The movie lover's guide to film taglines
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Film taglines are everywhere!
The Most Famous Movie Tagline!
"A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away"
You should know the film
and this classic line:
They appear on posters, on promotion and are often marketed so that they become a part of the movie itself. "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away" is an example of a tagline that has both become so identified with a popular movie (Star Wars in case you actually needed a reminder) and yet so catchily distinctive as to take on a life beyond the movie.
Not many taglines have been so successful, but a few have emerged with similar force. Film Tags: Promoting the Movies in the age of DVD (now available as ebook and tree book) is the first work to antholigze and contextualize movie taglines from the silent era to the present day.
Divided into a Dirty Dozen of chapters, one for every type of film from romance to sci-fi, horror, drama, cult and adult erotica!
Although it may be marketing, there is an art to the movie tagline. Just as movie promotion evolved alongside movie exhibition, so too the importance of the tagline became evident: it was the first point of connection between film and viewer. But it's also a crucial point of first impression.
Consider the following tagline samples: what type of movie do you think would go along with them? Do you remember them?
These and hundreds more film taglines from a century of cinema feature in Film Tags.
e-book store sale link coming soon
“After he fulfills your deepest, lifelong dream...he'll tell you the price you have to pay.”
(every desire, every want… has its cost when Something Wicked This Way Comes)
Sometimes, a tagline can be a source of certain amusement.
This was certainly the case for the film Cockfighter.
An amoral exploitation movie drama about the illegal sport, the film itself was thought to be unmarketable since cockfighting was at the time banned in most US states. Thus, the marketers had difficulty coming up with a proposal, until one executive posited the following tagline as a joke: “(h)e came into town with his cock in hand, and what he did with it was illegal in 49 states.” Despite the wryly cynical humour here, it was decided the proposed tagline was also unsuitable and so the film went without an official tagline.
FILM TAGS: PROMOTING THE MOVIES IN THE AGE OF DVD ON SALE NOW IN PRINT AND E-BOOK
"To break the Driver, the Cop was willing to break the Law." (HBO's Deadwood Originator and co-creator, director Walter Hill long ago perfected his talents for sleek, existential femme fatale career criminal professionalism on the film noirish action thriller The Driver). (read more)
“One man alone understood the savagery of the American west from both sides.”
(and what an unenviable place to be in when encountering Ulzana’s Raid)
THE RELATIONSHIP QUESTION OF THE 1990s
Inter-Personal Communication and Impossible Ideals
VISIT THE NO LIMITS / INKSTONE PRESS / WIDER SCREENING STORE
(tying adventure into a little topical politics for The Sand Pebbles)
“The toughest choices are made with the heart.”
(an infertile couple contemplate surrogacy in Immediate Family)
“What she did to survive is nothing compared to what she’ll do to get even.”
(turning the tables on a rapist in Extremities)
“Laid bare… every depravity… every shocking sensation… every intimate secret of Berlin’s most infamous brothel.”
(when the Gestapo want information, why not recruit a prostitute as a spy: Salon Kitty)
Which Contemporary American "Classic" had the tagline: "A man went looking for America. And couldn't find it anywhere." (answer)
THESE AND HUNDREDS OF OTHER TAGLINES IN FILM TAGS: PROMOTING THE MOVIES IN THE AGE OF DVD
