Movie footage found only in trailers? (1 Viewer)

[Karl_O]

In the trailers of some films, there will be scenes shown that never appeared in the actual movie and even the DVD/VHS versions. A good example would be "Ali." I do not understand why studios do this, but it not just Hollywood studios; I see foreign studios do this as well. What do the studios wish to achieve from this practice?

 

[Matt Stone]

In general it's not intentional. They make the trailer before the film is finished, and sometime scenes get edited out before the theatrical release. Also, sometimes there are alternate takes used in trailers.

 

[Greg_S_H]

Most likely, the commercials are put together before the final edit. Some other examples:

Major League: the "Yellowstone" joke was only in the ad. In this case, it actually sort of makes sense. The joke wouldn't be as funny twice, and it gives you a flavor for the film.

Attack of the Clones: at least one shot of Natalie Portman is from a deleted scene, and there are other minor changes

I believe Fellowship of the Rings and The Two Towers have both had extraneous footage in the trailers, but I can't cite any examples.

 

[ThomasC]

Moonlight Mile used a different shot for the final cut for one of its scenes shown in the trailer.

The trailer for Jurassic Park showed Ellie picking an "extinct" leaf from a tree; the leaf was shown in the final cut in the scene where they see their first dinosaur.

 

[Paul McElligott]

I can think of one instance where footage was specifically shot for the trailer only.

"Patriot Games" - The scene where James Earl Jones comes out to Harrison Ford's house and tells him that Sean Bean has escaped. The dialog in the trailer differs from the movie and it was shot only for the trailer, according to the director in Premiere magazine.

 

[MarcinL]

The Negotiator - the scene where kevin Spacey tells the cops on the radio, NOW YOU GONNA HAVE TO DEAL WITH BOTH OF US, was kinda exciting, was looking forward to seeing that in theaters, and it never appeared

 

[L. Anton Dencklau]

The very bad film Original Sin had a really good line from Antonio Banderas in the trailer that was not in the final film.
[at gunpoint]
"Tell me you love me. You better make me believe it."

 

[Matt Pelham]

How about The Ladies Man?

In the trailer and TV spots it shows Tim Meadows walking down the street and walks head first into a lamp post....

But in the actual movie when that scene starts you are expecting that to happen, but he stops inches away and gives a look like "You were expecting me to hit my head!", and then he proceeds to fall into a manhole.

I thought that was a clever trick to play on an audience.

 

[Lew Crippen]

In general it's not intentional. They make the trailer before the film is finished, and sometime scenes get edited out before the theatrical release. Also, sometimes there are alternate takes used in trailers.

Sometimes it works the other way. According to the commentary on the extended edition of LOTR, the shot of the Fellowship coming around a corner, while climbing up, was shot for the trailer. (Sort of an easy visual way to focus on each character, while at the same time indicating that they were on a trek).

The footage was included in the cut, although PJ did not have that scene as a part of the shooting script.

 

[Greg_Y]

Major League: the "Yellowstone" joke was only in the ad. In this case, it actually sort of makes sense. The joke wouldn't be as funny twice, and it gives you a flavor for the film.

And then they actually used this in either Major League II or III, in the movie. Guess they ran out of jokes and had to go back to the leftovers from the first film...

 

[Mark Kalzer]

On the EE:FOTR DVD, when you play the preview for Two Towers (It's an easter egg hidden at the bottom of the chapter selections on disc 2) there's a shot of Gandalf saying "There is a union now between the Two Towers..." which is totally missing from the theatrical cut. I sure hope it is restored for the EE!

One strange instance I remember was in the previews of The World is Not Enough they include a shot of Christmas Jones (Denise Richards, who I will refrain from commenting on.) saying "I have to get it back, or somebody's going to have my butt." In the actual film, she says "I have to get it back, or somebody's going to have my ass." Weird...at least it somewhat alleviated the feeling of "Hey, I remember this scene fromt the trailer! She's about to say 'somebody's going to have my butt!'"

 

[WayneG]

There are of course dedicated trailers. For Dirty Rotten Scoundrels the whole trailer of Caine and Martin walking along and pushing the elderly woman in the water wasn't in the film. It was strictly for the trailer and demonstrated the nature of the film without giving away any gags. The problem with comedy trailers is that you see all the funniest stuff in the trailer and it's a letdown in the film.

 

[Jeffrey Gray]

I remember hearing that the early FOTR trailers had clips of an alternate version of the approach into Lothlorien, where they were chased in by the Moria orcs, and the orcs were ambushed by the Lothlorien elves; I think they shot both versions, but chose the version seen in the final cut to give audiences a breather after the escape from Khazaad-dum...

 

[LukeB]

Men in Black:
When K and J have the big weapons to use against the alien.
"You have any idea how to use these things?"
"No idea whatsoever."

Some other trailers with such excised footage not on DVD include The Santa Clause, Big Daddy, and Ghostbusters II.

 

[Derek Miner]

I used to remember a whole bunch of instances where trailers contained footage not in the finished film. The only one that springs to mind is Wayne's World 2 which has some small jokes not in the final cut.

Perhaps one of the most interesting examples of this is an old trailer for E.T. which shows the spaceship descending from the clouds and landing in the forest. The actual film reveals the ship already landed.

 

[Lew Crippen]

; I think they shot both versions, but chose the version seen in the final cut to give audiences a breather after the escape from Khazaad-dum...

IIRC per PJ’s commentary on the EE, they did shoot both versions. Interesting information about the trailers.

 

[teapot2001]

In one of the Two Towers commercials, there is a shot of a big monster, which looks like the cave troll, hauling something at the castle. I don't remember seeing this in the movie.

~T

 

[Bill J]

The Thin Red Line teaser trailer includes numerous shots that were not in the film. The trailer also includes segments from the Bill Pullman narration that was cut from the film entirely. If I remember correctly the original version of The Thin Red Line ran over 6 hours long. Unfortunately neither this footage nor the two trailers are available on DVD.

 

[Malcolm R]

In one of the Two Towers commercials, there is a shot of a big monster, which looks like the cave troll, hauling something at the castle.

What castle? The only trolls in the movie are used to open and close the Black Gate.

"Twister" also had one of those shots that people were expecting to see, but wasn't in the movie. I think it was a tractor tire coming straight at the viewer (who had a POV out a vehicle windshield).

 

[Scott_MacD]

IIRC, It was an Ent hurling a rock during the siege of Isengard.