genres of film

Genres Of Film

Action• High-energy physical stunts• Two-dimensional good guys vs bad

guys• Designed for audience escapism• Began in Post-Cold War(1960s)

Notable examples

• 007 James Bond spy series• Terminator Series• Rambo series

Adventure• usually exciting stories,new

experiences or exotic locales• intended to appeal mainly to men• Showcased courageous, altruistic,

patriotic heroes who fight for beliefs, freedom or against injustice

Notable examples

• Indiana Jones series• Robin Hood (1922)• The Three Musketeers (1916,

1921, 1933, 1935, 1948, 1973, and 1993)

Animation

• not a strictly-defined genre category, but rather a film technique

• often appeal to children

Notable examples

• Little Nemo in Slumberland (1911)

• The Adventures of Felix (1919)• Steamboat Willie (1928)

Biopic

• from the combination of the words "biography" and "pictures“

• depict and dramatize the life of an important historical personage

Notable examples

• The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933)

• The Life of Emile Zola (1937)• Abraham Lincoln (1930)

Crime-Ganster• developed around the sinister actions

of criminals• often highlight the life of a crime

figure or a crime's victim• provide a view of the secret world of

the criminal

Notable examples

• The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912)

• Dead Man Walking (1996)• The Godfather (1972)

Children/ Family/Comedy

• Light-hearted plots• Amuses audience through

exaggeration• Usually has happy endings

Types of comedies

• Comedian-led• Situation-comedies

Notable examples

• It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)

• The Mask (1994)• Men in Black (1997)

Disaster

• concentrate on the chaotic events surrounding the disaster

• have large-scale special effects

Notable examples

• Planet of the Apes (2001)• Day the World Ended (1956)• Godzilla: King of the Monsters

(1954)

Documentary

• non-fictional, "slice of life" factual works of art

• sometimes known as cinema verite

• Nanook of the North (1922)• Don't Look Back (1967)• Memphis Belle (1990)

Dystopian

• Generally set in the future• Often grim, dirty, dark and

unimaginably awful

Notable examples

• Equilibrium (2002)• Starship Troopers (1997)• Death Race 2000 (1975)

Fantasy

• transcend the bounds of human possibility and physical laws

• often in the context of imagination, dreams, or hallucinations

• appeal to both children and adults

Notable examples

• The Thief of Bagdad (1940, UK)• Tom Thumb (1958)• The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms

(1953)

Film Noir• literally 'black film or cinema‘• Fear, mistrust, bleakness, loss of

innocence, despair and paranoia are readily evident

• is not a genre, but rather the mood, style, point-of-view, or tone of a film

Notable examples

• Dark Passage (1947)• The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920,

Germ.)• The Maltese falcon (1941)

Found Footage• Footage is presented as something

found• events on screen are seen through

the camera of the characters involved, who often speaks off screen

• Shaky camera work is employed for realism

Notable examples

• The Blair Witch Project (1999)• Paranormal Activity (2007)• Cloverfield (2008)

Horror

• Designed to frighten and invoke fears• Often combined with Sci-Fi• Center on the dark side of life• Goes as far back as the onset of films

Notable examples• Le Manoir Du Diable (1896, Fr.) (aka

The Devil's Castle/The Haunted Castle)-1st horror film

• Notre-Dame De Paris (1911, Fr.) (aka The Hunchback of Notre Dame)

• Frankenstein (1910)

Martial Arts• contains numerous fights between

characters• Focus is placed on action• Characters are many times played by

real martial artists

Notable examples

• Ip Man (2008)• The Karate Kid (1984)• Bruce Lee Films

Monster• centre on the struggle between human

beings and one or more monsters• The monster is usually created by a

folly of mankind• Serves as a metaphor for human’s

continuous destruction

Notable examples

• The Golem (1915)• The Invisible Man (1933)• The Host (2006)

Musical• emphasize and showcase full-scale

song and dance routines• centered on combinations of music,

dance, song• has been considered the most

escapist of all genres

Notable examples

• The Lion King (1994)• The Singing Fool (1928)• The Jazz singer (1927)

Mystery• emphasize the detective solving the

crime through clues and exceptional rational powers

• focus on the unsolved crime• Detective often succeeds in cleverly

trapping the killer or criminal

Notable examples

• Sherlock Holmes films• Charlie Chan films• Mr Moto Films

Pirate

• built upon action scenes of sea battles

• included lavish sets, costumes, and weapons

Notable examples

• The Black Pirate (1926)• Captain Blood (1935)• The Sea Hawk (1940)

Romance• love stories• center on passion, emotion, and the

romantic• Many romantic films do not have

fairy-tale, wistful-thinking stories or happy endings

Notable examples

• King Kong (1933)• It’s A Wonderful Life (1946)• Romeo and Juliet (1968)• Titanic (1997)

Sci-Fi• quasi-scientific, visionary and

imaginative• often expresses the potential of

technology to destroy humankind• Began in 1980s

Notable examples• Le Voyage Dans La Lune (A Trip

to the Moon) (1902)-1st Sci-Fi film

• Godzilla (1998)• Flash Gordon series

Sports

• have a sports setting that are central and predominant in the story

• Features individuals or teams with tough odds in a large-scale sport event

Notable examples

• The Pride of the Yankees (1942)• The Champ (1931)• The Hustler (1961)

Super Hero

• focused on the actions of one or more superheroes

• often includes a focus on the origin of the special powers

• Most are based on comic books

Notable Examples

• RoboCop series• Batman (1943)• X-Men series

Teen

• targeted at teenagers and young adults

• Plot is based on first love, rebellion against parents, teen angst etc

• Often set in high schools

Notable examples

• 17 again (2009)• Scott Pilgrim vs the World (2010)• River’s Edge (1986)

War

• often acknowledge the horror and heartbreak of war

• often been used as 'flag-waving' propaganda to inspire national pride and morale

Notable examples

• Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)• The Birth Of A Nation (1915)• Wings (1927)

Western• one of the oldest, most enduring and

flexible genres• Features the early days of the

expansive, untamed American frontier

Notables

• The Great Train Robbery (1903)• Tumbleweeds (1925)• King of the Cowboys (1943)

Cross Genre

Action-Comedy

Horror-Action

Romantic-Comedy

Western-Sci Fi

Sci-Fi - Dystopian

Resources• http://

www.indianajones.de/multimedia/download/wallpaper_comic_03_1024.jpg

• http://filmsite.org• http://snarkerati.com/movie-news/the

-top-50-dystopian-movies-of-all-time/