200 Greatest Tear Jerkers, Saddest Films

Saddest film I have ever seen, and that's saying a lot. Winner of my Saddest Tearjerker Film.

A soul chilling look at life and love, this film is devestating, extreemly moving and ultimately a soul crushing tragedy.

One of the saddest, moving, masterpiece films I have ever seen. Once watched it will be locked in your memory forever holding the key, awaiting your return. Winner of my Top foreign language film.

The favorite film of my youth. Titanic broke my heart and keeps a piece still. 11 Academy Awards, Highest Grossing film ever. 'My Heart Will Go On' haunting soundtrack. Winner of my Greatest Disaster Films. Winner of mr Greatest Epics. Winner of my Best Film from the 1990's. Winner of my Greatest Romantic Period Film.

One of the saddest moments in Disney movie history is when Bambi's mother dies. Not only that but the nameless responsible hunter was voted one of the greatest villians of all time, by the AFI. Truly a Disney Classic.

Spielberg's ultimate masterpiece, A profoundly shocking, disturbing film, like the nightmare that was the Holocaust.

La Strada, which is the Italian word for The Road. Fedrico Fellini's best film. La Strada won the Academy Award for Best foreign film, even though it is far better than most English films. I shall never forget Masina's face, the most remarkable of faces, she performs a moving protryal, and Quinn is egqually unforgettable both actors make the film crackle with their chemistry. La Stada is one of the most beautiful films and one of the most tragic films ever.

Best Film of 2005. Possibly the greatest love story ever told. One of the few truly heart-braking films I have ever seen.

Not only Meryl Streep's greatest role, but quite possibly the greatest female lead role ever performed. An absolutely devastating film.

Breif Encounter is a beautiful film. One of the great love stories of the everyday which as the title suggest can happen in a brief moment and last a lifetime. This film involves one of the most heart-brakingly sad and yet stringly up-lifting endings ever. A classic in every sense.

One of the best films of all time. Christmas classic, Philosophical genius, each person's life touches many others. With the complex, engrossing, Everyman performance by Stewart as George Bailey. Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings. Winner of my Top Family Film. Winner of my Most Inspirational Film. Winner of my Best Christmas Movies.

Generally considered to be one of the great Musicals made by Hollywood. Romeo and Juliet in 1950s New York, the best redition of an updated Shakespeare I have ever seen. The tale of Romeo and Juliet's undying love. With great songs like 'Somewhere' and 'America' and 'Tonight'. A Best Picture Classic.

Best film of 2004, a masterpiece.

"Oh, Jerry, don't let's ask for the moon. We have the stars.". Great Classic The strenght of the film lies both in the great love story and in the troubled childhood relationship with her mother and similar child.

Winner of my Top Chick Flicks.

Crushingly powerful film. Acted to perfection by cast.

The greatest hero ever Atticus Finch in the greatest courtroom drama ever. Lives up to Harper Lee's novel, which I was inspired to read after watching the film. We all need a lesson in compassion and the evils of prejudice from time to time, and it is here to give it. Robert Duvall is really scary as recluse Boo Radley. Winner of my Classic Courtroom Films.

One of my new all-time favourite films. Has one of the best, most romantic tearful, endings ever. The best of the phenomeon that was Charlie Chaplin.

The best performance of James Dean's short legendary carrer. Rebel is by far the best 1950's film dealing with teenage rebellion. It seemed to define a generation of 1950s teenagers who felt lonely and isolated from their parents and sought solace with friends. It desperately wants to say something and doesn't know what it is. If anyone did know, it would lose its fascination. Winner of my Top Gay/Lesbian Themed Films.

East of Eden is the first film my favourite actor James Dean ever stared in. His performance this film is in many ways his best, his most soulful, most vulnerable and most complex, but not his most iconic, which would have to be Rebel Without A Cause. Riveting, moody and brooding Dean personifies the loveless, sad young man that yearns for the love of his cold father. Every time you want to pull away you are pulled back. Utimately the film deals with the struggle of good and evil and the psychology of childhood development, which shows that a boy needs to connect with his father in order to develop properly. Indeed this film offers the most moving protrayal of this kind of circumstances and results. One of the reasons why Dean was so brilliant was that he was play himself, his own relationship with his father. This film reached out and spoked to me in a way that few films can. Yet wether or not you personally connect with this film, the film it self is enough to move you and have an impact. A classic and a truly heart braking film.

