What is the problem with film trailers?
Are film trailers spoiling movies?
In April we asked if high ticket prices were ruining your visits to the cinema. Yes, you said overwhelmingly. But something else has put a strain on my relationship with the cinema – and it’s not the popcorn.
Have you ever gone to your local cinema to watch a new film only to feel you’ve seen it before? I know I have. ‘Spoilerific’ film trailers are now often so detailed it seems hardly worth watching the movie itself.
Imagine if the trailer for Casablanca told you whether Ingrid Bergman went off with Humphrey Bogart or Paul Henreid at the end. Or if the trailer for Citizen Kane revealed just what the dying man meant when he muttered the word ‘Rosebud’.
And it seems that even some film directors agree. Colin Trevorrow, director of new film, Jurassic World, has said he think that trailers have shown far more of the film than he would have wanted.
In the last couple of months, I’ve paid £17.50 a ticket to see two films I’ve been anticipating for some time. OK £17.50 sounds steep, but that was for iMAX 3D and I’d still have paid more than £10 for a ‘normal’ ticket.
But I left the cinema unfulfilled, because I felt like I’d seen them both six months before.
In both cases the trailer revealed the entire structure of the story, key plot twists and expensive action sequences. Throw in a few character deaths for good measure and you’ve got the basis of a significant chunk of what you’ve paid your money for.
I really did feel cheated by what the studio had wanted me to see in advance.
So is this just a modern trend? I checked out trailers for 1981’s Raiders of the Lost Ark, and 1964’s Goldfinger to get a bigger picture.
Both revealed some well-known scenes (including Goldfinger’s iconic laser and dialogue), but the plot basics were instead explained by voiceover, rather than any especially huge visual giveaways.
Besides, the chance of actually seeing these trailers was significantly lessened due to the technology available at the time of release. Which got me thinking further.
‘If you don’t like it, don’t watch it’, I hear you cry. I wish it were that simple. In the age of the internet, exposure has increased tenfold.
Marketing campaigns target social media and television, while the days of a simple poster are gone. Why commission a still image when you can display scenes from the film on a screen in a station or other public place?
Not only that, but trailers are also forced upon you in the cinema itself before other films. Without a blindfold and a soundproof booth to hide in you have little choice.
It’s not that I have a problem with marketing and ads. But they’re spoiling the experience. I don’t want to see all the best bits wrapped up into two minutes, six months ahead of release.
Have you had a film spoiled by its trailer/marketing? Is Hollywood revealing too much in a desperate attempt to put bums on seats?
Do ticket prices ruin your film-going experience?
Something George mentioned earlier about Terminator 2 trailer jogged my memory about another film from the same franchise, Terminator Genisys.
To promote the film, a trailer had been released that included a major plot twist ACTUALLY in the trailer. Now, I had heard about this trailer and had been purposely avoiding it. However, even when you try to avoid spoilers, sometimes it’s out of your control. When I went to see Mad Max, they showed the afore-mentioned trailer and before I realised, it was too late. It cannot be unseen.
Even the director, Alan Taylor, was unhappy about the spoilers in the trailer.
Genisys was [spoiler alert] ….. indeed half of the inspiration for this convo. I saw that article about Alan Taylor’s thoughts the other day, but could only sympathise so much as the film was, in my opinion, a travesty.
Have you seen the film now Ryan? If so what did you think of the big ‘reveal’? For a film that had very little else going for it that really did completely spoil the experience for me.
I just can’t understand why that decision was taken. You don’t need to resort to something like that to generate interest – if said twist is that good then word of mouth will spread.
For anyone interested, the trailer for the new Bond film was released today.