Do trailers show too much?

[OsGom]

So I watched the new GR trailer and thought it was great! But it got me thinking that all the trailers I see recently kind of ruin their films in that they show too much of the action and sometimes plot.

I am reminded of the many times I have seen trailers that were awesome only to discover all the best parts of the movies were in the trailer and the film itself is actually a big let down.

Worse still is the trailer that gives away or provides blatant clues to some pivitol plot point. So instead of being surprised by a sudden turn of events, the viewer is looking for it and expecting it when it happens.

Then, of course, there are the films who have trailers that market them as a specific genre only to find out that they are actually in a whole different genre. A film marketed as a screwball comedy that is actually more of a dramedy or a psychological thriller marketed as a straight up horror are the most common examples of this.

It's gotten to the point where I will watch initial trailers to get a sense of the film but stop paying attention to marketing the closer we get to the release date as I want to preserve the sense of wonder I experience when seeing a film for the first time and I don't know what to expect.

I understand that it is the trailers function to build anticipation (buzz) around the film BUT overexposing or mismarketing a film can ultimately kill the viewing experience.

What are your thoughts?

 

[Master Chief]

I didn't go see 30 Seconds or Less because they gave away the ending in a commercial. The worst offender of giving too much away though is Cast Away... that trailer was the whole movie lol.

 

[Rocketman]

Cast Away and Spider-Man 2.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpgrOgypc9g

[YT]bpgrOgypc9g[/YT]

 

[Lasirius]

Most trailers do show more of the movie than they should show. Reminds me when I saw the trailer for the Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz movie Dream House, that one is ridiculous.

 

[Destructus86]

Trailers show wayyy more than they should for films. they typically give away some of the surprises or plot twists.

 

[Destructus86]

Double post due to site lag.

 

[Fanticon]

this has been the way of the trailer for a very long time. Every year I would say only a handful of studios and creative teams behind marketing and even filmmakers who wanted a say in how their trailers are cut, ever truly get the chance to properly withhold certain scenes and information in those 2minutes that would be spoilery. But yeah...trailers, love 'em or hate 'em. Some studios get it right and show just enough while others show way too much.

 

[Gold Samurai]

GoldenEye trailer

[YT]HHFXthl5IJo[/YT]

Spoils 006's betrayal

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

I didn't even see that trailer and I was spoiled as soon as I saw Sean Bean's name second in the opening credits.

But to answer the question, yes they spoil too much, but this has been standard practice since at least the 60s so I don't see it changing any time soon.

 

[marvelman2006]

The island in 2005 showed way too much, in fact they even gave away the biggest twist in the film by saying there clones. Sometimes I think they try to dumb down trailers way too much for the general audience and do there best to catch there attention. Usually we get a teaser about a year in advance then at 5-6 months we get a action trailer then 3 months prior we get a story trailer. The story trailer always gives away too much.

 

[bullets]

I hate when trailers spoil key plot points. Although sometimes it works. I wouldn't of cared for Cabin in the Woods if I hasn't known there was some sort of twist. They could of done a better job concealing it though.

Catfish did a great job concealing it's twist but was misleading.

 

[TX85]

Yeah they do But compare new ones to 80&90's and those REALLY showed everything!

 

[Bats123]

Dream House comes to mind, the trailer for that piece of **** revealed EVERYTHING.....
Also, Green Lantern and Rise of the Apes revealed A LOT, especially the latter.

 

[Lasirius]

I hate when trailers spoil key plot points. Although sometimes it works. I wouldn't of cared for Cabin in the Woods if I hasn't known there was some sort of twist. They could of done a better job concealing it though.

Someone in the Cabin in the Woods thread said that there's another twist. Regardless of them giving away a key point from the story, this movie looks like it's going to be fun and have a few surprises.

 

[Why Are You Crouching Spock?]

Most of the time trailers are small snippets mish mashed in a diffrent order. In the Dark Knight prologue for example, you see the very, very last scene of the movie but it appears to give the impression it's from the start. I think just reading spoilers on websites like this kind of ruin the magic. No one is forcing you to read them though. Unless it's some troll spamming it in caps with a suicide accounts (which will probably happen with the dark knight rises).

 

[NewYorkSpider]

I think some trailers show scenes that sometimes aren't even in the movie.

