Post by mkb on Nov 22, 2023 1:29:07 GMT
They don't do it anymore, but until recently Odeon played an intro with a voiceover saying "And now for the bit everyone loves...the trailers". How wrong they are!
I hate film trailers with a passion. With rare exceptions, most give away key elements of the plot. Once you've seen one several times, by the subsequent film's halfway point, you often have enough information to accurately deduce the ending. I've even seen comedies where EVERY joke was in the trailer.
I discovered a couple of decades ago that the maximum enjoyment from any film (and theatre for that matter) is to go in almost blind. Knowing the genre, so you're in the right frame of mind, and who the creatives/cast are is sufficient. But how does one actually do that in practice? Obviously, you can avoid reviews and discussions before seeing a movie, but how do you actually avoid the dreaded trailers in a cinema?
Option 1:
Go to a cinema that doesn't do them.
- This would be the holy grail for me, but sadly I don't know of any.
Option 2:
Be a professional reviewer who is invited to press screenings without the need to endure trailers.
- Not available to me or most of us.
Option 3:
Time your entrance to the auditorium to coincide with the end of the trailers.
- The lack of any reliability of how long the ads and trailers will run scuppers this in practice. My local Showcase seems to run anything from 24 to 28 minutes typically, but one film this week was only 16. I've known Vue simply forget to include the ads and trailers. More than once.
Option 4:
Close your eyes and stick your fingers in your ears during the trailers.
- Can you believe I actually tried this for a while? I discovered that sticking your fingers in your ears does not block out much sound. You have to press on your ear lobes and rub your fingers up and down quickly to make a noise louder than that emanating from the screen in front. After a couple of minutes, your ears are sore and your fingers ache, and there can be up to 15 minutes of this nonsense. And, of course, you look like a manic idiot.
Option 5:
Distract yourself
- Testament to how distracting using your phone while driving is, my current m.o. is simply to surf the internet while the ads and trailers play. It works brilliantly. I must have sat through the Saltburn trailer dozens of times but can honestly say that all I picked up on was a little of the music. The film was a complete surprise. Phones are not only incredibly distracting, it means you can also get useful stuff done during the unwelcome pre-film half hour. It's no longer wasted downtime. I've noticed lots of others doing likewise. Happily, at least at my local cinemas, nearly everyone seems to be pretty good at putting their phone on silent and away once the main feature begins.
I hate film trailers with a passion. With rare exceptions, most give away key elements of the plot. Once you've seen one several times, by the subsequent film's halfway point, you often have enough information to accurately deduce the ending. I've even seen comedies where EVERY joke was in the trailer.
I discovered a couple of decades ago that the maximum enjoyment from any film (and theatre for that matter) is to go in almost blind. Knowing the genre, so you're in the right frame of mind, and who the creatives/cast are is sufficient. But how does one actually do that in practice? Obviously, you can avoid reviews and discussions before seeing a movie, but how do you actually avoid the dreaded trailers in a cinema?
Option 1:
Go to a cinema that doesn't do them.
- This would be the holy grail for me, but sadly I don't know of any.
Option 2:
Be a professional reviewer who is invited to press screenings without the need to endure trailers.
- Not available to me or most of us.
Option 3:
Time your entrance to the auditorium to coincide with the end of the trailers.
- The lack of any reliability of how long the ads and trailers will run scuppers this in practice. My local Showcase seems to run anything from 24 to 28 minutes typically, but one film this week was only 16. I've known Vue simply forget to include the ads and trailers. More than once.
Option 4:
Close your eyes and stick your fingers in your ears during the trailers.
- Can you believe I actually tried this for a while? I discovered that sticking your fingers in your ears does not block out much sound. You have to press on your ear lobes and rub your fingers up and down quickly to make a noise louder than that emanating from the screen in front. After a couple of minutes, your ears are sore and your fingers ache, and there can be up to 15 minutes of this nonsense. And, of course, you look like a manic idiot.
Option 5:
Distract yourself
- Testament to how distracting using your phone while driving is, my current m.o. is simply to surf the internet while the ads and trailers play. It works brilliantly. I must have sat through the Saltburn trailer dozens of times but can honestly say that all I picked up on was a little of the music. The film was a complete surprise. Phones are not only incredibly distracting, it means you can also get useful stuff done during the unwelcome pre-film half hour. It's no longer wasted downtime. I've noticed lots of others doing likewise. Happily, at least at my local cinemas, nearly everyone seems to be pretty good at putting their phone on silent and away once the main feature begins.