My Top 10 Saddest Movies of All Time

I love movies. Everyone loves the ones that make me laugh. However, I do love a good movie that will make me cry too. There are certain movies out there that will make my cry every single time I see them. Here is my list of the top 10 saddest movies of all time.

1 - Terms of Endearment.
This is a movie starring Debra Winger, telling the story of a woman throughout her marriage, divorce, and struggle with cancer. I will never forget her littlest son at her hospital bedside crying and telling Mommy he loves her. Or Shirley McLaine yelling at the nurses to "just give her the shot!".

2 - Steel Magnolias.
Although this is a great chick flick with lots of laughs, the death of Julia Roberts' character hits hard every time. Her little toddler is in the house with her when she collapses. And then Sally Field at the cemetery grieving the loss of her daughter is just heart-wrenching.

3 - Beaches.
Another chick-flick involving a death. Better Midler and Barbara Hershey as best friends. When they play "Wind Beneath My Wings", I lose it. I also find it touching that at the end of the movie, Bette Midler is seen telling her friend's daughter stories of their childhood together.

4 - Alex: The Life of a Child.
This was a television movie in the 1980's. For some reason my parents taped it and had it on VHS. It is the true story of Alex DeFord, a little girl who died as a child from cystic fibrosis. I don't know why I have watched this so many times, but I have. And it is heartbreaking.

5 - When a Man Loves a Woman.
This movie actually does not involve a death! Meg Ryan is an alcoholic mother of two, and Andy Garcia is the best husband in the whole world. I get teary-eyed when he shows up at an AA meeting at the end and tells everyone how much he loves his wife. The little girls crying when they don't understand why Mommy is sick also makes me shed a tear.

6 - Simon Birch.
Ashley Judd is the mom of a little boy with glasses named Simon Birch. When Mom Ashley gets killed when a baseball hits her on the head, my world crashes down. There is also a scene where a school bus of children plunges into a river. Need I say more?

7 - La Bamba.
I will never forget Richie Valens' mom calling out "Richie!" as she stands in her backyard after hearing the news on the radio that her son's plane has crashed. And his brother's emotion at losing his little brother is played out so well. The haunting music "Sleepwalk" doesn't help either.

8 - My Girl.
Macauley Culkin is a little boy attacked by a swarm of bees. Enough said.

9 - My Life.
Michael Keaton is dying of cancer and records a video for his kids. I find this movie not entirely all that great, but can not leave it off my list. It is simply one of the saddes stories I have seen on screen.

10 - The Secret Life of Bees.
I have just seen this one recently, so I don't know if I will cry when I see it again. But Dakota Fanning and the whole cast are amazing in it. At the end of the movie when Dakota's character confronts her father, I feel so bad for her and lose my cool.

What is the running theme of my top ten list? Well, I mostly cry when people die in movies. Particularly, when the death involves either children or parents of young children. Of course, it is not just the death itself that makes my cry. It is the story of the characters. Stories between close friends and family members that hit close to the heart. And the actors that portray these characters that make me feel for them. I do believe that a movie is top quality if it makes me cry. What is a good movie without producing some emotion or thought? Although they make me sad, I do like watching these movies. When one of the above ten movies show up on my TV on a random Sunday afternoon, you know I am watching with a box of tissues nearby.