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Trailers – When Trailers Get the Music Right

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Trailers – When Trailers Get the Music Right - Trailers can make or break a movie, and the very best fuse footage and music in wonderful harmony. The use of pop music in trailers can be orginal and enhancing, or it can be “Who Let the Dogs Out?” in the Snow Dogs trailer. We’ve decided to take a look at the former.

We aren’t debating the best trailers ever made (there’s a clear winner, by the way) because many good ones barely use any music at all. But, we will follow a few rules:

• The song must run through the majority of the trailer
• The song must be from a popular genre, not classical or an original score.
• The movie itself must be worthy of the song. (The point being a great song can make anylame trailer look cool.)

Trailer: Rust and Bone (2012)
Song: “My Tears Are Becoming a Sea” by M83
Why it works: A brilliant way to market a European film in the U.S. or U.K. is to keep it silent and run a gorgeous song over it. Here is the ultimate example.

Trailer: Take This Waltz (2012)
Song: “Parachutes” by Jenn Grant
Why it Works: The song seizes the whimsical nature of life itself. While the film is an existential look at one woman at a crossroads in her life, the music explores the happiness she feels despite her immoral choices.

Trailer: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (US 2011)
Song: “Immigrant Song” by Karen O and Trent Reznor
Why it Works: Karen O and Trent Reznor’s cover of Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” is the musical equivalent of Lisbeth Salander, the film’s postmodern heroine.

Trailer: Where the Wild Things Are (2009)
Song: “Wake Up” (Alternate Version) by Arcade Fire
Why it works: Like the filmmaking, the music is cutting edge. Director Spike Jonze’s career started with directing music videos so his style is innovative and rhythmic. The Wild Thingstrailer is cut exactly to match the beats of “Wake Up.” This is what a perfect trailer looks and sounds like.

Trailer: Marie Antoinette (2006)
Song: “Age of Consent” by New Order
Why it Works: Director Sofia Coppola’s taste in music is admirably cool. In Marie Antoinette‘s trailer, the light catchy guitar of “Age of Consent” captures the carefree life of a 15-year-old girl sent away from home to marry the future King of France. She’s one of the most powerful women in the world, but still a teenager.

Trailer: Garden State (2004)
Song: “Let Go” by Frou Frou
Why it Works: Although Garden State popularized the Shins, their song “New Slang” wasn’t featured in the trailer. “Let Go” was an inspired choice, hauntingly matching the somber tone of the dramatic turns of the film. The line “There’s beauty in the breakdown” is an elegant parallel for the main character’s mental struggle.

Trailer: The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
Song: “Judy is a Punk” by The Ramones
Why it Works: If writer/director Wes Anderson has a signature song, this is it. “Judy is a Punk” perfectly punctuates the deadpan humor that flows through Anderson’s films.

Trailer: The Big Lebowski (1998)
Song: “Just Dropped In” by Kenny Rogers & The First Edition
Why it Works: Another perfect blend of song and sense of humor, this trailer for the Coen brothers’ most beloved film is a mosaic of vignettes and images that show the endless looks of the film.

Trailer: Casino (1995)
Song: “Gimme Shelter” by The Rolling Stones
Why it Works: Director Martin Scorsese has used “Gimme Shelter” in Goodfellas, Casino, andThe Departed, but it’s most prominent in the background of the Las Vegas epic that depicts the rise and fall of one of the city’s most prominent oddsmakers. The chorus of “Murder! It’s just a shot away,” has never felt so powerful.

Trailer: Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Song: “Stuck in the Middle with You” by Stealers Wheel
Why it Works: Quentin Tarantino announced his arrival with Reservoir Dogs and the film’s trailer was unlike anything else at the time. Martin Scorsese was the first to use pop songs in a gangster film, but Tarantino evolved it by using perfect pop songs, like a great mix tape.

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