2019 was a good year for excellent movie trailers. With the growing importance of social media and prominence of the internet, movie studios have placed a much greater emphasis on the production of their marketing campaigns, providing audiences with epic pre-glances of their upcoming projects.
Of course, in some cases, those “glances” are much more than glances, shedding far more light than is necessary. At their best, however, movie trailers act as capsules, incorporating the tone and atmosphere of the upcoming production with irresistible glamor.
While there have been some exceptions – the coarse reactions to the Cats and Sonic the Hedgehog teasers literally sent digital designers back to the drawing board – 2019 has featured some exceptional introductions to films. The following is a list of the ten best that graced the big, small, and handheld screens this year.
10. Top Gun: Maverick – Official Trailer #1
Fresh off the exhilaration high that was Mission: Impossible – Fallout, Tom Cruise proved capable of taking on the world. So, when the Jerry Maguire and Jack Reacher star popped up at San Diego Comic-Con with the announcement that another Top Gun film was on its way, the accompanying trailer left naysayers no room to squash the sequel. Featuring some high-altitude excitement, with Cruise this time in the cockpit, Top Gun: Maverick was inducted into the upcoming slate as a nostalgia-laced thrill fest for the actor, proving that even with a sequel to an overzealous and sappy movie, audiences will follow this mature daredevil anywhere.
9. A Hidden Life – Official Trailer
This snippet of Terrance Malick’s timely, inspired-by-true-events tale of defiance and dedication leaps off the screen with an equally enticing sense of purpose. Showcasing an Austrian family strewn apart by the Nazi occupation when its patriarch Franz Jägerstätter (August Diehl) refuses to bow down to Hitler’s whims, the trailer introduces, amongst the harsh punishments bestowed upon the peaceful protest, the surviving and burning flame kept betwixt the family. Meanwhile, the audience gets a sense of the awe-inspiring cinematography achieved by Jörg Widmer, and coupled with a harrowing backdrop of choir tones, the tranquility of A Hidden Life comes through.
8. Jojo Rabbit – Official Trailer
Jojo Rabbit, Taika Waititi’s take on the Nazi occupation is, conversely, much more jovial than Malick’s. Brimming with the Hunt for the Wilderpeople director’s irreverent and quirky brand of comedy, viewers are introduced to the Third Reich fanaticism of young Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis), whose enthusiasm for the Nazi party peaks with his imaginary friend, a Hitler (played by Waititi himself) with the mind of a ten-year-old. This seemingly off-putting premise, which takes a greater dramatic turn when Jojo discovers the young Jewish girl (Thomasin McKenzie) who’s been hiding in between his walls, is relinquished by a heart-filled and emotionally complex trailer that begins to capture the heart of the film. Love it or hate it, the official trailer for Jojo Rabbit convinces viewers that the film is, indeed, an anti-hate satire.
7. IT Chapter 2 – Final Trailer
While the conclusion of Andy Muschietti’s IT series was rather underwhelming – though, in its defense, the second part of the story as a whole is far less appealing than chapter one – Warner Bros.’ marketing team herded audiences back into theaters with another remarkably tense and thrilling ad campaign. But it was the film’s final trailer that most captured the spirit of IT Chapter Two: with smooth transitions and thrilling flashbacks switching between the younger and older versions of the Losers Club, the two-minute segment also hinted at Pennywise’s pent-up rage, a 27-year-long ache that the clown, and audiences, couldn’t wait to witness.
6. John Wick Chapter 3 – Parabellum – Official Trailer #1
The John Wick franchise continues to be one of those rare gems in filmmaking: a series of movies that only seem to get better and better with each new addition. And Parabellum proved to be another smash hit. But even before Chapter 3 made its way into theaters, its marketing campaign signified that this film would be something absolutely badass. Setting sail on the path Chapter 2 left off, the trailer sees Wick (Keanu Reeves) hustle through a neon-laced, rain-soaked Manhattan with his infamous pup by his side. The winding clock chiming behind him reminds the viewer that the titular hitman is on the brink of isolation and potential annihilation, with the world’s underground league of assassins prepared to hunt him down. In the few moments of raw carnage the trailer then presents (the film itself, thankfully, was filled to the brim with such sequences), John Wick Chapter 3 looks totally bonkers, exactly as it should be.
5. Knives Out – Official Trailer #1
Just as Rian Johnson captured the exhilarating and mysterious atmosphere of the classic whodunnit genre with his latest film, Knives Out, so did Lionsgate’s first official trailer for the film. The 2-minute snippet introduces the viewer to the three branches of characters – the victim (Christopher Plummer), the suspects (Plummer’s character’s entire family, including actors Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon and Toni Collette), and, perhaps most importantly, the detective (Daniel Craig, with a thick-as-molasses Southern accent) – while also steering clear of any major or revealing plot points. Thankfully, this trailer doesn’t spill the beans on the big mystery, but it is also a thrilling and engaging experience in and of itself.
4. Midsommar – Official Trailer
This Midsommar trailer makes one thing perfectly clear: there is something terribly, terribly wrong with these Swedes. On top of introducing a misleading supernatural element to the story (which actually comes to nothing in the film), this hypnotic trailer taps into the persistently hallucinogenic, mysterious, and naturalistic production by showcasing three distinct features of Midsommar: the oddly beautiful and disturbing achievement in cinematography by Pawel Pogorzelski; the off-kilter set design by Sándo Jani; and the eerily intense string score from The Haxan Cloak.
3. Joker – Teaser Trailer
Though it is common knowledge now that Todd Phillips’ Joker film is a different kind of comic book movie, the production’s teaser trailer was the first piece of evidence that alluded to the fact. Simply put, it promised the dark, wounded, character-study Joker is, complete with glimpses of Lawrence Sher’s stunning cinematography. While the film itself ended up being very divisive, it was exactly what this teaser trailer had promised.
2. Once Upon a Time in…Hollywood – Teaser Trailer
Interestingly enough, the teaser trailer for Quentin Tarantino’s ninth film, Once Upon a Time in…Hollywood alluded to a sense of thrill and excitement that the nearly three-hour film simply didn’t have. However, this teaser is the definition of cool. Played over the sound of Los Bravos’ “Bring a Little Lovin’,” the viewer witnesses a flower-lovin’ Margot Robbie, a twist-dancin’ Leonardo DiCaprio, and a Bruce Lee-fightin’ Brad Pitt. These are images one may not realize they want, but once they’ve been experience, they’re impossible to get out of your head.
1. The Lighthouse – Official Trailer #1
Intoxicating, nauseating lunacy: that’s the only way to describe Robert Eggers’ maritime thriller The Lighthouse. To A24’s credit, the film’s first official trailer fits that description as well. In 90 seconds, a cavalcade of nonsensical and increasingly perverted scenes jumble together in a sea shanty formation, casting a cloud of confusion over any sort of plot detail. Viewers were also given their first glance into The Lighthouse’s spooky cinematography and its perfected use of the Academy ratio (1.37:1) . Simply put, if this trailer doesn’t make you want to get up, drink some kerosene, and dance around the room, nothing will.
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