Catharsis Cries

[Nate]

I just watched Luck of the Fryrish again. And I cried. Again.

So here's my question: What tv shows/movies/songs/etc regularly have the capability of making you cry? Before going on to list my examples, I should point out that I usually only watch these things when I already feel like I need the catharsis, so it's not like they're 100% always going to have that effect on me.

I know other people usually say Jurassic Bark, but I've never owned a dog, so I can't relate on that level. It seems to me that the things that can get me going are always related to familial relations. I don't know why - I'm not all that emotionally close to my family... Maybe that is why.

Other reliable tear-jerkers include the scene towards the end of The Lego Movie. You know the one. The opening scene in the Speed Racer movie when he's racing against the ghost of his brother is quite sad. Also, sometimes, when Ma gives her big speech to Speed about 2/3 the way through, but that's mainly because Susan Sarandon is so brilliant.

I cried in the cinema for Into The Woods when they were singing No-One Is Alone. But I was kinda expecting and hoping it would happen. I wasn't in the best of moods that day to begin with. Similarly, whilst completely overtired on the flight that first took me from home to Seattle, I watched The Return of the King. I hadn't remembered the regular theme in that film of friendships parting and kept seperate for long period of time. I weeped like a little baby.


So, now that I've totally embarrassed myself, share with me your favourite tear-triggers...

[Phylum]

Right at the end of Okami, as they're going into the Ark.

[Crashpunk]

I've never actually cried whilst or after watching a film or playing a game. (At least in memory. I'm sure I did when I was much much younger). However, They've been some moments I've almost let the tears roll.

The closest I can remember crying was when I was about 10, I watched the music video to Micheal Jackson's Earth Song and it really affected me. I still to this day love that song. Very powerful.

A few other examples are

- The end of Portal 2. Such a fantastic end to a Video game, but what did it for me was the moving turret song that played.

- The first time I completed Pokemon Gold. When I was younger, I was stuck on the elite four for weeks. When I finally did it, Almost had happy tears.

- The end of Lord of the Rings. This was mainly because my Mum and my Sister were blubbering away at the final scenes of Return of the King. Regardless. Still an excellent scene.

- Toy Story 3. Yes I know it's fucking cliche as shit. But I was the perfect age to see it and Toy Story was one of my first films. I held back the tears. It was pretty darn lovely.

- And for those of you present at Eurogamer Expo 2013. Yes I did almost cry after seeing Abe HD. I held everything back but I was pretty damn emotional.

So in short. I hold back all the tears. One day something is going to affect me so hard I'm going to cry for literally days.

[Mr. Bungle]

The ending of Toy Story 3 did it for me. I don't tear up upon re-watch nowadays (although the feels are certainly strong), but upon leaving the theatre after my first viewing, my eyes were practically soaked. The intensity of the trash compactor scene, followed by the cathartic rescue theme with "THE CLAW!" (I was so engaged with the film at this point I actually remember fist-pumping and shouting "YES!" without even realizing it) followed by the absolutely bittersweet scene of Andy giving away his toys.... several of those toys which I too had as a kid, and grew attached to... man, it just brought up all kinds of emotions. Still one of my top 5 films.

Other than that, I can't think of much else that has made me literally cry. Sure, there's been some TV episodes that have brought a tear or two (Gravity Falls midseason finale, that Simpsons episode with Homer's mother (those credits, man) Luck of the Fryish and ESPECIALLY Jurassic Bark), but as far as full-on crying goes, only Pixar's been able to cause that from me.

I'm sure there was something else, though... I'll have to do some remembering.

[OANST]

Inside Llewyn Davis brings me close a few times. The sense of desperation, confusion, and quietly, slowly being ground down gets to me. That's the most recent that I can think of.

[Slog Bait]

Regularly cry? Nothing does that to me. However, things I've watched that have made me cry are A.I., Jurassic Bark, and that episode of Courage the Cowardly Dog where it shows his memories of his parents and meeting Muriel.

[Holy Sock]

I got very close during a scene in Olive Kitteridge

[STM]

I cried at the end of Of Mice and Men, also I teared up at Toy Story 3 but didn't cry because I was surrounded by my mates. :P

[Dynamithix]

Not many songs make me want to cry, but Johnny Cash's version of Hurt gets me every time. I think it's because it reminds me of my dad and all the shit he's caused in my life. I don't know. Very emotional track, not something I listen to frequently. I do like it though.

I can't recall most of the movies/TV series that have made me weep, but I'm sure there's quite a lot of those. Like with many others it seems, Jurassic Bark and Luck of the Fryrish definitely made me tear up a bit. I also remember seeing an episode of The Simpsons where Homer eats some poisonous fish(?) and stays up all night waiting to die, that was some heavy stuff for a young me. Also that one The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air episode where Will's father shows up, but takes off again and Will says "how come he don't want me, man?" - or something along the lines - to Uncle Phil, shit, that made me bawl.

