Movies with Narrations? (1 Viewer)

[Johnny Angell]

I just finished watching the 'Beast from 20,000 Fathoms' and couldn't help but thank the opening narration is a little cheesy, but that's part of its charm.

The sci-fi movies of the 50's made frequent use of an opening narration. Because so much exposition can be done quickly this way, it must have saved a bunch of money.

But what are the movies that were great, in part at least, because of a narration, either opening or otherwise? The one that comes to mind for me is 'Sunset Boulevard.' That great sardonic narraton by William Holden was on the dot, at least for me.

 

[ThomasC]

Magnolia has some narration.

 

[Brice]

I thought that Alec Baldwin's narration in The Royal Tenenbaums was steller. It surely helped make the movie. Brice

 

[george kaplan]

Citizen Kane

The Apartment

Double Indemnity

Stalag 17

Billy Wilder seems to have done this a lot, and to good effect.

 

[David_Giles]

Stand By Me

 

[ThomasC]

How about Ferris Bueller's Day Off?

 

[Walter Kittel]

For myself, one of the absolute best narratives that I've experienced, and a narrative that I believe adds immeasurably to the film is Morgan Freeman's work on The Shawshank Redemption.

Walter.

 

[David Williams]

I immediately thought of Alec Baldwin's Narrator, as already mentioned by Brice, when reading the title of this thread. He really made the Narrator feel like an essential part of the movie.

Cate Blachett's narration as Galadriel in the LOTR trilogy is memorable as well.

 

[Kevin Porter]

-American Beauty
-About Schmidt (slight)
-Forrest Gump
-Memento
-Moulin Rouge
-Kill Bill (Best. Narration. Ever. Very uncommon for a Tarantino flick too.)
-Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
-Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (You would think narration would add lucidity to the film. Nada.)
-About a Boy
-Tuck Everlasting? (Not too sure about that one)
-T3 (A little bit at least)
-True Romance (At the beginning at least. I didn't make it all the way through on this one.)
-Fight Club
-Annie Hall
-The Princess Bride
-Manhattan
-My Big Fat Greek Wedding? (I think it had some at the end and the beginning)
-Pearl Harbor (Had some at the end.)
-Everyone Says I Love You
-Terminator 2 (Had some bookending narration)
-The Matrix (A tiny bit at the end)
-A.I.
-The Color Purple
-Monty Python and the Holy Grail

EDIT: Changes made to add other people's suggestions.

-The Royal Tenenbaums
-The Shawshank Redemption
-The Big Lebowski
-Adaptation
-Days of Heaven
-A Clockwork Orange
-Barry Lyndon
-Babe
-Goodfellas
-Amelie
-Brief Encounter
-The Killing
-Lord of the Rings: FOTR
-Stand By Me
-Ferris Bueller's Day Off
-Magnolia
-Citizen Kane
-The Apartment
-Double Indemnity
-Stalag 17
-Minority Report
-We Were Solidiers
-A Christmas Story

 

[Dan Rudolph]

You want some great narration, watch the Big Lebowski. Perhaps the only movie I've seen where the narrator loses his train of thought.

 

[Brook K]

Agree on several that have been mentioned here.

Terrence Malick uses narration in all 3 of his films, my favorite of which is Days Of Heaven

 

[Dominik Droscher]

Adaptation.

Charlie Kaufman: [voice-over] I'm pathetic, I'm a loser. I have failed, I am panicked. I've sold out, I am worthless, I... What the f*ck am I doing here? What the f*ck am I doing here? F*ck! It is my weakness, my ultimate lack of conviction that brings me here. Easy answers used to shortcut yourself to success. And here I am because my jump into the abysmal well - isn't that just a risk one takes when attempting something new? I should leave here right now. I'll start over. I need to face this project head on and...
Robert McKee: ...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.

 

[dave_brogli]

edited (wrong post)

 

[Ray H]

No mention of A Clockwork Orange?

 

[teapot2001]

Barry Lyndon
Babe
Goodfellas
Badlands
Thin Red Line
A Christmas Story

~T

 

[Dennis Castro]

Goodfellas
Casino
Ful Metal Jacket
The Shawshank Redemtion

 

[Johnny Angell]

Could there be a better movie with a great narration than the one in 'To Kill a Mockingbird'? IMHO, nope.

 

[Mark_vdH]

I really liked the narration in Amelie, where the narrator tells us what the main characters (and a cat ) like and dislike. Max von Sydow is very good in Europa (and also in the short Depth Solitude BTW). And as for classics, I really like the narration in Brief Encounter and, unlike many others, The Killing.

 

[ThomasC]

Minority Report
We Were Soldiers

 

[Brook K]

Good call on Europa/Zentropa, Mark. I totally forgot about that one.