Trailers (GTA IV)
GTA IV had trailers, which you can see on the official website. Compared to previous GTA's, these trailers, especially the first one, have been released very early. It was also the first time a trailer was used to show the first glimpse of a GTA. Rockstar Games used a big publicity campaign for the first trailer. It was announced a moth before the release, after which they placed a countdown on their site and on television. The attention for this trailer was very high, so the servers of Rockstar Games couldn't stand it and the records of the number of visits on GTAForum.nl and GTAForums.com fell.
Contents
Trailer 1: 'Things will be different'
The trailer is about a minute long, and shows some footage of the city in which GTA IV is set: Liberty City. The city has been completely redesigned and resembles New York a lot more than the previous Liberty City. The Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge and the Chrysler Building are, among others, clearly visible in the trailer. The trailer mimics the style of the visual cinematic film Koyaanisqatsi. Even the original music of this movie, by Philip Glass, is used.
The trailer begins with a subway train riding on an elevated track above the streets towards the camera. The shot resembles the elevated subway in Portland in GTA III, but is is obvious that it isn't the same location. In the background, some rundown houses can be seen. Air from air regulators condensates, so it must be cold.
Plot
In the next shot the camera follows a blue sports car. The driver adjusts his rear view mirror, while he passes the rollercoaster bearing the name 'Screamer'. The rollercoaster seems to be based on the 'Cyclone' on Coney Island, New York. The trains of the rollercoaster are not visible, so there it is not possible to tell whether we will be able to ride it or not. Behind the Screamer you can barely see a Ferris wheel.
Then we see a brown car, driving in front of a residential building in a poor neighbourhood. Notice the bumps in the road: the car drives over a steel plate. Two people are sitting on the stairs in front of the building. Some trees are visible in the background, possibly belonging to a park.
In the next shot we see a rundown ferry terminal, with four covered docks. Some letters have fallen of the name of the terminal, but it clearly says 'Liberty Ferry Terminal'. In the far right of the screen, the rear of the ferry itself is visible. A sea-gull flies across the screen. Some sky scrapers can be seen in the background.
The trailer then shows some images of the city in rapid speed. We see the name 'Liberteen' on a building; a classical church; the Statue of Happiness (a parody on the Statue of Liberty); Some skyscrapers, including the Chrysler Building, the Condé Nast Building and the Empire State Building; the tip of the Chrysler Building; The Flatiron Building; stock market news on Times Square; The GetaLife Building (a parody on the MetLife Building); Times Square itself; a glass dome, through which other buildings are visible; an empty warehouse; another shot of Times Square; a street with passing pedestrians and cars, including a police car (in the background the Hearst Tower is briefly visible, which means GTA IV has to be set after 2006, the year in which this building was completed) and a shot of passing pedestrians from above.
Then the speed of the trailer goes to normal, and the trailer shows us the Algonquin Bridge (the Manhattan Bridge). A cable car can be seen behind the bridge. This cable car is based on a real life cable car in New York, although this cable car runs along the Queensboro Bridge. In the background a second bridge is visible. When the screen starts to fade to black, a voice with an East European accent can be heard:
"Life is complicated. I killed people..."
Niko Bellic, the protagonist of GTA IV, appears standing next to a statue in a park next to the Algonquin Bridge. Notice the moving pigeons on the statue. When the next shot appears, a shot of a cargo ship with the name 'The Platypus', he continuous his monologue:
"Smuggled people... Sold people."
Then we see him walking away from the camera on the Broker Bridge (Brooklyn Bridge), saying:
"Perhaps here, things will be different."
The trailer ends with a shot of the skyline of Liberty City, fading into the IV-logo.
Trailer 2: 'Looking for that special someone'
The seconds trailer, like the first one, lasts about a minute, but shows much more of the story line. In the trailer we see Niko and Roman desperately looking for somebody ('looking for that special someone'). Who this is, and why they are looking for him, is unclear. The song used for this trailer is "Arm in Arm (Shy Child remix)" from the band "The Boggs".
Plot
The trailer starts with a shot of Niko, driving across the Algonquin Bridge. He enters the city using the highway and has to pay at a toll booth. A man tells him he is looking for some people, to which Niko replies that we're all looking for that special someone. The trailer continuous with scenes and conversations of their search. Niko tells he has been searching for then years and guarantees he will find the man he's looking for.
