Saturday, January 2, 2010

Best (and most fraudulent) trailer of the decade...


Rememeber our first glimpse of Christopher Nolan's follow-up to Batman Begins? With little fanfare, Disney had dropped this fascinating trailer into our laps, promising a duel between two 19th century magicians. One, Hugh Jackman, was a virtuous illusionist. The other, Christian Bale, seemed to enjoy playing with darker magic. Was he an evil magician? What was his astounding lightning-filled trick that Jackman proclaimed was 'the greatest magic trick I've ever seen'? Was Bale a genuine dark wizard, fooling the audience into thinking that it was all an illusion while possessing real magic? The stage was set for a battle royale between good magic and evil magic. No so much...

Of course, if you've seen the film, you know that the trailer to The Prestige is in itself an illusion. It sells a pat good vs. evil story using editing that is so clever it may qualify as magic. Nearly every scene is in the film and every piece of onscreen text is accurate. But the narrative that the 155-second preview spins is a blatant falsehood . It is also the most exciting trailer I saw all decade, the rare preview that presented a movie that I knew nothing about and instantly made it tops on my must-see list. The film itself is a much murkier and far more complicated puzzle that is a wholly original kind of masterpiece. The Prestige is one of my favorite films of the last ten years, and the initial trailer, while itself a slight of hand, is my pick for the best trailer of the decade.

Scott Mendelson

5 comments:

Kyle Leaman said...

It might be nitpicky, but the particular take of Bale saying, "Secrets are my life" isn't actually in the final film. I only know because I absolutely love the way he delivers it and wanted it to be the same in the finished film, but I can't remember if the line is cut from the film or he just delivers it in a completely different tone.

I agree with you on everything else though, top notch trailer, and a film that (as long as you get past Jackman's final secret) is suprememly rewarding.

Scott Mendelson said...

I'll take your word for it. Thanks. Noted and corrected.

R.L. Shaffer said...

Honestly, the most fraudulent trailer of the decade has to be Highlander Endgame. There's some fantasy-themed footage here that was shot specifically for the trailer in order to entice people into seeing the film. Alas, the footage exists nowhere else but the trailer.

Sean G said...

I hadn't gone back to look at the trailer after seeing the movie, so thanks for pointing this out. I agree, it was amazingly well done, as clever as the movie itself. I do remember seeing the film and being surprised that Bale wasn't a literal magician, as implied by the trailer.

Also, I like how in the trailer, as the narrator says "You're looking for the secret" the water tank is shown with flashing lights... it's right in front of us, but we don't even notice it.

Kyle Leaman said...

It might be nitpicky, but the particular take of Bale saying, "Secrets are my life" isn't actually in the final film. I only know because I absolutely love the way he delivers it and wanted it to be the same in the finished film, but I can't remember if the line is cut from the film or he just delivers it in a completely different tone.

I agree with you on everything else though, top notch trailer, and a film that (as long as you get past Jackman's final secret) is suprememly rewarding.

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