My favorite film of all time, the Perfect Film. To me it represents everything a film should, i.e. the perfect film. The most quoted, and loved of films. A great love story, great action, mystery, suspence, sadness, comdey all in equal greatness. The greatest romantic drama of wartime sacrifice. The great Classic, with the classic song, "As Time Goes By" perfect cast, Bogart, Bergman, Rains, the Academy Award for Best Picture and more famous quotes than any other. "I think this is the begining of a beautiful friendship"and ".Here's looking at you, kid." and "Play it, Sam. Play 'As Time Goes By." and "Round up the usual suspects." and "We'll always have Paris." and "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine." Winner of my Best Film from the 1940's. Winner of my Top Romantic Films.

Although a classic and Audrey Hepburns definative role I feel that this film was lacking at times and pushing it at others. Some of the characters were flatly unrealistic, even Audrey's southern girl character just came off. And parts of the story dragged in it's own stupidity. Yet for all it's faults it is too moving and lovely not to be great. Most memorable song in a film, moonriver, and Audrey outside Tiffany's licking an ice-cream. With one of the greatest songs ever, the hauntingly beautiful 'Moon River'.

Spielberg's very personal, heartwarming masterpiece, could almost be classic Disney. With it's portrayal of the love between a young, boy and a lost alien. E.T. "E.T. phone home.", Classic.

"Love means never having to say you're sorry."

O Captain! My Captain! A film that can be uplifting, heart warming, moving and trgic but always unforgettable. "Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary."

Best Film of 2006 and one of the best films of the 2000's decade.

Baz Luhrman uniquely quirky and unconventional has revived and reinvented the muscial genre with his Moulin Rogue. Beautiful music and visually stunning. The songs "Diamonds are a girl's Best Friend" and more importantly "Come What May" make the film fantastically enjoyable. A great love story and an even great musical.

The defining film of the 2000's decade. One of the greatest dystopian sci fi films of all time. This film will echo through time as its significance becomes clearer. A film yearning with detail for the intelligent viewer. With birth rates falling in the world today a future without children is an ironic and fascinating prospect. A film that lures as a sci fi thriller and captures you as an almost unbearably bleak nightmare. The best cinematography of the year creates one of the clearest and darkest visions into the future ever put to film. Thought provoking and unforgettable, Children of Men will have your mind feasting with questions and wonders long after the credits. Loved this film so much it convinced me to read the book. No other film has captured the 2000 decade more than Children Of Men.

An Intellectual masterpiece. The story of a lifetime. Provokes deep thought on important issues. How will it end? Simply genius, In a better world everyone would watch and think about this film.

Shawshank Redemption is a Masterpiece. What struck me more than anything after watching the film, was how inspirational and philosophical it was, a modern Christian parable with true Christian principles, hope, salvation and redemption. In my belife the greatest films all acomplish the same thing, go transcend the escapism, the entertainment and the artificiality that most films are prone to and become a form of teaching, philosophy or guide to our everyday lives. The audience can take something with them out of the theatre into their personal lives and use it to battle the troubles and situations they faced. Shawshank Redemption is one such film. It's suberb acting, easy going 'let me tell you a story' mood and it's inspirational story cement it as a film without measure, as if taken from old Hollywood and mixed with modern events. One of the greatest films I have ever seen. "Get busy living or get busy dying that's goddamn right."

A Grand Portrait of the Soulful Little Sparrow. La Vie en Rose is a grand historical drama and one of the best biographical films I have ever seen. From the cradle to the grave, through the blissful 'rose coloured' highs to the sorrowful heart-wrenching lows, of a great singer, artist and woman, Marion Cotillard gives us Edith Piaf a life and love, a passionate, wild drama for the ages. Marion Cotillard gives a performance of a lifetime, one that I would count amongst the best of the decade, her triumph at the Oscars I am almost certain of. Best Actress of 2007 is Marion Cotillard. Her lipsinking of Edith Piaf's edyfing songs is perfect, such songs as the beautiful title song, La Vie en Rose (Life in Pink) a song about seeing life through rose coloured glasses, but the most soulful of all her songs, said to be her signature song Non, je ne regrette rien (No Regets) which the film ends with sums up everything about her life that words can say. An extreemly powerful moving experience not to be missed.

