Trailer conventions of Crime films
Narrative structure of trailers
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With a crime genre the equilibrium is
often to do with a crime, but perhaps
is broken when a crime goes wrong for
example.
The disequilibrium is usually when a
crime goes wrong and the characters
are put into a bleak situation and are
forced to resolve it.
The new equilibrium is hinted at in the
trailer, that the protagonist will find a
resolution stereotypically.
The trailer usually shows the parts of
the final moments or scenes near the
end of the film if it contains action.
Soundtrack is key in crime trailers,
often with a score to set the tone of
the film; a tense score for Get Carter
as an example.
Narrative - Character types in Snatch
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Protagonist and helper – Turkish and Tommy: anti heroes
Antagonist – cousin Avi: American gang leader stereotype
Helper – Mickey (Gypsy) stereotype hero
Villain – Brick Top
Trailer analysis of the Reservoir Dogs
(Quentin Tarintino, 1992)
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The trailer starts with the line “Every dog has its day” relating to the titles and the criminal
characters in the film. It implies that the characters are likely to face conviction or an end to
their lives – setting the audience up for a sense of doom.
The sound of a character shouting ‘put the gun down’ is followed by the song of stuck in the
middle with you. It’s a clever use binary opposites to emphasize the feel/ mood of the film
and its general genre. A crime/dark comedy.
The dialogue reinforces the crime genre attached to film; lines like if he doesn’t talk cut off
one of fingers. Also the comedy element is shown with witty lines from the characters, aka
“Six perfect strangers..” inter title.
The trailer continues in this fashion showing action, guns and police chases – with the binary
opposite of the uplifting music it emphasizes the sub genre of crime caper.
The trailer climaxes as the song starts to slow down and the narrator reads out the names of
the cast “these are the reservoir dogs..” Typical in any film trailer to list the cast to entice the
audiences further.
Trailer analysis of Snatch (Guy Ritchie,
2000)
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The trailer starts off with a bang, quite literally – fast paced oceans 11 style music setting off
straight away. With three crooks dressed as orthodox Jews robbing a jewellery store. This
emphasizes the genre and style of the film, what we can expect from the film.
“Directed by Guy Ritchie, director of ‘Lock stock and two smoking barrels’” flashes on and off
the screen set to the hyper fast beat of the music. It tells the audience to expect more of the
same the stylized director.
The narrating of the trailer is done through the characters, “its flawless” one character
exclaims (holding the diamond in his hand). This helps to build up the characters portfolio as
well as give the audience an insight into the narrative.
The cockney accents of the characters reinforces
the stereotype of the British crime genre, with
Brad Pitt also playing a traveller with an accent
near impossible to understand – adding a
comedy element.
The editing of the trailer is full of off beat zooms
and fast camera rotations, which makes a hectic
viewing, pumping up the audience for the film.
Trailer Analysis of Heat (1995, Michael
Mann)
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The trailer starts with a deep bass drone styled beat for the soundtrack, building suspense as
the actors provide narrative lines to establish the basic outline of the story.
Robert De Niro and Al Pacino names flash on the screen in a bold blue font.
At the start of the second half of the trailer voice over listing the two main stars of the film;
Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, stating which films they had starred in before. This grabs the
attention of the audience further due to the high profile of the actors.
The trailer in a way is unconventional in that there is a big emphasis on the two actors
starring in the film; “There performances in landmark films have created a legacy”.
The Second half of the trailer changes in its tone from the change in music, from a tense
undertone to a more epic/ sensual feeling of a Moby song. – And also the score for the final
scene of the film.
As the trailer comes to a climax, scenes from the
bank robbery come to fruition – showing just
enough for the audience to want to see the full
version of the ‘main event’.
The trailer in terms of narrator, uses dialogue
from Al Pacino and Robert De Niro’s characters
where they talk about confronting each other to
climax the trailer.
The Trailer ends with again emphasizing the
actors starring in the film and the director of the
film; “Michael Mann” to add another star appeal
aspect.