Badmovies.org Forum

Breaking the fourth wall refers to when a fictional character talks to the viewer directly. As they seem to know the audience is sharing their world, or know that they themselves are ficitonal characters.

In movies, there's Ferris Buller talking to the audience.  Or at the end of House on Haunted Hill warns people that the ghosts are coming for them. 

Happens a lot in comic books, esp with Deadpool and She Hulk (who really played around with the idea of a self aware comic book creation-talking directly to her writer or even tearing through the panels of her book)

What are some of your favorite fourth wall moments?

That was a John Hughes thing, but Ferris Bueller was where he did it constantly throughout the movie. You see it in Sixteen Candles, when Anthony Michael Hall looks straight into the camers and says "this is getting interesting," or something like that. In Pretty In Pink, John Cryer doesn't actually say anything, but there's a moment at the end when he's got a girl flirting with him from across the room, and he looks at the camera briefly before saundering off screen. Kelly LeBroc does it in Wierd Science, I think.

The Devil's Chair (2006) makes excellent use of that.  It's about a guy who gets out of a mental asylum because some people want to conduct research concerning him.  He narrates the whole thing, much like a book where he's telling you what he thinks about everything.  It's done well because he has a very definite attitude towards everyone, and in the end it all makes perfect sense.  Though he doesn't actually look into the camera and talk to us, it's all voice-overs.

In my all time favorite "Tampopo" (1985 D.: Juzo Itami) a manners teacher shows a bunch of girls, how to eat correctly "western stile". Suddenly she looks right in Your eyes and tells You to avoid eating sounds . . .
and I don't want to spoil, so watch the first few minutes and see for Your self! It#s one of the best movie openings ever!

Juzo Itami did the same thing in some other movies like: "Minbo no onna"  aka "The fine art of blackmail" (1992) but in Tampopo it's definitely the best.

The English remake of Funny Games which came out a couple years ago.

The woman gets the upper hand of the killers and has a gun to them. Ah, but one of them picks up a TV remote, and rewinds the movie back a minute, smiling at the camera. The woman tries to grab a gun and he pushes her over.

 :buggedout:

-Jimmybob

In TOP SECRET, the main character, Nick Rivers,  says something to the effect of:

"I'm sure I'm not the first American rock singer to come to East Germany, be arrested and sentenced to death by the Gestapo, then escape and join the French Resistance and fall in love with a beautiful spy only to lose her to her childhood sweetheart, that she hasn't seen in 10 years,  who just arrived in a boat with a bunch of German sailors . . . "

Hilary replies: "Oh, Nick, I know it all sounds like a bad movie!"


And they both turn and stare silently at the camera.

I nearly fell off the couch laughing the first time I saw that.

Spaceballs has a good one where they fast forward the movie to see what will happen next.  That whole movie is excellent.

Burt Reynolds grinning at the camera when he outwits the cop in Smokey and The Bandit.

Anthony Perkins' smile at the end of Psycho.  :buggedout:

Franco Nero winking at the camera at the end of Enter The Ninja.

Tampopo. Wow, that was a good film. I saw it in the theatres way back then and haven't thought of it in years. I remember the scene you're talking about, but I don't remember the fourth wall break. I'll have to hunt that movie down.

Great thread idea!  I was actually thinking about this the other day.  

YES!  I also love when he's riding the bike, looks over to the camera and winks.  

The Muppet Movie is good for it several times.  Especially when Kermit has Electric Mayhem read the script to catch up on the movie's happenings.  I use the term "read the script" in my reviews a lot because of this movie.  Especially when characters magically show up to the right place.

Theres a point in Austin Powers 2 where Austin's boss is explaining something to him and he tells him to have a good time.  Then both of them look over and say to the audience, "and you have a good time too".  

Waynes World throughout when Wayne narrates everything.  

At the end of THE DEVIL AND DANIEL WEBSTER (1941) WALTER HUSTON (as "Mr. Scratch" - the devil) addresses the audience looking for his next target... "Perhaps... YOU!!" 

I came up with another one.  The film Ladybugs staring the Late Rodney Dangerfield. 

