Trailers 101: Learn from the Dark Knight
You don’t need yet another posting on here telling you how great “Dark Knight” is (p.s.—it’s great!) But I do hope Hollywood learns a different lesson from the film—it’s possible to build huge buzz with lengthy trailers that somehow—wait for it—don’t reveal everything that’s going to happen in the film. (Below is the 2nd “Dark Knight” trailer as an example).
We all get it—you need to show kick-ass stuff to get people worked up over the film. But if the film’s good, there are ways to do it without dropping a dozen spoilers into it and removing any sense of “wow” when actually watching the film.
Two unexpected summer pleasures—“Wanted” and “The Strangers”—both suffered badly from trailer-spoileritis. Hopefully Hollywood will take a lesson from Batman and ease up on the urge to show 100% of the best stuff in the ads. Fingers crossed. Alexandre Aja’s “Mirrors” is one of my most anticipated flicks of the summer. But if it turns out that there’s not much to the film besides what’s in the trailer…well, I’ll be one unhappy camper.
But for now—thanks Warner Brothers, for getting it so right with “Dark Knight.”
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Yeah, it really has gotten to the point where, after seeing a trailer, I usually don't feel as though I need to watch the rest of the movie.
One of the best movie trailers I can remember was one for The Haunting (the one with Catherine Zeta-Jones and Liam Neeson in it). It played an audio track as the camera glided over a cemetary and darkened landscape until the house came into sight. Gradually the house drew closer until you were "pulled" through a window (that looked like an eye) and the screen was black (a later trailer spliced this one with scenes from the film...too bad).
I knew almost nothing about what the movie was going to show me (I had read the book, but adaptations can be, well, you know) and I was jazzed to go see the film. Whoever was responsible for cutting that trailer needs to catch the next train back to Hollywood, and pronto.
Oh my god -- did you ever nail it. "The Haunting of Hill House" by Shirley Jackson is one of the best novels of all time, and upon seeing the trailer I thought "oh my god -- this may finally be the adaptation I've been waiting for." And then -- it turned out to be one of the biggest steaming piles Hollywood has ever produced. But man -- what a great trailer.
See it at http://youtube.com/watch?v=eCNyzMHyfIw
Even the full length trailer looked killer:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=p2EBuaPXTJA&feature=related
To this day, I'm disappointed how they butchered one of my favorite books of all time.