Movies which revealed their big secrets in the marketing

[lilmac]

I was reading the Terminator 2 article on "The Dissolve" ( http://thedissolve.com/features/movie-of-the-week/670-terminator-2-and-the-worlds-biggest-spoiler/ ) and it was making the point that in T2 if you have gone into the movie only having watched Terminator 1, you don't know that

 

1. Arnold is a good guy, and

2. Robert Patrick is actually a T-1000 terminator

 

until they meet in the hallway and Arnold blows Patrick's head off. The movie plays around the first 30-45 minutes pretty deliberately to avoid revealing this, but the secret was revealed a long time ago in the marketing. 

 

Then I also read this question to Roger Ebert

 

This seems like something we take for granted now years later, of course Yoda was a Jedi Master, of course Arnie was a good guy, obviously The Truman Show is a reality show. 

 

I was wondering if there are any other movies which were spoiled so badly by their marketing as to prevent the audience from enjoying them as the filmmakers intended.

 

 

Not knowing that Arnie was the good guy would have been very cool.  

[TServo2049]

I believe the first trailer (not the teaser, I mean the first trailer) was ambiguous. If you had ignored all trailers and press coverage after that, you wouldn't know. But the marketing department went with the "This time, he's back...for good" angle, etc. It may have spoiled the reveal in the actual film, but it didn't turn people off from seeing it. If anything, it actually HELPED - it dovetailed nicely with Arnie's action-hero image at the time. The studio sold it as Arnie as a badass chaotic-good, "I swear I will not kill anyone", blowing up cop cars but not killing any cops in the process, breaking a guy's legs and saying "He'll live", in a similar way to Nolan's Batman years later. It WORKED.As much as we say "it spoils the movie to know Arnold is the hero", in this case those spoiled details were part of what got so many people into the theater. Not to see Arnold as what he was in T1, but what he had BECOME in the next 7 years.

Edited July 25, 2014 by TServo2049

[Impact]

Tons of old films did (pre 90s), watch tons of trailers from the 50s-70s and you will see that.

[TServo2049]

Oh, a great one. Star Trek III.

The announcer proclaims "Join us on this, the final voyage of the Starship Enterprise!" over the money shot of it blowing up.

Edited July 25, 2014 by TServo2049

[Murgatroyd]

Now I haven't seen How To Train YOur Dragon 2, but it would look a lot more appealing if they let us believe that the person that is suposedly Hiccups mom was the villan.

Yes.

 

'Cause Godzilla has shown us that audiences love it when the marketing lies to them.

LOL that would've been impossible for them to do. And would've been really stupid too.

 

Maybe not implying her as the villain per se, but they could easily have played up the mystery rather than throwing the big reveal in our faces.  I'm picturing something like this:

 

A few bits from Hiccup and Valka's first meeting in the clouds.

A few bits from their interaction in the cave, ending before she unmasks.

CUT TO: Hiccup and Stoick

"There's something I need to tell you."

"Tell me on the way"

"This isn't an on-the-way kind of thing! It's more of the earth-shattering kind!"

"Add it to the list"

CUT TO: Stoick dropping his sword

CUT TO: Title card

[Dementeleus]

I believe the first trailer (not the teaser, I mean the first trailer) was ambiguous. If you had ignored all trailers and press coverage after that, you wouldn't know. But the marketing department went with the "This time, he's back...for good" angle, etc. It may have spoiled the reveal in the actual film, but it didn't turn people off from seeing it. If anything, it actually HELPED - it dovetailed nicely with Arnie's action-hero image at the time. The studio sold it as Arnie as a badass chaotic-good, "I swear I will not kill anyone", blowing up cop cars but not killing any cops in the process, breaking a guy's legs and saying "He'll live", in a similar way to Nolan's Batman years later. It WORKED.As much as we say "it spoils the movie to know Arnold is the hero", in this case those spoiled details were part of what got so many people into the theater. Not to see Arnold as what he was in T1, but what he had BECOME in the next 7 years.

The first teaser -- directed by Stan Winston -- was fantastic. It also didn't use any footage from the movie at all (because they didn't have anything ready).CAST AWAY ruined the big second act rescue off the island. Too bad, because that first 90 minutes is so wonderfully done you truly wouldn't know if he was going to be saved or not.

[TServo2049]

I am so glad I only saw the teaser for Cast Away before seeing the movie.

[Kvikk Lunsj]

Hulk catching Iron Man in Avengers promo so we know he won't crash dead from freefall when it occurs in the movie killing suspense.

Marvel already had Iron Man 3 coming next year as well. 

[lilmac]

I believe the first trailer (not the teaser, I mean the first trailer) was ambiguous. If you had ignored all trailers and press coverage after that, you wouldn't know. But the marketing department went with the "This time, he's back...for good" angle, etc.It may have spoiled the reveal in the actual film, but it didn't turn people off from seeing it. If anything, it actually HELPED - it dovetailed nicely with Arnie's action-hero image at the time. The studio sold it as Arnie as a badass chaotic-good, "I swear I will not kill anyone", blowing up cop cars but not killing any cops in the process, breaking a guy's legs and saying "He'll live", in a similar way to Nolan's Batman years later. It WORKED.As much as we say "it spoils the movie to know Arnold is the hero", in this case those spoiled details were part of what got so many people into the theater. Not to see Arnold as what he was in T1, but what he had BECOME in the next 7 years.

 

 

I knew Arnie was the good guy (not sure just how I found out) but you're right, it didn't detract from the movie at all.