A return to classic cinema. I loved this film.

One of my most loved books as a child is faithfully adapted into a heart-braking family, fantasy that simply soars. Reading this book years ago as a child, I was moved to tears and it became one of my most cherished literary experiences. As such I had very low expectations for an adaptation that would be true to the book and would evoke the same emotions. Having seen it I was overjoyed and cried almost as much when I read the book all those years ago. Capturing the same fantasy and youthful imagination of the book without going overboard and whlist never losing touch with reality. As in the book the gap between the real world and the fantasy world of Terabithia are only a rope swing away. "Keep your eyes closed but your imagination wide open" Leslie says. However it is not the fantasy that makes this film and book great, it is the devestating tragedy that triumphs. A beautiful story of friendship and imagination but at it's heart a crushing story but life and loss mingled with hope. Bridge To Terrabithia is a family film, a fantasy an adventure but most of all a soaring tear jerker.

My Favourite Film of 2007. Watching this film is akin to a spiritual experience. Changed my life.

Robert Altman is the master. The film is a masterpeice. Maggie Smith is perfect as always. Story, dialogue and chraracters give a whole new meaning to the Whodunit genre.

A Modern Disney Classic. Favorite Musical of all who see it. The highest grossing animated film ever! Based on Shakespeare's Hamlet, with unforgettable visuals, and tunes like 'Hakuna Matata' make this an all time Disney masterpeice.

The book was better, However Speilberg did a good job.

Arthur Chipping is certianly one of the greatest heros ever to grace the screen, played by Robert Donat in his Oscar winning perfromance. Goodbye Mr. Chips is an unsung classic, a golden tearjerker, a deeply affecting movie. One of my new favourities.

Great Spiritual Film.

Schindler's List, the ultimate holocast drama, was told from the viewpoint of Oscar Schindler the anti-hero no-jew who becomes their saviour, whereas The Pianist is told solely and intimately from the viewpoint of a Jewish pianist in the Warsaw ghetto. Adrien Brody is shateringly powerful in his meek silence, deserving of his Oscar. The Pianist is haunting, the scene in which the SS officer has him play the piano is one of the most powerful scenes I have ever seen. An essential film.

A Revelation.

Yet another Classic from Pixar studios. Perhaps not as sophisticated as WALL-E or Ratatouille, but alot more childern friendly. Up is both a fantastic adventure and a suprisingly moving story, one of the most moving of the Pixar classics.

The Lives Of Others is stunning! A film not to be missed, one of the best of 2006.

Dealing with racism and, in my opinion, the culture of fear in which we all live. A truly tragic, provocative and thought-provoking look at society. One of the best films of 2005.

A monumental hymn to human rights. Rarely is a movie so poignantly realeased within months of the hateful passing of proposition 8 in California banning equal marriage. We have come far but we still have a long way to go.

Gladiator is a spectacular Roman Epic but it has a serious flaw, namely the character of Maximus. The hero is a brutal murderer who kills innocent people. Joaquin Pheonix's performance is the highlight. One of the best films of 2000.

Gone With The Wind stands as the most enduring symbol of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Arguably the most loved film of all time and one of the greatest; Gone With The Wind is clearly one of filmdom's greatest cinematic achievements. Winner of ten Academy Awards including Best Picture, it broke the records and created one that would stand for many decades. It has sold more tickets than any other film in history and adjusting for inflation, the film is the highest grossing of all time. Scanning the South's tragic history during the Civil War and the Reconstruction period, told from the view of Scarlet O'Hara, Gone With The Wind is primarily a star-studded Civil War epic drama. However it is so much more than that, it is one of only two films that truly represent America, the other being The Godfather. Set during the time when the nation was forged it has become etched in the American cultural psyche. Gone With The Wind is about war, history, social class, politics, race, work, fashion, the land, language, religion, romance, relationships, death, gender roles, regional distinctions all seen through the lens of the American experience heightened by the "Immortal tale of the old South". Scarlet O'Hara, the indomitable, selfish, fiery Southern belle, played by Vivien Liegh in her greatest performance steals the show and creates a character that encapsulates a great leading lady performance. What makes her character as great as it is, is her twisted romance with Rhett Butler, Clarke Gable, culminating in the greatest line in movie history 'Frankly My Dear I don't give a damn'. It also includes other great lines such as "After all, tomorrow is another day!" and "As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again." Pure classic, pure great, pure cinema. Winner of my Best Film from the 1930's.

