Is there anything more audacious for a filmmaker to do than break the fourth wall? It's one of those rarely employed cinematic techniques that, instead of attempting to immerse viewers in the world that's being created, actively draws them out of it, drawing attention to the artifice of cinema, and usually milking it for a few cheeky laughs all at the same time. The term comes from the fact that as audience members, we occupy the view-point of the camera, which would within the space of the film's physical world be the "fourth wall" that we never see. Characters in movies can break it a number of ways, though it almost always involves a direct gaze and address into the camera. If executed poorly, it can come off as cheesy, desperate and self-indulgent, but in these 10 great movies, it only helped enhance audience engagement with what was going on. Here are 10 awesome movies that break the fourth wall...
10. Funny Games
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Ota8HZ2tvRA Michael Haneke is one of those directors who just loves to play with audience pre-conceptions, and in both versions of his grim thriller Funny Games (the original Austrian version and US remake), he provokes with audience with one notable fourth wall-breaking scene half-way through the movie. The scene in question (in the US version) has Brady Corbet and Michael Pitt holding Naomi Watts hostage, but Watts' character manages to grab the shotgun lying on the table and shoot Corbet dead. What does Pitt do? Why, he does the natural thing and grabs the nearest remote control, before hitting the rewind button. Viewers typically watch on in shock as the film itself re-winds to just before Watts shot Corbet, and this time, Pitt stops her grabbing the gun, thereby preventing his death. Many will say it's a showy, ridiculous bit of filmmaking for its own sake, but it wouldn't be Haneke if it wasn't totally audacious and provocative.