Classic Trailer Theater: L.A. Confidential

To me, this is a classic example of selling down, and selling up a movie all at once. There are two distinct threads: the first two minutes and then the last thirty seconds. In the first two minutes, they sell down: this is a hard-edged no-nonsense cop movie about three badasses cleaning up the streets. It's got the classic tough guy voiceover hitting home lines that the characters already say in the trailer (Echoing the word "justice," as if saying it enough will convince people to see it).

Then, it switches on a dime, and goes swanky. The music becomes all swoony, and the violins start playing, exactly when the words "from the epic crime Saga by James Ellroy" (emphasis theirs) appears onscreen. And then it's "Academy Award Winner Kevin Spacey" and the way the guy says "L.A. Confidential" as if this isn't just good, this is: IMPORTANT.

Also, dig this classic bit of trailerese, akin to "In a world..." : "They thought they had it all figured out. But what started as a murder...became a mystery... that could cost them....everything."