He stars as a man who dresses up his soon-to-be step son as a girl to play on his boss' daughters soccer team in order to get a promotion.  At the end of the film, everything works out.  He got the promotion, his wife and step son are happy with him.  Everything's great for him.  His boss even says so.  At that point, he says "Yeah,  I guess I finally got some respect" while looking at the camera.

It was a cool fourth wall break and some self-referentional humor. 

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

Thanks Reverend!
Only old Woody Allen could come with something like this.

The Genie in Disney's Aladdin breaks it a few times.  I like when he's reading from the script to the movie in order to get Aladdin to free him. 

Kevin McCarthy screaming "You're next!" at the audience at the end of INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS.

Peter Pan begging the audience to clap to save Tinkerbell!

EDIT: THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY (1903) considered by many to be the first true motion picture with a plot, ends with a great 'Breaking the 4th Wall' moment that supposedly sent audiences screaming!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bc7wWOmEGGY

This is undoubtedly my favorite one. It's what instantly jumped to mind when I read the topic.  It might be my favorite part of the movie, and I find it to be a darn funny film.

I still find that to be one of the funniest movies of all time, Andrew.  There are so many little subtle sight gags buried in it that you have to see the movie multiple times to catch them all!

It's one of mine.  I still remember recording the backwards scene with my computer (this was easily 15 years ago) so that we could play it backwards and hear what they were saying (not trusting the subtitles).  Yes, she really does ask for a book called "Europe on five quaaludes a day."

Robert Hays in Airplane looking at the camera and saying: "What a p*sser!" :teddyr:

Leslie Nielsen attacking Gorbachev in The Naked Gun and rubbing his birthmark off, saying to the camera: "I knew it!" :teddyr:

Literally breaking the glass door and the wall with the camera dolly and crane in "High Anxiety.  :teddyr:

Shirley Valentine has a lot of these moments with Pauline Collins addressing the wall.
 
In TV, the pilot episode of In Love and War had Jay Thomas and Susan Dey talking to the camera a lot.

Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back does it several times.

1.) Ben Affleck (as Holden McNeil from Chasing Amy) is talking to Jay and Silent Bob, who just found out that a movie is being made about the comic book they're the inspiration for.  Jay and Bob are mad, not because of money they're owed, but because people on IMDB are talking s**t about them.  Affleck looks at them and says "A Jay and Silent Bob movie.  Who'd pay to see that?"  Then all three stop, look at the camera and smile.

2.) Jay and Bob are set up for a crime at one point in the movie.  Jewel thieves have Jay and Bob sneak into an animal laboratory to rescue animals, causing a disturbance long enough so they can steal some diamonds from the jewelry store next door.  Will Ferrell shows up as a Wildlife Marshall to find the animals, and is informed of the real crime: a jewelry heist.  He says "Sounds like a plot out of a bad movie" and both look blankly at the camera.

3.) Towards the end, Ben Affleck re-appears alongside Matt Damon (both playing a parody of themselves, starring in a fictional Good Will Hunting 2.)  Jay and Bob are on set thinking that Ben and Matt are playing Jay and Bob in their comic book movie.  Ben and Matt start making fun of each others bad movies, such as Reindeer Games, Talented Mr. Ripley, etc.  Ben Affleck then says to Matt: "Sometimes you make your 'art' picture, sometimes, you make your action flick, and then there's the time you do a movie cause your friend says you owe him." at which point both look at camera.  (For those who don't know, Kevin Smith helped get Good Will Hunting picked up by Miramax.  He was friends with Ben after hiring him for Mallrats and Chasing Amy, giving him a big following on MTV.  He read the script for Good WIll Hunting and became a producer on it, and it won the Oscar and helped launch their careers.)

The cartoon Drawn Together has moments where a character will sit in the confessional and address the audience.  Usually the most outlandish/sick/twisted things will come out of their mouth.

Funny games did some excellent fourth wall stuff, I like the original better but both are pretty good...
Aside from that S&man, it has a twist that only a few will catch...

It has to be the She Hulk comics for me.
I know it's not a film (it nearly was...), but its so much fun and light heartedness in a time where I think comics get taken a little too seriously.

In Trading Places, when the Dukes are explaining commodities trading to Valentine, and dumbing it down to the point of putting bacon into context for him. Eddie Murphy turns his head and gives the camera that look that says "These guys have got to be kidding." Very funny.

