You talk about the people as though you own them, as though they belong to you. As long as I can remember you’ve talked about giving the people their rights. As though you can make them a present of liberty, as a reward for services rendered. Remember the working man? You used to write an awful lot about the working man, he’s turning into something called organized labor. Your not going to like it one little bit when you find out that it means that your working man expects something as his right and not your gift. Charlie, when your precious underprivileged REALLY get together…oh boy! That’s going to add up tot something bigger than your privilege and I don’t know what you’ll do.
- Citizen Kane
A lot of people have problems with voice-over and narration in films. Countless screenwriting teachers and gurus council their students to avoid voice-over. That it is a crutch. That it is lazy. That it is bad.
I disagree.
I think voice-over is an incredibly powerful tool in the filmmaker’s toolbox. It can be used in a wide variety of ways and it can have a huge positive impact on the experience of watching a film. I’m sure some people reading this are already cringing, holding firm to their belief that voice-over is bad. Hopefully I can end that now, by listing some wonderful films that contain and rely on various voice-over techniques:
- Citizen Kane
- Casablanca
- Sunset Blvd
- About a Boy
- Manhattan
- Election
- Taxi Driver
- American Beauty
- Adaptation
- Fight Club
- Forrest Gump
- Goodfellas
- A Clockwork Orange
- The Shawshank Redemption
- Big Fish
- There’s Something About Mary
- The Big Lebowski
- To Kill a Mockingbird
- Memento
- The Royal Tenenbaums
- Inglourious Basterds
- Badlands
- Trainspotting
- Dark City
- City of God
- Apocalypse Now
- Babe
- Stand By Me
- Fellowship of the Ring
- The Prestige
- Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
- A Christmas Story
- The Jerk
- Sophie’s Choice
- Moulin Rouge
- Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
- Brief Encounter
How can you look at that list and then say voice-over is inherently bad? What are your favorite films with voice-over?
Tarantino’s insight on how to write dialogues.
Learning from Tarantino; movies and real life are not the same things!
“So today’s lesson is … you kill each other off.”
Tarantino’s Top 20 Movies Since 1992.
