Update (12/17/07): As you can probably tell by the trailers below, this list is a little dated now. I posted this list soon after the Knocked Up redband hit the internet, and as it turned out, that trailer started a full-on revolution in R-rated movie marketing. I plan on keeping the list intact for historical purposes, but if you want to see more up to date redband trailers, please check out TrailerSpy’s Redband Channel…
I do love my lists. After the success of my top 15 trailer remixes list, I knew I wanted to do another “best of” list, but I didn’t have any good ideas. Then Julie did her post about the R-rated Knocked Up trailer, and the old light-bulb went off.
As it turns out, R rated trailers (or red band trailers, as they’re officially called) have been around for a long time. In the past, though, the red-band label was basically a punishment that the MPAA dealt out if a studio’s trailer contained too much violence or sex or any other such enjoyable element in it. Only recently have studios realized that they can use red-banded trailers to their advantage. It no longer matters that red-band trailers won’t get any theater play…with the realities of the internet and the existence of sites like this one, a good R-rated trailer can generate twice the excitement than a regular trailer ever could.
I spent the last few days searching for the best rated-R trailers that I could find. The first thing I figured out was that there weren’t a whole lot of really good ones. The second thing I figured out was that the good ones were damn hard to get a hold of. But after a whole lot of work, I’m convinced that I’ve collected the five essentials. These redband trailers don’t show any boobies like some redbands do or any blood and guts like others do, but they are truly great trailers, and you can see how the 18 and over thing really allows them to be the best that they can be. Hope you enjoy…
Oh, and if you’re under 18, please do not view these trailers.
5) American Pie (the one that started the trend…sorry for the poor quality)
4) Farce of the Penguins (I haven’t seen this movie, but I definitely will now…guess that’s the sign of a good trailer)
3) Clerks 2 (This trailer is better than the actual movie)
2) Knocked Up (the newest, but also one of the best)
1) Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle (a classic trailer for a classic movie)
Let me know what you think (and if there are any others that you think should have made the list).
And if you liked this, check out some more Trailer Fun:
The Top 15 Trailer Remixes of All-Time
The Top 15 Trailer Mashups of All-Time
Some of the old red band trailers (I’ve got a few on 35mm) where also X-rated. I remember one for MIND WARP: INFINITY OF TERROR (aka GALAXY OF TERROR). The trailer was red band because of some very graphic violent shots and I think also a naked breast.
[…] Also, check out our list of The Top 5 R-rated (red band) Trailers of All-Time. Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. […]
[…] And our Top 5 R-rated (Red Band) Trailers of All-Time. Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. […]
[…] Here’s another red band trailer to add to Tal’s list: Superbad. The tale of some sexually desperate teenage boys’ quest to get laid is certainly familiar territory, and I’m not sure any teen sex comedy will come close to topping Jason Biggs getting it on with a pie in American Pie. But this trailer has some laugh-out-loud moment and one of the film’s writers is Seth Rogen, who was great in The 40 Year Old Virgin and it looks like his other comedy out this summer, Knocked Up, is another winner, so the man definitely knows what he’s doing in this genre of film. […]
[…] I should point out up front that the real reason I decided to post about this film is because they put out a red band trailer for it (which is the one I posted). As I’ve said before, I’m a big fan of turning this censorship thing on its head by using the redband trailer as a promotional device. Plus, it gives me another chance to advertise my top red band trailers list. […]
[…] If you haven’t noticed by now, I’m a complete sucker for redband trailers. The original trailer for Good Luck Chuck hit the internet a while back, and I was perfectly content to let it slip by, mainly because I was far more interested in the other Chuck movie (I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry). […]
Gotta add the red-band trailer for Beowulf
Im shocked that the main Redband trailer of this year isnt up there. Get the Alien vs predator reqium trailer