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Best Use of Voice Over / Narration?

post #1 of 67
12/2/09 at 2:06pm
Thread Starter 
Usually voice over or narration is a cheap way to communicate information to the audience without showing them and is looked down upon. But there are times when it is used to great effect, or despite it the film is still great.

Two instances that come to mind are The Shawshank Redemption and Goodfellas. Both are, in my opinion, stronger for having it there. Shawshank is unique because our narration is, essentially, coming from someone other than our main character. In the case of Goodfellas, the strength comes from both the way the lines are delivered as well as a commentary on the events taking place looking back.

Any other uses that immediately spring to mind?
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post #2 of 67
12/2/09 at 2:10pm
There has to be a pre-existing thread for this.
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post #3 of 67
12/2/09 at 2:12pm
Thread Starter 
I searched but didn't see one.
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post #4 of 67
12/2/09 at 2:14pm
I'm sure there is.
And I'm sure I mentioned A Christmas Story.
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post #5 of 67
12/2/09 at 2:17pm
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Downey's voice and Black's writing were made for each other.
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post #6 of 67
12/2/09 at 2:17pm
In fact, I think the site's writers did a feature countdown (In One Ear, Out the Other) on the subject.
Eh, whatever, Bobclark and Doc Happenin got it in two.
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post #7 of 67
12/2/09 at 2:24pm
Thread Starter 
Wow and that was only a year ago. I have a terrible memory, apparently.

I still don't see a thread for it though.
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post #8 of 67
12/2/09 at 2:39pm
The opening monologue in No Country For Old Men gets me every single time. It perfectly sets up not only one of the main characters, but the thematic outlook of the story as well; not to mention the shots that Tommy Lee Jones's voiceover is on top of are nothing short of magical and the ironic transition to seeing Chigur being pulled over when the voice over is done are is so awesome that words fail me.
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post #9 of 67
12/2/09 at 2:48pm
Alec Baldwin in The Royal Tanenbaums.
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post #10 of 67
12/2/09 at 2:50pm
The Fight Club narration was originally omitted but Fincher decided that a large part of the humor stemmed from it. I loved how it wasn't expository in anyway but simply enhanced the scenes. The breaking of the fourth wall and Norton's monotone were a plus.

I also rather loved The Informant! for the narration that was essentially the main character's stream of consciousness.

Edit: I'm also against the idea that narration is something that should be looked down upon by writers. It depends completely on how and why it is used. I find it most effective when it is essentially a character's commentary on the film (ala Zombieland). However, it added to Von Trier's Dogville among other things.
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post #11 of 67
12/2/09 at 2:50pm
-RDJ breaking the fourth wall in "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang"
-Cate Blanchett opening narration in "Fellowship of the Ring"
- Also, Casino and Goodfellas may win this thread.
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post #12 of 67
12/2/09 at 3:01pm
Thread Starter 
I think the short of it is, and why narration get a bad rap, is if it explains something out of laziness or because the rest of the scene didn't get across what it was meant to.

It's not a blanket rule as illustrated by the numerous examples here, because it can also help get inside the mind of a character. At it's best, it's being the antithesis of what we're seeing on screen to show how a person really feels inside isn't necessarily what they're saying to the room.
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post #13 of 67
12/2/09 at 3:12pm
1. Goodfellas
2. Blast of Silence
3. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
4. Adaptation.
5. Casino/Royal Tenebaums
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post #14 of 67
12/2/09 at 3:17pm
Farewell, My Lovely
Sunset Boulevard
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post #15 of 67
12/2/09 at 3:36pm
You could do an entire list of best film noir voice-overs. Double Indemnity, which has my all-time favorite summary of noir ("I did it for a girl. I did it for the money. Well, I didn't get the girl, and I didn't get the money."), would be number 1. All others would be number 2, or lower. Who am I kidding? Out of the Past would be number 2. If MacMurray's Indemnity v.o. captures everything that is sleazy, amoral, and great about noir, then Mitchum's v.o. in Past -- weary, longing, searching -- is everything that's haunting about it. I have to give some big love for Laura, though -- they do the shifting narrator thing like Casino, and do it amazingly well. (And, of course, Danny DeVito's opening to L.A. Confidential.)

