The Hateful Eight is a 2015 Western mystery film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill, Inglorious Basterds, Django Unchained).
"In the dead of a Wyoming winter, a bounty hunter and his prisoner find shelter in a cabin currently inhabited by a collection of nefarious characters." - IMDb.
The film earned the awards for Best Supporting Actress and Best Cinematography, and was released Christmas day 2015, in 70 mm film.
Starring Samuel L Jackson, Kurt Russel, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Walton Goggins, Demián Bichir, Michael Madsen, Tim Roth, and Bruce Dern, the movie sets itself in a post civil-war America, and as well as being filmed on 70 mm film (not typically used today), Tarantino also avoided any use of digital intermediate (post-production visual editing) and made sure the film was colour-timed photochemically (altering or enhancing the colour of a motion picture in a photographic laboratory).
The trailer begins with a clip of the studio's logo animatic (seen above), accompanied by a non-diegetic string 'pulse' and the howling of wind.
The next shot establishes the movie's setting of a Wyoming winter, though this is not yet made apparent, as the landscape is presented as a generic arctic backdrop. The audience do not yet know that this is in fact a Western movie, as the mise-en-scene of the location subverts the typical setting of American Western films.
Horses can be seen pulling along a carriage, though the audience only sees a corner of the carriage-man's gloves; it is more clear now that the movie could be western, as we see dry shrubs (typical of a western scenery) in the background, juxtaposing with the snow they are covered by. A pan leads us from the gloves to the horses; showing off some, though not a lot of detail.
A wider pan moving in the same direction confirms to the audience that it is in fact a carriage/cart being pulled by the horses; Tarantino giving us a glimpse of the rider's costume; a wid-brim hat typical of cowboys.
The blue hues against the bleached white of the snow greatly subvert the stereotypes of western flicks; posing a great contrast to Tarantino's Django, which was filled with saturated browns and yellows. We see the image of the horses; more notably, a white and black horse at the front pulling the carriage together; though not evident yet, these horses will symbolise the teamwork of two important characters in the film, and the audience are given a glimpse of this in the teaser.
We are given an image of Samuel L. Jackson looking up past the camera; his hat covered in snow and with a breath of cold air emerging from his mouth, as he asks if the rider's "got room for one more?" before the trailer cuts to several title cards. The effect of this short piece of dialogue is accompanied by an iconic western motif of the 'town stranger'; a character who wanders into an otherwise quiet western town (trouble usually stems from this). A character hidden to the audience raises his head and establishes the scene.
The title cards give the basic premise of the film away, without revealing too much of the plot. The typography follows the genre well; appearing to be traditionally printed onto gritty paper.
By now, it is established that the film is a western flick, with the whistle adding to the effect, and so once again, the genre is subverted with the typography appearing in a snowstorm effect; the 8 highlighted in a bloody red effect; which could be paint to represent the bloodshed of the movie itself.
After the final title card, a shot of the inn setting of the movie can be seen along with red text typical of older movies; telling the audience they can see it in 'glorious 70mm' as if it is a brand new format. Tarantino greatly keeps to the theme and context of western movies throughout the trailer; showing some iconic establishing shots which can only be credited to a director such as himself.
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