Even the manliest moviegoer likes to have a good cry from time to time. Bill Murray knew that much in "Stripes" when he asked his platoon to raise their hands if they sobbed when Old Yeller died. We fellas may appear to be emotionally bulletproof sitting through female-friendly tragedies like "Steel Magnolias" and "Beaches," but throw a dog into the mix and the manly floodgates tend to bust wide open.

Take the new Richard Gere movie, "Hachi: A Dog's Tale." Hollywood's been hip to the lure of the male weepie for ages, going back as far as 1943's "Lassie Come Home," a perennial that defies you not to reach for the Kleenex.

Since then, there have been heart-tuggers aimed at art house crowds, like "Umberto D." (1952), action-flick aficionados like "I Am Legend" (2007) and mainstream multiplexers like "Marley And Me" (2008). What all of these movies about man's best friend have in common is that they're guaranteed to turn on even the most stubborn waterworks.

At first glance, there was no reason to expect "Hachi" to be on that list. After all, films starring A-list actors like Gere and Joan Allen generally don't bypass theaters and basically go straight to DVD if they're half-decent, but "Hachi" is a three-hankie gem.

Based on a true story, Hachi is the tale of a professor who adopts a lost Akita puppy he finds one day and brings home to his reluctant wife. As the puppy grows up and naturally gets into all sorts of sad-eyed mischief, he develops a habit of breaking free from the family's backyard and making his way to the nearby train station where every night he loyally sits and waits for his master, Gere, to come home.

Then one day, he doesn't come home and Hachi just waits and waits. Don't worry, nothing's given away, it's in the trailer. All I can say is, I lost it, and unless you're made of stone, you will too.

Now for a look at what else is new on DVD: in "Up in the Air," George Clooney plays a corporate hatchetman having a mid-life crisis; in "Precious," Lee Daniels directs a tragic tale of domestic abuse; and in "Old Dogs," Robin Williams and John Travolta ham it up.