With Roman at his side, Niko kicks in the door of a man called S. Crone. In the next shot, Niko drives a motorcycle towards the camera, wearing a helmet. A women begs to stop the killing. Behind her, a fun fair with the Ferris wheel 'Liberty Eye' and an attraction called 'The Corpse Ride' can be seen. Then we see an armed Niko, sneaking towards a police car in front of a wall with graffiti art of El Burro and other GTA artwork, while Roman warns him not do do anything stupid. The bank of Liberty City comes into view, heavily guarded by several police cars and cops.
A combat helicopter flies over the city, and Niko jumps from roof to roof. Niko yells irritated to someone that if he wants his word, he'll get it. During these words, we see Niko hanging behind a truck, being threatened, hanging under a flying helicopter and hitting someone.
In the next shot, Niko walks towards the camera, while the background changes into four different locations. First we see a playground where someone is beating someone else, we see an elevated subway station with a train departing to 187th Washington Heights, then a paved open space next to a park and lastly a street in Liberty City.
Niko shoots at a red car, demonstrating how bullets, for the first time in GTA, cause realistic bullet holes. The tire is hit and deflates. Niko rushes off in his Stallion, away from the police cars. In the following police chase, a police car crashes and rolls over, while Niko manages to jump out of his car before it crashes into a gas station and explodes. Niko tells his cousin to 'find the one who survived'.
The trailer ends with someone telling Niko through his cell phone he should finish these issues first, before they can talk.
script
| Man | "You're looking for some people." |
|---|---|
| Niko | "We're all looking for that special someone." |
| Niko | "I need to know what happened. Give me that." |
| Niko | "For ten years, I've been searching." |
| Niko | "I did this for you. I guarantee that you will find this man!" |
| Woman | "Please! No more killing!" |
| Roman | "Don't do anything stupid, cousin!" |
| Niko | "We have to find him." |
| Niko | "Fine, you got it. You want my word? You got my word!" |
| Niko | "I'm the one who survived." |
| Man | "Get this done, and we'll talk." |
Some viewers were confused about the exact words spoken in the trailer. The words "I'm the one who survived." were interpreted by some as "Find the one who survived." The German, French, Spanish and Italian versions of the trailer translated the text as "I am" in the subtitles. However, it should be noted that the subtitles contain mistakes. For example, the words "I did this for you." are translated as "Du musst das für mich tun" ("You have to do that for me") in the German trailer.
Trailer 3: 'Move up, ladies'
The third trailer is two minutes long, twice as long as the two previous trailers. The trailer introduces various new characters and shows a bit more of the storyline. The soundtrack is "King Ring" by the Russian artist Seryoga.
Plot
The trailer starts with Niko's arrival in America with the boat the 'Platypus'. His cousin Roman picks him up and takes him to his home. Niko is surprised to see Romans run-down home, as he thought Roman was living in a mansion as he told him by e-mail. Roman tells Niko their mansion will come once they reached the top in America. Niko drives them through Broker, passing a building which resembles the Brooklyn Navy Yard (which probably makes it the Broker Navy Yard, although the name is partially blocked from sight) and a police station.
The next scene shows Niko in one or more nightclubs. He meets several persons, including a pimp-like character who addresses Niko (and says the line of the trailers title) and Elizabeta with several other women. We also see two women who are possible Niko's girlfriends and Brucie, who is running a checklist.
Then, just after Niko asks himself where his cousin has gone, Roman appears out of a garbage container, because he thinks he is followed by gangsters and is hiding. Niko tells him he is imagining things, but the next shots show Niko being punched in the face, a car chase and Roman being threatened.
A mobster asks someone outside the screen whether he is the one being jumped for a couple of million. Perhaps he is talking to Niko and referring to the fact Niko is "the one who survived". A car chase scene follows.
We then see Niko and Roman tied up in a basement. They are interrogated by a man in a suit, possibly a cop. His henchman, who is holding a bloody saw, is the same man who hit Niko earlier. The man in the suit slaps Niko in the face so he regains conscience, and the other man asks him who he's working for. The next shot appears to show Niko escaping, while a helicopter with a searchlight hovers above him. Something explodes, and Niko is thrown off the wall.
Roman tells Niko he does not want to die like this. Niko answers they will have to fight back, since it's Niko and Roman, or them. The next scenes show a fighting Niko; a cross motor; someone falling of a crane, dropping his gun and severely damaging the car in the process and the Shitzu motor cycle NRG 900 RR.
A man in his living room runs to the camera, shouting to people outside the screen that he will kill them if they don't make themselves scarce. In the background, two pictures of the woman who begged to stop the killing in the second trailer can be seen, suggesting she and the man have a relation.
