Top 10 Uses of Narration of All Time | A CineFix Movie List 

The shawshank redemption has one of the most soothing narrations. Morgan Freeman is genius

I always loved the narrated opening of Lord of the Rings: the Fellowship of the Ring. Kate Blanchett as Galadriel telling the history of the ring setting the backstory of the world and allowing us to easily follow what happens throughout the trilogy. It is simple, effective and epic all at the same time.

I’m a huge fan of Kevin Spacey’s narration in The Usual Suspects. Listening to him weave this whole world only to pull the rug out on it is amazing and something many actors couldn’t pull off through voice alone.

"It's Such a Beautiful Day" is a great mix of many of these categories. Definitely deserved at least a mention imo.

I absolutely adore Don Hertzfeldt's narration in It's Such a Beautiful Day. An incredible trip through the mind of a man dying of a brain tumour that I have never seen replicated.

The narations in Wong Kar Wai’s works are great also and deserve at least an honorable mention. My favorite one is from Fallen Angels, which perfectly takes up a poetic quality that is unique only to his movies.

Martin Sheen's narration in Apocalypse Now is the backbone of the movie, with quotable material. It's one of my favorites along with Shawshank.

The original "Conan the Barbarian" deserves a mention. The film relied heavily on narration combined with music and minimal, but memorable dialog which really makes it stand out from other action/adventure/fantasy films including it's own sequel. Also, Gonzo/Charles Dickens in "The Muppet Christmas Carol" is a good example of an omniscient narrator who's also a character.

I've been waiting literal years for the big lebowski to get a spot on one of your lists. This did a lot for me, cheers

This is why I come to cinefix. Good list as always. You can’t please everybody who want to see their favorites, but this was good.

I was hoping for a "Greek Chorus" catagory: Hercules, Little Shop of Horrors, There's Something About Mary, and especially Cat Ballou.

There's something to be said for the narration in the Perks of Being a Wallflower capturing the whole feeling of the film whilst intentionally being addressed to someone who is only observing it. On a separate and more hilarious note, and almost in its own category, the choir singing "holy sh*tb*lls it's the juggernaut" in the Deadpool 2 juggernaut fight scene was just fantastic

I know its briefly mentioned here, but Ray Liotta's specific narration of Goodfellas......specifically where he stands up on the witness stand at the end and breaks the fourth wall talking about how "how it didn't matter, it didn't mean anything. When i was broke I would go out and rob some more"..........such a brilliant moment

Gotta give a shoutout to The Emperor's New Groove. It has without a doubt my favorite comedic narration in a movie

I love how the bride narrates Lucy Liu´s backstory in Kill Bill

I'm glad Stranger Than Fiction is referenced here. That is one of my favorites, and the narration is a big part of it. Critiquing the authorial voice is worth mentioning specifically.

I begin to tear up, even with mentions of movies I've not seen, by the way you convey with just narration, ones love for art and cinema. Thank you for this list

I've always loved the narration in Juno, it brings you a tiny bit closer to a character who is often afraid to be emotionally vulnerable

Although it did nothing new or special, Danny Devitos Narration in the original Matilda movie has always been so memorable to me, the juxtaposition between the kind soft narrator and the awful father, as a child I never realised they were played by the same person 😅

I'm so happy Top 10's came back. Thank you guys!

I cannot imagine opening youtube and not watching another amazing top10 from Cinefix. Since years, this videos became a celebration of cinema.

One of my fav lines in a movie ever is narrated by Leonard in Memento: "How am i supposed to heal if i can't feel time?"

Thanks for focusing on Blue... an important part of history for some of us...

Ah another good old Cinefix list out. Can't say how happy I am seeing this

The parts of narration in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is one of my absolute favorites.

Double Indemnity should have been the noir pick solely for the line "Who knew that murder could sometimes smell like honeysuckle?"

I appreciate starting with that clip from Adaptation. Actually this is a great list. Back in the day, someone jokingly, but truthfully called Morgan Freeman ‘The Narrator’ because during the Shawshank era he narrated MANY😊 And yes, The Dude abides.

I am sad to learn Forest Gump didn’t get a mention, that said I absolutely adore the thought effort and soul put into these lists

Where are Shawshank Redemption, Joy Luck Club, and Smoke Signals? The only narrations to make me cry.

