Comments on: Open Forum Friday: Do Red Band Trailers Spoil the Best Parts of a Movie?

By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 15:38:32 +0000

Sometimes I don’t understand why the ruin the movie in the first place. For instance, the new Terminator movie ruined the fact that Sam Worthington was a robot which we’ve been a nice surprise. And would’ve made the move a little bit more interesting.

By: Matt

Matt — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 01:37:35 +0000

Has anyone else noticed that some of the recent red bands have just been flat-out unfunny? Funny People and the newest on The Goods both come to mind.

By: Duke Togo

Duke Togo — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 06:19:02 +0000

I can’t stand the exact opposite, which is most video game tv ads which hardly show any gameplay and have some lame marginally related video that is implied to somehow relate to the game or tries to say the game is cool without ever showing the actual game. Even worse is the completely cryptic ads like the U R (/) red e campaign that launched the 1st Playstation back in 95′. Maybe movies need mascots like the ghost from the Ghostbusters logo to make the product stand out amongst the competition.

By: Fatbologna

Fatbologna — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 01:19:05 +0000

I remember back in the day when some trailers were just a floating title for the movie paired with narration. There’s something to be said for the simplicity in that. I think I builds interest and if some movies were only advertised using that method (albeit vigorously through all media formats) that sheer curiosity would bring people to the theatre. I don’t think it’s the reb band trailers that ruin movies, but trailers in general. A single image, piece of dialogue, or intriguing yet mysterious plot synopsis can be far more effective than showing the entire movie in a minute.

The other problem is showing a whole VERSION of the movie in the trailer that isn’t really what the REAL movie is. So many trailers present a film with the whole “from the producers/directors of” and then edit the trailer to look like other movies you MAY HAVE liked. It’s a belabored point to say that Hollywood is unoriginal, but it’s really become nauseatingly, boringly so. I think people are more open than they’re given credit for and if there wasn’t such an attempt to make every movie’s marketing geared towards EVERYONE then maybe people would discover that a little variety is refreshing from time to time.

By: Andrew James

Andrew James — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 23:33:35 +0000

I got into this pretty heavily a few weeks back. In most cases I agree with the above commenter (Dan). Every now and then a red band can give a better idea of what the film is about, but chances are I already know what the film is rated and I already know what the film is about and can judge the movie by who is in it and who directed it. A regular trailer is enough. I try to avoid red bands if I can.

Isn’t there a red band for District 9? Or maybe not, but I know I avoided the 2nd trailer like the plague (successful so far). I already know 100% I’m seeing the movie, why would I want to see more footage that will take away from the experience when I get to see it. While half the theater will say to themselves, “I already saw that in the trailer,” I can say, “Oooooh”.

By: Dan

Dan — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 22:46:28 +0000

I think the red band trailers are a detriment to the movie industry. There’s something magical about the anticipation of what’s to come in a film. That feeling of surprise when the gag is revealed or you get to witness a TV star udder a swear word in a movie…that’s cheapened by the red band trailer.

I know in our fast-food-culture where we want everything now it seems to fit, but I think it’s robbing us of the cinematic experience of expectation.

By: MJS

MJS — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 22:24:34 +0000

I don’t think they give away much more than regular trailers, sometimes they give you a much better idea of what to expect (IE Burn After Reading)