Can't remember too many video games that have made me cry, but Batman: Arkham City's credits almost made me tear up.

[Bullet Magnet]

I'm sufficiently messed up that I can't cry. If I feel it coming, a reflex shuts it down right away, and it just clangs around unpleasantly in my sinuses.

That said, the final moments of the last episodes of both series of Cosmos did that, which is how gutted I was that they were done. Some Riot and Friend of Ours by Elbow, partly because I know what and who the song is about and they can put me in that situation like no one else. Every now and then I stumble across something that has one of the phone calls from UAF93 in it, which fucks me right up.

[MeechMunchie]

I almost cried the first time I saw "Milla's room" in Psychonauts.

I did cry at the ending of Kairo (it could basically be summed up as "It's ok, you're not alone"), though I'd been up for about 30 hours by that point so it might not count.

And this thing makes my eyes water uncontrollably for reasons I can't explain. I wouldn't call it "crying", because there's no emotion involved. They just... leak.



Yes, it is happening right now.

Now that I think about it, it is a little reminiscent of an (unrelated) nightmare I had as a child. Maybe there's some part of me that remembers that terror.

[Mac Sirloin]

The Iron Giant, when he loses control. Again when he saves the world. If I was hydrated, some sniffles at the final shot.
The bit in Wall-E that is specifically engineered to make you sad as fuck.
The first time I watched the MGS5 Trailer (The one with the song by Garbage) I started crying. I was in a really weird place then though, and haven't reacted that way since.

The climax to pretty much every Ghibli film, with a few exceptions. I once cried through what felt like the entirety of Ponyo when I caught it some afternoon I was intoxicated. Not sad tears, either. Sometimes really gorgeous animation just makes me a blubbering mess.

In the Sonic OVA (Which I haven't watched in a very long time) Metal Sonic lets himself die for no reason in particular. This is in and of itself not necessarily upsetting, but the manner of his robot death, which is vividly presented as a horrific boiling, strobing disaster throbbing into nothing at the edge of a lava pit, was super unsettling and disturbing and yeah I basically go into hysterics whenever I see that .gif of ASIMO falling down the stairs.

When I was very small, I watched Digimon after school every day. In the second season of Digimon there's this antagonist called Puppetmon. I thought Puppetmon was awesome and the whiny kids were idiots (except for Tai. obviously). I was so upset when he got deleted my sister drew up a comic outlining how no, he did not die, he actually turned good and became my best friend.

[STM]

Oh my God puppetmon!! I cried when I first saw him to, I forgotten that for years! I had the digimon card for him and I kept it for years afterwards like a prized posession.

[Nate]

I know that I already mentioned The Return of the King, but I'm going to add that this song can do it for me. In part because of what it means in the context of the film, but also because it's such a fucking incredible performance by Annie Lennox.

[Bullet Magnet]

It's the sound of a million movie-goers exiting the cinema.

[OANST]

I also cried while watching Return of the King. Only because it was so long and tedious that it made me die inside a little more for every second that passed the hour and a half mark.

[Crashpunk]

Wow. You guys didn't like Return of the King? I thought it was excellent.

I'm now curious why.

[OANST]

I fucking hated Return of the King. It was a bloated, slow motion marathon of special effects that had me so irritated, and bored that when the credits finally rolled I just stood up, said "Never again," and walked out of the theater. Of course, a few years later I got forced to go those goddamn fucking shit awful Hobbit movies, which managed to be even more boring, and god awful terrible than The Lord of the Rings. How he pulled that off, I'll never know.

[Crashpunk]

It's kinda rare to hear someone not liking Lotr. But I know what you mean. Films like that with heavy amounts of CGI can either make or break a film for certain people.

I need to watch that film again. I've only seen it twice so It's not very fresh in my memory. Two Towers on the other hand. I fricking love that movie.

[OANST]

Modern film makers rely too much on action. They've forgotten that a constant barrage of violence only serves to make the violence boring, not exciting. You need to have actual plot development. I hate to use Braveheart as an example, but I will. Those fight scenes were fucking exhilarating. Not just because of the violence, but because of the moments of quiet surrounding them. Also, the over the top acrobatics takes away from it for me. Mostly, because it didn't fit the tone. In a movie like Kill Bill, which was just a ton of silly fun, the over the top shit fits. Yes, you're emotionally connected to The Bride, and her quest for vengeance, but there's a playful feeling surrounding the film that serves those scenes of over the top violence very well. The LotR films attempted (minus the light hearted beginning of the first film) to achieve a somber, and doom like feeling that was not served well by the acrobatics of Legolas and friends. They are shitty movies that contain no subtlety, and don't have any idea what tone they are trying to achieve.