Australian Classic, by great director Peter Weir. Portraying a moumentus moment in Australian history, the tragic event of Gapllipoli and the change in feeling toward Britian. A must see imporant film. Winner of my Top Australian Films.

My first oversaes trip was to Rome, Italy and no other film could capture the feeling of Rome, or indeed travel in general than Roman Holiday. So much is this film loved by myself and my family that it has practically become part of our personal history. No matter how I may be feeling Roman Holiday always puts a smile on my face and makes me cry. The breakout Oscar winning performance of Audrey Hepburn, one of my all time favourite actresses and the ideal leading man role of Gregory Peck truly make the film what it is. My favourite scene, by far is the Mouth of Truth visit where Peck actually improvised an unscripted moment when he pretended to have his hand eaten off, always makes me laugh."I don't know how to say goodbye. I can't think of any words. Don't try."

Brilliantly acted and confronting

One of the better Boxing films I have seen. Russell Crowe's is impressive.

One of the most visually beautiful films I have ever seen. Colin Firth's subtle magnum opus, the greatest performance of his career, yes even better than his quintessential performance as Mr. Darcy in the BBC Pride and Prejudice. Tom Ford has brought his own unique fashion world perspective to this medium and the movie world is richer for it. But that's not to diminish the power of the storyline but Christopher Isherwood, 'one of the first and best novels of the modern gay liberation movement' Edmund White.

Crushing Classic, the Great Gritty drama of union corruption memorable, mainly, for Brando's best performance. The end scene on the docks is unforgettable. A must see Classic. Won Best Picture. "You don't understand! I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I could've been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am."

Completely encasing and entoxicating with it's beauty and simplicity. However the praise should go to Jane Austen

Greatest film of the 2000's decade. End to the best saga of the age. 11 Academy Awards, second highest grossing film worldwide. Winner of my Best of the Decade 2000- and Top Film of 2003. J.R. Tolkein's epic literary masterpeice is matched by Peter Jackson's epic film masterpeice.

"Wherever there's a fight so hungry people can eat, I'll be there."

Far From Heaven is a beautiful and fascinating story of Julian Morre as a 50s 'perfect world' suburban housewife watching her marriage fall apart and falling in love with her gardener. This film captures the mood and style of the 50's era, conservative, charming, niaive and deeply divided. A film that will remain a classic.

The best Hamlet adaptation after Laurence Olivier's edition.

"I see dead people" Scared the living hell out of me. Haley Joel Osment was perfect in his role, as was Bruce Willis. The twist at the end was the most surprising twist I could imagine. I also liked this film because of it's philosphical connotations with regards to life after death, etc... Winner of my Top Supernatural Films.

This movie is too depressing.

One of the best films from the 70's. The Existential dilema, what is my vocation in life, a film about the social divide in America, the lives of the middle Americans and the lives of the intellectuals. With and unbelieveably powerful portryal from Nicholson, this film becomes a great through it's characters and it's heartbraking intensity. Nicholson is one of the most unforgettable characters in American movies. For nothing else this film is worth seeing for the pleasure of watching Jack Nicholson unable to gat an order of toast.

A more Patrotic film you will not find. One of Capra's best ever. A gripping, exhilarating drama. Attacks the corrupt powerful political machine of Washington politics full on. The end secene is riveting, stirring and triumphant.

Winner of my Top Pixar film.

