Amazing movie scenes ruined by spoliers in Trailers

[ninthcouncil]

Another thing that bugs me about trailers is when they include a song that never shows up in the movie.

It's not unusual for trailers to use music from previous hits in the same genre, to suggest to audiences that "you liked that film, so you'll like this one". I don't think it's unheard of for the trailers to be done nefore the music has been put on the final film, as well.

The thing I hate is when they show trailers that include CUT SCENES. Great scenes, but they ended up on the cutting room floor.

The trailers may even to be put together before the final cut of the film has been completed. Though God only knows why, if a line/shot is good enough to be used to publicise the film, it gets cut out of the actual movie.

 

[KnowTheToe]

I think Phantom Menace showing the Doubler Lightsaber was the worst offendeer. THat would have been amazing to see in the theater as it was the beginning of a very good scene.

Maybe they learned because they did not show Yoda bouncing around like a superball until after the movie was released and everbody was talking about it. It was best not knowing about it.

 

[Zander]

When I saw the first Two Towers trailer, I was flabbergasted to see Gandalf in it. In the movie, his reappearance is an amazingly done scene, full of ambiguity and revelation, but it was completely ruined by the trailers. This is in striking contrast to the Fellowship, where the trailers were very subtle, and avoided all the really cool scenes like the Balrog or Sauron.

I agree about trailers which is why I don't watch them. I've read LotR, so I know what's going to happen, but I still prefer not to see in advance how the events/characters are portrayed. At the cinema, I shut my eyes and block my ears if a trailer comes on of a film I'm interested in. If one appears on telly, I switch over within a second or two. I managed to avoid seeing the trailer for TTT. I did see the cover to some magazines and a few TTT toys, but that's about it.

 

[Jeremy]

[tangent]All hail Simkin and the Orange and Green Tea Pot![/tangent]

 

[ColonelHardisson]

It's not unusual for trailers to use music from previous hits in the same genre, to suggest to audiences that "you liked that film, so you'll like this one". I don't think it's unheard of for the trailers to be done nefore the music has been put on the final film, as well.

I happen to be a filmmaker - very minor, but i'm proud of it - and this does, indeed, happen. Friends of mine often got lucky enough to catch advance screenings of films, sometimes before all the music and editing was finished, and the scores from other films would be used as placeholders - like, say, the score from JFK being used. Sometimes you'll hear this done in trailers also. What I'm talking about are pop songs tossed onto a trailer just to have a ring of familiarity. I understand why it's done, I just don't like it.

Another thing that bugs me has been touched upon - lines in the trailer that aren't in the film, or are altered somehow. ConAir's trailer, for example, had a shot of an old convict saying "I'm gettin' too old for this ****" followed by an explosion (IIRC). In the film, the line is delivered off screen, and is almost inaudible. Not a big deal, but the line was prominent in the trailer and commercial, and the commercial aired like 7 million times (yes, that's hyperbole).

 

[Villano]

I've never seen the remake of The Fugitive, but I've heard people complain about the scene where Harrison Ford leaps into the water. I guess it's supposed to be a shocking scene in the film.

Personally, the one thing that really bugs me is, as I'm watching a film, I remember scenes from the trailer and know that certain characters aren't, for example, dead because they have done that part in the film, yet.

This can ruin the "Surprise! The villain isn't really dead, yet!" moment.

OTOH, I've heard some pretty funny stories about trailers.

First, there's the story about the US distributer of one of the first of those old Hercules movies. When he showed the trailer he cut to a friend (or business partner), the person said that he put all the good parts in it and that no one will want to go see the film.

The distributer remarked, "No. When the audience sees this, they'll think, 'Wow! If this is in the trailer, imagine what's in the film!'".

In an interview a few years ago, Joe Dante, director of The Howling, Gremlins, Matinee, etc., talked about how he began his career cutting trailers for Roger Corman's production company.

One day, he and the guy he was working with were having trouble with the film they were working on. The movie was so bad, they were having a difficult time trying to make an exciting trailer.

Finally, as a bit of a joke, they edited in an exploding helicopter from another film. Surprisingly, it looked like it fit in the movie, so they left it in.

Eventually, it became a running gag. They inserted that same helicopter explosion in every single trailer they cut from that day forward. And the funny thing is that it always looked like it belonged.

In another interview, Dante talked about the trailer for The Howling. I've never seen it, but it apparently never reveals that the movie was about werewolves (it's hard to imagine how that would be possible...I guess it was cut like a murder thriller). I don't know if Dante cut it or the studio did, but he complained that people who would want to see a werewolf film didn't go, and the people who saw the movie in theatres were surprised by its contents and some of them weren't happy about it.

Sort of like the one for Fight Club. Everyone I know tells me that I would love it, but the trailer so turned me off, I still haven't seen it.

 

[Dinkeldog]

I've never seen Sixth Sense, and nobody else I know has seen both that and Jacob's Ladder to tell me if that's the twist. Oh, well, someday I'll get around to Sixth Sense.

What I'm really hoping doesn't happen for the RotK trailer is to show Her. I'd hope they'd keep that a surprise.

 

[Kesh]

I've never seen Sixth Sense, and nobody else I know has seen both that and Jacob's Ladder to tell me if that's the twist. Oh, well, someday I'll get around to Sixth Sense.

Sixth Sense is really a good movie... if you don't know what the twist is, and you're patient. Same with Unbreakable.

So, don't let anyone spoil them for you, and rent them ASAP.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

I've never seen Sixth Sense, and nobody else I know has seen both that and Jacob's Ladder to tell me if that's the twist. Oh, well, someday I'll get around to Sixth Sense.

Oh, I've seen 'em both. Do you really want an answer to that question?

Y'know, I happened to have guessed the twist in the Sixth Sense before I saw it, and i still felt it was a great film. Knowing the twist helped me relax and watch how cleverly Shyamalan set it up. Still, I think I would have enjoyed not knowing. Anyway, it's a very memorable film regardless.

 

[Dinkeldog]

So you're saying that people that liked Sixth Sense should go out and rent Jacob's Ladder.