I saved the best for last. These are the movies that turned me into a big sobbing, crying, wailing mass of blubber.
3. Saving Private Ryan
My little sister and her best friend wanted to see some girly movie at the theater. Not being in the mood, I took them anyhow, but went to see Saving Private Ryan alone. Most people who saw this would say the ending scene, in which Captain John Miller (played by Tom Hanks) dies after having tromped over half of Europe to find Private Ryan, was the tearjerking part. After all, Captain Miller and his squad had to look for Ryan because, after his three brothers were killed in the war, the Army decided they needed to save one of poor Mrs. Ryan’s sons from death.
However, the part that gets to me the most is the opening scene. Captain Miller and hundreds of other soldiers are in amphibious vehicles, headed to Omaha Beach to launch the Invasion of Normandy. Spielberg made you feel as if you were in the vehicles with the soldiers. You could feel their nervousness, many of them knowing they would never even make it off the vehicles before being shot down by the waiting Germans. And, when it seems as if the entire ocean turns red from blood, the enormous debt we owe those men just overwhelms you. I even heard grown men sniffling during this scene.
2. Phenomenon
This one is about the lovable, yet dimwitted George Malley (John Travolta). George sees something in the sky one night then miraculously become intelligent – highly intelligent. So much so that the government decides it wants to do research on him. What they find is a brain tumor. This happens, of course, after he falls in love with Lace. The scene that makes me well up is when George asks Lace if she will love him for the rest of his life and she replies, “No, I’m gonna love you for the rest of mine.” There weren’t enough tissues in the world for me during this scene.
1. Old Yeller
I honestly don’t remember much about this one. I saw it when I was about ten and my subconscious has purposefully blanked most of it out. I do know it involved an adorable, loyal mutt that had to be put down when it became sick. That is all I need to remember. After watching the movie at my grandmother’s house, I went outside and cried for an unknown amount of time. Shortly afterwards, I swore never to see this movie again and I haven’t.
Now, I am not good at math. I know I counted down from 10, but I forgot one of my favorites, so just feel free to insert this one wherever you want.
*. Imitation of Life
Oh yes, it is an over-the-top, grandiose movie about an unlikely friendship between an actress (Lana Turner) and a maid. You know they are tugging at your heartstrings when the maid’s daughter longs to be white like the actress’s daughter and keeps pushing her mother away. But, when the long suffering maid dies and the estranged daughter runs to her funeral and begins wailing for the mother she abandoned – well, that just does me in.
Okay, what did I forget?