10 Great Movies That Broke The Fourth Wall

Deadpool, a spinoff movie from the X-Men series of films, is due to open in theaters on February 12th. Deadpool is a relatively obscure but deeply beloved character (obscure, that is, in the mainstream) who is known for his foul mouth, his wisecracks, and his Devil-may-care attitude. But the most famously appealing conceit of Deadpool is that he himself, at some point in his adventures, learned that he was a comic book character. He can look through the page, address the reader directly, and comment actively on his role in his own story.

The Deadpool feature film seems to retain that conceit, allowing Deadpool to narrate his own story from a detached perspective; the character appears to be watching the film along with the audience. In a world wherein a dozen superhero films are released every year, a detached and bemused outsiders’ commentary might just be what the genre needs.

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Of course, breaking the fourth wall is not a new conceit in feature films, and it has been used to great comedic and dramatic effect in many films over the decades. There are few wittier things a film can do than to somehow comment on themselves as belonging to a certain medium. Some of the best films ever made not only manage to tell compelling stories, but, in a parallel fashion, also be essays on the cinematic form. They are movies about themselves. This is all Jean-Luc Godard did. In a way, it’s all Quentin Tarantino does.

The following films are equipped with metaphysical wrecking balls, and are all eager to tear down that fourth wall, revealing the nuts and bolts of how we watch movies. The practice is always fun, and the filmmakers who do it are usually pretty dang smart about it.

Slideshow: Ten Great Movies That Broke the Fourth Wall

Top Image: 20th Century Fox

Witney Seibold is a contributor to the CraveOnline Film Channel, and co-host of The B-Movies Podcast. He also contributes to Legion of Leia, and Blumhouse. You can follow him on “Twitter” at @WitneySeibold, where he is slowly losing his mind.

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