Trailers that lie....

5

5kevinS

New member
Can you think of any?

I remember the Inglorious BasterRAB trailer that made you think the whole film would be Brad Pitt and his cronies running around Germany whacking Nazi's. Good film, but not what the trailer led you to believe.

'44 inch chest' - Not a gangster flick like you're led to believe. It's all filmed in 1 room. Good film but not what the trailer makes it out to be.

Have you ever felt 'conned' by a trailer after seeing the film or alternatively, surprised by such a good movie from a mediocre trailer?
 
Not so much a trailer - but the poster for "Reign of Fire" was very misleading - showing what looks like a huge air battle between Apache helicopters and dragons over the skies of London -
non of which happens in the film.

http://www.impawarRAB.com/2002/posters/reign_of_fire.jpg

Also felt that the trailer for Transformers 2 was a bit misleading - it seemed to make a big thing about characters that were killed off in the movie within the first couple of minutes.
 
The trailer for Daybreakers makes it look like a vamp flick in the Blade mould when it's mostly plodding social commentary George A. Romero would turn his nose up at.

Alternatively the trailer for Sherlock Holmes makes it look like the usual tiresome Mockney guff from Guy Ritchie when it's actually a fairly decent romp.
 
Yes, I was worried that the Sherlock Holmes trailer was just all the good bits stitched together when the film is actually better than the sum of its parts.

Two films come to mind which I haven't even seen - The Proposal and Did You Hear About the Morgans? - where the trailers made the films look quite interesting but the reviews told a different story. In that situation I'd believe the reviews. Trailers are adverts, after all, and you wouldn't believe an advert.
 
Adventureland springs to mind. The trailer was made for us to think it was a comedy but in fact it was a drama with a little comedy thrown in here and there.
 
Trailers are strange beasts.

You see, a director will make a movie, and stamp their vision, their style and their intent on their own work.

And yet despite all of that, a completely different person will come along, look at that movie and think 'How can I sell this movie to the public in two minutes?'

They do not have any brief to remain true to the directors original vision, they essentially have a blank canvas.

44 Inch Chest is a good example.

From a marketing perspective, are you going to sell it in a realistic manner, as a Pinter-esque drama set in one room for the whole movie...or are you going to capitalise on the fact that you have Ray Winstone and Ian McShane playing hard men and shouting and swearing a lot?

Always remember - their job is to make you part with your money...whether you like the movie or whether you feel you have been misled is beside the point. Once you have parted with your money, their job is done.
 
I remember seeing the trailer for My Little Eye (2002) made the film look fantastic, It made it look like a paranormal horror film and the the way it was cut and paced as a trailer made the film look amazing.

Remember going to see the film, Pile of Pap, big brother murder rubish, not the cool paranormal film the trailer made out :mad:
 
Avatar

Makes it look like a sci-fi 're-imagining' of Dances with Wolves when it's more like a sci-fi re-imagining of Pocohontas.
 
Alien Autopsy looked like a really funny film from the trailer.

Somehow in the actual film all the funny bits from the trailer (which was ALL the funny bits) weren't actually as funny when seen in the context of the whole story.
 
trailers that lie...

not necessarily a specific trailer but I do have a chuckle when we see adverts for films in January that claim 'Best Film of The Year' - I saw one the other day, don't they realise what a pathetic statement that is?
 
I agree about the Inglorious BasterRAB trailer, I was disappointed with the film, I was expecting the same thing, Brad Pitt and Co rampaging around France Scaplin Nazi's.
Instead I got 2hrs of talking with about 15min of action.

Same thing with Death Proof.
 
Be kind Rewind looked great from the Trailer, but as it turned out all the best bits were actually in the trailer leaving a very dull and boring film.

I agree with the comment about Reign of Fire. The poster/dvd cover combined with the trailer looked pretty good, but the best bit was over within the first 10 mins of the film.
 
I enjoyed Daybreakers, but it wasn't what I was expecting for the reason you said.

From the trailer, Sherlock Holmes looks like an interesting action movie, but I almost fell asleep about 15 minutes in!
 
Be Kind Rewind is a very good example of what trailer-makers do.

What was touted as an 'hilarious' comedy about two video store guys filming no-budget remakes of big movies and renting them to their customers. Most of the trailer showed these 'remakes', such as Ghostbusters, Driving Miss Daily, 2001. But that was only a very small part of the plot - the majority of the movie revolved around the local community coming together to save the video store from property developers.

TTrailer makers will view a movie, and decide what aspects of the movie to focus on in order to make it look appealing...regardless of whether that is the main plot of the movie or not. They have no obligation to the filmakers, only the studio who after all own the movie.

So, a comedy movie with Jack Black? Well, then the trailer has to make it look like a typical Jack Black comedy vehicle, and in that regard it succeeded.
 
I've just watched "Slum Dog Millionaire" and it wasn't at all what I was led to expect. I thought it would be a "Feel-good" movie and enjoyable; but it was full of sadism and most disturbing violence. No-one mentioned anything like that in it in the trailers. :(
 
On YouTube there's what claims to be the UK trailer for Slumdog Millionaire and you're right, it doesn't mention sadism and violence. It does contain clips that if you've seen the film you'll know refer to the darker episodes in the film, but the voiceover and the music imply that they're part of a generally upbeat film.

In fact the trailer has the "Feel-good Film of the Decade" tagline pasted in at the end and it attributes the quote to the News of the World. It was a ridiculous statement but you have to blame the NOTW's reviewer for his hyperbole.
 
I am amazed no-one has mentioned the trailer for "Sweeney Todd" with Johnny Depp!

There was no mention that it was a musical in the trailer, if anything it looked like a fantastic dark comedy from Burton. My chin nearly hit the floor when Depp started singing.

You can also add the original trailer for Aliens 3, it pretty much stated that the film was based on earth with 1000's of Aliens and Marines fighting to the death.
 
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