Sorcerer - 1977

Forget the fact that this movie probably rules and that you've never heard of it despite the fact that it features Roy Scheider and was directed by William Friedkin. Forget that this trailer means there's an entire narrative version floating out in the world somewhere. Forget the killer seventies trailer throaty dub voice, and just bask in the truly brilliant construction of this thing. A series of completely unconnected images, most featuring guns or explosions, underneath a soundtrack that can only be the synth baby of John Carpenter and Goblin, while providing absolutely no information about the plot of the film at all. I could probably watch this shit all day. Now THAT's how you make a fucking trailer!

PS: Apparently it's also a remake of Clouzot's Wages of Fear.

Pete's Dragon - 1977

This is the story of a late-stage schizophrenic and his autistic dragon friend. Yes, I fucking loved this as a child. I still do. It's empirical evidence that Disney movies were once both well-done and on the side of actual children.

Bound For Glory - 1976

The seventies weren't always about driller killers, witches and Ted V Mikels masturbation projects. Sometimes the seventies were about the Okie from Muskogee, Woody Guthrie. David Carradine plays Guthrie in this biopic, following him from the dustbowl out west, where he becomes a communist sympathizer, heroic folk musician and alcoholic. You should put this on your Netflix sometime soon, preferably now. It's just that good. Oh, Hal Ashby directs.

Blood Orgy of the She Devils - 1972

This wasn't the trailer I was looking for, but happening on a title this awesome requires at least one viewing. Between that and a quick trip to the IMDB, I've figured out that this is probably a terribly shitty movie. The trailer alone gives us the first glimpse of how likely awful a piece of shit this movie is, with it's poorly edited cuts, lack of gore despite hints of incredible violence and a voiceover that introduces us to characters as they're zoomed into; all hallmarks of films made on the basis that a salient trailer might provoke attendance but which, while watching, are unmasked as boring, nearly plotless movies meandering through ninety minutes with long bouts of meaningless dialogue and very slow chases.

I'm imaging that the protagonist is a scientist or cop hot on the trail of the Satanist She-Devils. I can already imagine the endless segments cutting between Mara the witch casting spells and the cop/scientist/occult fighter explaining to his clueless aids how various crime scenes point to...Witchcraft!

Is it unfair to judge a movie by its trailer? Probably. In this case, I'm sticking with my pre-loaded opinion. The seventies have burned me too many times with movies like this. Still, entertaining trailer.