The power of trailers!

[cinemalover]

Just an odd thought, but I went to the theatre this week-end (for the first time in almost a year) and in between the commercials and sponsored quotes they managed to sneak in a couple of trailers. Seeing an array of trailers has always been one of my favorite parts of attending a movie. The joy of seeing scenes from a tempting feature that you've been waiting for, or a total surprise from a film you know nothing about. It's like openig a big box of Cracker Jacks, just waiting to be surprised (okay, so the prizes were never that good, there was still a sense of anticipation and delight!). Today they seem to be filler signaling attendees to finalize their cell phone conversations and get up and down from their seats dozens of times without apparent reason.

But getting back to trailers...do trailers actually convince you to go to see movies (or rent or buy them)? Is the power of trailers what it once was? It seems to me that many current trailers will show every laugh in a comedy so that there are no good lines left to discover at the actual viewing. Some dramatic trailers seem to give away key plot points and spoil the show. What value do you place on trailers these days?

What golden age studios made the best trailers? Why?

Let me know what you think. Thanks.

[SSO Admins]

I'm not sure that I've ever seen a movie because of a trailer, but I'm interested in seeing trailers for movies I plan to see.

The internet has changed the trailer experience. I watch the trailers online now, which is good because there's not many films that can get me into a theater.

The most recent one I watched was the trailer for The Golden Compass, the first book in Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. I love those books with a passion, and am somewhat interested in the film, as it seems to me that they might make a good series. I'm disturbed by the fact that they plan to gloss over the Magisterium though.

[Bogie]

I agree that most trailers show WAY too much so it's almost never worth looking at them. I do watch trailers for any movies I might be interested in just to see the tenor of said movies.

At least TRANSFORMERS was marketed the right way. Every trailer for that movie was oblique in terms of showing the transformers and anything to do with the story. I remember reading on the official boards for the movie that people were complaining and saying how "oh no, everytime a SFX movie doesn't show the FX it means the movie sucks" Thankfully everyone had to eat their words as it was one of the best moviegoing experiences of the year.

BTW the best trailer ever IMO was the original teaser trailer to the first Superman movie. You know the one with the clouds and everything and then a voice saying "you WILL believe a man can fly".

[bradtexasranger]

I always enjoy sitting through the trailers in the theater to see what's "coming up", as I don't always pay a lot of attention to the commercials on TV. But like you say, sometimes they can go on too long and reveal too much.

I'm curious, Cinemalover, what movie drew you back to the theaters after that long an absence?

[cinemalover]

Hi Brad,
It was more circumstance than design. Karie and I had a Saturday night when the kids were visiting their Mom and we are both big fans of Pixar (one of the few animated studios that believes in the importance of story) and Karie had been wanting to see Ratatouille since it came out. So, the local discount theatre was showing it at a convenient time and we went. It was a fun movie (though not one of their best) and overall it was a nice night out combined with a restaurant visit.

[Moraldo Rubini]

I go to the movies at least once a week and always look forward to the trailers (I long for a short subject and cartoon too). They definitely help me and my pals decide on what to see next. San Francisco audiences are enthusiastic and often rate the trailers with applause or hisses.

Here's a site for trailer fans. The trailers include audio commentaries by luminaries such as John Landis. Trailers From Hell

Enjoy!

[traceyk]

My kids are big Harry Potter fans (as am I) and we look forward to the trailers online for each new movie. Sometimes in the movie theater, I'll watch a trailer and be like, "Hmmm, that might be a good one," or "I'll wait and see that at the Dollar Movie" but if there are too many explosions, I decide then and there to give it a miss. Probably miss out on some decent movies that way, but a high death and destrcution count does not, in my eyes, a good movie make. (Though my teenage son feels just the opposite LOL)

Tracey