Classic Film Trailers

You're at the back of the concessions queue waiting to pay for your pick 'n' mix and your film starts in two and a half minutes. It's touch and go. Your friend says "Don't worry. It's only trailers for the first fifteen minutes anyway." But therein lies the problem - it's the trailers you want to see. The Optimist loves a good film trailer, so join me for a run down of my all time favourites.

Romeo + Juliet (1996)

Baz Luhrmann taught us that wheel spin, gun shots and Shakespearean Soliloquy go hand in hand in this brash trailer for his reimagining of Romeo and Juliet. It's trashy, it's neon and includes the best 'star crossed lovers meeting through a fishtank' scene ever made. What's most impressive though, is that this study in 90s excess doesn't seem to have aged a day.

Funny Face (1957)

Another timeless trailer, achieved this time by a Hepburn/Astaire musical number at the top of the Eiffel Tower, a truly authentic old Hollywood voice over and plenty of crossfades. S'Wonderful! S'Marvellous!

Where the Wild Things Are (2009)

Fantasy-cum-reality visuals cut perfectly to Arcade Fire's 'Wake Up'. Who says a trailer needs dialogue to bring a tear to your eye?

The Social Network (2010)

More proof that a great song can make a trailer. Scala and Kolacny Brothers cover of Creep by Radiohead took the drama up a notch in this preview of Aaron Sorkin and David Fincher's The Social Network. Can we also take some time to celebrate the footage-separated-by-a-black-screen-with-words-on tactic that trailers so often use? You don't get to 500 million friends, we're told, without making a few enemies. Ooooooh.





500 Days of Summer (2009)

Great beginning, great ending, with lots of non-chronological goodness and a flirty trip to Ikea sandwiched in between. What's not to love?





Up (2009)

Wham! Pixar broke their own record with this trailer, convincing us within the first fifteen seconds that this was their best film yet. They never did add a tissue warning though, so viewers were unprepared for the heartache that would befall them once they got to know Carl and Ellie's story.





Back to the Future (1985 Teaser)

Eighty seconds of forcibly concentrated 80s goodness. Throw on your aviators and lace up your hi-tops, for you are about to witness the greatest teaser ever made. Containing quite probably the cheesiest tagline of all time this trailer introduced the world to Marty McFly. Holy Flux!





Titanic - 3D (2012)

Whilst not necessarily ground breaking, this trailer, made for the 15th Anniversary re-release of Titanic, is up there with the best because of its perfect clip selection and unapologetic use of Celine Dion. Even after all these years it's hard to suppress the goosebumps when you see Jack showing Rose 'how to fly', but it's not just the knowledge of how it all ends that brings a tear to your eye. It's being reminded of just how unprecedented the reaction to this film was, how much money it made, how many awards it won and how it seemed to reach every corner of Earth. The trailer calls it "The world's most beloved and acclaimed film" and there's something eerily special about the fact that the world may never see a phenomenon on the scale of Titanic again.




Any you think I've missed? Let me know in the comments below.