3. E.T the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
A classic, and probably the most common film mentioned when you type in "films that make men cry" into Google. Ricky Gervais for example sites this as a film that made him cry, and I bet he is just one of millions, myself included. I won't bother detailing the plot because I assume that you have all seen this movie right? And if, for some very strange reason you have yet to, you all probably know what the film is about. This film is emotional whatever age you are and for different reasons. As a child, you probably empathized with Elliot and went on his emotional journey with him. When it was time to say goodbye to E.T in the weepiest scene in cinema's history, you probably cried because you didn't want to have to say goodbye yourself. When E.T almost died (in fact, I guess he kind of did), as a child, you probably found it difficult to understand what you were seeing on screen wasn't in fact reality, and cried because you actually believed your alien friend was gone. Apparently, Drew Barrymore, being as young as she was when she appeared in this film, actually herself believed to some extent E.T was real, and the emotion you see her express in the film is actually real- That alone is heartbreaking enough to warrant inclusion on this list. As an adult however your emotions are more complex, as are your reasons for finding E.T still so heartbreaking. Part of you watches it, remembering and mourning the childhood adventures you yourself once had as a child, and as E.T was such an important film to many people at this age (even myself, and I was born in 1990, eight years after the film was released) just the simple act of re-watching the film reminds you how long ago the film has been out, reminding you of your own mortality. Many of you probably still remember what it was like to watch as a child, and still connect with Elliot's journey, feeling similar emotions you did way back when. But for me now, one of the most heartbreaking scenes in the entire film is Elliot's mothers reaction, particularly in the infamous final scene, as she has to watch her son say goodbye forever to one of his greatest friends. The entire last scene is so well performed, so dramatic, and almost guaranteed to cause you to well up a little. It has the same effect as if Spielberg had literally chopped up an onion and rubbed it in your eyes. Brilliant!