First Post

I have joined the ranks of cliché college students with the creation of this blog. Go me.  Next I will buy 10 Che shirts and begin reading The Autobiography of Malcolm X.  In this blog I will primarily post lists of my making, mostly relating to movies. This blog will not be limited to these lists though, for I will also post rants and whatever thoughts that I believe require more than just a tweet to articulate. With that said, I will now share my first list...

Top Ten Favorite Movie Trailers

Many argue that the overall quality of movies has decreased in recent years but I think it is safe to say that trailers, as a whole, have become better in the last decade. Since the average movie these days has to make most of its money in the first weekend, the studios need to have a strong advertising campaign. Thus, better trailers are made. That explains why many of these trailers are recent, but do not fret, there are classics in here as well.

10. Suspiria (1977)

This is some gold right here.  Just that creepy voice saying "Susssssperiaaaaaa" alone warrents a spot on this list.  It's hard to understand what is actually going on but that is essetially Dario Argento's thing.  With the trailer, one is able to see the mania of the film and the chaos that creates the horror.  But the real money maker is the last sentence of the trailer.  Awesome. 

9. Koyaanisqatsi (1982)

In a way, this is the perfect trailer. It is essentially a condensed version of exactly what the movie is, but without spoiling any of the story. Then again, the movie doesn't actually have a story. But even so, running at just over two minutes, little of the visual flair is shown off so the viewer is still awestruck when he or she watches the full film.

 

8. Where the Wild Things Are (2009)

Here is a good example of a great trailer to a horrible movie. I mean, man, that movie was bad, just bad. The trailer, on the other hand, is fantastic. I have a theory, though, that if one simply attaches Wake Up by Arcade Fire to any trailer it will automatically be good.

7. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

 

Anyone who knows me should be aware that I am a huge fan of The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. This trailer does a good job of giving a layout of the objectives of the characters while not revealing too many details of the actual plot in the film(s). We know what Frodo must do, but we don’t know what he is going to have to go through to do it. Oh yeah, and there is X-Ray Dog.

6. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

I love the use of The Aquarium in order to create a feeling of magical mystery in the trailer. Trailers for David Fincher movies tend to be quite good (along with their opening credits) and this is one of the best. The quick cuts to major plot points give a glimpse of what to come and also shows off the beautiful cinematography.

5. The New World (2005)

 

I'm not going to lie; I have not seen this movie. But I have watched the trailer about 100 times. I have read that it received mixed to negative reviews, many of which stating that the film is boring. I have seen Malick's The Thin Red Line and I wasn't necessarily on the edge of my seat while watch that particular film, so I have been a little wary to watch The New World. With that said, every time I watch this trailer I do feel a strong desire to finally see it.

 4. Alien (1979)

This trailer probably sounds a little familiar to those who are reading this list.  Most people after watching this trailer are probably having a "wtf?" moment.  It's pretty hard to have any idea what the heck is going on unless one has seen the movie, which is one reason why it is so great.  What I like is that instead of showing what the movie is about it instead shows what the movie is going to feel like. 


3. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

The Two Towers' trailer is probably the first trailer that really floored me when I was growing up.  The trailer gives a glimpse to the massive scale of the film, giving preview to the story's epic proportion.  Like many trailers on this list, the music is key, and the Requiem for a Tower track is how I first became interested in the film, Requiem for a Dream.

2. The Shining (1980)




The trailer to The Shining may be the simplest trailer I have ever seen, which is one of the reasons why I love it so much. One static shot, accompanied by creepy music, and a climax of blood flooding from elevator doors washing up onto the camera.  Fantastic.  Like the Alien trailer, this one establishes the tone of the film rather than giving a glimpse into the story. It's worth noting how similar the trailer is to the actual film though. The Shining is not a film that has a series of scary scenes in the traditional sense; instead it's the overall tone and mood Kubrick creates. Like this trailer, little action actually occurs.


1. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)




I was extremely skeptical toward David Fincher's American adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. But when I saw this trailer my jaw dropped and I became ecstatic for its release that Christmas. The trailer is absolutely incredible. For anyone who knows the story (I did, since I had seen the Swedish version prior) he or she notices that the entire film is essentially summarized in this trailer. Every major plot point is shown for half a second in chronological order. To someone who is unaware of the story, it is only a mesh of images, granted, the images are extremely interesting looking. The cinematography shown is beautiful and the intensity from the original appeared to be intact (as it turned out in the final film it was intact, and then some). On top of that there is the Karen O and Trent Reznor cover of Immigrant Song by Led Zeppelin. I was overthrilled to find that this cover is also in the final film.  This trailer is simply incredible.