Here's a mini-category - the disconnected narrator. You've got arty films where somewhat related poetry is read over events, like some of the Tarkovsky films, but you've also got the inner musings of Matt Damon's character in Informant!. It's just sort of stream-of-consciousness--the character is so dishonest and disassociated from his own life experience he just fills his mind with thoughts on penguins and the like. It's one of my favorite uses of voice over because he reveals nothing by it, which is the whole point.

Kate Blanchett as Galadriel telling the history of the ring setting the backstory of the world and allowing us to easily follow what happens throughout the trilogy. It is simple, effective and epic all at the same time.

One movie I think fits the “narration is everything” category would be hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy. It provides insight, perspective, context, and a whoooole lot of dry humor.

Leaving Spike Lee out completely is crazy to me. That’s what makes Spike Lee great in my opinion, the use of narration as a way to pull out of the movie to tell the audience that he’s never making fictional worlds, everything he does exists within reality ad that racism doesn’t go away once the credits roll and you stand up to go home, even if it’s not a real person that he’s working with.

The adult Scout reflecting on her childhood throughout To Kill A Mockingbird is my favorite.

I'm so happy to get another Top 10 list from y'all I almost don't care what you put on it. But, as usual, interesting and engaging. So...I'm going to say relieved to have you back.

Thanks a lot, another cinefix video that introduces me to 15 more movies I need to see

Always enjoyed the minstrel narration of Nat King Cole and Stubby Kaye in Cat Balou. Of course, anything Nat sang was great. What a voice. Not sure how many movies have musical narration.

Yaaass!!! I love this style of countdown! Perfection ❤️

Clint is one of my favorite Narrators on RU-vid Love Cinefix

Wow! That is a very interesting look! Love this channel for bringing film-lovers like me a new experience!

Morgan Freeman's final narrated words in The Shawshank Redemption are sheer perfection: 'I hope...'

Kind Hearts and Coronets is a crown jewel of cynical narration.

such a great list as always but as others have commented was really hoping It’s Such A Beautiful Day was given a spot or at leas mentioned. one of the best uses of narration ever imo

I would love to see Cinefix best trilogy list.

Another wonderful video, Cinefix

The book, ‘Film Theory: An Introduction Through the Senses’, notes ‘When it comes to sound, we try to identify a point of origin, a source. In addition, we tend to regard sound as a force or special carrier of authority, a fact on which Michel Chion bases his theory of the ‘acousmetres’, i.e. of the bodiless voice in cinema that apparently has no origin, yet is powerful and ubiquitous. Chion coined this word by combining ‘acousmatic’, an archaic term describing something that one hears but whose origin is invisible, 16 and etre, the French verb ‘to be’. With this compound word, Chion underlines the active force of sound which possesses the power to attack, invade or manipulate, rather than just being a transitory aural whiff carried by the wind. The place and origin of these ‘vocal characters’ lie neither within film nor outside it: ‘The acousmetre is this acousmatic character whose relationship to the screen involves a special kind of ambiguity and oscillation [ ... J. We may define it as neither inside nor outside the image. The acousmetre can see everything, know everything and have an impact on everything, and it is also ubiquitous. Examples of acousmetre are the wizard in THE WIZARD OF Oz (US, 1 939, Victor Fleming), the voice of the mother in PSYCHO (US, 1 960, Alfred Hitchcock), Hal, the computer in 200 1 : A SPACE ODYSSEY (GB/US, 1 968, Stanley Kubrick), or Mabuse in DAS TESTAMENT DES DR. MABUSE (G E, 1 933, Fritz Lang) . In all four films, the power of these uncanny voices must be exposed and broken within the diegetic worlds, ‘de-acousmatized’ as Chion calls it, in order to neutralize the threat they pose to the (symbolic) order (of classical narration)’. On those principles I’d like to draw some emphasis to ways that you can deploy voiceover as a convention in your work. Colloquially, voiceover in a story can be divisive due to being quite common but it’s wonderful if used well. Perhaps the most common use of voiceover in modern film is by a narrator, often the main character, to add additional context to a film. ‘Stand by Me’ is one example of this usage. Unless you can specifically justify a character directing voiceover at the audience, I’d recommend having them address their voiceover to a specific character in the story lest you be accused of lazy exposition. ‘Stand by Me’ justifies voiceover directed at the audience because the main character is revealed to be writing a novel. One way to deploy voice-over directed at a specific character is through an exchange of letters. The anime/manga franchise, ‘Dear Brother’, and various adaptations of ‘Daddy Long Legs’ both take this approach. The ‘Berserk’ episode, ‘Confession’ simply lets the audience into Casca’s mind to hear her voiceover directed at Guts as the two make love. The ending of the ‘Puella Magi Madoka Magica’ episode, ‘I Won’t Rely on Anyone Anymore’ does something similar in letting the audience into Homura’s voiceover directed at Madoka. ‘Sans Soleil’ is a documentary that frames itself through an imaginary exchange of letters via voiceover. ‘Fata Morgana’ constructs an imaginary narrative via voiceover atop B-roll of the Sahara and Sahel deserts. The ‘Neon Genesis Evangelion’ episode, ‘Weaving a Story’, begins with voiceover from the main characters’ classmates voicing their feelings about them atop footage of things that have happened thus far in the story. ‘Princess Tutu’ sometimes uses voiceover from Drosselmeyer to convey his ability to watch any area of the story world. ‘Her’ plays with voiceover in a similar way to ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ in how it explores the qualities of sentient sound.

