From Mental Floss:
Here’s a great listing of classic voice overs from movies. Movies like Good Fellas and American Psycho, amont others. As this blogger notes, I too have heard voice-over in movies referred to as a cop-out, or a film-makers shortcut of telling us instead of showing us. I see where that comment comes from, but in the end game I disagree, as we in the voice over industry knows a voice alone can tell a profound story, and just because a voice is speaking doesn’t mean it’s “merely” telling you something. It could be hiding, subversive; a character unto itself. My question would be: “is the voice over written well?” Does it advance the story? Or is it truly an excuse for poor story telling?
Here’s one of their examples from StreetWise, a 1984 documentary: (skip to 1:02)
Check out their full list with more examples: