Over in this thread where people were mentioning word and phrases they were sick of hearing in advertising Superhal mentioned he was tired of hearing movie trailers that started with “In a world…”.
I asked if anybody had actually remembered this phrase and point out or link to any specific trailers that really used it. sqweels assured me it had been used many, many times but offered no examples.
Others attributed it to the late Don LaFontaine and ministryman linked to him parodying it in a Seinfeld skit and a Geico commercial. But still no concrete examples.
This may be a short lived thread as soon as somebody links one of these many, many memorable trailers but if not I’m almost ready to call this an urban legend.
Edit: Also, someone on one of the IMDB forums says that it occurs in one of the Goodfellas trailers available on the DVD; however, I was not able to locate that trailer online.
I distinctly remember this trailer (for the movie ‘Caramel’) because my wife and I both realized at that moment just how cliche the “In a world…” line had become. It was just so glaringly obvious.
The odd thing is that it’s a really awkward construction. To do it right, you need to come up with a phrase that defines the overall tone of your movie and then use that phrase to set up a specific description of your story.
While I definitely clearly remember this phrase being used in trailers, OTOH, I can’t say with any confidence that all of the times I remember weren’t comedies and/or parodies, and may also include movie posters in addition to trailer voice overs…
IMHO, what’s really odd is avoiding the construction.
Exhibit A:
"Amidst a world of peace and calm…
“We’re police officers! We’re not trained for this kind of violence!”
“How was the fiendish Simon Phoenix apprehended back in the 20th?”
“In the end, it took just one man: John Spartan.”
“You mean . . . THE DEMOLITION MAN!”
Exhibit B:
*
“It was a time of destiny. A time when a child could tip the balance between good and evil … a time of scoundrels … a time of rebels … It was a time when courage could be found where you’d least expect it … a time when unearthly powers raged and good men risked their lives … a time of great adventure.”*
Exhibit C:
“Just imagine: a world where you will hold your entire future in the palm of your hand … Welcome to the 23rd century, the perfect world of total pleasure. Imagine a world in which you need never be alone … Michael York is Logan, policeman in a perfect world, trained to track down runners until he is forced to run himself.”
