Whether or not movie trailers give away too much, or that they’re too long, it does seem that they’re getting faster.

Wired.com has plotted the number of cuts per minute in over 150 trailers and the upward trend is undeniable, from  slightly more than 10 in the Fifties to almost 40 cuts per minute today. In other words, shot length has fallen from 5 seconds to approximately 1.5 seconds.

They suggest technology is to blame. Or decreased attention spans. Or both.

And yet the trailer for 1963’s Dr. Strangelove has 136 cuts per minute, or an average shot length of under half a second.

See the chart with links to each trailer.

My take: I think, when it comes to trailers, the shorter, the better. I despise trailers that contain spoilers and cheat audiences out of satisfying plot points or even endings.

Bonus: 15 Overused Movie Poster Themes