This is not a favorite, in fact it's something I'm getting tired of: stage blood spattering on the camera lens.  What could take you out of the mood and remind you that your watching something that's being filmed more than that?  In fact, I saw a movie recently where they actually took the time to paint gobs of CGI blood on the camera "lens."  Exceedingly lame, in my opinion.

Can't believe no one's mentioned Kick Ass yet, and one of it's greatest lines:

"And if you're reassuring yourself that I'm going to make it through this since I'm talking to you now, quit being such a smart-ass!"

PRIVATE RESORT:  George the horny kid: "Boy, I'd pay to see this."

I was watching The Haunting (Robert Wise's version) again the other day and even in this scary film, there is a light moment and what seems to be a fourth wall break by Richard Johnson.

RJ: "Now. Which door?"
Claire Bloom: "That one." [points to her right]
RJ: "You're wrong, I've studied the map, it's this one." [smiles at camera, walks straight into the broom closet]

 :teddyr: :teddyr:

I was recently reminded of another good one. In the horror/comedy Dr. Giggles. The killer doctor gets stabbed with his own killer medical equipment. He looks at the camera and asks the audience "Is there a doctor in  the house?"

Bill Murray does it at the end of Scrooged, trying to get the audience to sing along.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAH-O-h7MRg

Bad video I know, but you get the point.

Also Macaulay Culkin does it quite a lot in the Home Alone Films.

That is a staple component of John Hughes movies. Anthony Michael Hall does it in Sixteen Candles, Jon Cryer does it in Pretty in Pink, I think Judd Nelson does it in The Breakfast Club, and Matthew Broderick does it all through Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiaEFHgWJ-E
4:30, 5:55 and 7:10.

and of course

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBzJGckMYO4

The Beetles talk to the audiance at the end of Yellow Submarine. 

There's the end fight in Blazing Saddles where it breaks right out of the movie set and continues through movies other people are filming. 

There's also the scene in Gremlins 2 where the Gremlins mess up the film.  Depending on which versions you're watching, they either get John Wayne or Hulk Hogan to threaten the gremlins to get the movie started again. 

In Repossessed, the devil shows off her power by causing the film to break. 

IMAGINE ME AND YOU has a pretty good one at the very end...Heck turns and smiles to the camera when he realizes the girl on the plane next to him "likes" him.  It's the perfect ending for this character.

Russ Meyer uses it a lot too. Especially Beneath The Valley Of The Ultra Vixens.

These aren't exactly fourth wall breaks in the sense of speaking to the audience, but they draw attention to the fact that they are acting.

One of my favourite sketches and fourth wall breaks is from A Bit of Fry and Laurie, where Hugh Laurie looks pointedly at Stephen Fry and says, "I don't know how you're going to finish this (sketch)."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEtt8sP1_1w

Another is a what I believe is a Monty Python sketch.  A group of people are on a desert island, and we watch their progress as they run out of food and start to starve.  Then one of them points at the camera and says, 'wait a minute, what's that over there?'  The scene cuts to a wide shot of the group running towards the camera crew that were filming them!  Soon after, they have eaten all the camera crew's food, and you see the camera crew has joined them in starvation.  Then one of the camera crew points directly into the camera and says, 'wait a minute!'  Then there's another wide shot of both groups running towards a second camera crew!  And on it goes...

The recent Muppets movie was a very good about having these forth wall breaks.  I love the one where they suggest travel by map and cue the Indiana Jones style of traveling.

     The ROAD pictures had so many of them, you can't count them.

(http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f148/slave2moonlight/HopeCrosby.jpg)

Nice thread. without doubt my favourite has to be the guy at the bar at the end of THE BIG LEBOWSKI. love the way they did it, perfect way to end a film

also - just in my opinion - I have to say I found the 4th wall break in FUNNY GAMES to be annoying and unnecessary, kind of like they were trying too hard to be different/original etc...

Mr. Benedict's conversation with the audience in Last Action Hero.

THE BEAST MUST DIE has almost a '5th' wall break, in the sense that the whole film stops and a narrator speaks to you/the audience telling you to try and make your mind up about who the werewolf is, then you get a 30 second countdown, then the film carries on from where it left off..