Re-cut trailer
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Re-cut trailers refers to a re-edited film trailer that is created by re-editing footage from that film, or possibly just from that film's trailer. Re-cut trailers have become a popular internet phenomenon since fall of 2005. In almost all cases, these re-cut trailers derive their humor from casting the film's plot in a different light- these fake trailers present the film as something that it is very much not. For instance, a film with a murderous plot is made to look like a light and happy film, or vice versa.
History
Kill Christ
One of the first re-cut trailers debuted in December of 2003, named Kill Christ (Kill Christ). It is a mock trailer parodying the films Kill Bill, Vol. 1 and The Passion of the Christ. It was created by New York University sophomores Ben Campbell, Sal Perez, Jack Picone and Spencer Somers. Using footage from the first Passion trailer, a new trailer was cut in the exact same format as the Kill Bill trailer, replacing "In 2003 Uma Thurman Will Kill Bill" with "In 2004 The Jews Will Kill Christ." The short piece was a satire on anti-Semitism and on movie trailer cliches.
The trailer was put on Somers' NYU homepage and within a few weeks had become somewhat of an internet phenomenon. Supposedly even some in Hollywood saw the piece, including Kevin Smith and Quentin Tarantino. This was more or less confirmed when Icon Pictures, the production company of Mel Gibson, threatened to sue NYU if the trailer wasn't removed from Somers' homepage. NYU relented and the trailer relocated to another site; Icon did not pursue the matter further.
Shining
A contest held by the Association of Independent Creative Editors led to the creation of a re-cut trailer of The Shining in October of 2005, which made the horror film appear to be a light-hearted movie about father/son bonding, adding voice-over narration and Peter Gabriel's song "Solsbury Hill" to augment the re-edited footage. The video, created by Robert Ryang from New York City, became an internet phenomenon, and made Ryang minorly famous, as well as winning him the contest. The video also jumpstarted the popularity of re-cut trailers for the internet community.
Brokeback to the Future
Main article, including extensive list of examples: Brokeback Mountain Parodies.
Soon after the Shining trailer took the internet by storm, a comedy group named Chocolate Cake City ([1]) created a re-cut trailer for the Back to the Future films, making the films characters seem to be in a romantic homosexual relationship akin to the one had by the main characters in the film Brokeback Mountain. This video has had much popularity and reception over the internet.
Perhaps as a result of this video, many, many other re-cut trailer videos were put on the internet that re-edited a film in order to make the two male leads or characters seem homosexual- most of them as a parody of Brokeback Mountain, although not all.
The Rest
There are many re-cut trailers on the internet that aren't as well known. They include the following.
Portrays the film Big as a kidnap and child abuse movie]
Portrays the film Cabin Fever as a melodrama.
Portrays the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind as a horror film.
Portrays the film Fight Club as a romantic comedy.
The television show The Soup presented an edited version of the film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire that makes Harry seem to be in a relationship with his friend Ron.
Made in 2006, with footage from the 1959 Japanese film, Prince of Space. This movie has been featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000, a show that based its comedy on the mocking of poorly made movies. This trailer turns this laughable children's movie into an awe inspiring epic.
Portrays the film Psycho as a romantic comedy.
Portrays the film Trainspotting as a story about friendship.
Portrays Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman's characters from the film Seven as in a homosexual romance.
Portrays the film Sleepless in Seattle as a Fatal Attraction type film.
Depicts the film Blue Velvet as a romantic comedy in the vein of Monster-In-Law and Meet the Parents, where Dennis Hopper's character is the father-in-law. Like Shining, it was created by Robert Ryang [2].
Portrays the film Titanic (film) as a horror film.
Portrays the film Toy Story 2 as if it were the film Requiem for a Dream, which is about drug addiction.
Portrays the film West Side Story as a zombie movie.
Portrays the film Jaws as a family movie similar to Free Willy.
Portrays the film The Ten Commandments as a teen comedy, such as 10 Things I Hate About You.
Others
This is not exactly a trailer- it's actually a several-minute-long presentation; but it does utilize the same techniques as the other videos on this list. It is a mash-up of the films Star Wars and The Wizard of Oz.
A fictional sequel to James Cameron's 1997 film in which Leonardo DiCaprio's character Jack Dawson is found frozen among the wreckage of the Titanic, then is brought back to the surface and thawed. He then escapes and is on the run from authorities in modern day New York City.