15 Films That Went Further By Breaking Through The Invisible Wall Of The Movie Screen

When we watch a movie, we are usually used to following a story that unfolds without the protagonists interacting with the viewer. It’s as if we were in another dimension, watching the lives of those who appear on the screen without us being seen. We are talking about the so-called fourth wall, a kind of “invisible” barrier, which would be the movie or television screen, in charge of separating the characters from the audience. But what happens when an actor challenges the spectator directly? It’s the time when the fourth wall breaks.

In this post, the awesome.club brings 15 films that broke the fourth wall and challenged the pre-established limits of cinema. Many of these feature films even caused surprise when they were released, since the public was not used to that. and not bonus that we prepared, check out which was the first film to break down the fourth wall.

The opening monologue Enjoying the Adoidado Life is possibly the best-known and best-remembered case of breaking the fourth wall in film. Ferris reveals to the viewer everything he intends to do on his day off, taking advantage of his parents’ absence. We follow him into the shower, where he dedicates a song to us before covering the camera with his hand so we don’t see more than we should. In addition, there is a scene after the end credits in which the protagonist sends us home, as the film has come to an end.

Woody Allen is known for teasing and interacting with viewers in almost all of his movies. In Neurotic Groom, Nervous Bride, one of the funniest moments in the film is when the characters are in line at the cinema and Woody Allen, tired of the opinions of a man who is there talking about Marshall McLuhan, shares his frustration with the audience. In the conversation, McLuhan himself appears to clarify the situation and put the man in line in his place.

In the final scene of Psychosis, the character Norman Bates looks straight into the camera and smiles slyly, as if confessing his terrible secret to the viewer. He breaks the fourth wall only once, but it’s enough to send a shiver down your spine!

Although the film is told by its protagonist, the narrator directly challenges the audience by giving more details about the life of Tyler Durden. In turn, Durden advises the narrator, making it seem like he too is sharing his musings with the audience. Fight Club, in fact, it constantly makes references to its own status as a cinematographic work.

The second part of Tarantino’s film begins with Uma Thurman summing up what happened in the first part of Kill Bill, speaking directly to the camera while driving. It is a masterful resource that breaks the fourth wall to establish the context of what will be seen in the second volume of the saga.

When DiCaprio explains his life philosophy to the camera in the wolf of Wall Street, it even seems that he is trying to sell it to the spectator. The character reveals the legal but questionable businesses that take him to the top of Wall Street.

Mel Brooks’ film breaks the fourth wall in a very original and funny way. In one scene, the Dark Helmet character discovers where Princess Vespa is by watching a video from the film itself, rewinding it to see where the heroes are headed.

In The dumber the better there’s a very amusing scene where Wayne and Garth argue with the television producer for not being willing to sell out and advertise on his show. But while they defend their position, they market different brands by looking straight into the camera. In addition, in the final part of the feature, Wayne presents several outcomes for his team: a sad one, one inspired by Scooby Doo and another super happy, in which everything works out.

Both in the original film and in its remake, psychopaths interact with the viewer, making him participate in their atrocities, whether through a direct question asked the camera or a smile, as if he knew there was someone on the other side of the screen. In one of the most memorable scenes, one of them rewinds events to change the course of events.

The film is completely narrated by the voice of Henry Hill, but in the trial scene, at the end of the film, the character gets up from his chair and makes a speech to the camera. His last words are: “And now, it’s over”. That’s when the frame jumps to Hill’s new life as a protected witness picking up the newspaper at the front door.

High Fidelity it breaks the fourth wall whenever the protagonist tries to explain to the audience how he feels after ending his relationship and what he has been doing with the aim of getting his ex out of his mind. One of the most beautiful and remembered scenes in the production is the one in which the character makes a list of five things connected to his beloved that he misses the most.

Amélie Poulain’s Fabulous Destiny constantly breaks the fourth wall, as its protagonist speaks to the audience, sharing complicit glances with them. At the beginning of the feature, she confides and reveals what she likes most about cinema, as well as the strengths and weaknesses she sees in other people.

birdman is a complex example. The actors interpret actors, and a good part of the film takes place in a theater, which means that there is a permanent play with the limits of fiction. More than breaking the fourth wall, the feature makes it elastic. Furthermore, there are times when the spectator is directly questioned.

In a scene from Gremlins 2: The New Gangthe gremlins appear in a movie theater where it is being shown Gremlins 2, only they remove the tape and put another film to run. The theater manager finds Hulk Hogan in the audience and asks him for help. The fighter threatens the gremlins, who get scared and go back to projecting the correct film.

The last movie on our list is Deadpool, which subtly pays homage to the first feature we mentioned here, Enjoying Life Adoidado, in the scene after the credits🇧🇷 Deadpool speaks to the viewer without any filter, releasing all the barbarities that come to mind. In the laundry scene he even makes fun of the breaking of the fourth wall.

The first time the fourth wall was broken in cinema was with a short film called The Great Train Robbery, released in 1903. The production, in addition to being innovative for including scenes filmed in different places and then mounted, is the first that can be cataloged as being of the western genre. In a scene, which could be placed either at the beginning or at the end of the short, one of the bandits fires his gun towards the camera, as if shooting at the audience.

Do you remember being surprised to see a movie breaking the limits of the fourth wall? What is your opinion about this resource used by some filmmakers? Comment!