These days audiences are sold on a film months, sometimes years before it�s released.
A star-studded cast or trailer may win over skeptics or get people talking, but a well-crafted
tagline doesn�t just sell tickets � it could be remembered even more fondly than
the film it�s attached to.
Here are Screen Rant�s 10 Great Movie Taglines.
I Am Legend
A true masterpiece of taglines, �The last man on Earth is not alone� condenses every
one of the movie�s themes into a single sentence.
Deciding to leave the vampire-esque enemies of the film off of the theatrical posters
entirely, and build tension through unsettling fear of the unknown was the first hint to
movie fans that I Am Legend would be more than your average post-apocalyptic story.
Shaun of the Dead
Many taglines have failed by being too clever for their own good, but Shaun of the Dead�s
actually offers an accurate description of the film.
The horde of stumbling, flesh-eating zombies mean some gory deaths and plenty of head-smashing,
but the film is less about what you can survive than who you want to survive beside.
In this case: Shaun�s girlfriend, Liz.
It may look like a horror film, but in the end, it�s �A Romantic Comedy.
With Zombies.�
Cocktail
Not everyone is a fan of puns, and movies featuring a sly wink or wordplay tend to draw
more eye-rolls than awards.
But with Cocktail, a tagline managed to offer a play on words for the ages, while capturing
the entire movie�s plot, and the spirit of its bartender hero: �When he pours, he
reigns.� Cocky yet deadly serious, the implication that Tom Cruise�s character is less than
kingly when NOT pouring drinks teases the film�s overall message, without dropping
the 1980s attitude.
Quiz Show
Dramatizing the 1950s outrage which saw multiple TV game shows revealed to be heavily choreographed
and rigged by producers, the simply-titled Quiz Show required a tagline that could make
even a largely-forgotten TV scandal seem like certified Hollywood intrigue.
The tagline � �Fifty million people watched, but no one saw a thing� � heightened history
to the stuff of legend, promising to reveal how the American people were conned without
ever noticing.
Jaws 2
From the unforgettable music to the lasting fear of the great white shark, the original
Jaws changed movies forever.
But it�s the sequel that managed to immortalize the film series in a single tagline referencing
the movie as much as its box office success.
Audiences had time to let their fear of ANY body of water subside, before Jaws 2 was released
three years after the original - �just when you thought it was safe to go back in the
water��
Ghostbusters
Plenty of taglines can work their way into pop culture, but none are as widespread as
the classic Ghostbuster catchphrase, �who you gonna call?� � a question now known
to people who never even saw the films.
What makes the tagline even greater is that it owes its popularity to Ray Parker Jr�s
theme song.
More amazing still, the tagline isn�t even used in the movie, with the team�s slogan
actually being �we�re ready to believe you!�
The Prestige
Not every tagline needs to steal the spotlight from the movie it�s marketing � some are
simply clever enough to cast the whole film in a new light.
For Christopher Nolan�s tale of two rival magicians in 19th century London, the tagline
� �are you watching closely?� � makes perfect sense, spoken multiple times in the
film.
But when audiences saw the film, they realized the question applied directly to them, with
the director dropping more than enough clues about the final twist along the way.
Repeat viewings are a must, and the tagline only gets better with age.
Superman
It�s hard to imagine a time before movie audiences could believe a live-action superhero,
but when the producers of Superman: The Movie planned to bring the world�s greatest superhero
to the big screen, they did so against overwhelming odds.
The tagline met those doubts head on, guaranteeing they would �believe a man can fly.� Actor
Christopher Reeve didn�t disappoint, but if the wire work and special effects used
to make Superman fly had fallen short of the tagline, the modern age of superhero films
may not have happened.
So let�s all count ourselves lucky.
Alien
There�s no explanation needed for why Alien�s tagline belongs on this list, as Ridley Scott�s
sci-fi thriller forever changed the movie genre.
Audiences couldn�t have known what sat inside the glowing alien eggs seen on the first posters,
but the tagline was a clear enough warning.
Hinting at the isolation and dread in store, and a waking nightmare with no one around
to hear you scream, the tagline is chilling to this day.
The Thing
Set deep in the isolated dark and cold of Antarctica, the title and posters for John
Carpenter�s The Thing didn�t reveal much of the actual story.
But its warning of an �alien terror,� and the claim that �man is the warmest place
to hide� was enough to make any moviegoer�s skin crawl.
The real significance of the tagline is only clear to those who have seen the story play
out, but the sentence is as unsettling � and brilliantly written � to this very day.
So what do you think of our list?
Did we miss any brilliantly-crafted taglines?
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