The greatest film teaser trailers.

[Amasov]

[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXUOdgxiP18&feature=player_embedded[/yt] It might not have been a great movie, but I tell you, the teasers for Godzilla were just fantastic. I remember I saw this for the first time at a screening of Men in Black in the early summer of 1997 -- almost a full year before the movie was even released. Without question, it was the greatest teaser I ever saw and still today, it's unmatched. I could not wait to see this movie. I remember being pissed that I had to wait practically an entire year before the film came out. [yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjKeNVLRuWU[/yt] Then I remember seeing this one at a screening of I Know What You Did Last Summer in the Fall of 1997. Again, mind was blown, got mad again because Memorial Day 1998 still seemed like a long way off. [yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fI8QIn8ayeo[/yt] Then, of course, this one I saw on New Year's Eve. May was only five months away at that point, but it seemed like an eternity. At the end of the day, the movie didn't live up to its up. It was entertaining and fun movie, though. Part of the reason I look back fondly on this was the time in my youth. I was 13 going on 14 and everything was just awesome. I was a teenager. I loved my life as a kid. But, what are some of your favorite film teaser trailers?

 

[captcalhoun]

Cloverfield's.

 

[Aeon]

Miami Vice's teaser was awesome.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Godzilla '88 had a great billboard campaign: "You Must Be as Tall as This Sign to Attack This City." They had one perfectly positioned on 101 leading into San Francisco. Too bad the movie didn't live up to the marketing.

I can't believe I can't find a photo of that billboard anywhere. Maybe my googling skills are insufficient.

Miami Vice's teaser was awesome.

"Badness is happening right now." Is that an in-joke reference to the movie?

It's funny when bad movies have marketing campaigns that are so much better than the product they are selling.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Here's a good example of a great trailer that also represented the movie accurately:
[yt]www.youtube.com/watch?v=qE3qpo4YD1U[/yt]

This trailer got a BIG laugh in the theater.

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8Pb0-c2F4I&[/yt]

 

[Canadave]

It got pulled for obvious reasons, but that doesn't change how awesome the first Spider-man teaser was:

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-r7qymfa0Q[/yt]

 

[Harvey]

The teaser trailer for Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, narrated by Christopher Plummer, is brilliant.

 

[Jax]

^ This

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RERAc0ipha0[/yt]

I liked the teaser tv spots for Armageddon because for months all we saw was a ticking green clock counting down and no one knew what the hell it was, very clever advertising.

 

[Greg Cox]

^ Wow! I'd never seen that before.

Thanks for posting it.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

Since many of my favorites like the Godzilla, Spider-Man, ST:VI, and other teasers have already been mentioned, here's some different favorites of mine:

Pearl Harbor - The build-up of more and more planes overlaid with the FDR speech was great.

Armageddon - Though it shows no actual footage from the film, the dual night launch of the shuttles conveyed the danger.

Star Trek: First Contact - The Don LaFontaine narration, the ST:VI opening theme music, and the Borgified Trek logo created a very ominous and suspenseful teaser.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day - Builds excitement while also adding to the mythos by showing us the Terminator assembly line.

War of the Worlds - The narration from the book and the scenes of people going about their business, followed by the battle over the hill footage that was not seen in the film was very effective.

Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace - Whatever you thought of the final product, the teaser trailer did its job of getting people psyched for the film, especially when Maul breaks out the double lightsaber and the John Williams score swells.

Independence Day - The shot of the White House being destroyed basically sold the film.

The Matrix - Not nearly as good as the follow-up trailer, but it had just enough enticing imagery to make me look up the url at the end as soon as I got home.

Team America: World Police - The action movie cliches and blatant namedropping (only to have most of those people be actual characters in the final film) are hilarious.

I am Legend - Great music, very dramatic scenes of the evacuation, and eery scenes of abandoned New York all make for a perfect teaser.

It's just a shame so many of the actual films don't live up to the great trailers.

 

[Amasov]

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxYwOCRxOLM[/yt]

Although very little from the actual movie is show, this got me so excited to see it. I first saw this at the premiere of Independence Day in 1996. I loved how footage from the shows was blended with the movie. It just looked fantastic. Plus, I was slightly confused as to why Voyager appears briefly.

This trailer still gives me the chills.

 

[T'Baio]

Speaking of movies in which the trailer was better than the film, "Vantage Point" had an incredibly crafted trailer that promised something the movie itself most definitely was not.

In terms of trailers, this is a work of art...

http://youtu.be/vDp-08uNH0Y

Then there's the recent trailer for Fincher's "Girl With The Dragon Tattoo." That's a work of art itself.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Team America: World Police - The action movie cliches and blatant namedropping (only to have most of those people be actual characters in the final film) are hilarious.

Yeah that's one of my favorites, too.

Great music, very dramatic scenes of the evacuation, and eery scenes of abandoned New York all make for a perfect teaser.

Nice to see gas prices haven't gotten that high - yet.

 

[lurok]

Just classical music and images...unusual for an action flick (and a not too-bad movie, if a little predictable)
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IydM8H49MuA&feature=related[/yt]

I recall reading somewhere that the original Blade Runner teaser/trailer was supposedly mind-blowing but never seen...

EDIT: just found (youtube is your friend). Again, really interesting unusual choice of music, and does make it feel like an adult-oriented film noir (with flying cars)
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uP4LEhkng6U[/yt]

 

[Locutus of Bored]

I'm a sucker for great music in a trailer (a couple aren't teasers, though).

Max Payne

Watchmen

The Social Network

Terminator Salvation

One teaser that I thought was very effective was the Trek XI Kennedy/Spock voiceover with the under construction theme:

Trek XI

And if we can expand the topic a bit, I think Bioware makes trailers that could be for blockbusters that are ready for the theaters if they were live action (hell, even CGI they'd probably find an audience):

Mass Effect 2

Star Wars: The Old Republic - Jedi Temple Trailer

Star Wars: The Old Republic - Alderaan Trailer

 

[Too Much Fun]

Speaking of movies in which the trailer was better than the film

I don't think I'll ever enjoy a trailer as much as the trailer for "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". So clever and fun. Pity the movie was rather mediocre.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

^ This

Wow, that's really cool, I've never seen that before.

Trek XI

I loved this teaser. It gave a great sense of awe and exploration. Pity the final product was rubbish.

 

[IndyJones]

Speaking of movies in which the trailer was better than the film

I don't think I'll ever enjoy a trailer as much as the trailer for "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". So clever and fun. Pity the movie was rather mediocre.

I actually preferred the teaser.

 

[Too Much Fun]

Wow, I didn't remember that one. I still prefer the full trailer, but that's pretty damn cool. Great mysterious trailer to get fans of the property excited about it by giving no clues about what the movie or its cast might look like. At that point you could imagine just about anything.

 

[Aldo]

The Hitchhikers Guide teaser definitely intrigued me into watching the film...and reading the books actually.