Getting rather psyched after a viewing of Christopher Nolan’s latest trailer for his new film “Inception”, looking devastatingly stylish and smart – one of the hallmarks of his films ( think Memento and The Prestige ) that I think we’ve come to expect.

While the story is an original idea by Nolan, ( all his past films have been remakes or adaptations ) fans of Japanese animation director Satoshi Kon will be no strangers to the subject matter of dream intrusion. Still, it’d be interesting to see Nolan’s take on the genre.

Numerous cast members from previous Nolan outings return, including Sir Michael Caine, always a pleasure to watch, Watanabe Ken and Cillian Murphy. On the filmmaker’s list we have DP Wally Pfister and composer Hans Zimmer, already setting a brooding mood for the film in the latest trailer. ( view below )

Seeing as we have such a fine example of a beautifully cut trailer here, let’s talk a little more about good (and not so good) trailers. Using carefully selected sequences and dialogue, skillful use of music and pacing ( yes, timing is EVERYTHING ), the editor hooks the viewer’s attention with a rough gist of the storyline, (though careful not to expose details) peppering bits of visual information, building up the tempo over the span of a brief few minutes to a shattering climax that makes you just dying to watch the film.

Now take a moment to try and remember some of the trailers you saw in theaters that, for some reason or other simply failed to capture your attention – more often than not they were shoddily arranged by simply stringing up a somewhat random sequence of cuts, with bits of narration that do little to support or provide you additional information about the story, and a chunk of music plonked carelessly over it. The poorly edited mix of visuals and music do little to stir your mind and emotions, and that’s probably why you couldn’t be bothered to go watch that film, no matter how good it actually is. Now that’s a shame, isn’t it ?

In short; beautifully cut trailers are tiny little gems of cinematic art, no less.