The Day the Earth Stood Still
Directed by Scott Derrickson based on a remake of 1951′s Robert Wise film with the same name
Keanu Reves
Sci-fi
Däs Poster
OK, so. I normally don’t like to get too much into details about the trailers I review for my blog. However, upcoming holiday sci-fi remake The Day the Earth Stood Still just gave me a textbook example of good vs bad trailer editing. Trying to keep it as objective as follows, please watch the following previews and scroll down to diss.
First, watch the official trailer that was first released:
This trailer is a perfect example of what the preview experience should be. Given, a preview is designed to lure us into the theaters based on a minimal exposure to the contents of the film. Although disputed, I tend to side with those who consider that a trailer that leaves you thinking, leaves you not quite assured about what or how the movie will roll, is guaranteed to have you in queue on opening day. The trailer you just watched is close to masterpiece in this sense.
To start, the slow-mo opening, wide open shots and an almost immediately nostalgic yet eerie musical score set a pace that is not altered thorough the course of the trailer (I will get into that later). Second, this is an amazingly short trailer and as such, doesn’t give out much of the buster in blockbuster. This trailer works perfectly in setting out a vague idea of what will happen in the actual film, without giving out half of the plot, in what I call, spoiler trailers. Watch the trailer, and you can skip the movie.
Another thing that works great in this movie is the catcher. 20 seconds into the trailer, the music stops, and you open to a very wide frame showing Keanu Reve’s character strapped to a poligraph test. Notice then, that after making this break, clearly indicating that THIS IS the substance of the film, we jump back to the music score and soft fade outs. This trailer sets an omnious mood by pure editing.
Now, as all blockbuster productions, one would expect a massive display of millions of dollars worth of CGIs. Not in this trailer. We are surrounded by peripherals, random background scenes, fragments of dialogue, apparently important scenes are not presented, giving out the complete freedom to imagine just what the hell is happening. Is it an invasion? Is he the bad guy or the good guy? Questions, questions, brilliant!
Now, to close arguments on this trailer please watch the closer carefully. Keanu explains in an apparent metaphorical dilemma, dealing with life and death and the future of the planet. This scene, apparently out of context signs us off with the idea that the hero in this movie must sacrifice her life to save the Earth. However, we are cut short with no other explanation, making sure we spend at least another couple of minutes pondering the outcome of this film.
Great
Now, please watch the “international” preview for the same movie:
What’s the first thing you notice when watching this trailer, on its first seconds? It’s fast-pased, it in-your-face. We get no introduction to the main character. He could be anyone strapped in a hospital bed being interrogated. It’s all going too fast too soon, how do we fix this? Bring out the headlines. Headlines are a cheesy way to make your point clear on a trailer. A good trailer would have NO NEED for text indicating what the viewer is watching, it’s supposed to be made clear on its on.
Now, that aside, please notice the undeniable traits of a blockbuster trailer. Not even 20 second into the preview and we already know that the Earth is target of an alien attack (something you could’ve known well beforehand had you seen the original version of the film), while at the first trailer, this is not mentioned until almost the very end. This trailer is desperate to show off and it tries to captivate the pop-corn movie-goer who likes simple plots and no surprises.
Now, after that is all Hollywood. Forget a good trailer storytelling, forget establishing mood or allowing glimpses to the characters. Nope, bring out massive explosions, jet fighters, bombs going on in Central Park and huge, huge scenes of chaos and destruction. The rest of the trailer is nothing different from any other big production of its kind. Massive, high-paced, music in crescendo and then, BOOM, we come to a loud closing with the film’s title crashing on our screen.
Now, remember the last scene from the first trailer? The one that made us think a whole plot twist could ocurr in the end? Well, compare it to the details provided in the second trailer. We know that the death/life debate has nothing to do with the characters, more than it means that the alien being seeks to destroy humanity to cleanse the Earth (..if you die, the Earth survives…). We just had the whole plot given out in 1.30 minutes!
Now, I am not saying that one trailer is better than the other. Simply analyse them and think afterwards, which trailer would make ME go watch that movie?
Popcorn not included