The "I'm ready for my close-up" line from Sunset Boulevard has been misquoted for years. I suggest a video about misquoted movie lines and why people get them wrong. If you've done that already, let me know and I'll give it a watch.

Truman Capote’s favorite short story “The Grass Harp” - coming of age yet retrospective narration

I hoped a shoutout for the amazing lightning speed narration of "It's such a beautiful day", with Hertzfeldt himself going from hilariously detached to, in-extremis, empathic and emotional. It was a stroke of genius in a movie full of strokes of genius.

Love this channel and love the list. You have so many movies labeled with the wrong year. Noticed it with American Psycho first, then Taxi Driver and a few others.

The Prestige needed to be on this list

These picks are so spot on

Why are these videos not getting more views this is what Cinefix is for me and many of us. We love this series.

I am so surprised that To Kill a Mockingbird did not make the list. It is a stunning example of excellent narration as well as the quintessential classic in film and literature.

Not having Adaptation on this list is a travesty. The single most creative use of voiceover. The voiceover virtually molds the movie as it goes along.

I'm glad you guys didn't include the poorly narrated documentary about the Bluth family where the narration was confused and chaotic.

I am totally with you on Sunset Boulevard. What a great film. And the noire narration is the chef's kiss. 👌

Wish you had mentioned it's such a beautiful day. One of the most powerful uses of narration I've ever seen on film

The brief moments of narration in Spinal Tap. Chef's kiss

Last Year At Marienbad is sublime!

Hedwig in one of the best musical movies ever made and it makes me happy any time, as criminally rare as it is, that is is discussed. Thank you for giving it some time, if not the number on the list❤❤❤

I was just about to comment you didn't mention stranger than fiction and you got it in at the very end. While not an all time comedy, narration is the entire premise and I do remember finding it funny back when it came out.

Yaaaaaaaaaassssss. I love the podcasts but I've missed these lists

Totally left out Danny Boyle’s magnum opus, TRAINSPOTTING!!!

I don't think anything will top the narration in the Hunter x Hunter anime during the Chimera Ant arc. I know it isn't a movie, but my god, the narration was unbelievably good.

Was really expecting It’s Such a Beautiful Day for the #1 spot. Also, if I had to pick an all time favorite narration it would have to be Apocalypse Now. Great list as usual.

Another CineFix Video!? Yessss!

David Hyde Pierce narrating a nature documentary about humans dating from the point of view of an alien (and getting things wrong) in Mating Habits of the Earthbound Human has to be one of the funniest uses of narration.

Finally a Cinefix top ten list!!

Not a movie, but my favorite TV show of all time "Burn Notice" uses narration incredibly effectively. Whether it's Michael Westen describing the challenges of being a spy or actually describing spycraft, it's genius.

A NEW CINEFIX TOP 10 LIST! Thank my lucky stars!

'Ten Canoes' a low budget Australian production. Absolutely witty, and a great introduction to Aboriginal storytelling. A narrator telling a story about an ancestor telling a story. Well worth watching!

