Movies you had spoiled for you. (Spoilers)

[Bernie]

Way back in 1968, a friend ruined Planet of the Apes for me by telling me the ending about 5 minutes before the movie started!  Still, it was so damn good and I got so caught up in it that I completely forgot about what he told me until the end came!

Hearing the 'twist' of the Sixth Sense made me lose all interest in seeing the movie (still haven't even tho I know it's supposed to be good).

Movies that rely on a twist ending for their impact aren't really made for repeated viewings, and I tend to watch movies I like over and over anyway....

[JohnL]

I guessed the end of The Others before I even saw the movie. I even asked a friend and he denied that that was the twist (so as not to spoil the movie for me) but I still knew it would turn out that way.

 I ruined The Blair Witch Project for myself. After hearing about it, I went looking on the net for more info and ended up at a site that stated it was fake. I would have enjoyed it so much more if I'd thought it was real.

The ads kind of spoiled Terminator II by showing that Arnold was the good guy.

[AndyC]

Ads spoil a lot of movies. Terminator 2 is a good example.

I'm fond of pointing out that showing the giant mechanical spider in the advertising for Wild Wild West completely ruined the movie's big surprise, and the mystery at the centre of the plot. It's like a trailer for a murder mystery including a clip of the killer saying "yes, I did it." Idiotic.

[JohnL]

>It's like a trailer for a murder mystery including a clip of the killer saying "yes, I
>did it." Idiotic.

Unfortunately, the people who make up the trailers ARE idiots. They just include whatever they think looks cool and will appeal to today's couch potatoes who have the attention span of a doorknob.

[Dano]

JohnL wrote:  Unfortunately, the people who make up the trailers ARE idiots. They just include whatever they think looks cool and will appeal to today's couch potatoes who have the attention span of a doorknob.
*****  I entirely agree with your sentiment but as I understand it, there's a method to the madness.  I have a friend in advertising who does not do trailers but who says the theory is that people (not movie fans, but people in general) view going to pay $5-$10 on a movie as a risk.  Apparently by letting them know in the trailer that they will get their happy ending, or HUMONGOUS special effects, or their steamy sex scene, it is MORE likely to attract ticket buyers.  For people like you and me, it can ruin the entire experience, but for the movie-going public it is an assurance that their money will be spent on something they want to see.  Conversely, a trailer that gives away very very little and is mysterious would make you and me want to see a movie -- but apparently it makes the general public uneasy about laying out the cash for a ticket.  

I know -- I don't understand that line of thought either.  But there it is.

[Steve B]

One good example of not knowing jack squat in previews would be "The 5th Element"...the preview didn't let on anything at all....and then it sucked.

[Fearless Freep]

The review or the movie?  I realliy liked "The 5th Element".  Had a totally different feel than most sci-fi movies recently and was a lot of fun

[J.R.]

There's a big spoiler out there right now- in every single ad for The Two Towers they reveal Gandalf's return. Now, for those who read the books it's no surprise, but those who haven't are having a potentially great little treat ruined. Of course, from a marketing standpoint, Ian McKellen's performance really got to people and he got an Oscar nomination, so I guess they're hedging their bets with that one.

And I guess big, spoiler-filled trailers are a key t o success. Trailers that reveal very little tend to be for films that eventually flop. Look at Solaris.

[AndyC]

The trailers that show the best parts of the movie do make me want to buy a ticket, or at least they used to. The other side of the coin is the huge letdown when you find out that's all there is. To me, I've just laid out $12 for something I've already gotten, several times, for free.

[Megafury]

Episode 1 Phantom Menace was ruined when my older brother started bragging about how he was the first one to see it in my family, then he all of a sudden said Darth Maul dies.