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/dow
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• http://filmsite.org
• http://snarkerati.com/movie-news/the-top50-dystopian-movies-of-all-time/