The Saddest Movie in the World

What movies make you cry? When I saw The Champ during its initial theater run, I did not expect to cry, but I did, and so did everyone in the audience. Watching 9-year-old Ricky Schroeder begging his father not to die was just too much. When researchers Robert Levenson and James Gross began looking for a trigger that would ethically induce sadness in volunteer test subjects, they searched for the most sure-fire tear-jerking film ever. It took years, but they found The Champ.
In 1995, Gross and Levenson published the results of their test screenings. They came up with a list of 16 short film clips able to elicit a single emotion, such as anger, fear or surprise. Their recommendation for inducing disgust was a short film showing an amputation. Their top-rated film clip for amusement was the fake orgasm scene from When Harry Met Sally. And then there’s the two-minute, 51-second clip of Schroder weeping over his father’s dead body in The Champ, which Levenson and Gross found produced more sadness in laboratory subjects than the death of Bambi’s mom.

“I still feel sad when I see that boy crying his heart out,” Gross says.

Cue the argument for Old Yeller. Excuse me, I think I need a handkerchief. Link -via Metafilter

Link to the specific scene from The Champ.

For some reason, the American Dad episode of The Tearjerker (the one that was a James Bond parody and Roger was the bad guy trying to kill everybody by producing the saddest movie ever) came to my mind.
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In the category 'tearjerker' I propose: Curly Sue (1991).

Largely forgotten and underrated imho. Ok, so maybe it's not Oscar material, but this one will not leave you cold, I can guarantee it.

(And nobody had to die, family movie, part comedy, do not spoil with trailers etc, just watch. ;))
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PS: Just watched the trailer and it's awful, doesn't do the movie justice. But at least it's not spoiling anything. I guess in 1991 they still knew how to make a trailer without giving the whole movie away.
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I remember going to The Champ as a kid, and it was the saddest thing I had ever seen. I cried and my mom sat there, dry-eyed!
I remember actually sobbing during Terms of Endearment, when she tells her son that she know that he loves her.
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I kind of thought The Champ was sappy and stupid...
The one that got to me was AI. The whole movie had an annoyingly tragic air, but the end was just a killer. I still cringe any time it comes to mind, and instantly try to think of something else, anything else.
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"Roger and Me".

In 1989 it showed the beginning of the end for individual rights, and the start of the current dynasty of "Corporate Amerika".

Makes me sob uncontrollably for several minutes everytime I watch it.
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The Plague Dogs (1982)

...and it's a frickin' cartoon.

DO NOT WATCH THE FILM.
I repeat, DO NOT WATCH THE PLAGUE DOGS.

I watched it once in 1986, and am still scarred.
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Nah, you can't consider Grave of the Fireflies. That's not sadness, that's killing a piece of the viewer's heart with despair. I was messed up for weeks after seeing that.
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So I take it you haven't seen the >original< "The Champ" (1928) with the kid played by Jackie Cooper (who went on to be Perry White in the 1978-83 Superman movies)????

Mr.Cooper passed away last year at the age of 88 and could cry rings around Ricky....
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I was totally messed up by the ending of 'My dog Skip'.
It was shown on television as a 'Family Comedy' (?!!!)
You spend an entire movie falling in love with that dog... Watch it at your own peril.
I thought it was incredibly sad.
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If we add documentaries into the category "Dear Zachary" would be the clear winner.

If you haven't seen it, don't read the wiki first(too many spoilers), and be prepared to cry like you have never cried before.
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Old Yeller definitely did it for me, never saw Champ though. Perhaps one of the worst marketing decisions of all time? Disney's Old Yeller dog food. Yes, that's right, dog food. According to dogfoodadvisor.com, it's possible that some of the low quality rendered proteins or fats could come from euthanized pets. Yes, you heard me, Old Yeller dog food, now with extra Yeller. Now that's the saddest thing I've ever heard.

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/old-yeller-dog-food/
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Wit. Directed by Mike Nichols, Starring Emma Thompson. Woman is dying of cancer: that's the whole plot. And it's not sad! Until... until... one scene that I can't even think about without getting a lump in my throat, when the old teacher comes to visit. It's so freaking sad, you might pass out.

No kidding, rent it.
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