Trailers put together the best bits of movies to make enticing promos, so it's no wonder that they are often far more entertaining than the films they advertise. This is especially true now that Hollywood films have dispensed with storylines, and become collections of 'best bits' to appeal to visually dyslexic teenagers.
The power of the promo was recently celebrated in the Golden Trailer Awards (goldentrailer.com), in its 11th edition this year. The awards site has - of course - its own trailer, which is actually a little too long. The winning trailers, which were celebrated at a sold-out show in June, are also available.
The Cove, a harrowing documentary about Japanese killing dolphins for food, won the Best In Show trailer award. It's not a flashy promo, but it is well written and builds suspense while clearly explaining what viewers are in for. The big-budget Sherlock Holmes won the best action category. Expect very fast cutting, loud pistol shots and lots of heavy objects whizzing towards the camera.
Hollywood trailers are easy to find on the Web - and firstshowing.net/category/trailers/ prides itself on getting them first. It also delves into independent films and re-releases. There's a link now to a 'must-see' promo for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which the site describes as 'very chilling'. Trailerologists should note that this is apparently a shorter version of the full-length trailer that will debut later this month.
By contrast, there is also a trailer for Jean-Luc Godard's classic Breathless, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this month. With a voice-over delivered in English with a French accent, the trailer is as marvellously jazzy and cool as the film itself.
Trailers are almost as old as cinema, and past examples can be found at Turner Classic Movies' dedicated site tcm.com/multimedia/featuredtrailers/. Who wouldn't love the hokey trailer for 1969's sci-fi B-movie The Green Slime, with a James Bond-like soundtrack bawling the words 'green slime' at full Shirley Bassey volume.