If you walked into a theater in 1977 and saw the Kentucky Fried Movie trailer, you probably didn't know what hit you. It was loud. It was chaotic. Honestly, it looked like someone had hijacked the projector and started playing random clips from a fever dream. But that’s the magic of it. Before Airplane! or The Naked Gun ever existed, there was this weird, low-budget sketch film that basically rewrote the rules of what was allowed on a cinema screen.
You've got to understand the context here.
The mid-seventies were a time of gritty dramas and disco. Then comes this trailer promising "A Total New Experience in Cinema." It wasn't just a movie; it was a sensory assault. Directed by John Landis—who would later give us Animal House and Blues Brothers—and written by the legendary trio of David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker (ZAZ), this trailer was the first real handshake between the audience and a brand of humor that relied on rapid-fire sight gags and "blink-and-you-miss-it" satire.
Why the Kentucky Fried Movie Trailer Was So Jarring
Most trailers back then followed a rigid formula. You had the booming narrator, the dramatic music, and a clear plot summary. The Kentucky Fried Movie trailer threw all of that into a woodchipper. Instead of a story, it gave you snippets of fake commercials, parodies of Bruce Lee movies, and news segments that made absolutely no sense.
It was jarring.
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People didn't know if they were watching a real movie or a collection of high-concept pranks. That was exactly the point. The ZAZ team had spent years honing their craft at the Kentucky Fried Theater in Madison, Wisconsin, and later Los Angeles. They knew that if you could keep an audience off-balance for two minutes, you could keep them in a theater for ninety.
The trailer features a narrator with a voice so serious you’d think he was announcing the end of the world. But instead of the world ending, he’s talking about "Argon, the element of surprise" or showing a guy getting punched in the face for no reason. It’s that juxtaposition—high-brow presentation mixed with incredibly low-brow physical comedy—that defined an entire generation of spoof films.
The "Fistful of Yen" Factor
One of the biggest hooks in that original Kentucky Fried Movie trailer was the parody of Enter the Dragon. Titled "A Fistful of Yen," this segment took up a huge chunk of the film’s marketing. If you watch the trailer today, you can see why. It looks remarkably high-quality compared to the rest of the sketches. They actually hired real martial artists and built sets that looked authentic enough to fool you for a second.
Then the jokes start.
The trailer leans heavily on Evan C. Kim’s performance as Loo, mocking the intensity of 70s martial arts cinema. It’s a perfect example of how the ZAZ guys didn't just want to make fun of movies; they wanted to recreate them perfectly and then subvert them. Most people who saw the trailer thought they were getting a full-length martial arts spoof. They got that, sure, but they also got a sketch about a "Feel-A-Round" movie theater experience where a guy literally stands behind you and hits you.
It’s chaotic. It’s brilliant. It’s also kinda gross in spots, which only added to the "must-see" factor for the counter-culture crowd of the late 70s.
The Viral Marketing of 1977
Long before TikTok or YouTube, "viral" meant word of mouth in the high school parking lot. The Kentucky Fried Movie trailer acted like a secret handshake. If you’d seen it, you knew something your parents didn't. You knew about "Big Jim Slade." You knew about the "United Appeal for the Dead."
Landis and the ZAZ team were operating on a shoestring budget of about $600,000. They couldn't afford a massive media blitz. So, the trailer had to do the heavy lifting. It had to be weird enough to make people talk and funny enough to make them buy a ticket.
Interestingly, the trailer almost didn't work. Early test audiences were reportedly confused. Some people walked out of the screenings thinking the projector was broken because the movie starts with a news broadcast that looks... well, like a real news broadcast. But that confusion was the secret sauce. Once the audience realized the "news" was actually a series of absurd jokes, they were hooked. The trailer successfully captured that "anything can happen" vibe.
Breaking the Fourth Wall
One thing the Kentucky Fried Movie trailer does better than almost any other trailer from that era is breaking the fourth wall. It talks directly to you. It mocks the theater-going experience. It mocks the very idea of a trailer.
You’ve probably seen modern movies do this, like Deadpool. But in 1977? This was revolutionary. Most trailers were trying to convince you that their movie was the greatest thing ever made. The Kentucky Fried Movie trailer was basically saying, "Hey, we know this is a movie, and we know you’re sitting in a dark room watching us. Isn't that weird?"
