film, with clips.

AOL Music's 77 Most Unforgettable Movie Songs

Another indefensible but irresistable list, this one from AOL, The 77 Most Unforgettable Movie Songs. What makes this list fun is that it includes the movie clips, everything from "Top Gun" ("Take My Breath Away") to "Napoleon Dynamite" (Jamiroquai) to "Beverly Hills Cop" (Alex F). Of course many of the choices are quibble-worthy, but unlike EW, I think #1 is an excellent choice. And the sidebar lists (best Bond themes, movie musical groups we wish were real) are a treat.

The Best Rock and Roll Movies

When the two most explosive cultural forces of the 20th century -- movies and rock and roll music -- the result has often been disappointing, the worst of both worlds rather than the whole exceeding the sum of the parts. But AFI's Murray Horwitz and radio listeners have come up with this list of the best rock and roll movies for
NPR, all well worth watching and hearing.

Most inspirational Movie Quotes 2006

Thanks to Reel Fanatic for directing me to Reel Life Wisdom's list of the most inspirational movie quotes of last year.

I can't say I agree with all of them -- that fortune cookie aphorism from "Rocky Balboa?" You've got to be kidding me. And the "Man of the Year" line was old here in Washington back when Chester A. Arthur was President. But I, too, liked these, and I am always happy to see the screenwriters recognized, especially Mark Twain(!):

1) "Every show's your last show. That's my philosophy."
A Prairie Home Companion - Screenwriter: Garrison Keillor

2) "The further you run from your sins; the more exhausted you are
when they catch up to you."
Inside Man - Screenwriter: Rusell Gewirtz

3) "You got a dream, you got to protect it. People can't do something
themselves, they want to tell you that you can't do it. You want
something? Go get it."
The Pursuit of Happyness - Screenwriter: Steve Conrad

4) "He gets down to the end of his life and he looks back and decides
that all those years he suffered, those were the best years of his life
because they made him who he was. All those years he was happy,
you know, total waste. He didn't learn a thing."
Little Miss Sunshine - Screenwriter: Michael Arndt

8) "What gets us into trouble is not what we don't know. It's what we do know
for sure that just ain't so."
An Inconvenient Truth - Screenwriter: Al Gore (quoting Mark Twain)


For me, the best movie quotes from 2006 would include just about everything Dustin Hoffman said in "Stranger than Fiction," like this:

Dr. Jules Hilbert: The thing to determine conclusively is whether you are in a comedy or a tragedy. Have you met anyone who simply might loathe the very core of you?
Harold Crick: I'm an IRS agent. Everyone hates me.
Dr. Jules Hilbert: Well, that sounds like a comedy!

Dr. Jules Hilbert: Hell Harold, you could just eat nothing but pancakes if you wanted.
Harold Crick: What is wrong with you? Hey, I don't want to eat nothing but pancakes, I want to live! I mean, who in their right mind in a choice between pancakes and living chooses pancakes?
Dr. Jules Hilbert: Harold, if you pause to think, you'd realize that that answer is inextricably contingent upon the type of life being led... and, of course, the quality of the pancakes.

List of lists and critiquing the critics

Greencine puts it all together for you with a list of lists from a wide variety of critics.

But the guilty pleasure of the month has to be from Eric Childress with his list of the most reprehensible movie critic "quote whores," those folks who will give the studios a "Magnificent!" "Oscar-worthy" "Fun for the whole family!" "A must-see!" for their most mind-meltingly atrocious catastrophes.

I was especially gratified to see Janet Stokes and the all-but-imaginary "Film Advisory Board" listed. Her utterly indefensible and misleading raves include:

Doogal - Laugh-out-loud funny! An adventure that both kids and adults will love!
Eragon - Magnificent. A magical adventure for the family.

The Pink Panther - Sheer enjoyment for all the family.
Deck the Halls - A family comedy that’s a true holiday treasure.

As he notes, the last two are truly reprehensible as the movies include raunchy humor that is completely inappropriate for children.

Thanks to Eric Childress for his tireless research in the name of integrity.

Dumbest/Worst Movie Moments

To quote Mrs. Miniver, lists are "indefensible but irresistible." And the most satisfying are worsts, not bests.

Keith Demko of the always-enjoyable Reel Fanatic blog has posted his worst movies of 2006 list, and his always-reliable commentors have added their thoughts.

This list of Dumbest Movie Moments prompted a great outpouring of pain from Washington Post readers eager to share their miserable moments. Here was my addition:

Unquestionably -- the end of "Sphere." The greatest gap between talent/achievement of the actors/writer/director and result in the history of movies.

Other bonehead endings: "The Forgotten," "Gothika," "Flightplan," "Desperate Measures." THE VERY DUMBEST EVER.

Radio listeners who hear my reviews will be familiar with the "Nell Minow Gothika Rule" that I invoke for movies with unforgiveably idiotic endings. I will give away the ending for anyone who sends me an email. "Desperate Measures" and "Sphere" were before my time, but the others gave me great pleasure only in saving my listeners from having to suffer through them as I did.