• 25-21
• 20-16
• 15-11
• 10-5
• 5-1

#5. Kill Bill

I was unaware of who Quentin Tarantino was when I saw this trailer . Needless to say, all that changed fairly quickly. This trailer (and/or its music) has remained on my playlist even after all these years.

#4. The Fountain

There is something hauntingly beautiful about this trailer that makes me watch it again and again, and again…

#3. 9

Another playlist favourite. The music and the visuals are top-notch, and keep you coming back for one more look, every time.

#2. 300

“Spartans! Tonight, we dine.. in hell!!” .. An amazingly well-done trailer that is visually and aurally appealing on so many levels. The song.. the quotes.. everything about this was immensely memorable. Again, a playlist regular.

and, numero uno is…

#1. Sin City

I don’t have much to say except that I can watch this trailer in a loop for hours on end without getting bored. Seriously!!

Nolan managed to do the impossible – revive a franchise that was almost permanently killed off by one of the worst superhero movie ever made, Batman and Robin. This trailer erased any bad taste left by the previous one, rebooting the franchise in a darker, grittier (and much more realistic) world.

#9. The Departed

Having never seen Infernal Affairs, or any Scorcese movies, the trailer just blew my mind. The premise, the cast, the music. It was just .. ‘wow’! and, ‘Comfortably Numb’..

#8. The Dark Knight

The first look at Ledger’s Joker. An early glimpse at a movie that raised the bar in so many ways. All in all, all things considered, FANTASTIC!

#7. Spiderman WTC Trailer

Though the trailer (and the associated movie bits) were removed out of respect to the victims of 9/11, there couldn’t be a more fitting debut to a franchise that re-invigorated the superhero franchise in Hollywood, than this trailer. Miles ahead of the “alternate” trailer they came up with.

#6. Watchmen

A beautiful look at a visually astounding adaptation of one of the best graphical novels ever.

Before you shout ‘Blasphemy!’, let me remind you that this is a list of memorable movie trailers and *not* movies. As forgettable as the movie was, the trailer of Episode One was spectacular, exciting both old and new fans, providing glimpes of the boy who would become Darth Vader, and the unforgettable Darth Maul. “Every saga must have a beginning…”

#14. Spiderman

This trailer ushered in (the movie that ushured in) the age of super-hero movies. Finally, a fitting, big screen adaptation of the beloved wall-crawler. Also, amazing music (Pompeii – during the latter half) by E.S. Posthumus.

#13. Superman Returns

This trailer actually got me excited, made me believe that a man could fly (again). Note the allusions to Christ in the trailer. However, the movie turned out to be quite the disappointment.

#12. The Matrix

A trailer that gave an exciting preview of one of the best movies of the 90s. Stunning, slick and exhilarating, the movie turned out to be every bit as awesome as the trailer portrayed.

#11. Mission Impossible

Before he became the object of much ridicule, Tom Cruise was an immensely popular star, and *this* is the one that established him as a A-list action hero.

Surprisingly, Stallone managed to make yet another movie in the Rocky franchise, and one that is heart-warming and memorable to boot. “I think there is still some stuff in the basement”.

#19. The Wrestler

Unsurprisingly, both this and Rocky rank similar, touching up on similar themes. However, Darren Aronofsky and Mickey Rourke manage to push the equally good trailer of Rocky down to #20.

#18. Lord of the Rings : The Return of the King

The trailer of a movie this awesome deserved to be higher up. However, the trailer doesn’t really stay as memorable once the movie is over, despite being an excellently edited one. For this reason, and this reason alone, it has fallen to #18.

#17. The Prestige

Nolan, Nolan, Nolan. You first blew me away with Batman Begins, and as I waited for The Dark Knight with bated breath, The Prestige trailer came out. Beautifully edited, with gripping music, and Christian Bale and Michael Caine,and Hugh Jackman. “Abracadabra”.

#16. American Beauty

Sigh. American Beauty remains one of the most beautiful movies I have seen and this trailer is directly responsible for making me want to watch the movie. Oh, and Baba O’Riley!!

#25. Broken Arrow

My first John Travolta movie. I was totally blown away (at that time) by the movie’s trailer – the uber-cool villain, the concept of a ‘broken arrow’, the exhilarating stunt sequences. The #25 spot was a tie between this and Face/Off, but Broken Arrow managed to squeeze it out by a very slim margin.

#24. Rambo

The trailer gave a good glimpse of the return of Sylvester Stallone as an aging John Rambo. Despite his age, Rambo can still kick ass (slit, tear-out and butcher, to be more precise). The abundant blood, gore and brutal violence is what set this trailer apart from other “softer” ones.

#23. Troy

Always been a huge fan of Greek mythology. So, when I saw this trailer, with its stunning battle sequence, amazing dialogues (ok, I was a lot more impressionable then!), and a bad-ass Brad Pitt as Achilles, I was truly impressed and looked forward to the movie (though how *that* turned out is a whole other story).

#22. Inglourious Basterds

“You haven’t seen war until you have seen it through the eyes of Quentin Tarantino”. Though I am not a big fan of WW2 movies, the music and the premise impressed me, thus earning a spot on this list.

#21. The Notebook

Though the movie seems like yet another sappy love story, the trailer was beautifully edited, with a memorable voice-over.