A recent v.o. that I love is Gone Baby Gone. Like L.A. Confidential, Affleck has a way with capturing Lehane's voice, both in the older's adaptation and the younger's acting, that makes you think this is how it always should be heard. Both DeVito and Affleck are so good, it's affected my readings of other books by the author -- I've been going through the early Kenzie/Genarro novels slowly, and it's hard not to see Casey Affleck and Michelle, and hear their voices.
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post #16 of 67
12/2/09 at 3:38pm
Terence Malick uses three completely different styles of VO in his first three features (I can't for the life of me recall if it was in The New World), and in each case the narration is essential to the films.

Turns out I mentioned this.
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post #17 of 67
12/2/09 at 3:44pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Phil View Post
Terence Malick uses three completely different styles of VO in his first three features (I can't for the life of me recall if it was in The New World), and in each case the narration is essential to the films.
As much as I love Days of Heaven, that movie would be an utter mess story-wise without narration.
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post #18 of 67
12/2/09 at 3:45pm
There was narration in The New World... for me it recalled the style used in The Thin Red Line.
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post #19 of 67
12/2/09 at 3:48pm
What's great about the Thin Red Line's narration is that you didn't always know who was speaking, giving the characters a shared inner voice over a shared experience. What's not so great about The Thin Red Line's narration is Malick seems to have lifted it (and other significant bits of storytelling) from Cornel Wilde's Beach Red.
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post #20 of 67
12/2/09 at 3:52pm
I generally like the narration in Little Children anyways, but the football game commentary is perhaps one of my favourite cinema moments of this decade.
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post #21 of 67
12/2/09 at 3:57pm
John Cusack's narration of making the perfect mix tape in High Fidelity is great, especially when he switches to actually talking to Bruce Springsteen.
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post #22 of 67
12/2/09 at 4:01pm
Tis the season...

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post #23 of 67
12/2/09 at 4:34pm
Criswell owns this thread. PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE would not be the same without his narrative insight.


Quote:
Greetings, my friend. We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives. And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future. You are interested in the unknown, the mysterious, the unexplainable. That is why you are here. And now, for the first time, we are bringing to you the full story of what happened on that fateful day. We are giving you all the evidence, based only on the secret testimonies of the miserable souls who survived this terrifying ordeal. The incidents, the places, my friend we cannot keep this a secret any longer. Let us punish the guilty, let us reward the innocent. My friend, can your heart stand the shocking facts about grave robbers from outer space?

Quote:
The grief of his wife's death became greater and greater agony. The home they had so long shared together, became a tomb. A sweet memory of her joyous living. The sky to which she had once looked, was now only a covering for her dead body. The ever-beautiful flowers she had planted with her own hand, became nothing more than the lost roses of her cheeks. Confused by his great loss, the old man left that home, never to return again.
Quote:
At the funeral of the old man, unknown to his mourners, his dead wife was
watching.
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post #24 of 67
12/2/09 at 4:39pm
Raising Arizona is my personal favorite. And although the director's cut without the narration is best, I still enjoy Ford's noirish VO work in Blade Runner.

Also, I love the narrator's voice in Yellow Submarine. Very soothing.
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post #25 of 67
12/2/09 at 4:43pm
I think Amelie and The Assasination of Jesse James did a pretty good job of adding to already pretty dense films. The Jesse James voiceover in particular - I think most of that film would work fine without it, but the opening and closing sequences would be worse off without Ron Hansen's wonderful words.
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post #26 of 67
12/2/09 at 4:44pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by nekkerbee View Post
I love the narrator's voice in Yellow Submarine. Very soothing.
Ringo Starr in The Point.
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post #27 of 67
12/2/09 at 9:34pm
Goodfellas is the winner of this thread as far as I'm concerned.

