Thursday, April 23, 2015

Taglines over the years.

Thursday: Point of View
Taglines
Tagline--short, clever, catch-phrase used to advertise, often found on the film's poster.

Curious about how taglines might have changed over the years, I found information at "Great Film Taglines" (filmsite.org), and selected three from each group (choosing films I've seen).

Silents to 1930s
  • Love, Locomotives, and Laughs. The General (1926)
  • The story of the strangest passion the world has ever known. Dracula (1931)
  • A powerful story of 9 strange people! Stagecoach (1939)

 1940s
  • EVERYBODY'S TALKING ABOUT IT! It's terrific! Citizen Kane (1941)
  • Veronica Lake's on the take. Sullivan's Travels (1941)
  • They had a date with fate in Casablanca. Casablanca (1942)

 1950s
  • A Hollywood Story. Sunset Boulevard (1950)
  • The most UNUSUAL and INTIMATE journey into human emotions ever filmed!!! Rear Window (1954)
  • He had to find her...he had to find her... The Searchers (1956)

 1960s
  • Check in. Relax. Take a shower. Psycho (1960)
  • The most beloved Pulitzer Prize book now comes vividly alive on the screen! To Kill A Mockingbird (1962)
  • They're young…they're in love…and they kill people. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

 1970s
  • This is the weekend they didn't play golf. Deliverance (1972)
  • Where were you in '62? American Graffiti (1973)
  • More entertaining than humanly possible. The Muppet Movie (1979)

 1980s
  • The Adventure Continues… The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
  • The creators of JAWS and STAR WARS now bring you the ultimate hero in the ultimate adventure. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
  • He's the only kid ever to get into trouble before he was born. Back to the Future (1985)

 1990s
  • Invisible. Silent. Stolen. The Hunt for Red October (1990)
  • One dream. Four Jamaicans. Twenty below zero. Cool Runnings (1993)
  • An epic of miniature proportions. A Bug's Life (1998)

 2000s
  • Escape or Die Frying. Chicken Run (2000) 
  • They have a plan…but not a clue. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
  • Holmes for the Holiday. Sherlock Holmes (2009)

Do you think the taglines improved over the years? Which movie would you see just based on the tagline?

Posted by at
Labels: ,

6 comments:

  1. Stephen TrempApril 23, 2015 at 9:23 AM

    Taglines will always be clever. Had to laugh at the one for Deliverence.

    Stephen Tremp
    A to Z Co-host
    T is for Telepathy, Telekinesis, and Teleportation

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TrudyApril 24, 2015 at 8:12 AM

      That one (for Deliverance) made me laugh, too. And "Escape or die frying!" Clever.

      Delete
  2. Luana KrauseApril 23, 2015 at 11:21 AM

    LOVE THIS! The tag lines that would tweak my curiosity are for Deliverance, Back to the Future and A Bug's Life. I also thought The Muppet Movie was clever.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TrudyApril 24, 2015 at 8:19 AM

      Those were pretty creative and enticing. Some of the earlier ones ("Everyone is talking about it" ...) wouldn't catch much interest nowadays.

      Delete
  3. Su-sieee! MacApril 23, 2015 at 9:09 PM

    I wonder how many people worked on the tagline for each movie, and how long it took them. I'd want to see "Cool Running" and "O Brother, Where Art Thou? just based on the taglines

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TrudyApril 24, 2015 at 8:15 AM

      Yeah, I wonder if they have a "writer's room" for coming up with taglines. It would be fun to be a part of that creative process.

      Delete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)