Are Movie Trailers Better?

[Sussudio]

There's no question if you compare a trailer from the early 60s (or 90s for that matter) to a modern trailer they've changed dramatically. Besides (or including if you wish) technical advancements, do you think they've gotten better or worse? I always get the feeling the majority of trailers nowadays show way more than I want to see, and of course every now and then I walk out of a movie whose trailer led me to expect something completely different. Do you think certain ones have hurt more than helped a the movie?

[carpaltonnel]

Great thread man, I personally relish the "coming attractions" before movies. I have to be in the same seat every time (middle-middle) Me and the gf have a rating system for the trailers. 1-5, 1-no way 2- rental 3- rainy day, nothing better to do lets go to the movies, movie. 4- friday or opening night 5-priced to own, first show, pick it up on tuesday.
I love trailers, but yes they def show too much.

[Rob J in WNY]

Originally Posted by carpaltonnel

I love trailers, but yes they def show too much.

+1

I have been fortunate enough to see a lot of movies which I wound up really liking without having seen commercials or trailers for them. I like looking at the trailers afterward, and often find that I agree with the aforementioned thought - too much given away.

[AKORIS]

I think it was the 4 minute trailer of TITANIC in '97 where I realized they were showing wayyyy too much in a trailer. I remember my wife saying
"why see this? they just showed the entire movie is cliff's notes!" (she ended up seeing it though-- 3 times in the theatre and it's one of her favorites of all time)

my favorite trailers are from the 70's, 80's and early 90's-- they just got better and better until they started overdoing it....

[STARSCREAM]

They are way overdone now. They show waaaay too much of the movie. Perfect example being Phantom Menace trailer. Can you imagine the gasp and excitement in the theater when Darth Maul lit up both sides of his saber!!??!! Too bad they gave that away in the trailer. Also, in comedies nowadays they give away too many of the best jokes in the trailers and sometimes all the best jokes are in the trailers...sometimes the best lines in the trailers don't even show up in the movie!

[masoud90]

OMG I LOVE trailers they show at movies...I actually think trailers are a lot better now than before...but also marketing strategies for movies have gotten a lot smarter than it was back in the day...so you go see a movie that looks sickkk from the trailer but it sucks really.

[Mike53421]

They're definitely getting better in some cases, seems like there are less narrators over trailers too (rewatched the one for Office Space and Home Alone recently). I was amazed though this past summer where I thought I saw EVERYTHING in The Dark Knight via trailers (like Spiderman 3, I was worried!) but then in the movie they used alternate takes, so it was pretty fresh again. For comedies though trailers are critical, I try to avoid watching them now (or watch it once and that's it, which is what I did with Zack and Miri and Role Models). Alot more red-band trailers these days too.

[JamesKurtovich]

Trailers are getting pretty ridiculous. Most of them all follow the same exact formula, same voiceover, same editing, etc. But I admit, they are getting pretty good at making bad films look really good.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by JamesKurtovich

Trailers are getting pretty ridiculous. Most of them all follow the same exact formula, same voiceover, same editing, etc. But I admit, they are getting pretty good at making bad films look really good.

Yep. Sometimes they are too good. I remember seeing the trailer for Pearl Harbor for months....I would get teary eyed. Then the movie was released

[RSuarez]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Yep. Sometimes they are too good. I remember seeing the trailer for Pearl Harbor for months....I would get teary eyed. Then the movie was released

The same happened to me but with Cloverfield...

[browinie]

I've most recently decided to watch one version of a trailer, rather than watch all, as I've found that they actually detail too much as of late. In that sense, I do think trailers have started becoming more of an annoyance rather than worse.

[tacoreed]

Originally Posted by JamesKurtovich

Trailers are getting pretty ridiculous. Most of them all follow the same exact formula, same voiceover, same editing, etc. But I admit, they are getting pretty good at making bad films look really good.

+1.

[Dexter Morgan]

Originally Posted by AKORIS

I think it was the 4 minute trailer of TITANIC in '97 where I realized they were showing wayyyy too much in a trailer. I remember my wife saying
"why see this? they just showed the entire movie is cliff's notes!" (she ended up seeing it though-- 3 times in the theatre and it's one of her favorites of all time)

my favorite trailers are from the 70's, 80's and early 90's-- they just got better and better until they started overdoing it....

Well if you figure in the length of the movie, it probably averages out to be a normal trailer.

[GORT]

I love trailers and I agrre that they show way to much now

[PreciseDisarray]

Originally Posted by Rob J in WNY

+1

I have been fortunate enough to see a lot of movies which I wound up really liking without having seen commercials or trailers for them. I like looking at the trailers afterward, and often find that I agree with the aforementioned thought - too much given away.

+1

yes, too much given away. I enjoy going into a movie blindly. Previews at the theater can be fun, gives me an idea of what is coming out, but really, I'd rather not know anything at all. I'll watch the trailer at the end of the movie though, and think, "wow, glad I didn't see/know that going in".

[Petra_Kalbrain]

Originally Posted by Sussudio

There's no question if you compare a trailer from the early 60s (or 90s for that matter) to a modern trailer they've changed dramatically. Besides (or including if you wish) technical advancements, do you think they've gotten better or worse? I always get the feeling the majority of trailers nowadays show way more than I want to see, and of course every now and then I walk out of a movie whose trailer led me to expect something completely different. Do you think certain ones have hurt more than helped a the movie?

I feel the exact same way. 9 out of 10 trailers I see, I can point out 3 or 4 moments in it that make me distinctly say, "they should have kept that out of the trailer." And, there have recently been moments where, AFTER SEEING THE FILM, I was able to say, "putting that moment in the trailer ruined the plot progress for me." Because I had seen the trailer, it gave away a moment that took away from the ensuing suspense/excitement further into the presentation.

I will never walk out of a film. No matter how bad it is. I will give it to its very last breath to try and turn things around. You never know what kind of Deus Ex Machina could save the production... mind you, the Deus Ex Machina plot device is almost always guaranteed to come across as a lame and lazy way to tie up loose ends.

[Sussudio]

Originally Posted by Petra_Kalbrain

I will never walk out of a film. No matter how bad it is. I will give it to its very last breath to try and turn things around. You never know what kind of Deus Ex Machina could save the production... mind you, the Deus Ex Machina plot device is almost always guaranteed to come across as a lame and lazy way to tie up loose ends.

true dat. i paid for the movie; i'll see it to the end