Editing Fourth wall (section)

===Cinema===
[[File:ReeferMadness 12.JPG|thumb|left|upright=1.15|Josef Forte, as Dr. Alfred Carroll, breaks the fourth wall to warn viewers at the end of ''[[Reefer Madness]]'', 1936.]]
One of the earliest recorded breakings of the fourth wall in serious cinema was in [[Mary MacLane]]'s 1918 silent film ''[[Men Who Have Made Love to Me]]'', in which the enigmatic author – who portrays herself – interrupts the vignettes onscreen to address the audience directly.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu/pioneer/ccp-mary-maclane/ |title=Mary MacLane – Women Film Pioneers Project |website=wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu |access-date=12 November 2018 |archive-date=21 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181221003109/https://wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu/pioneer/ccp-mary-maclane/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Oliver Hardy]] often broke the fourth wall in his films with [[Stan Laurel]], when he would stare directly at the camera to seek sympathy from viewers. [[Groucho Marx]] spoke directly to the audience in ''[[Animal Crackers (1930 film)|Animal Crackers]]'' (1930), and ''[[Horse Feathers]]'' (1932), in the latter film advising them to "go out to the lobby" during [[Chico Marx]]'s piano interlude. Comedy films by [[Mel Brooks]], [[Monty Python]], and [[Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker]] frequently broke the fourth wall, such that with these films "the fourth wall is so flimsy and so frequently shattered that it might as well not exist", according to ''[[The A.V. Club]]''.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.avclub.com/article/supercut-breaks-cinemas-fabled-fourth-wall-literal-233065 | title=This supercut breaks cinema's fabled fourth wall hundreds of times | first=Joe | last=Blevins | date=1 March 2016 | access-date=19 August 2016 | work=[[The A.V. Club]] | archive-date=27 August 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827203924/http://www.avclub.com/article/supercut-breaks-cinemas-fabled-fourth-wall-literal-233065 | url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Woody Allen]] broke the fourth wall repeatedly in his movie ''[[Annie Hall]]'' (1977), as he explained, "because I felt many of the people in the audience had the same feelings and the same problems. I wanted to talk to them directly and confront them."<ref>{{cite book |last=Björkman |first=Stig |author-link=Stig Björkman |title=Woody Allen on Woody Allen |year=1995 |orig-year=1993 |publisher=Faber and Faber |location=London |isbn=0-571-17335-7 |page=77}}</ref> His 1985 film ''[[The Purple Rose of Cairo]]'' features the breaking of the fourth wall as a central plot point.<ref name="Downing 2016 p.">{{cite book | last=Downing | first=Crystal | title=Salvation from cinema : the medium is the message | year=2016 | publisher=Routledge | isbn=978-1-138-91393-6 | oclc=908375992 }}</ref>

[[Jerry Lewis]] wrote in his 1971 book ''The Total Filmmaker'', "Some film-makers believe you should never have an actor look directly into the camera. They maintain it makes the audience uneasy, and interrupts the screen story. I think that is nonsense, and usually I have my actors, in a single, look direct into the camera at least once in a film, if a point is to be served."<ref>{{cite book |title=The Total Filmmaker |first=Jerry |last=Lewis |year=1971 |publisher=Random House |isbn=9780446669269 |page=120}}</ref> [[Martin and Lewis]] look directly at the audience in ''You're Never Too Young'' (1955), and Lewis and co-star [[Stella Stevens]] each look directly into the camera several times in ''[[The Nutty Professor (1963 film)|The Nutty Professor]]'' (1963), and Lewis' character holds a pantomime conversation with the audience in ''[[The Disorderly Orderly]]'' (1964). The final scene of ''[[The Patsy (1964 film)|The Patsy]]'' (1964) is famous for revealing to the audience the movie as a movie, and Lewis as actor/director.<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/7njkDCAlFTQ Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20200229102145/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7njkDCAlFTQ Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web |url=https://youtube.com/watch?v=7njkDCAlFTQ |title=The Patsy Movie Ending |date=9 January 2015 |publisher=dino4ever |via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://brightlightsfilm.com/jerry-lewis-b-joseph-levitch-newark-new-jersey-1926-res-hollywood/ |first=Michael |last=Stern |date=21 August 2017 |title=Jerry Lewis: b. Joseph Levitch, Newark New Jersey, res. Hollywood |publisher=brightlightsfilm.com}}</ref>

The 2022 ''[[Persuasion (2022 film)|Persuasion]]'' film was criticized for its modernization take on the classic 1817 [[Jane Austen]] novel by having the main protagonist [[Anne Elliot]] (played by [[Dakota Johnson]]) constantly breaking the fourth wall by interacting with the audience.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Walsh |first1=Savannah |title=Persuasion and the Risky Business of Breaking the Fourth Wall |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/07/persuasion-and-the-risky-business-of-breaking-the-fourth-wall |magazine=Vanity Fair |access-date=23 August 2022 |archive-date=12 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812065757/https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/07/persuasion-and-the-risky-business-of-breaking-the-fourth-wall |url-status=live }}</ref>

Select theatrical screenings of [[Francis Ford Coppola]]'s 2024 science fiction epic ''[[Megalopolis (film)|Megalopolis]]'', including its private industry screenings and world premiere at the [[2024 Cannes Film Festival]], had a person walk on stage in front of the projection screen and address the protagonist, Cesar, who seemingly breaks the fourth wall by replying in real time.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gq.com/story/megalopolis-is-even-wilder-than-youve-heard |title=''Megalopolis'' is Even Wilder Than You Might've Heard |last=LeBeau |first=Ariel |website=[[GQ]] |date=May 22, 2024 |access-date=May 22, 2024 |url-access=limited |archive-date=May 22, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240522135824/https://www.gq.com/story/megalopolis-is-even-wilder-than-youve-heard |url-status=live}}</ref>