Eerie. Dark. Terrifying. The science fiction/horror legend Alien has the greatest film trailer of all time. From the iconic music right down to the final tagline, it is a work of art in itself. Trailer editors of today could learn a lot from this masterpiece, from a time when innovative teasing was a lot more effective than simply revealing the entire film in two minutes.
When Peter Jackson was announced as director for the presumed unfilmable Lord of the Rings trilogy, more than a few eyebrows were raised. This trailer put to rest any doubts, and the rest, as they say, is history.
After the flat swansong of the Next Generation cast in 2002 with Nemesis, fans and non-fans alike couldn’t dispute that we were in for a treat with J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek. The use of Two Steps From Hell‘s song Freedom Fighters is a perfect addition.
It had been 16 years since the last instalment of Star Wars, and audiences were ready for a new one. Expectations were high following the release of the trailer – but the less said about the film itself the better.
Jam-packed full of energy, the high octane trailer for Matthew Vaughn’s Kick-Ass was a breath of fresh air. Controversial, nitro-powered and above all funny, the box office figures did not do the film justice.
In 1995 the James Bond franchise was in sore need of a facelift. The opening shots of this trailer let the audience know Bond was back, and he wasn’t messing around.
