history of action genre trailers

Since the 1970's, the action genre has been a very prominent component to international cinema. One of the very first action trailers was for the film Dirty Harry, 1971, starring Clint Eastwood. This theatrical trailer used roughly 5 very long, 30-45 second clips. Also most of the dialogue was diegetic from the film; however the beginning and end had some non-diegetic narration. Some text was included stating the name of the film and the actors, but not much else. There was a series of cuts between each scene, and there was no non-diegetic music. For me as a modern viewer of trailers, I expect that an action trailer will feature a few big moments of the film packed with explosions and car chases, this however was a stark contrast. The film maker has definitely exploited the popularity of Clint Eastwood at the time the film was made and mentions him repeatedly. The overall impact of the trailer is hit and miss, the action is great but it does seem to ruin the film and tell too much of the story.
This trend is continued into the 80's for the 1983 mafia action film, Scarface. This trailer begins by introducing the character of Antonio Montana, speaking to the police but with the camera focusing on him. It then cuts to text showing the title of the film and main actor which is accompanied by the non-diegetic sound of a voiceover reading what’s on screen. This is very similar to Dirty Harry, as again it relies on the popularity of the actor, this time being Al Pacino who at the time had gained mainstream attention for his role in The Godfather. This is, however, where a lot of similarities end. There are some long scenes, but these are then cut to quick sequences of action and explosions. Also, the narrator is more prominent throughout the whole of the trailer, giving hints of the story but not giving away the whole plotline.
From the trailers we watched action film trailers begin to look more modern at the end of the 1980's, with Die Hard, 1989. It begins with tales of Christmas and a voiceover describing the time, with non-diegetic Christmas music playing. This then quickly changes to show the stereotypical conventions of the action genre, explosions, shoot outs and fights. It has a few long scenes but these are however a lot shorter than those found in the Dirty Harry/Scarface trailer, with a lot of quick cuts between scenes. This trailer also is being voiced over by a narrator, but he doesn't try and use the actor's name to sell the film, as all the action and footage used are showing the audience what's in store.
The final trailer we looked at was Transporter 3, released 2008. This begins quiet, with slow talking and the bad guy describing his job, with some soft non-diegetic music over the top. The music stops as the actor speaks then the action comes in, with lots of quick clips of explosions and fighting sequences. It again slows down, as it explains more of the story briefly before showing more action. This includes a great number of the genres conventions, with fast cars, fighting, guns and explosions. The trailer also aims to capture the male gaze with frequent shots of women and several shots of characters getting intimate. There is minimal voiceover, except from the tagline and the film name. Jason Statham's name isn't mentioned once showing that they are trying to sell the film purely on the action and not it’s all star cast.
The changes in the action genre trailer are very apparent. Modern action trailers now feature a lot more action, with quicker cuts and a heavy emphasis on special effects. This may be because the modern audience is harder to impress and is far more interested in the action then the story, or it could just be that we have come to expect scenes that thrill us and shock us over a well told story. Voiceovers also feature a lot less in modern trailers with an emphasis on flashing up text explaining plot or introducing character, with support from diegetic sound within the film. This is most likely due to the voiceover appearing to spoon feed the audience whereas text is more open for interpretation.