This entry is mainly the product of a person who was so worn out, he couldn’t even muster his back log of blog entries to post today, so instead, I posted something about trailers.
A long time ago, trailers were great. They had a sense of art to them, a sense of mystique that kept the secrets but drew the interest. Even the trailers for monster flicks that gave everything away were still much better than the trailers we get today.
Almost all trailers in modern film give everything away about a movie, from the story, surprises, and many times the ending. Did you even have to see “Castaway” after the trailer that compacted the entire film, including the climax, into only two or three minutes.
Want to know of Chuck Noland ever got off that damn island? Keep away from the extended trailer. There are very few teasers and trailers these days that can garner my interest in a movie. Save for “I Am Legend,” and “28 Days Later,” there are just so many trailers that give away the twists and surprises, and some just seem intent on keeping us away from the film altogether.
Trailers like this:
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instilled a sense of mystery and terror, and then there’s “Night of the Living Dead” that gave everything away but still, it’s Romero:
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I’ve read in some articles that the reason some trailers give away too much to the audience is because the movies lack any texture, so we’re basically given the entire film. There are exceptions to the rule, of course.
I miss trailers that made me want to plant my butt in the seats, trailers that inspired that loving feeling of film going again. The trailer that came remotely close was “Grind House,” and that’s pretty much been a series of previews forgotten altogether.
It saddens me that trailers are really no longer a tool, but just a buffer and filler. But these day who needs trailers when different websites release clip after clip after clip of an upcoming movie ad nauseum?
Who knows? Maybe someday trailers will regain their importance, and I’ll seek them out to gain excitement, instead of avoiding them because they give too much away too soon.
Hey, it could happen.
Thank you for posting the “Night of the Living Dead” trailer. It was great.
I do appreciate your candor, Sir.
A good trailer should always give you the feel and tone of the movie while at the same time revealing almost nothing about the story. A perfect example is the trailer for Ju-on: The Grudge or Terminator 2. Vastly different films but each trailer really makes you want to see it without you knowing what you’re going to see.
So basically the point of going to movies is to see the filmmaker’s remembrances of a story you thought you had seen already, but you’re not quite sure. That’s the byproduct of the new trailers.
are you smoking crack? Do you not remeber the trailer for The Fountain or The Prestige? What about Rescue Dawn or Man on Fire? Brick? I’ll concede the point that too main mainstream movie’s trailers giv away too much, but seriously dude…
Nah, the crack is down for today. I insist my point, I must say.
What the f**k is wrong with that dude?
Everything.
Man, I f*****g hated the trailer for Cast Away and his other movie, What Lies Beneath. Robert Z loves giving the audience everything in his trailers.
What the f**k is wrong with that dude?
are you smoking crack? Do you not remeber the trailer for The Fountain or The Prestige? What about Rescue Dawn or Man on Fire? Brick? I’ll concede the point that too main mainstream movie’s trailers giv away too much, but seriously dude…