They are the common themes among the 20 films most likely to leave even the most macho of viewers in floods of tears, according to a poll.
The survey comes after the recent release of Toy Story 3, which has become as known for leaving men sobbing uncontrollably as it has for its box office success.
Top of the list is ‘Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King’, as the adventurers look back on what has happened in the long film while a stirring score plays over the top.
Second is the scene on the beach at the end of ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ in which the two prisoners are reunited after one has escaped and the other freed on parole.
At the third spot is the heart-rending relationship between an elderly man and a boy in animated film ‘Up’.
Fourth in the list is the distinctly unromantic ending to One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest starring Jack Nicholson as an inmate of a mental asylum.
Animals feature strongly in the list— Owen Wilson saying goodbye to his dying dog in ‘Marley and Me’ is placed fifth in the list. And the pig who thinks he’s a sheepdog in ‘Babe’ also features in the list.
Next in the rank is the scene early in ‘The Italian Job’, when the Mafia destroy two E-Types and an Aston Martin to warn off Michael Caine.
The list was compiled from the feedback to the BBC Magazine website and ranges from boxing classics ‘Rocky’ and ‘The Champ’ to the Finnish documentary ‘Steam of Life’.
“In response to the discussion about why Toy Story 3 makes men cry male readers have been getting in touch with their emotional side and opening up about their own private tear-jerkers,” a BBC spokes-man said.