MSN Movies’ scientific experiment reveals the most emotional films of all time…

Forget weepy tear jerkers like Bambi or Beaches, The Shawshank Redemption has been revealed today as the ultimate emotional rollercoaster movie according to fans of MSN Movies and a unique scientific experiment.  In second place came Stephen King’s The Green Mile, closely followed by gangster classic, The Godfather.

The online entertainment site asked over 1,800 movie fans to rank films according to their ability to evoke the six core human emotions of disgust, anger, fear, joy, surprise and sadness, to reveal the Top 10 most emotional films of all time. 

To verify the findings, MSN Movies worked with top scientist Dr. David Lewis to study the emotional responses of 12 male and female volunteers who watched the top six movies whilst wired up to monitoring equipment which measured their heart rate and levels of skin conductance during the films. Movies were then ranked according to the emotional ups and downs identified in respondents, revealing that The Shawshank Redemption takes viewers on the greatest emotional journey of any other film.

The Top 10 Emotional Movies recorded:

1. The Shawshank Redemption
2. The Green Mile
3. The Godfather
4. Saving Private Ryan
5. Schindler’s List
6. Titanic
7. Pulp Fiction
8. Se7en
9. Rocky
10. ET

Dr David Lewis categorised the films watched into different groups according to the patterns of emotion recorded:

• See Saw – The Shawshank Redemption, starring Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins, is a ‘See Saw’ movie that aroused an up and down pattern of emotion in the volunteers. Dr David Lewis comments: This film was a real emotional rollercoaster of a ride with many points of high emotional tension, punctuated by more relaxed moments. These moments of relaxation serve to accentuate the high points and allow viewers to recover before the next sequence of tension or emotional intensity. This takes viewers on a real journey as they empathise and fully identify with the plight of the protagonists.
• CamelSchindler’s List displayed ‘Camel’ movie tendencies, evoking two major peaks or humps of emotional intensity during its course when Schindler and his associate type out a list of people they can save and during Schindler’s speech towards the end of the film.
• Dipper – Both Saving Private Ryan and The Green Mile were classed as ‘Dipper’ movies, displaying the highest emotional peak at the beginning, followed by a curved drop down but with another little peak at the end.

Despite receiving Oscar nominations, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, The Last King of Scotland and Apocalypto all featured in the bottom 10, failing to hit the spot when it comes to emotional intensity.

Films legendary for clutching at the heart strings, Gone with the Wind and Casablanca also failed to impress movie fans:

The Least Emotional Movies according to MSN Movies fans:

1. The Notebook
2. Gone with the Wind
3. The Goonies
4. What Lies Beneath
5. Beaches
6. Casablanca
7. Empire of the Sun
8. Apocalypto
9. The Last King of Scotland
10. What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?

MSN Entertainment Editor Mike Lok said, The results of our experiment reveal movie fans need more than just a tear jerker, a love story or a thriller to get their heart racing. They want to be taken on an emotional journey and experience a range of emotions that a fully developed storyline and impressive performances can provide – The Shawshank Redemption manages to do just that.

The MSN Movie channel allows film fans to share their views and opinions on all the latest movies so if there’s a film that’s taken you on a real rollercoaster ride, let us know at http://movies.uk.msn.com.