The following shots show an exploding car, while a fireman flees to his fire truck and a motor bike passes by; Vlad who wants someone to know that might is right; two Predator police boats chasing Niko, Roman and two others in a boat; Roman who hysterically tells Niko he told him to be calm; Niko sarcastically welcoming someone to America, with a gun in his hand and blood stained clothes; two police cars and a chopper in China town; the man who was interrogating Niko earlier, now desperately trying to make someone stop shooting people; a police car crashing into a speeding truck; Manny telling Elizabeta to leave his people alone; a shoot-out in a warehouse and finally someone ordering Niko to "do this."
The trailer ends with Niko walking in front of a burning building, followed by two men asking him whether he's in, or they have to kill him. Niko thinks about it for a moment, and says he's in.
Script
| Roman | "Niko! My cousin! I can't believe you're here! Welcome to America!" |
|---|---|
| Niko | "Zdravo burazeru." (Serbian slang for "Hello, brother" or "Hey, my friend.") |
| Roman | "Come in, come in!" |
| Niko | "This... is the mansion?" |
| Roman | "The mansion is coming, cousin. That's the dream." |
| Niko | "What do you mean?" |
| Roman | "We're going to the top, Niko. Soon, even you will forget about the old country." |
| Man #1 | "'sup, money?" (slang for "How are you, pal?") |
| Man #2 | "Hey, Niko. Move up, ladies." |
| Woman #1 | "So, where are you taking me?" |
| Brucie | "Bling: check. Boxes: check. Paper: check. That's how we roll!" |
| Niko | "Where are you, Roman?" |
| Roman | "I'm freakin out, man, I'm being followed! I saw them!" |
| Niko | "Don't be ridiculous! You're being paranoid." |
| Man #4 | "Where's your Russian friend now, eh?" |
| Man #5 | "So you're the guy who got jumped for a couple of million?" |
| Man #6 | "Wake up." |
| Man #7 | "Who are you working for?" |
| Roman | "I don't feel like dying, man. Not like this!" |
| Niko | "We must fight these people. It's them or us, cousin." |
| Man #8 | "What are you still doing here? Get out of my sight, or I'll kill you." |
| Vlad | "Let him know: might is right." |
| Roman | "I told you to be calm, you hotheaded chump!" |
| Niko | "Welcome to America." |
| Man #6 | "Stop shooting people, you maniac!" |
| Manny | Leave my people alone!" |
| Man #11 | "I ain't asking you; I'm telling you. Do this!" |
| Man #12 | "Are you in, big guy? Or are we going to have to kill you?" |
| Niko | "Well, since you put it that way... I'm in." |
Trailer 4: 'Good Lord, what are you doing?' aka 'Everyone's a rat'
Although originally only three trailers were planned, a fourth trailer was announced at March 15. This trailer is available since March 27. The soundtrack is "Real MckKoy" by Movado.
Script
| Bank robbers | "Nobody move! Get on the floor!" |
|---|---|
| Man #2 | "We've got real problems." |
| Playboy X | "This is my town." |
| Man #3 | "Bang!" |
| Undercover agent | "LCPD! Freeze! I said freeze!" |
| Man #4 | "Ladies and gentlemen..." |
| Man #2 | "When I say to you go see him, go see him. Shut him up!" |
| Francis McReary | "I paid you to do a mans job, you amateur!" |
| Manny Escuela | "You know, sometimes you have to break some ommelettes to make some eggs, you know what I'm saying?" |
| Elizabeta | "Everyone's a rat!" |
| Niko Bellic | "Not me." |
| Mikhail Faustin | "Good Lord, what are you doing?" |
| Man #7 | "Nothing." |
| Grand Theft Auto IV | ||
|---|---|---|
| Missions | Storyline · Diamonds · Heroin · Storyline choices · Mission tree · Missions · 100% Checklist | 
|
| Submissions | Random characters · Most Wanted · Vigilante · Exotic Exports · Drug Delivery · Stevie's Car Theft · Races · Assassinations · QUB³D · Minigames | |
| Features | Vehicles · Weapons · Characters · Gangs · Radio stations · Dates · Friendships · Safe houses · Businesses · Special outfits · Food · Prostitutes · Websites · Multiplayer · Video Editor | |
| Collectables | Flying rats · Stunt Jumps · Achievements & Trophies | |
| Other | Cheats · Easter eggs · System requirements · Maps · Locations · Controls · Outtakes · Trailers · Credits · Episodes From Liberty City (The Lost and Damned · The Ballad of Gay Tony) | |
Externe links
Official movies - Trailers at GTAForum.nl
