By John Corrado

A24 has released the first trailer for The Brutalist, director Brady Corbet’s three-and-a-half-hour post-war epic shot on VistaVision that first drew raves at Venice. I saw the film at TIFF, presented in 70mm, and it’s a staggering achievement. This is a great first trailer that gives viewers a glimpse at Lol Crowley’s stunning cinematography and Daniel Blumberg’s score, as well as Adrien Brody’s powerful performance.

Brody stars as László Tóth, a Hungarian-Jewish architect who arrives in America following World War II, with the actor delivering his best work since The Pianist. In addition, Guy Pearce stars as the wealthy businessman who hires him, and Felicity Jones is László’s wife. All three of them deliver Oscar-worthy performances, in what is not only one of the very best films of 2024, but also one of the greatest American films of this century.

The trailer offers a taste of the film’s wonderful production design and sweeping sense of grandeur. It also doesn’t show too much of the story, which is a good thing; watching Corbet carefully unspool his narrative across the 215 minute runtime (complete with an intermission) is one of the great things about the film. This is masterful storytelling, that harkens back to the great American movies of the 1970s, and the fact that Corbet made this for under $10 million is truly impressive.

The film will be released in theatres in limited release on December 20th, and it’s being distributed in Canada by Elevation Pictures. You can read my full 4-star review from TIFF right here. The trailer is below, please feel free to comment your thoughts if you have watched it or already seen the film!