The Best Fourth Wall Breaks

[El Unicornio, mang]

Alfie, of course, is a classic example of near-omnipresent fourth wall breakage. All of it from Mr Maurice Micklewhite.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8166-kaEPQ

Later borrowed and used to great effect in High Fidelity

[Noodle Lizard]

Later borrowed and used to great effect in High Fidelity

And in Alfie (2004).

[neveragain]

Has anyone mentioned the end of Magnolia?
Fucking got me like you wouldn't believe.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdajEccNZSM

It's all to do with the build-up of course; the music, the half-heard conversation, the chance of retribution and the three hours of absolute heartbreak you've just sat through. Then bang. (500) Days of Summer was a bit shit in comparison. I've seen many other films attempt it right at the end, in these cases it lives or dies on the strength of the preceding celluloid and that's probably how it should be.

[Noodle Lizard]

Has anyone mentioned the end of Magnolia?
Fucking got me like you wouldn't believe.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdajEccNZSM

It's all to do with the build-up of course; the music, the half-heard conversation, the chance of retribution and the three hours of absolute heartbreak you've just sat through. Then bang. (500) Days of Summer was a bit shit in comparison. I've seen many other films attempt it right at the end, in these cases it lives or dies on the strength of the preceding celluloid and that's probably how it should be.

Nah, the one at the end of 'Secretary' was better.  The 'Magnolia' one seemed more like PTA had yelled 'Cut' or she corpsed or something, and then they decided to keep it in during editing because profound.

[Glebe]

There's also this fantastic example of camp malevolence from Tony Sales during Iggy Pop's understated performance of 'Lust For Life' at the Manchester Apollo. I know it's not a film moment strictly speaking. It's much better than that. It's about thirty seconds in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kD5X5OGLySI

Jarvis Cocker!

Caught the start of a episode of 'Allo, 'Allo! today, actually forgot how Rene addresses the audience at the start of each episode.

[futon]

Delurk just for this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTsvTMKp2N4

In addition to the look to camera, the director of the film is hitting the lead actor over the head with the script of the film, I believe.

[Thomas]

Lens flare is a sort of fourth wall break. Isn't it?

[wosl]

400 Blows. Shattering.

Shivers stuff (and a brilliant bit of seizing-upon by Truffaut).

[Johnny Textface]

Nostalgic for the Dick Donner Superman film following the humourless Man of Steel.

Nice cheesy grin down the lens for the final shot..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Hy6S7urCZM

[mcbpete]

There's whole plot twists involving the forth wall breaking here. It'd completely spoil it if I mentioned them, so if you've a spare 54 minutes make sure to watch this - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKq12c6FAr0

[Replies From View]

I think a fourth wall break only occurs when the character looks towards us in order to directly comment on a recent event, in a film where everything else has been played naturalistically. So I would say Marnie example with Hitchcock doesn't count as the 'character' isn't saying anything by glancing towards us for a split second, as amusing as it is to be glanced at by the all-knowing director. The Shining one is more probable but if he's just looking directly forward then it doesn't have the 'gazing out into our souls' (pardon?) quality that is needed for it to count. We haven't moved any further.

I disagree that it has to be a direct comment on a recent event within the film.  It's more about commenting on the audience somehow, even just by making them aware of what they might be thinking at that exact moment, in relation to the film or some peripheral distraction.  It's the film connecting with the spectator's personal "now".

The Hitchcock example (where Hitchcock emerges in the doorway and glances in the direction of the camera) breaks the fourth wall by making the audience aware of themselves.  They see Hitchcock and go "ooh; Hitchcock", he looks in their direction and they are made aware of that thought.

[Zetetic]

I'd suggest it's just anything that's understood (by the viewer) as addressed to the viewer by someone in the film[nb]Edit: Which fits the image of a 'fourth wall break' .[/nb].

(One effect of which might be to cause them to reflect on what the viewer's doing, that is watching a film.)

[Incandenza]

The look to the camera in the utterly forgettable Hot Tub Time Machine just about made the film worth watching.

[Thomas]

Sometimes, though, the comment being made to camera isn't necessarily being made to the viewer. The Annie Hall scenes, for example, where Allen's character sort of rants and raves to camera, seems to me to just be a metaphorical, not-actually-happening thing. It's just an onscreen manifestation of the character's internal monologue.

So he's arguably not addressing the viewer, and he's not acknowledging that he exists inside a film, but he's still breaking the fourth wall.

'Boy, if life were only like this.'

[Zetetic]

I don't think that example is a good one (because I'd argue you'd have to take it as a representation of internal monologue, [nb]Although I'm not sure what 'manifestation' meant; he manifests the otherwise internal monologue as a monologue to the viewer? It's not a soliquoy.[/nb]) but it's a fair point that it's too narrow to demand that it has to be addressed to the viewer.

[Thomas]

Yes, perhaps 'representation' would have been a better word. 'Manifestation' was really just the first word that came to mind and it sort of fitted the bill.

I'm surprised fourth wall breaks don't knock my continuity-loving self for six. I can imagine lying awake at night whispering 'But... who was he talking to? Who?'

[Alberon]

Okay, it's not a movie or even a TV show, but they did do a good little story in Judge Dredd once where breaking the fourth wall was the whole point.




The character spends the whole story talking to the reader through the fourth wall. The conceit being that we're just figments of this mental case's imagination.

[Replies From View]

I'd suggest it's just anything that's understood (by the viewer) as addressed to the viewer by someone in the film[nb]Edit: Which fits the image of a 'fourth wall break'.

That seems to be pretty much what I was saying about a film's connection with the spectator's personal "now".  But I think it'd be fourth wall breaking if the person in the film started talking about the contents of the viewer's bedroom, for example, or about what the viewer happened to be daydreaming about.  I don't for example think it's all about the film stating knowingly that it's a film, because the success of that depends upon some kind of communication.  So fourth wall breaking is more like when the viewer feels some kind of moment of connection as if what they're seeing is directed to them personally, and there's that weird sense that something scripted or made years ago is somehow speaking to what's happening to that viewer in that moment.

I know that's a bit vague and weird but I'm sticking to it.

[Replies From View]

'But... who was he talking to? Who?'

Never spoken to yourself?

Spoiler alert

Too young probably.

[close]

[Replies From View]

The character spends the whole story talking to the reader through the fourth wall.

Reading that for the first time just now, for me the moment of interest occurs at the point Judge Dredd interacts with the guy who's addressing us.  Because until then, he's just a visual representation of the unseen person - the writer, perhaps, or at least the narrator - who writes "Meanwhile, several yards away but within earshot..."

I can safely consider him bracketed within that (ie not fourth wall breaking because he is just a narrator) until Judge Dredd starts interacting with him, and then we potentially (and only potentially, for it all entirely depends on how this story ends up developing) have a guy who's communicating with us directly whilst existing within the world/reality of the story.

[Endicott]

This scene from Deadwood, after Al has painfully passed a kidney stone and had a minor stroke during the process.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jDc2UPSnR0

[Stone Cold Jane Austen]

I spotted a good one recently in Cool Hand Luke, during the famous egg eating scene Newman pops an egg into his mouth and then, just for a second, fixes the audience with a defiant stare. Here's a gif I found of it: http://media.tumblr.com/62010da801780140123ab12e049a59b7/tumblr_inline_mjwxj84dBE1qz4rgp.gif

[olliebean]

There's a couple in the final scene of Wanted:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QADr4hVKs3Y

[Ray Le Otter]

Eddie Murphy being patronized by the Dukes in "Trading Places".

[Glebe]

"But sir, I'm flaming!"