He sacrificed himself to deadly radiation exposure in order to fix the Enterprise--which needed to get moving because it was about to be destroyed by a huge explosion. Once the ship is fixed and out of harm's way, Admiral Kirk is told to get down to the engine room where he finds Spock staggering around in a sealed-off compartment, obviously dying. They speak thru the glass, Spock tells him the "needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few..." (or the one)
and he slowly passes away. Immediately they have Spock's funeral, sending his body to the newly formed planet nearby. I cry and cry and cry whenever I see this movie.
I thought maybe I was the only one with this reaction, till I read on online article which listed the top tear-jerker movies of all time. Spock's death was right up there with Steel Magnolias and Terms of Endearment.
See, now, I'm not nuts...