Hunter x hunter in the chimera ant arc, the whole 3rd act of the arc is insane

Fight club is a great novel, which I never thought could be adapted to the screen. However, Fincher did a wonderful job, in no small part to Pitt, Bonham-carter and Norton who all delivered great performances. I watch it repeatedly and have even used it to show my kids what a good movie is (along with Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, The Godfather and Apocalypse Now).

To me a great example of the narration as the substance of the film is the mexican film La Fórmula Secreta, it's such a joy to ser the conjuction of images and the poems of Juan Rulfo giving meaning to the things on screen

A great example of diary narration not mentioned in the video is Heavenly Creatures. The narration is taken word-for-word from the real Pauline Parker’s diary which makes it really chilling when she so callously plans her mother’s murder.

the dreamy narration of the russian ark stands out to create a surreal journey through the st Petersburg museum is done really well.

Inherent Vice did brilliantly just by subverting the casting of it's narrator. To hear that story in the candy sweet crackle of Joanna Newsom, that's something else all together.

Awesome top 10

So happy to see Blue on this list, though I would have loved a shout-out for 24 Hour Party People.

Documentary should also be a category, only so that we can have one of the glorious Werner Herzog narrations.

When it comes to movie rankings it doesn’t get better than this

Can’t wait to watch this haha 😅 RETURN OF THE KING

I was beginning to worry when I hadn’t seen Sunset Boulevard on this list as I neared the end… and then… BOOM. the pool.

Shawshank for me. That final narration is so good

I am so glad he mentioned stranger than fiction, as the premise it uses narration within the story.

I think a documentary category should have been included here. I’m actually quite confused there isn’t one.

My list of best narrated movies is way different than this, but that is the greatness of film, we can all have our favorites. I love the beginning of Raising Arizona narrated by H.I. Mcdunnough. I Love Red's from Shawshank Redemption. I think Forrest Gump is a great use of Narration too. I love the three I listed because the narrations add to the story but they are not needed to understand the story. Like Stand By Me, great use of narration (like the Wonder Years). I don't like narration that is needed to actually understand the story, which encompasses most art films. The exception to this might be La Jette, which inspired the 10 Monkeys film. La Jette is amazing and a perfect use of narration.

"Valerie's letter" from v for vendetta is quite crushing and it's awesome 😊

yes Blue. Hell yes go go go. I'm so happy with this no.1 choice!!

I always liked Robert Mitchum's narration for Tombstone.

A new top ten list! You do care

I feel like the "original" cinematic narration could have been a lovely focus: The Silent Era! Narration intertitles cutting between shots has been done so well in films of the era. It would be nice to see what might have made your list!

Wow 😅 thank you guys 🙏🏼. Please keep dis up maybe a What's the difference 🔜

Possibly my favorite use of a narrator is from the neo-noir Blast of Silence. It is so wonderfully over the top noirish. ( Narrator : "You know the type. Second-string syndicate boss with too much ambition and a mustache to hide the fact he has lips like a woman. The kind of face you hate." Or: "When the Better Business Bureau rings the Christmas bell, the suckers forget there's such a business as murder, and businessmen who make it their exclusive line.")

Please appear in my main page more! Thanks for continuing the great content

I am surprised none of Wes Anderson's films didn't make the list. A good list still.

The narration of “The Assassination of Jesse James” is the best I’ve ever heard.

The first narrated movie I think of is 300. The voice of one of the Spartan warriors tells the story. Towards the end, King Leonidas tells him to leave just before the Spartans are slaughtered, so he can tell their story; presumably what happened to his fellow warriors after that point he just made up. But at the very end of the film it is revealed that the whole story is being told to a much larger army of Spartans to pump them up, immediately before their next battle against the Persians.

Goodfellas is unique not only because it has a married couple narrating it, but because of the way Karen joins the narration as soon as she joins the story. Their first two dates go horribly but the fact that she's narrating by that point tells us they're meant to be. It's used to a lesser effect with Pesci and DeNiro in Casino but still great. Not the biggest fan of the one interruption from Ralph Finne's character in The Wolf of Wall Street, but I like that picture. And of course Taxi Driver, the voice I hear in my head when I read Punisher comics.