Solid Snake

I was just feeling nostalgic, actually for a while now, and I started wondering what was the first movie trailer that I ever saw and got my ass in a seat? I mean I saw tv spots but the 1st real movie trailer? I was 6 years old and I saw this trailer, don't remember under what film it was but I was going nuts seeing this trailer. I knew what Batman was...I saw the first one but I never got all crazy for it but once I saw The Penguin and Catwoman, I was a Batman fan.

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Mondo Kane

No idea what the first one was.

But I do remember the one that made the entire theater jump:
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Speaking of Batman, hard to believe how rough (As in "Rough-Cut") the trailer was for the '89 film. Not much imagination went into that one!

writer106

I think the first trailer I remember seeing was Back to the Future part II.

Hokeyboy

Jesus, I have no freakin' idea.


But I do remember seeing an original trailer to Star Wars when I was 5 or 6, in theaters. This had to be 1976 or early 77. I remember the scene that left the largest impression on me was watching Luke & Leia swinging across that chasm. With all the lightsabres, starship fights, aliens, and other sci-fi trappings, it was watching the good guy swoop across like Tarzan with a beautiful princess on his arms that left the largest impression on me.

Groin

Troy Stiffler

Good thread. One of the better 'noslagic' or 'best of' ideas.

I'm 25. I don't remember many trailers from when I was really little. And I watched tons of movies. It was usually just what was on TV or my Dad took me to. But the first one that I remember getting me super psyched was The Long Kiss Goodnight, when I was 11 or 12 or something. I remember loving the trailer. And rewinding one of my VHS' (The Island of Doctor Moreau, maybe?) and watching it tons of times.

Groucho

That Christine trailer is fantastic. The movie, not so much.

Solid Snake

Damn, hokeyboy....One must Star Wars trailer is hard to top. Damn, that John Williams score!! It only makes it more epic!

Ranger

Good thread indeed.

Home Alone - the scream is classic.
The Little Mermaid.
Beauty and the Beast.
Nightmare before christmas - was on the Aladdin vhs tape.
Star wars OT collectors vhs previews: never fast fowarded them.

edit: OK, those are just the earliest ones I remember.

Apone

I believe it was Gladiator because I remember trivial discussion regarding Russell Crowe's nationality. Is he a general, a slave, a kiwi, or an aussie?

Solid Snake

Wait...how old are you Apone?

Zen Peckinpah

That first Batman trailer is amazing in how bold WB was in putting out such raw, unrefined footage, they made the decision if I remember correctly to qualm the fears about how it'd be like the 60's show. I think I read that it was first attached before Tequila Sunrise and people paid to see it solely for the trailer.

First one I remember was for Bram Stoker's Dracula before Death Becomes Her (which I probably fell asleep during). I remember it pretty much scaring me shitless, was only about 4 at the time. I thought I remembered some image of some freaky looking lizard man a la the Lizard from Spider-Man being what scared me the most, but I know it wasn't in that. Also very, very vaguely remember there being a trailer for Wind at the same showing.

First trailer that got me SUPER hyped up I can't remember, probably Batman Forever if I were to venture a guess. Also, in recent years I can't even count the number of times I watched the full trailer for Kill Bill: Vol. 1 and the teaser for Sin City. Also remember Enemy of the State was where I first saw the Episode I trailer and being wowed by the teaser for Godzilla before Men in Black. And whenever I first saw the Independence Day teaser, that was pretty rad for an 8-year-old.

Hokeyboy

You fuckers are making me feel REAL old.


I remember going to see some bullshit "Bad News Bears" ripoff movie in early 1978, I was 7 or so, and a trailer for GREASE came on and people were clapping like mad. I thought it was a movie about car-racing or something. And then that summer, when the movie came out, I think everyone saw that flick roughly 8 thousand times or so.

RKillgore

My earliest movie going memory is going to see 2001: A Space Odyssey at a drive-in, but I don't remember much about it. Probably my earliest vivid memory was seeing The Cowboys. I would have been 8 or 9 at the time. And these trailers, circa 1972, have been outstanding in my mind, so it's possible I saw them before The Cowboys.

Bluebeard
It's all the elaborate death traps that stood out in my mind.

A true story!

Rated G!


Maybe this explains why I like getting grindhouse-type movie trailer compilation DVDs.

Apone

21, my good sir.

Ash Ketchum

I remember seeing trailers for HERCULES (Steve Reeves version), THE COLOSSUS OF RHODES and the Japanese sci-fi pic, THE MYSTERIANS, but they could have been on TV, ca. 1959-60. The earliest one I recall in a theater was THE STORY OF RUTH (1960), a biblical epic that stood out for us because it starred Tom Tryon, whom we knew from playing Texas John Slaughter on TV's "The Wonderful World of Disney." We were surprised to see this guy we knew as a cowboy in full Ancient Israelite drag.

A couple of years later, we discovered a theater that showed lots of older movies, so we saw trailers for all kinds of stuff, including a lot of lurid, adult-themed movies like THE CAMP ON BLOOD ISLAND, SEVEN WOMEN FROM HELL, and THE HELLFIRE CLUB. Pretty spicy stuff for an 8-year-old.

Rival11

Solid Snake - thank you for making me feel much older than I really am.

I have no clue what the first trailer I ever saw was but I think, and I'm definitely not sure...it may have been Jaws.

Dr. DVD

I think the first one I saw I actually cared about was for Empire Strikes Back, and I was so young I just recognized a bunch of familiar characters and my parents whispering something to the nature of "a new one's coming !" in my ear after it.

The first teaser for Batman Returns excited me a lot because the first Batman of 1989 was the first Summer Blockbuster I really got into the hype for, as did the rest of America. Seeing that a new one was indeed on its way was cool.

calhoun07

The first I remember was for Star Wars. The ORIGINAL trailer way back in 1976 or so. I had seen trailers before then, obviously, but that was a really impressive trailer. And whaddya know? The movie lived up to it!

Solid Snake

I'm 23 and I'm not understanding how Gladiator was the first trailer you ever saw.

Apone

Gladiator was my first VCR copy that included a theatrical trailer and prior experiences were short TV ads. I also didn't have Internet - man, I used to ride a bicycle!

Solid Snake

You never went to movie theater when you were younger though? I just...I'm just a bit confused to how that never happened. I mean it's possible but...damn.

Apone

I went to a movie theater to see Jurassic Park but I remember covering my eyes most of the time. I can't recall any other occasions to the theater. I only used to watch movies on TV networks or VCR (even Star Wars Ep. 1) until - I don't know... my first DVD purchase in 2004 or highschool when I started to realize I seriously love films.

Solid Snake

How odd....

Mondo Kane

Not that odd. Wes Craven didn't even know what a movie was untill he was in his teens....And then made Last House on the Left a couple of years later.

Nice transition!

Luther Heggs

Maybe not the very first, but the first one to scare the shit out of me:



Something about the thunder and lightning coupled with the mass hysteria creeped me out at six years old.