10 Movie Trailers That Totally Lied To Audiences

8. The Crying Game

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vs_4-QQACo It's not too surprising that the marketing for Neil Jordan's stunning Best Picture-nominated drama The Crying Game manipulated audiences, because if Miramax hadn't done so, the film's box office receipts would probably have been dire. The film made over $60m against a £2m budget, making it a sure indie success despite the fact that, in reality, the narrative was about SPOILER ALERT a man who falls in love with the girlfriend of a man whose death he was partly responsible for, only to find out that she is a man. Though it would be unfair to expect Miramax to have given away the shocking twist in the film's trailer, it does change the tone of the film mid-way, and therefore the trailer hewing away from this makes audiences think that they're getting a kinetic thriller - the trailer focuses heavily on the opening siege sequence in which the Irish terrorists have their base blown to smithereens - when in fact the film is as much a relationship drama and sexuality study as it is concerned with gunplay and terrorism. Plus, can you imagine a mainstream audience response to the sudden addition of a penis to the romance? I wish I could have seen this in the cinema just to see people's faces.