erichbergen

I was watching the Friday The 13th today, and watched the trailer of the film that was included on the DVD. It reminded me that on DVDs of older films, when a trailer is included, it's always of crappy quality. I actually like that, because it makes it more authentic, and it's fun to watch that way. But, why is it like that? Aren't the trailers on the same medium as the original film? Trailers are on reels just like the film, right? Why are they not cleaned up for DVD?

Just curious.

chris_sc77

Just a guess but maybe because it takes $ to restore the film the trailer is on and studios prob. dont think it would be worth it.

ParadiseVendors

I would guess that they just grab them from video instead of taking the time, effort and slight expense to digitize them from film.

darkhawk

Yeah, but everything you see on the trailers aren't always in the movies.
Twister, Jimmy Neutron, ect

Disc-Flipper

Perhaps the trailers don't have the original negatives available and are only prints.

PatrickMcCart

Trailers tend to be mostly duplicate negative, too.

Breton

The film is probably duplicated from the original negative, which is likely kept in best storage condition. As others noted, a trailer is a generation or two removed from that. It's digitized from either a later generation negative or even a print that's been sitting around and fading. Trailers are included as artifacts of the time the movie was released, so it fits that the trailer looks as old as the movie actually is. The graphics, editing, and voiceover script and style tend to place them in whatever era they come from, too.

caligulathegod

Until DVD, there really wasn't a market for trailers after their use in theaters so they weren't kept in as good condition. I have dozens of trailer compilations and almost a 1000 trailers and 90% of them are in terrible condition.

nateman

I don’t really think trailers should be cleaned up, some things should look bad. I agree with you erichbergen, having the trailer not cleaned up makes it feel more authentic & gives you that nostalgic feel. That & some stuff in the trailers doesn’t appear in the film sometimes.

LoPan5705

It maybe on both the first release and SE, but the trailer on the Young Guns dvd gets my vote for the worst quality trailer ever!

sparks

There's a company that only specializes in selling movie trailers. They're the company that put on the 3-D Film Festival a few years back in Hollywood. I can't think of the company's name.

islandclaws

I'll agree I prefer the trailers are left looking scratched, flawed and full of grain. It feels weird to watch a trailer for a movie from 1983 and have it looking pristine. I just recently watched the trailer for The Burning on the DVD and it looked awesome. Straight outta the 80's quality!

NoirFan

It also gives you an appreciation for how good the actual film looks in comparison - sort of the equivalant of those restoration comparisons Fox put on their Monroe titles.

dom56

Some of the trailers on older films liked Shane contain spoiler.

nateman

I never thought of it that way. That’s a good way to see it, Yeah, when seeing the movie (that’s been restored) & then watching the trailer, there’s a huge different in picture quality.

macnorton

I have to agree with a lot that was said here:

1. Occasionally, some material doesn't make it into the film.
2. It may contain a spoiler, but a good trailer doesn't (that's my take)

I have always liked those grainy scratched up versions...it adds a certain mystique to it. But also, in the case of Grindhouse, it has that certain "I found this on the last page on the internet and I feel dirty for watching it" vibe to it.

Lastly, that scratched look also helps to (at least for me) build up what the film is about. Friday the 13th for instance, the trailer feels like this great POV slasher flick that someone found in the woods. Make the ending all the more shocking. But again, that is me.

Jack Theakston

Sabucat Productions.

Yes, there's something to be said for the fact that most trailers come from a 2nd party source and they're generally from projection prints that are timed for theaters, whereas the features are made usually from elements or prints timed for telecine purposes.

Trailer elements generally don't survive at the studios from the classic era because (with some exceptions) most trailers were outsourced to companies like National Screen Service that made them. So in some cases, you're looking at the only existing print of a trailer because someone just happened to hold onto it.

Trailers sometimes include alternate footage because the independent companies were sent alternate takes or camera angles since the actual camera footage for the film was being used for the actual feature negative. Intermediate stocks were so-so (and usually reserved for later reissue trailers), and since most trailers were prepared before the feature, sometimes deleted scenes found their way into the trailers.

caligulathegod

Something Weird and Cinema Wasteland also have trailer compilations.

Albert71292

Have you seen the trailer for "The Groove Tube" on Hens Tooth Video? THAT one gets my vote... course then again, the movie itself wasn't in the greatest condition.

Breton

Turner Classic Movies has a section of their site devoted to trailers. They don't have much horror or exploitation there, but some very nice ones for musicals and other genres. My faves in looking over the site are for Woody Allen's "Bananas" and "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex," which about as funny in two minutes as the movies are in 90:

TCM Trailers Page