50 most heartbreaking movie moments

11. On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)

The Moment: Newlywed Tracy di Vicenzo (Diana Rigg) is gunned down by SPECTRE as she drives off on honeymoon with James Bond (George Lazenby).

Get Your Tissues Ready: 007 tells a police officer not to rush for help: "we have all the time in the world."

If It Was Played For Laughs: Bond would remember his trademark quip: "Oh well, every wedding needs something blue."

10. The Lion King (1994)

The Moment: Mufasa (James Earl Jones) saves Simba (Jonathan Taylor Thomas) from a wildebeest stampede, only to realise he's been set up by evil brother Scar (Jeremy Irons).

Get Your Tissues Ready: Not only does Scar throw Mufasa off a cliff to his death, he then tells Simba it's the cub's fault.

If It Was Played For Laughs: Mufasa sneaks a banana skin under Scar's paw and the baddie goes tumbling after him.

9. Sophie's Choice (1982)

The Moment: Zofia Zawistowski (Meryl Streep) arrives at Auschwitz with her two children, but she can only take one with her.

Get Your Tissues Ready: Sophie' makes her agonising choice and condemns daughter Eva to death.

If It Was Played For Laughs: The kids would decide by playing rock, paper, scissorsbut always pick the same one until the guards got bored and let them both go with Sophie.

8. Blue Valentine (2010)

The Moment: The day after a frankly terrible date, Dean and Cindy Pereira (Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams) realise that their marriage isn't going to survive.

Get Your Tissues Ready: A heartbroken Dean has to persuade his doting daughter Frankie to go back to her mom so he can walk away.

If It Was Played For Laughs: Dean brings out his ukulele, sings in a silly voice, and everything's fine again.

7. Toy Story 3 (2010)

The Moment: Woody arranges for Andy to spare his toy pals from life in the loft by giving them to new owner Bonnie.

Get Your Tissues Ready: Andy reluctantly hands over Woody as well, realising it's time to let go of childish things.

If It Was Played For Laughs: The toys will go to see Andy at college in Toy Story 4, with hilarious consequences.

6. E.T. The Extra Terrestrial (1982)

The Moment: It's what E.T. has wanted the entire film, but going home now means saying goodbye to friend Elliott (Henry Thomas) and his family.

Get Your Tissues Ready: Henry's sister Gertrude (Drew Barrymore) gives the l'il alien a peck on his forehead.

If It Was Played For Laughs: The kids go with him. In their place, the aliens send a couple of exchange students.

5. Bambi (1942)

The Moment: Hunters attack, and Bambi's mother is shot.

Get Your Tissues Ready: A distraught Bambi looks for his mother, only to be told by his father that she "can't be with you anymore."

If It Was Played For Laughs: The 'hunter' is revealed to be Thumper in disguise, and the whole thing was a trick to teach Bambi about stranger danger.

4. Brief Encounter (1945)

The Moment: Not-quite adulterers Laura (Celia Johnson) and Alec (Trevor Howard) agree to part, but find their final date interrupted by Laura's friend.

Get Your Tissues Ready: Alec leaves to catch his train, and Laura contemplates throwing herself on the tracks.

If It Was Played For Laughs: She is pulled back by a station attendant who looks exactly like Alec, thus giving her a second chance to get her end away.

3. The Champ (1979)

The Moment: Washed-up ex-champ Billy Flynn (Jon Voight) takes on another fight to help support his son T.J. (Ricky Schroder).

Get Your Tissues Ready: Fatally knocked out, T.J. cries "Champ, wake up!" at his ringside in a scene so sad it's used by psychologists to study depression.

If It Was Played For Laughs: The Champ really is taking a nap, and T.J.'s tears wake him up.

2. Schindler's List (1993)

The Moment: Annoyed by seeing his car coated in soot, Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson) realises that the bodies killed in the Krakow Ghetto are being exhumed and burnt.

Get Your Tissues Ready: Schindler spies a red coat and recognises it as belonging to a girl he'd seen during the liquidation of the Ghetto.

If It Was Played For Laughs: It'd probably look a look like Jerry Lewis' infamous The Day The Clown Cried and, like that film, would never be seen by anybody 'cause of its bad taste.