Is Love Actually a kitchen-sink drama? Coming from the man behind Four Weddings And A Funeral, that seems unlikely. But Richard Curtis has, actually, thrown in everything but the kitchen sink for his directorial debut and comes up with a good, old-fashioned, bums-on-seats crowd-pleaser. Crammed with the cream of British acting talent, it deals with love in all its guises, whether it be romantic, platonic, filial or fulfilled, unrequited, unspoken or unattainable. The result is an often funny, memorable and affecting story.

Touching The Void is a stunning docudrama about a 1985 mountaineering expedition that went horribly wrong, told in the words of the survivors. Joe Simpson and Simon Yates attempted to scale the Siula Grande Mountain in Peru, a feat that had never previously been achieved. Things went horribly wrong. Firstly, Joe fell and broke his leg and then Simon accidentally lowered him over an overhang. With no other way out, Simon cut the rope. The amazing story of how Joe survived the fall and made it back to base camp is incredibly moving; especially the moment when he admits the feeling of loneliness he experienced when he thought he was about to die.

Re-decorating your living space can be very emotional - particularly if you hand that responsibility over to a set of people who have no idea what you do and don't dislike. As Changing Rooms proved time and time again, while some are happy to have their homes painted in all the colours of the rainbow, others are less ecstatic to find their bedroom painted pink and adorned with rose-patterned duvet covers. With a bra and pants set mounted on the wall....

A gunfighter tries to start a new life only to become involved in a brutal battle with local cattle barons in this classic Western. As morally ambiguous as any film of its era, Shane questions everything from the rule of law to society's over-dependence on role models. Those who find the film cliched should realise that Shane wasn't so much homaging Western staples as setting them in stone. The film's final scene, in which our hero rides off into the sunset whilst a little boy cries out 'come back Shane', remains one of cinema's most heartbreaking.

Originally commissioned by the wartime Ministry of Information to bolster relations between Britain and the US, Powell and Pressburger's compassionate film is part romance, part surrealist courtroom drama. David Niven is the RAF pilot who cheats death, due to the clerical error of an angel. Having fallen in love with a young American woman, he must appear before a celestial court to plead for a second chance at life. The moment when his girlfriend's tear is used to defend Niven's life in the celestial court always has cinema audiences in floods.

In 1964, 14 boys and girls from all walks of life were picked to be part of a unique series of TV documentaries that would follow their progress all the way into adulthood. The first show was called 7 Up and was based on the Jesuit maxim, "give me the child at seven and I will show you the man." Thirty-five years later, 42 Up told the story of the adults. It was made even more riveting, and sad, by story of Neil. At the age of seven, he was a charismatic seven-year-old from a wealthy family; at twenty-eight he was in the throws of a nervous breakdown and at thirty-five he was homeless.

The plot might sound a little ludicrous, but Douglas Sirk's 1950s melodrama, with its brilliant use of colour, composition, and a strong cast, transforms something potentially glib into something great. Wealthy playboy Bob (Hudson) is involved in the death of a kindly doctor, then - in an accident - blinds his widow. To make amends, he devotes his life to studying medicine in an attempt to restore her sight. The scene in which the blinded Helen discovers there is nothing the European doctors can do to help her, only for Bob to turn up from America to tell her he will look after her, is sure to get your tear-ducts working.

Robert Redford's first foray behind the camera garnered four Oscars, including Best Picture. Overcome with grief following the death of a teenage son, an affluent American family disintegrates into dysfunction. This simple tale of loss and repression becomes immensely powerful, and by the time the mother (Mary Tyler Moore) packs up and leaves the home, leaving the father (Donald Sutherland) and remaining son behind on the doorstep, you might be feeling a little emotional yourself.

Channel 4's Faking It challenges contestants to learn a new profession, which is far removed from their previous experiences. After a month of training, they then try to hoodwink an expert panel of judges into believing that they are not the "fake". One episode of the show involving an Ex-naval officer who trains to become a drag queen proved to be especially emotional. Spence Bowdler initially refused to wear a dress, but after enduring singing lessons, waxing and high heels, he broke down in tears of joy after foxing the judges.

The essential historical epic, and a forebear of Gladiator, this tale of a slave rebellion from Kubrick and producer/star Kirk Douglas is a true classic. Douglas is the famous slave trained to be a gladiator who turned on his Roman masters and led a rebellion that shook the empire in around 73 BC. That Spartacus would get so close to victory and yet fail at the last makes the story incredibly moving. It's hard to hold back the tears when, after a bloody battle, the Romans demand that the rebel be captured, only for his men to stand up one by one and call out 'I'm Spartacus'.