Second runner ups would be Raising Arizona and Stand By Me.
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post #28 of 67
12/2/09 at 9:36pm
Apocolypse Now

Sheen's narration is great. "...Why the fuck would he do that?"
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post #29 of 67
12/2/09 at 10:25pm
A large majority of Blast of Silence's voice over (most of the dialogue, actually, it's damn near a silent film without the VO) is a running internal monologue of the main character's thought process. It flirts with cliche, but it proves to be thrilling and involving. Some of the most phenomenal pure noir imagery, too.

"Danger signs, Frankie."
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post #30 of 67
12/2/09 at 10:51pm
Arrested Development!
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post #31 of 67
12/3/09 at 1:05am
"And God help you if you use voice-over in your work, my friends. God help you. That's flaccid, sloppy writing. Any idiot can write a voice-over narration to explain the thoughts of a character."

The timing of that, coming right in the middle of Cage doing voiceover narration is so, so brilliant. In my opinion, best use of voiceover ever, even better than the sincere uses in movies like "Goodfellas" and "The Shawshank Redemption" which I agree are also awesome.
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post #32 of 67
12/3/09 at 1:11am
Quote:
Originally Posted by LisaNY View Post
Goodfellas is the winner of this thread as far as I'm concerned.

Second runner ups would be Raising Arizona and Stand By Me.
I agree.The VO in Stand By Me is really well done.
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post #33 of 67
12/3/09 at 4:42am
Raising Arizona. I can't believe that I forgot about that one.

"Edwina's insides were a rocky place where my seed could find no purchase.." Christ, that's brilliant.

Also: "I tried to stand up and fly straight, but it wasn't easy with that sumbitch Reagan in the White House. I dunno. They say he's a decent man, so maybe his advisors are confused. "
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post #34 of 67
12/3/09 at 5:54am
The Big Lebowski. If anyone could narrate my life, it would be Sam Elliott.
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post #35 of 67
12/3/09 at 6:13am
I love the VO in Gattaca.
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post #36 of 67
12/3/09 at 7:15am
ELECTION. So bitterly hilarious.
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post #37 of 67
12/3/09 at 9:51am
Both Arizona and Lebowski have two of the funniest voiceovers.

"Maybe it was Utah" is about as perfect a last line as you'll find. Always makes me smile form ear to ear. As does, "Sometimes there's a man, sometimes, there's a man. Well, I lost my train of thought here. But... aw, hell. I've done introduced it enough."
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post #38 of 67
12/3/09 at 10:24am
Call me crazy but I actually prefer Blade Runner with Ford's voiceover. It has a kind of flim noir dectective feel that really seems to fit with the overall style of the moive.
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post #39 of 67
12/3/09 at 10:52am
Probably because I've watched it again recently, I'm gonna throw in a mention for the bookend narration in The Piano. Adds a nice extra layer to the main character and isn't too overdone.
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post #40 of 67
12/3/09 at 10:56am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ken Savage View Post
Call me crazy but I actually prefer Blade Runner with Ford's voiceover. It has a kind of flim noir dectective feel that really seems to fit with the overall style of the moive.
You're not crazy. I like both versions, but I've never been ready to wish the narrated version into the cornfield. If only for the moment after Deckard shoots Zhora and says in VO, "It didn't make me feel any better about shooting a woman in the back." Not a replicant. Not a skin job. A woman.
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post #41 of 67
12/3/09 at 12:38pm
Y'know, I've been wondering why the narration in Goodfellas works so well, and I think I've figured it out to a degree: Ray Liotta and Lorraine Bracco's deliveries. It helps, of course, that the narration is brilliantly written for both characters, but consider how the actors deliver it. They don't overemphasize, they don't go over-the-top, they just... narrate. Liotta delivers it in a flat, unassuming way, but it's not unemotional; it's from a man who no longer feels there is any real spark or fun in his life, so it fits perfectly. Bracco follows the same method, though she's a little more outwardly emotional. Any thoughts on this?

