This blog is directly inspired from the recent Hollywood Reporter story stating that NATO (National Association of Theatre Owners) is targeting studios, attempting to mandate trailers be no more than 2 minutes – which, for those keeping a close eye on that second hand, is 30 seconds shorter than the average trailer length.
This all stirred up when customers started complaining that the recent 3 minute 10 second Man of Steel trailer revealed too much plot. Even though Man of Steel is yet another reincarnation of the Superman saga, I believe patrons still want to have that sense of awe and wonder the first time they experience this or any film. But it’s hard to experience a film with fresh eyes, especially when studios are cramming, in the case of Man of Steel, 146 minutes of movie plot into a 3 minute and 10 second clip. Of course studios want you to see their product, and they’ll do everything and anything they can to feed you that information.
But do trailers need to be lengthy and over-flowing with detail in order to convey the story to an audience? The short and long answer is no. Some examples of long trailers: Orson Welles’ F for Fake is 9 minutes, but honestly was its own contained short subject film. Oliver Stone’s Nixon is 4 minutes and 32 seconds. Forrest Gump 5min 6sec. Cast Away, while only 2min 20sec, gave the entire film away (save for an excellent 45 minute chunk of essentially silent film acting by Hanks).
Alfred Hitchcock’s trailers like to tease the suspense that will be in the film, while often being lengthy. Psycho is 6 minutes, but features Hitchcock on the back-lot set ‘explaining’ what may occur. In the bathroom, during one moment, he says, “There’s a very important clue…” he lifts the toilet seat, “Down there.” There is a comical understanding for Hitchcock’s trailers, much of why they work. But they were produced at a time when we didn’t have such extensive ADHD and could sit in one spot.
There is one smart trailer in particular that stands out to me (from this year). It’s a trailer that gave us enough information, but not all of it. It was gripping, but only told us a fraction of the story. The Place Beyond The Pines. If you’ve seen both, you’ll understand what I mean. The trailer was a fine representation of what I would love studios to do. But can every movie pull it off? It’s hard to say yes because I don’t know for a fact if they could.
Other studios have figured out this method in one way or another in the past, but don’t keep up with it. I would like to think when a rare trailer comes along that captures our interest without revealing the entire plot, that the director is responsible for it, not the studio.
Does anyone remember the trailer for Todd Field’s Little Children? In 1 minute and 43 seconds we see the faces of most of the characters and get the gist of what it will be about, but the brilliance of the trailer is the suspense it builds throughout. Slowly hearing the sound of train in the distance fast approaching, giving off more of an uneasy horror sensibility than an adultery drama.
Stanley Kubrick perfected simplicity as a selling tool, especially with The Shining and Eyes Wide Shut. Shining with its single take elevator shot, scrolling text and bizarre musical score. It creates horror and intrigue. Eyes Wide Shut is only a little over a minute, but in a stark and haunting manner, conveys its horror, importance and mystery to the audience. All while featuring Chris Isaak's "Baby did a Bad, Bad thing" in the background.
I’ve had issues in the past particularly with trailers for comedies. We’ve all watched a funny trailer; perhaps select ones deserved multiple viewings, so like madmen we go find it on YouTube. By the time we see the film with an audience, the joke that we laughed at many times over is no longer effective and has lost its impact. I experienced that feeling with Wes Anderson’s The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. It was my fault that I brought myself to go to YouTube so often to find the trailer, but blame is also on the studio for stuffing the film with so much humor.
Like many, I assume, my problem is that I remember such vivid details from trailers. By the time I see the actual film on the big screen, the imagery from the preview is so etched into my mind that I sometimes find myself waiting for key moments. One of two things will go down: One) That moment I loved so from the trailer doesn’t appear in the film anywhere (Ahem, The Master), or Two) That moment is so close to the end of the film, that I get upset at whoever cut the trailer (Ahem, Star Trek Into Darkness).
In the last couple years I’ve avoided certain trailers, or at least avoided watching them in excess because I didn’t want to be spoiled. I never watched the 3min 45sec trailer for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for that simple fact.
I sincerely hope trailers begin to change in the future. Studios need to trust their audience. We will see the movie no matter what, but they need reduce the amount of plot that's given away. Less IS more.