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Armageddon (1998)
Requiem For A Dream (2000)
The Crying Scene: Harry (Jared Leto) lies in his hospital bed, severed arm bandaged, hooked up to an oxygen machine. As the violins play, he starts sobbing…
Why It's Unwatchable: It's just so bloody depressing.
Plus, seeing the undeniably beautiful Jared Leto so beaten up is like a sucker punch to the stomach.
Leto Says: "It's the hardest thing I'd done. I lost 25lbs for the role and I had an accent that I spoke in 24 hours a day. It wasn't like I could go home and get rid of it. I was in a constant state of hunger like my character. I was miserable. It was a painful, dark place, but it was rewarding."
The Truman Show (1998)
The Crying Scene: Truman Burbank (Jim Carrey) has his biggest fears confirmed when he sails his boat right into the borders of the set that has been his world for the past 30 years.
Why It's Unwatchable: Is Carrey crying or laughing? It's difficult to tell - his face seems to do the same thing for both.
Not that we're taking a dig at a great performance or anything.
Peter Weir Says: "The work Jim Carrey does is prodigious. He would come in with a certain angle on the scene, an interpretation that he'd run by me, then he'd see how big it could be. But he was totally prepared for every scene - something he worked on by himself."
About Schmidt (2002)
The Crying Scene: Schmidt (Jack Nicholson) receives a drawing from his sponsor child which shows them holding hands. He's not alone after all…
Why It's Unwatchable: For the whole film, Schmidt's been a cantankerous old git, so to see him finally let his guard down and shed a tear is something that packs serious emotional wallop.
Then you realise it's 'happy crying' and you just fall apart.
Nicholson Says : "This is a human movie, human problems, human aspirations, human frailties. If I wasn't in it myself I would say it is quite beautiful."
Dead Man Walking (1995)
The Crying Scene: Matthew (Sean Penn) finally opens up to Sister Helen (Susan Sarandon), and they both end up crying.
Why It's Unwatchable: Matthew's fate is assured by this point, and though we should sort of hate him, this scene reveals a softer side and hints at why he turned out the way he did.
That, and the combined star power of Penn and Sarandon both doing some of their best work makes this both mesmerising and difficult to watch.
Sarandon Says: "Working with Tim [ Robbins ] on the film was great and it was horrible. I think we made a great movie. I love him more than I did when we started. I respect him even more than I did when we started.
"But we had days when it was very rough. When we work together as actors there is nota question of egos getting in the way."
Schindler's List (1993)
The Crying Scene: "I could have got more," murmurs Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson) as Itzhak (Ben Kingsley) thanks him for helping his fellow man.
Why It's Unwatchable: Spielberg knows how to play crying scenes. The music's unobtrusive, the framing unflashy - all emphasis is placed on Neeson and his performance.
We're also blessedly spared the sight of his scrunched-up crying face, which only makes the scene even more impactful.
Kingsley Says: "I think that there was a potential act of great heroic humaneness in Oskar Schindler, but it was buried under a pile of ego baggage and entrepreneurial talent."
Magnolia (1999)
The Crying Scene: All-round douche bag Frank Mackey (Tom Cruise) finally makes it to the deathbed of his long-lost dad and breaks down crying.
Why It's Unwatchable: Cruise plays it just a little too real, physically shaking and panting in a way that means we're unsure if he's enjoying the deathbed scene a little too much.
Then there's that jutting thing he does with his jaw…
Paul Thomas Anderson Says: "Tom? He is God, man! He’s one of the most special people. He’s great; I swear he’s a director’s dream. So composed, so ready for work, so passionate and so creative. I can’t say enough good stuff about the guy."
Good Will Hunting (1997)
The Crying Scene: "It's not your fault." Dr Sean Maguire (Robin Williams) faces things head on when he attempts to convince Will (Matt Damon) that the abuse he suffered as a kid wasn't his fault…
Why It's Unwatchable: It's the movie's emotional climax and Damon plays it just right. His child-like sobs are totally realistic.
Damon Says: "I'm always pleased with my performances because I know that I couldn't do it any better. I always try my hardest, give it all I've got. If people don't like it, then they don't like it, that's totally up to them."
The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring (2001)
The Crying Scene: Gandalf (Ian McKellen) has just saved the entire Fellowship by going up against the Balrog, which means all the hobbits are really upset and don't want to go on.
Why It's Unwatchable: We love Gandalf as much as the hobbits do, so it's ridiculously upsetting to see him plummet into a dark chasm.
Paired with the misty-eyed melancholy of the hobbits in the aftermath, we're a total wreck.
Elijah Wood Says: "I feel that this is more like reality. It is fantasy, but it has an organic, real sense about it - as if it had happened. We treated it like that. I think the hobbits - although they're short and different people - don't have anything cartoony about them. They're real. They're people."
The Sixth Sense (1999)
The Crying Scene: Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment) and his mother Lynn (Toni Collette) are stuck in a traffic jam, which is when Cole reveals he's seen the ghost of Lynn's dead mother.
Why It's Unwatchable: The performances are nothing short of magical, not least from young Osment.
It's Collette who steals the show, though, with her trembling delivery of the line: "Do I make her proud?" Soul-destroying stuff.
Collette Says: "I try to play real people who inspire me through something in their journey."