Another great example is Joanne Woodward in The Age of Innocence. Woodward has a soothing, warm voice that is pleasant to listen to, and she provides the necessary objective viewpoint for the story, as well as voicing the inner thoughts of characters who cannot say them out loud. I also like Jude Law's narration as "Lemony Snicket" in A Series of Unfortunate Events; while he's not in the same league as Tim Curry (who did many of the UE audiobooks, and a terrific job at that), he puts a nice, wry spin on things, especially in the fake-out opening with "The Littlest Elf".
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post #42 of 67
12/3/09 at 1:15pm
The voice over during Portman's prison stay in V For Vendetta slays me. But then, it's reading a note that we're seeing, so I'd say it almost doesn't count for this topic. It is a voice over, technically, but it's not a voice over in the sense that someone is just talking over the film about their own thoughts/comments. The voice is directly reading something we're seeing a character read, which is slightly different.

Nonetheless, that whole sequence never fails to shake me. For some reason I just lost it inside when it got to "...I don't know why they hate us" the first viewing.
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post #43 of 67
12/3/09 at 2:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by joeypants View Post
Nonetheless, that whole sequence never fails to shake me. For some reason I just lost it inside when it got to "...I don't know why they hate us" the first viewing.
A bit off topic, but I totally agree with you. Cried quite a bit during that scene, its incredibly well put together.
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post #44 of 67
12/3/09 at 2:24pm
Trainspotting.... "I chose not to choose life, I chose something else..."
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post #45 of 67
12/3/09 at 2:30pm
The great thing about the GoodFellas narration is when Liotta breaks the fourth wall in the court room scene. Not only does he nail the scene, it's a great visual way to show that Henry has truly been taken out of that life, just as the character takes himself out of the narrative.
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post #46 of 67
12/3/09 at 2:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by RathBandu View Post
You could do an entire list of best film noir voice-overs. Double Indemnity, which has my all-time favorite summary of noir ("I did it for a girl. I did it for the money. Well, I didn't get the girl, and I didn't get the money."), would be number 1. All others would be number 2, or lower. Who am I kidding? Out of the Past would be number 2. If MacMurray's Indemnity v.o. captures everything that is sleazy, amoral, and great about noir, then Mitchum's v.o. in Past -- weary, longing, searching -- is everything that's haunting about it. I have to give some big love for Laura, though -- they do the shifting narrator thing like Casino, and do it amazingly well. (And, of course, Danny DeVito's opening to L.A. Confidential.)

A recent v.o. that I love is Gone Baby Gone. Like L.A. Confidential, Affleck has a way with capturing Lehane's voice, both in the older's adaptation and the younger's acting, that makes you think this is how it always should be heard. Both DeVito and Affleck are so good, it's affected my readings of other books by the author -- I've been going through the early Kenzie/Genarro novels slowly, and it's hard not to see Casey Affleck and Michelle, and hear their voices.
Great post, Rath. Out of the Past is a fantastic choice. (How'd that slip my mind??) Mitchum is definitely king of the Voice over. You could make a top 10 list of just his stuff.

Funny thing regarding Goodfellas, if I recall the voice over was one of the few things attacked by critics upon initial release. When something becomes an iconic part of pop culture, flaws are overlooked and forgiven I suppose.
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post #47 of 67
12/3/09 at 3:01pm
Ricky Jay over the opening of Magnolia.
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post #48 of 67
12/3/09 at 3:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by RCA View Post
Trainspotting.... "I chose not to choose life, I chose something else..."
How did I not think of that.

Also how did it take me this long to not think of my own avatar and mention SLC Punk. Especially Stevo's breakdown of "Why we fight".
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post #49 of 67
12/3/09 at 3:17pm
'Monty Python's Meaning of Life': 'This man is about to die. In a few moments he will be killed...etc'.
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post #50 of 67
12/3/09 at 3:25pm
Godard is pretty good at this.
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