Image Credit: Everett Collection
The Champ might feature the saddest scene in movie history. That is, according to science. In a fascinating article from Smithsonian.com, we’ve learned that a scene from the 1979 film starring Ricky Schroder and Jon Voight is used in several psychological tests as a benchmark to determine when someone is responding to sad content. The clip in question (and SPOILER ALERT for those who care): Schroder’s young character watches his father (Voight) win in the boxing ring, only to die in front of him a few minutes later. It’s interesting: The scene from the film, which Smithsonian notes only received middling reviews and is embedded below, would certainly appear to succeed in evoking emotion even from the hardest individual. A 9-year-old watching his own parent die? Cue the ugly cry.
The study, however, has me reflecting on my own go-to sob scenes. When I really need a good cry, which movie scenes will always, always work? READ FULL STORY »