The Legacy of the 2-Minute Clip
If you look at the DNA of modern comedy, you can trace it directly back to this specific 1977 marketing push. Without the Kentucky Fried Movie trailer proving there was an appetite for "anthology comedy," we might never have gotten The Onion Movie, Movie 43 (for better or worse), or even the sketch-heavy format of Saturday Night Live films.
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It proved that you don't need a linear plot to sell a movie. You just need a vibe.
The trailer also served as a launchpad for talent. John Landis used the success of this film to get Animal House greenlit. Think about that. No Kentucky Fried Movie, no Bluto Blutarsky. No "Toga! Toga!" The ZAZ team went on to make Airplane!, which is arguably the most influential comedy of the 20th century. All of that started with this grainy, bizarre trailer that featured a parody of a household cleaner commercial.
Fact-Checking the History
There are a few myths about the movie that the trailer helped propagate. One is that the movie was "banned" in several countries. While it certainly faced some censorship issues due to its "R" rating and some of the more... let's say unfiltered segments (like "Catholic High School Girls in Trouble"), it wasn't some underground snuff film. It was a calculated, smart piece of satire.
Another common misconception is that the film was a "bomb" initially. Not true. Despite the weirdness of the Kentucky Fried Movie trailer, the film was a massive independent success, grossing over $20 million. In 1977 dollars, that’s a mountain of cash, especially considering the tiny production budget.
The trailer also features some clips that didn't make the final cut or were edited differently, which makes it a bit of a time capsule for fans of the ZAZ style. You can see the rough edges. You can see the ambition. You can see three guys from Wisconsin trying to dismantle Hollywood from the inside out.
How to Watch It Today
If you're looking for the Kentucky Fried Movie trailer now, it's widely available on platforms like YouTube, but honestly, you should try to find the high-definition restorations. Seeing the grain of the 35mm film adds to the experience. It feels more authentic to the "grindhouse" era it was satirizing.
When you watch it, pay attention to the editing. It’s incredibly fast. The ZAZ guys pioneered the "three jokes a minute" rule. If one joke doesn't land, don't worry—there’s another one coming in five seconds. This pace is evident in the trailer, which acts as a micro-version of the film's frantic energy.
What You Should Do Next
If you've never seen the film, don't just stop at the trailer. Here’s a quick roadmap for diving into this era of comedy:
- Watch the trailer first: Get a feel for the 1977 marketing "chaos."
- Track down the Blu-ray: Specifically, the Shout! Factory or Arrow Video releases. They contain amazing commentaries from Landis and the ZAZ team that explain how they pulled off these stunts on no budget.
- Compare it to "The Groove Tube" (1974): This was the film that inspired Kentucky Fried Movie. It’s a bit more dated, but you can see where the anthology format started.
- Look for the "lost" sketches: Some versions of the film and trailer have alternate takes. For example, the "Scott Free" commercial has slight variations that are worth hunting for if you're a comedy nerd.
- Analyze the lighting: Notice how "A Fistful of Yen" looks like a completely different movie than the "Zinc Oxide" sketch. This was intentional. They used different film stocks and lighting rigs to mimic the genres they were spoofing.
The Kentucky Fried Movie trailer remains a masterclass in how to market a movie that defies description. It didn't try to explain the film; it tried to be the film. It was messy, offensive, brilliant, and completely unique. Even now, nearly fifty years later, there hasn't been much else like it.
The next time you see a modern comedy trailer that uses "meta" humor or quick-cut parodies, just remember that a few guys from Wisconsin did it first in 1977 with a fake news desk and a lot of nerve.
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Actionable Takeaways for Film Buffs
To truly appreciate the impact of this trailer, you need to see the ripple effect it had on the industry. Take a look at the early trailers for Airplane! (1980) and Top Secret! (1984). You’ll see the exact same DNA. The deadpan narration, the literal interpretations of metaphors, and the complete disregard for the fourth wall.
Also, check out the work of Bill Richmond and other writers who were working in that sketch-comedy vein at the time. The transition from the "vaudeville" style of the 50s and 60s to the "ironic" style of the 70s is perfectly captured in those two minutes of the Kentucky Fried Movie trailer. It is the bridge between the old world and the new world of American comedy.
If you're a filmmaker or a student of media, study the pacing. It’s a lesson in how to sustain interest without a narrative hook. You don't need a "hero's journey" to sell a ticket; sometimes, you just need a guy in a gorilla suit and a really good punchline.