30+ years ago I was at the Writer’s Guild Theater in Los Angeles, waiting for a movie screening to begin.
The screening was preceded by a trailer for a different, new, yet-to-be-released film.
Although the audience was comprised of “industry people,” none of us ever had heard that new movie.
Nor had we heard of the star, whose name isn’t even mentioned in the trailer.
So when the trailer began, none of us had any expectations. We were just waiting for “our” film to begin.
As a benchmark, reactions to movie trailers for films we’ve never heard of range from “Looks like it might be interesting” to “Good, now we can watch the movie.”
But when this trailer ended, the entire theater burst into HUGE applause.
A spontaneous, unanimous, “Wow that was great!” ovation.
Turn up your volume first….
They should give Academy Awards for Best Edited Trailers: John Lithgow’s eye movement at 0:53 is magnificently placed, resulting in great foreshadowing that shifts the focus from pure fun to something more sinister.
This movie trailer is like a great record: Just as good now as the first time I experienced it.