Amongst the greatest war films of all time. One of the best films of 2006. Going where no hollywood film as ever dared to go, war from the viewpoint of the enemy of the United States. Told with beautifully honesty it is suprisingly moving. Clint Eastwood has created a masterpeice of recent cinema.

The greatest animated film of this decade. A trip into the mind of the animation master Hayao. Spirited Away could be the last truly magical 'fairtayle' to grace the screen.

Unforgettable. Dealing with a high school shoot out, the film has uncommon insight in the lives and minds of the teenage killers. Brilliant. Winner of the Cannes Film Festival. The second installment in Gus Van Saint's Death series.

"I'm walking here! I'm walking here!"

From Pasternak's sweeping epic novel, set in the World War I and the Bolshevik Revolution It's strenght lies in it's portraal of the realities of life in Russia after the 1917 Communist Revolution. The most memorable thing of all is the romantic score.

My favorite modern Disney film. The first animated film to be nominated for Best Picture and Best Song "Be Our Guest" and "Belle." Howver the theme song ' Beauty and the Beast' performed by Angela Lansbury remains one of the best and favourite songs in cinema. Winner of my Greatest Disney Film.

The Disney Triumphant masterpiece. Each of the eight segments are genius giving new life to the classical greats. The Sorceror's Apprentice with micky, The Nutcracker, Waltz of the flowers and so much more.

Cool, Intricate myster, revival of film noir. Roman Polanski's best film. Played brilliantly by private detective Nicholson. The unforgettable scene of sister/daughter the unbelieveable twists and turns and the memorable last line: "Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown."

"Somewhere over the rainbow, Way up high, There's a land that I heard of, Once in a lullaby, Somewhere over the rainbow, Skies are blue, And the dreams that you dare to dream, Really do come true." Simply the stuff that dreams are made of. The ageless, timeless words of the dreams of the young and the old, a dream that everyone is familiar with and surely has dreamt of once in their lifetime. The Wizard of Oz is a very much like a dream that really does come true. The ultimate family, fairytale and fantasy film that is universally loved and cherished. The journey down the Yellow Brick Road in search of the Wizard of Oz that tapped into the deep dreams and imagination of generations from the 1930s to today. A journey that made Judy Garland a star, along with the great characters of Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion. A journey through the magical Technicolor Land of Oz, that made Hollywood the dream factory that it is famous for. A journey that reminds us that there is "There's no place like home," entered upon the world's cultural consciousness. Perennially ranked among the top ten best movies of all-time in various critics' and popular polls, and has provided as many indelible quotes such as: "Toto, I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore," "There's no place like home" and "I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too!" Yet more than anything in the film it's signature song "Somewhere over the rainbow," sung soulfully by the young Judy Garland and voted the greatest movie song of all time by the AFI, is what makes the Wizard of Oz one of the greatest films of all time. Winner of my Greatest Song Films.

A simple, kind man changes history. With flashbacks through some of the highlights of modern American history. It is such a fascinating story as he becomes central to the major events of the late 20th century. I thought it was very clever how, through the use of seamless digital visual imagery, Forrest appears to interact in scenes with famous historical people. "Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get."

From John Le Carrie's novel, begins with grief and proceeds with sadness toward horror. It is confronting and horrific, cynical about politics and the power of pharmaceutical companies. This is one of the year's best films.

Inception blew my mind! One of the best films of this century. Tad convoluted but uniquely original cinema.

Great musical with my favourite song 'White Christmas' performed by Bing Crosby.

Slumdog Millionaire is a triumph. A perfect blend of Bollywood and Hollywood creating a spellbinding journey through the slums of Mumbai to the 'hotseat' on India's Who wants to be a Millionaire? An improbable story of fate seduces the audience with its surrounding harsh realism of India, so really it seems like your watching a fascinating documentary. Slumdog Millionaire offers an thought inspiring message: that in the midths of India's economic boom, modernisation and insatiable quest for wealth dominated by the dream of leaving poverty and becoming a millionaire, the truly wealthy one is the one who finds true love and is loved in return. A Fantastic film, see it today.

Moving french film of life in the face of impending death.

