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19. Unbreakable (2000)
By IFC
on 06/25/2009
Compared to the breakneck pace of most modern trailers, the teaser for M. Night Shyamalan's "Unbreakable" feels deliberately deliberate; heavy on atmosphere, light on edits. Instead of providing little bits from many scenes, it gives us a lot of just one, in which Bruce Willis learns that he's the only survivor of a horrific train crash. It's like a nightmare in miniature: disturbingly high pitched noises echoing through the soundtrack, repeated fade outs to black, characters speaking in hushed tones, the frequent image of a spinning fragment of broken glass. The cutting rhythm is unsettling and unusual. We spend uncomfortably lengthy stretches on some shots and near-subliminal ones on others. In a very short amount of time, this trailer convinces us this is one creepy friggin' movie.
The incredible success of "The Sixth Sense" made Shyamalan the unlikeliest of household names, and with this follow-up it was imperative that he prove he wasn't simply a flash in the pan. Because of "The Sixth Sense"'s popularity, there was already huge interest in his next project, so the "Unbreakable" teaser didn't have to excite the audience so much as reassure them. Ironically, the spot's unorthodox and intensely moody aesthetic did just that. --Matt Singer
I guess you guys haven't seen the trailer for The Hughes Bros.'s Dead Presidents, huh? What about Forest Gump? I think those are the 2 greatest of all time. Gump is better than the movie. And Dead Prez is the best ever.
Oh... what about the SW Ep 1 teaser? Maybe you should call this the best film trailers on YouTube! LOL. Dead Prez is probably too hard for you to locate.
I think The Dark Knight, Iron Man, and 300 should be included!
Clerks? No love for the Clerks trailer? Sigh.
Honorable mention for the Grindhouse fake trailers? "Don't" was brilliant.
Great list, by the way. Thanks for including 'Man Who Wasn't There'
Seriously? We have to click 50 times just to get the damn list? No thanks.
Like clicking 50 times is soooo hard, right? But you guys forgot about There Will Be Blood!!
50 PAGES?!!! Get back to work researching how to post an article. No Digg for you.
50 PAGES?!!! Get back to work researching how to post an article. No Digg for you.
GREAT article and flawless pick for #1. I actually did a lil piece on that trailer at our own movie blog, so I'm elated to see as your top pick. Yay trailers!