‘80s Tearjerker Movies
What is the Saddest Movie Ever?
Happy, sad, frightened… movies evoke many emotions from us. And while the level of emotion we take away from cinema will vary per person, there are some movies we can all agree make us weep.
I list what I think are the saddest movies of the ‘80s, including the #1 tearjerker. You can’t talk sad movies without spoilers, so you’ve been warned!
The Saddest Movies of the 1980s
Sophie’s Choice
Most people would probably give 1982’s Sophie’s Choice the title of biggest tearjerker, after all she had to make that choice; referring to making a “Sophie’s Choice” is still a phrase we use to this day. Can’t deny that the movie impacted pop culture. But is it what I would consider the saddest? It’s up there, for sure.
Is Sophie’s Choice a True Story?
Sophie’s Choice is not a true story in the sense that there was a Sophie Zawistowska of which the movie/book was based. But the “choice” that Sophie had to make in the movie most likely was something women had to decide in concentration camps. The fact that Sophie’s Choice could be realistic, even if not entirely true, definitely makes it a sad film.
Beaches
The 1988 film starring Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey for sure requires some tissues, especially when “Wings Beneath My Wings” starts playing.
Is Beaches Based on Real People?
Beaches is a book by Iris Rainer Dart and doesn’t appear to be based on a true story. While the plot might not be entirely based on real life, allegedly Bette Midler’s character CC Bloom was inspired by Cher, whom the author knew while writing for the Sonny and Cher show.
E.T.
If you don’t shed a few tears when E.T. says “Elllll-eeeee-ottttt” something is wrong!
Is E.T. Based on a True Story?
Well, no. E.T. is not based on real life. Would be cool if it was! But E.T. is from the imagination of Melissa Mathison.
Steel Magnolias
This 1989 movie had an all-star cast and brought as many zingers as it did sad moments. Shelby (played by Julia Roberts), not unlike Sophie, makes a choice that eventually ends her life.
Is Steel Magnolias a True Story
Playwright Robert Harling based Shelby on his sister who died from diabetes. Harling has a knack for the sad, he wrote (screenplay) and directed the sequel to Terms of Endearment.
Terms of Endearment
Speaking of Terms of Endearment, this Oscar-winning film from 1983 gets my vote for the biggest tear jerker of the ‘80s. The title song alone can get me bawling. The characters are so likeable, you’re rooting for them and it affects you, as a viewer, when things don’t work out. Shirley MacLaine’s “Give my daughter the shot” scene is heartbreaking.
Is Terms of Endearment Based on Real People
No evidence suggests Aurora Greenway was a real person (I wish she was! I’d take her for a drink), nor anyone else in the movie. If author Larry McMurtry based any of the characters on someone he know, he didn’t say so publicly (where I could find, anyways).