There few films as powerful as City of God. There are films that perfectly capture the atmosphere or vibe of a place; there are films that give a warning of the world to come. Fernado Meirelles' City of God does both and more. Set in the slums of Rio the entire film feels so sharply real you are watching them happen in front of your eyes. All the actors were real kids from the slum, who had never acted before and the sets, time periods 1960's, 70's, 80's all create a well detailed picture. The violence, poverty and moral ambiguity all rush past like a blaze. Filmed with quick cuts, hand held cameras and suprisingly original film style that gives nod to Quentein Tarentino. The endless cycle of violence between gangs, police and everyone else caught in the middle send a chilling message. A scene in which a little boy is shot in the leg shocked me to the extent that I don't think I will ever forget it. This is a horror movie of the first order that will remain in your mind.

Deeply disturbing, depressing and yet full of beauty and redemption.

Judy Garland singing Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, one of the most touchingly beautiful film scenes ever. ESTHER SMITH (Judy Garland): "I can't believe it. Right here where we live - right here in St. Louis."

A beautiful film, Abbie Cornish is remarkable.

Best film of 2008 and one of the best films of the decade. WALL-E is unbelievable. A near perfect film. I am in awe.

Advance screening of 'Blue Valentine' verdict: one of the most frighteningly realistic, raw and sadly beautiful romance/drama films I have ever seen. Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams give career best performances and both justly deserve Oscar nominations.

We continue to live in the Pixar golden age, two thumbs way up for Toy Story 3.

A simply incredible film. Elizabeth Taylor gives the performance of her life an one of the greatest dramatic performances ever comitted to celluloid. A classic drama.

Underated and misunderstood, only time will reveal what A.I. really is, a masterpeice.

I loved "I am Love", this sweeping Italian melodrama is the most elegant modern romance film I've seen in a long time. Beautiful.

Ester Blodgett: "Hello, everybody. This is Mrs. Norman Maine."

RICKY FITTS (Wes Bentley): "Sometimes there's so much beauty in the world I feel like I can't take it, like my heart's going to cave in."

I recently saw this movie at the Sydney Film Festival and it has not left my mind since. Macabre, dark, truthful, a powerful tale of survival which sheds light on some of the most deprived, disadvantaged sections of American society. Assumptions will be proved wrong, judgments reconsidered. A rare film that doesn't lecturer or sermonize but realistically deals with the harsh realities of the characters lives.

A dark comedy that is almost a cunning soical satire. Sharp, depressing, uplifting and ultimately rediming. Extraordinary film.

A film that will steal your heart, with stunningly beautiful cinematography, and a great story Fly Away Home will up lift even the most cynical person

Moments of perfection.

The best film of 2009. This movie will stand the test of time and will be remembered as the defining Iraq War movie and one of the greatest War movies. War is a drug.

One of Al Pacino's best performances utterly unbelieveable.

Very funny and yet deeply tragic, Sideways is a film that looks at life through a wine glass. Characterisation and life commentary are the best features of this film.

"When you wish apon a star, your dreams will come true". The great music and characters of Pinocchio, Gepetto and Jimminy added with the moral lessons of being good create a Disney Classic. 'When You Wish Upon A Star' is the best Disney song ever.

"I'll have what she's having."

Return To Classic Romance

A Monumental Cinematic Triumph. A character study, a poltical intrigue, a human drama a masterpeice. Helen Mirren gives not only the performance of the year or even the decade but of a lifetime, as a complex woman of duty and our beloved Queen. A tale that shows both sides of the drama surrounding Princess Diana's death so full of emotion. Diana was dearly loved by myself and I was devestated when she died, the film captures the deep saddness, and conflict. Set to the background of the best written screenplay I have seen this year and with a smashing cast particularly Micheal Sheen, the Queen has restrained understated power and emotional impact. You will not see a better directed, written, acted film this year. Best film of the year. Classic Cinema.

A beautifully flawed film. Lacking in overarching meaning or message, emotional drama or believeability. Has great cast, breathtaking cinematography, make-up and special effects, class and timelessness. Has the feel of Forrest Gump about it. The film is highlighted by scenes that are emotionally touching and thought-provoking. A must see, but not the Best Picture, best film of 08 shoo-in that it might have been.