 

[Mrs. Sawyer]

Most trailers do show more of the movie than they should show. Reminds me when I saw the trailer for the Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz movie Dream House, that one is ridiculous.

When I watched the Dream House trailer, I had no idea what the hell was going on.

GoldenEye trailer

[YT]HHFXthl5IJo[/YT]

Spoils 006's betrayal

Funny thing about that trailer is that I watched it right before I watched the dvd.

 

[Max J Power]

Most of the time trailers are small snippets mish mashed in a diffrent order. In the Dark Knight prologue for example, you see the very, very last scene of the movie but it appears to give the impression it's from the start. I think just reading spoilers on websites like this kind of ruin the magic. No one is forcing you to read them though. Unless it's some troll spamming it in caps with a suicide accounts (which will probably happen with the dark knight rises).

The trailers for Nolan's other movies used this tactic too. I remember the Prestige trailer [blackout]made it look like one of the main characters had real magic abilities, but the dialogue suggesting that was actually about the Tesla coil.[/blackout]

A similarly good way to keep trailers from showing too much is to use alternate takes in comedies to avoid giving away the jokes. I think all of Adam McKay's movies have done that.

In general, I'm not really sure where I fall on the trailer issue. I don't often go into movies and think, "that plot point was ruined by the trailer." But I could go for less plot outlining in a lot of trailers.

 

[Lasirius]

When I watched the Dream House trailer, I had no idea what the hell was going on.

Yeah, it had way too much information than you're supposed to know by watching a trailer. According to reviews, the movie wasn't in the least coherent either.

 

[SuperSoldier985]

I think it's a moot idea, but most people these days, for some reason, like to watch most of their trailers online so that they can slow them down, dissect them, and actually TRY to spoil the movie for themselves.

I don't do that anymore. I rarely go out of my way to watch trailers online anymore because of that--the only ones I see are the ones I see in the theater--and speaking from experience, trailers show no more or less now than they did over the last ten years I'd say. Most of these studios and companies are now more aware of how much more seriously a well executed trailer can take a part in the success in their movies..

 

[bullets]

The trailer for Somewhere shows the entire movie

Contagion spoils a death scene that would of been very surprising had they not shown it .

The trailer for Like Crazy seems like it gave too much away.

 

[OsGom]

Yeah, I find trailer analyzing annoying. It seems to be a popular past time for these movie sites though. Is it somekind of badge of honor being able to discern the entire plot and fate of every character from the trailer? It just seems like you are killing all the mystery and wonder by breaking the thing into pieces.

Maybe it's an age thing but I like to see one well produced trailer to wet my appetite (I'm actually not a big fan of teasers). I might watch it a couple of times to make sure I catch everything but after that I try to avoid clips, trailers and promo shots until the film release. Then I read reviews to gauge if it is worth spending money for a ticket.

 

[marvelman2006]

I also noticed too for the last couple years it seems after a movie has been out for a week, tv spots tend to really show spoilers just to catch a last ditch effort of attention.

 

[cherokeesam]

I don't think trailers show enough. There should be a *lot* more graphic nudity and violence....

....oh wait. That's not what you meant, is it....?


Yeah, I don't worry about yer basic teaser and theatrical trailers so much --- hey, even for the 90-minute ADHD movies they put out nowadays, there's still only so much you can condense into 2-3 minutes --- but what I absolutely *despise* are these rashes of 30-second "snippet" trailers they absolutely BOMB us with. THOSE things show the whole goddamn movie. When you've got 20 30-second "stingers" or whatever, then you've pretty much seen the whole enchilada.

 

[hopefuldreamer]

I don't think a trailer should ever leave you feeling like 'oh damn'. It shouldn't spoil the plot, as it's completely off putting and a lot of people just wouldn't bother to watch the movie because they've kind of seen it - like Dream House.

On the other hand, I think knowing about the twist is essential in some cases.

With Cabin in the Woods, you'd have had a trailer for a generic horror film that no one would probably be all that bothered about - you kind of have to hint at the twist in the trailer to appeal beyond the Whedon fanboys.

And after the initial dissapointment I felt for having been spoiled, I'm kind of glad to go in knowing that there is more than meets the eye, and it'll make me look for the 'clues'