[Holy Sock]

Well, I mean I didn't love Fury Road but I think it's an example of action sustaining itself over a long period of time. How the action is filmed and edited together is really important I think. But, then again, it had an incredibly bizarre and interesting visual design and world design which helped.

Conversely I thought Battle of the Five Armies was the most boring cinema experience I've ever had and the last 1/3 or that was pure action.

[Littleleeroy]

I Am Sam always gets me, and the Season 4 finale of Dexter (SPOILER: Where Rita is found murdered in the bathtub.)

[Phylum]

This song got me the first time I heard it.



A friend heard Sufjan do this live at the Syndey Opera House last night :c

[OANST]

That one, and The Predatory Wasps of the Palisades has been known to make me feel a slight mist.

[Connell]

The end of the Shawshank Redemption gives me a happy tear and The Elephant Man makes me absolutely lose my shit. Toy Story 3 made me hold back man tears and I know absolutely hate that movie because of THE FEELS.

[MA]

Not many songs make me want to cry, but Johnny Cash's version of Hurt gets me every time. I think it's because it reminds me of my dad and all the shit he's caused in my life. I don't know. Very emotional track, not something I listen to frequently. I do like it though.

yeah, man. when i first watched that Johnny Cash video i also teared up, mainly because he died not long after making it. the guy was a right troublemaker back in his heyday and that song just shows how old and regretful he had gotten. it stirs emotions, man. the guy was a legend in his field.

The Iron Giant, when he loses control. Again when he saves the world. If I was hydrated, some sniffles at the final shot.

the Iron Giant gets me still, the part where he saves the world. so fucking sad. the part where he loses control raises hairs on the back of my neck because it shows just how much of an awesome machine of destruction he could be if he wanted to. pretty much unstoppable.

Modern film makers rely too much on action. They've forgotten that a constant barrage of violence only serves to make the violence boring, not exciting. You need to have actual plot development. I hate to use Braveheart as an example, but I will. Those fight scenes were fucking exhilarating. Not just because of the violence, but because of the moments of quiet surrounding them.

i completely agree with you about Braveheart, it's one of my favourite films (unfortunately i've over-watched it now so it doesn't have the same raw effect on me emotionally as it first did). the part where William Wallace gives up on the battlefield when he lifts off Robert the Bruce's helmet to discover he's protecting the English king, the part where William is betrayed by Robert the Bruce's nobles (and his father?) and arrested by English soldiers while Robert is trying to keep them away from him, and the part where he is hung, drawn and quartered all got to me when i first saw it at about 7 or 8 years old. especially the part where he's hung, drawn and quartered, i bawled like a baby at that as a kid. HE WAS MY HERO.

back then the violent scenes almost made me hyperventilate because it was so well done and not over-used, like you say. i fucking love that film. a lot of my sword-fighting fantasies are grown directly from Braveheart. and the music, holy shit the music was perfect.

oh, and One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest makes me tear up because i can fucking relate to being sectioned and feeling like i have to fight against The System. the part where the Chief tries to wake up McMurphy and finds out he's been lobotomised just cuts me deep like a knife, it's like The System has won, has defeated him. then again when the chief defeats all odds by throwing that huge fucking sink out of the window and escaping while Taber just laughs insanely makes me want to crawl into a corner and cry myself to sleep. such a fucking potent moment in the movie. notice how Taber doesn't try to escape though, showing even though he's been sectioned he still doesn't want to escape because he's been institutionalised. then he just stops laughing and stares blankly. perfect ending, showing that even he realizes he couldn't last out there even if he wanted to, which makes the ending even sadder. then again maybe i'm looking too far into it because of my personal connection and ability to relate to some of the characters. it hits a nerve easier with me.

all in all i seem to be a very 'fight the power' kind of person and find it so sad when someone stands up to The Man and gets beaten back down again in movies. that seems to be my tear switch.

[Phylum]

That one, and The Predatory Wasps of the Palisades has been known to make me feel a slight mist.

My friend also got to hear that one live. Such an asshole.

[abe619]

I remember being on the verge of tears the whole time while watching "Johnny's got his gun", the whole idea of being trapped in a shell of flesh is quite terrifying and saddening, but my classic that tends to bring me to tears every single time is the ending to Return of The Jedi where Darth Vader saves Luke from the Emperor and his death scene, even just the music from that scene brings me to tears.

Pretty much anything war-related (Read: anti-war), and that's not strictly for films either, songs like "Goodbye blue sky" and "Soldier side", etc...

I'm probably gonna be hated for this, but Yusuf's death in Assassin's Creed: Revelations, Achilles death in Assassin's Creed III, Tiffany's death in Fahrenheit/Indigo Prophecy, Sniper Wolf's death in Metal Gear Solid, and Emma Emmerich's death in Metal Gear Solid 2 are all huge tear jerkers for me, along with a ton of others that I can't be arsed to remember at the moment.

[Bullet Magnet]

[Vexen]

No media has ever made tears for me.