MovieChat Forums > Days of Heaven (1978) Discussion > voiceovers ... good or bad?

voiceovers ... good or bad?


I guess the voiceovers added a literary quality to the film, but after a while I grew quite tired of them. Especially since the quality of the voiceovers were mostly of a monotone droning.

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I think the crossfades which show the passage of time and the voiceovers (almost always) are a cover for lazy storytelling.

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Without the highly original usage of voiceover, neither Badlands nor Days Of Heaven or The Thin Red Line would be the towering cinematic achievements they are. There are rather few films out there of which success is as much reliant on the voiceover as it is in Malick. It´s absolutely crucial.


"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan

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Short answer: BAD. In general narration only works with certain types of stories, e.g. fantasy [The Princess Bride], farce [Tom Jones] or a film noir. Linda Manz's narration almost ruins this movie. She sounded mentally challenged. I saw this during its first run in Westwood, CA. The packed house got sick of her narration very quickly, and by the halfway point they groaned whenever it started up again. A few people even yelled at the screen, telling her to shut the eff up. Mr. Malick's otherwise impeccable judgment failed him.

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This would not be the elegiac movie it is without the voiceover. Read Ebert's review.

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19971207/REVIEWS08/401010327/1023

"When you are not on your pedestal you are not interesting."

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Ebert's thoughtful review does praise Linda Manz's narration; but with apologies to Tropic Thunder, she went full retard when she should have gone half retard.

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You seriously need to watch this movie again by youself, because the narrator does not sound anything CLOSE to mentally challenged. It is a period piece, and her voice/accent/dialect fits PERFECTLY.

If that doesn't work then try pulling your head out of your bum hole first.

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Yes and it amazes me that people don't get that

I see Stupid People...

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Ummmmm, WHAT?


I loved the narration. I can't believe you have the audacity to say the girl sounds mentally challenged. HELLO??? It's the early 1900s. I don't think everyone had perfect dictation like you (SARCASM).

The crowd you saw the movie with are all morons like you. I seriously didn't see anything wrong with the narration, and I'm not alone. Her voice added a dialect similar to the time and reminds me of the prose in Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Fin.

If you can't handle the narration of this movie, then you've obviously never finished Mark Twain's classics.

Ugh, can't believe that this was even an issue for some people.

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Agreed--crucial. The most interesting character in the film is the girl, thanks to her voiceover.

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See a list of my favourite films here: http://www.flickchart.com/slackerinc

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Voiceovers are only bad when they are used to compensate for bad storytelling, or if they don't add anything about the interior lives of the characters. I also like voiceovers that are a counterpoint to the action.

"Think, before you drink, before you drive me mad!"

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I don't mean to sound condescending, but the 'voiceover' is the expression of the 'inner workings' of the main characters, from the childs POV. And what (for me) it accomplishes, is nuetralizing the good and the bad, through the expression of an innocent child, whose life is tempered by hardness.
We see extreme characters doing extreme things, juxtaposed against nature and it's hardness, all of which, to the still naive and optimistic little girl, is simply "life on lifes terms", no true good, no true evil, and to be expected.
I believe the voiceover is an integral part of the film.

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Just like Spacek´s voiceover in Badlands, Manz´s unaffected ruminations serve to open a wholly unique perspective to the world that´d be impossible to achieve by any other means - it´s like seeing the world with the eyes of a child again. Without the narration it wouldn´t be half the film it is. I can understand if some don´t dig her weird accent and stuff, but to say it ´ruins the movie´ or some such nonsense is simply ridiculous.


"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan

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[deleted]

I agree but would add my opinion that her "low class" accent and natural phrasing is a big part of what made the narration so great.

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See a list of my favourite films here: http://www.flickchart.com/slackerinc

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Huh?!? It's probably my favorite element of the film! What absolutely beautiful sounds come from that girl -- beautiful words, phrased beautifully ... complements the visuals so perfectly! The film's a feast for the ears as well as the eyes.

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"Huh?!? It's probably my favorite element of the film! What absolutely beautiful sounds come from that girl -- beautiful words, phrased beautifully ... complements the visuals so perfectly! The film's a feast for the ears as well as the eyes."


Couldn't have said it better, voxhole. I adored the voice-over.

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Scorsese uses voice-overs alot (Goodfellas, Casino, Bringing out the Dead, Taxi Driver, Departed, etc.) and is always effective.
The Coen Brothers use it alot as well (Raising Arizona, Big Lebowski, Blood Simple, Hudsucker Proxy, Man Who Wasn't There, etc.) again, to great effect.
Other films that make fantastic use of voice-overs include Election, Adaptation, The Royal Tennebaums, The Piano, Reversal of Fortune, Sunset Blvd, Lord of War, Thank you for Smoking, City of God, Amelie, A Very Long Engagement, 300, A Clockwork Orange, Forrest Gump, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Southland Tales, Shawshank Redemption, Babe Pig in the City, other Terrence Malick films, and even on TV---Arrested Development has broken a lot of new ground.

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Heh, you mentioned some Babe2 but missed Fight Club. ;)

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The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.

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[deleted]

[deleted]

Good here, BAD in TTRL.

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The best voice-over of all time. I loved it so much I ripped it off:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OgvSqnF7TM




http://www.davidlambertart.com

http://memphisdryrub.blogspot.com

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You might be right: I can't think of a better one. Usually voiceovers are either workmanlike and tolerable, or extraneous and/or irritating. This one was like its own character (although I know she was also in the movie itself). It's nothing like a traditional voiceover.

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See a list of my favourite films here: http://www.flickchart.com/slackerinc

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