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Trailers, Trailers, Trailers

Introduced by Film Conservator Julie Buck
Screening on Film
35mm, color and b&w.

With the boom of DVD and the Internet over the last five years, movie trailers are more popular than ever. A two-minute advertisement that usually sums up a film’s plot and cast, the trailer attempts to seduce the audience and often barely relates to the actual quality of the film production. In fact, the best trailers could be considered exemplars of an art form in their own right. Hollywood has even gotten in on the act with an awards show called "The Golden Trailer," dedicated to recognizing the work of advertising firms that create the previews. While the original trailers of classic Hollywood films often show up as extras on a DVD, forgotten gems such as the trailer for Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid or the pre-recall Governor Arnold in Conan the Barbarian are often overlooked. "Trailers, Trailers, Trailers" is an A to Z sample of the more than 1,500 trailers held by the Harvard Film Archive and an attempt to bring back to life forgotten trailers of the past.

Part of film series

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Treasures from the Harvard Film Archive: A–Z

Other film series with this film

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Cinema A–Z: Treasures from the Harvard Film Archive

Current and upcoming film series

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Fragments of a Faith Forgotten: The Art of Harry Smith

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From the Jenni Olson Queer Film Collection

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a double-exposed image that includes a 16th century Russian man being fed grapes by another amid decadent decor

Wings of a Serf

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a close-up of a Bissau-Guinean woman wearing a scarf on her head and looking directly at the camera with a slight smile

Le Dépays + Sans soleil

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Peter Sellers wearing a large hat with "ME" embroidered on it, and gripping a Pilgrim-like collar

Carol for Another Christmas

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Satyajit Ray’s Apu Trilogy