This explains everything

That's quite the explosion of exposition. And a damn fine bunch of movies, too.

Exposition, it binds the movie universe together... Good clips!

This video reconfirms that 1) "First Blood" has the single greatest scene of expository dialog ever, and 2) "Die Hard 2: Die Harder" has the single greatest subtitle ever.

I always wondered if Hitchcock was trying to get a laugh with that "Yes. And no!" line.

My favorite bit of exposition in a movie is always the explanation of what an EMP is, does, what the letters stand for, and how it will bring down a deus ex machina on the bad guy.

The most entertaining example of this is probably the one in Ocean's 11, which at least spices it up with Don Cheadle's British accent and Cockney rhyming slang. But afterwards, you think, "That's the best example of that I've ever seen. And yet, it's still an explanation of something I already know from other movies. What a waste of celluloid."

Runner-up is whenever in poker movies (or any sports movie, really) they explain how the game works.

They always assume some bits of knowledge on the part of the viewer ("Okay, so it's played with this thing called cards, and there are 52 of them, with different suits and colors and..."); I just wish they'd assume more.

Great stuff.

And is that a Freudian slip I spot? The Star Wars clip is credited to Star Wars Episode I: A New Hope.

After all, it is true. From a certain point of view.

Yeah, the exposition on poker in the middle of Casino Royale (explaining the game as they went along!) basically ruined the movie for me. It stopped the action dead, and the film never fully got its momentum back.

But, while it's commonly thought exposition is bad, I don't really agree. A lot of stuff in there from horror movies doesn't explain the danger, it exaggerates the danger.

And also, how WOULD you explain the Force in Star Wars without exposition?

Damn that's brilliant stuff. I noticed the Star Wars thing too...had to be intentional...

The point is you don't need to explain anything in a film. The audience fills in the gaps between the juxtaposition of the uninflected images, i.e. shots.

And I don't mean to sound glib (after all, I am the guy who's written a 5,000 word essay defending The Phantom Menace), but what is the point of explaining the force anyway?

My favorite is the this-movie-was-so-twisty-we-feel-we-have-to-explain-it-to-you-after-the-fact exposition, such as in LA Confidential.

Ali: And is that a Freudian slip I spot? The Star Wars clip is credited to Star Wars Episode I: A New Hope.

Yeah, that was a Freudian slip. I actually like the prequels better than most people, but the 1977 film will always be Episode 1 to me.

Bob: "A lot of stuff in there from horror movies doesn't explain the danger, it exaggerates the danger. And also, how WOULD you explain the Force in Star Wars without exposition?

Just to be clear, exposition has its place, I didn't make this short to make fun of the idea of expositio. I just thought it would be fun to string together clips from the parts of movies where people explain the nature of a threat or mystery, and take out the proper nouns so that if you're half-paying attention, it almost sounds as if a single thing is being described.

Matt:

Nice job! Actually, I kind of thought you were just making the cinematic version of the song "Epic", by Faith No More.

Come to think of it, Epic would be a pretty decent name for the video. ;)

Having never watched any of the Rambo films, I was quite surprised to see that Richard Crenna plays his role as a homage to Tony Randall. Weird.

Fantastic montage!

I've got to say that the exposition delivered in the Terminator is tour de force genius. Easily two or three pages of monologuing exposition delivered in a highspeed car chase. Keeps things fast and interesting, doesn't it?

I love the fact that The Matrix is put here as the binding movie since it is mostly exposition with some cool action scenes!

This is great blog

Great work, Matt.

One thing that this montage points out is how important exposition is for movies, ESPECIALLY in action movies which depend less on dialogue and more on bombast.
If the filmmaker wants to enhance and sharpen the feeling of bombast and not leave it content-less, he/she needs this well-spoken exposition in the moment of silence to ground the bombast when it does come. Usually such expositions (and their level of influence upon the viewer) are sometimes as or more important than the striking nature of the visual images themselves.
The Matrix is a perfect example, the mythology of the Matrix and the way it is exposed to us by Larry Fishburne was just as integral to the films popularity as the slow-mo action. There were many imitators of the Matrix which did not succeed as well as it, most likely because of a lack of novelty AND lack of mythology as found in the expositions.

Very cool montage, Matt! Exposition can be inspired filmmaking--it's all about the delivery, isn't it? Laurence Fishburne could be explaning html-code and we'd still be savoring every syllable.

Thanks for posting, Jim.

I kept waiting for Sean Connery to cry, "It is the quickening!" in that ridiculous peacock hat. Nice work.

How could you leave out the never-ending tape recording they play in "Evil Dead"? I think it's about half the screenplay, and I say that as someone who thinks it's one of the 100 greatest movies ever made.

Exposition has been a problem since the Greeks took the stage. And before that, when people sat around the fire telling stories to stay sane through the long winter nights. When it's done well, it enhances the work tenfold. Think of the USS Indianapolis scene in "Jaws". Not only is Quint's story riveting, but how much does that explain about who he is and why he does what he does? Otherwise, his character would be a complete cipher.

This montage is priceless.