Transcript MOVIE GENRES - Lawrence USD 497

MOVIE GENRES
Categorizing the Movies
You Watch
“Zhan-ruh”
The term “genre” is used a lot
around the movie industry to
break down the type of film into
categories.
It's difficult to place a lot of films
in a single category. For this
reason a lot of films have multiple
genres.
Main Film Genres
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Action
Adventure
Animation
Biography
Comedy
Crime
Detective/Courtroom
Documentary
Drama
Epic
Family
Fantasy
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Film-Noir
History
Horror
Musical
Mystery
Romance
Sci-Fi
Sports
Thriller
War
Western
Movie Narrative
All movies must have narrative,
e.g., “tell a story.”
All movie stories must have a
“central struggle.”
The central struggle is the
problem with which the main
character is confronted
Action
Stories whose central struggle
plays out mainly through a clash
of physical forces.
Action Movies
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The Dark Knight
48 Hours
Face/Off
Die Hard
Lethal Weapon
Fight Club
Bourne Ultimatum
Adventure
Stories whose central struggle
plays out mainly through
encounters with new “worlds.”
Adventure Movies
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Apollo 13
Indiana Jones and the
Temple of Doom
Water World
The Matrix
Wizard of Oz
Into the Wild
Animation
Animation is not a strictly-defined
genre category, but rather a film
technique, but it is large enough to
deserve its own category.
Animation Movies
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Snow White and the
Seven Dwarfs
WALL-E
South Park
The Incredibles
Monsters, Inc.
Shrek
Watership Down
Wallace & Gromit
Fantasia
Biography
Stories whose central theme
focuses on an important historical
person, place or thing.
Biographical Movies
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Ray
Patton
The Aviator
Amadeus
Gandhi
Evita
Citizen Kane
Man on the Moon
Comedy
Stories whose central struggle
causes hilarious results.
Comedy Movies
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Ace Ventura, Pet
Detective
Monty Python and the
Holy Grail
The Big Lebowski
The Wedding
Crashers
Caddyshack
Meatballs
Crime
Also: Gangster
Stories whose central struggle is about
catching a criminal – or watching him
or her get away.
Crime/Gangster Movies
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48 Hours
Fargo
The Usual Suspects
Pulp Fiction
The Sting
No Country for Old
Men
The Departed
Detective/Mystery
Also Courtroom and Mystery
Stories whose central struggle is to find
out what really happened and thus to
expose the truth.
Detective/Courtroom Movies
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A Few Good Men
Caine Mutiny
The Verdict
Vertigo
The Maltese Falcon
Chinatown
Vantage Point
JFK
Documentary
A movie that attempts to
document reality.
Documentary Movies
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Fahrenheit 9/11
Bowling for
Columbine
An Inconvenient
Truth
March of the Penguins
Super Size Me
Hoop Dreams
Drama
Stories whose central struggle involves
intense realistic characters and
situations in conflict with either
themselves, others, or forces of nature.
Drama Movies
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I Am Legend
21
Casablanca
Memento
Shawshank
Redemption
Eternal Sunshine of
the Spotless Mind
Epic
Stories whose central struggle plays
out in the midst of a clash of great
forces or in the sweep of great
historical change.
Epic Movies
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300
Star Wars
The Ten
Commandments
Ben Hur
2001: A Space
Odyssey
Empire of the Sun
Family
Also: Children’s
Stories whose central theme is
primarily for children and families.
Family Movies
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Harry Potter and the
Chamber of Secrets
Home Alone
Charlie and the
Chocolate Factory
A Bug’s Life
Shrek
Sky High
Fantasy
Stories which are animated, or whose
central struggle plays out in two worlds
- the "real" world and an imaginary
world.
Fantasy Movies
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Big
Ghostbusters
Mary Poppins
The Mask
Who Framed Roger
Rabbit?
Lord of the Rings
Groundhog Day
Film-Noir
Strictly speaking, film noir is not a
genre, but rather the mood, style,
point-of-view, or tone of a film.
Film-Noir Movies
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Citizen Kane
Murder, My Sweet
Notorious
The Maltese Falcon
Sunset Blvd.
Double Indemnity
The Third Man
Touch of Evil
History
Stories which bring to life an actual
historical event, place or person—
usually not as grand as an epic.
Historical Movies
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Gettysburg
Malcolm X
Chaplin
Nixon
The Alamo
Galipoli
Ride With the Devil
Wyatt Earp
Horror
Stories whose central struggle focuses
on escaping from and eventually
defeating a Monster (either human or
non-human).
Horror Movies
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Blair Witch Project
Psycho
Scream
Tremors
Saw
The Grudge
Amityville Horror
The Exorcist
Musical
Stories that can revolve around any
theme as long as the narrative is
significantly carried along by songs.
Musical Movies
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Singin’ in the Rain
Moulin Rouge!
Chicago
The Sound of Music
Rocky Horror Picture
Show
West Side Story
Romance
Also: Love
Stories whose central struggle is
between two people who each want to
win or keep the love of the other
Romance Movies
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Ghost
Pretty Woman
The Way We Were
Titanic
Sleepless in Seattle
Sex and the City
Annie Hall
As Good As It Gets
Sci-Fi
Science-Fiction
Stories whose central struggle is
generated from the technology and
tools of a scientifically imaginable
world.
Sci-Fi Movies
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The Sixth Sense
Star Wars series
Back to the Future
Iron Man
The Truman Show
The Prestige
Twelve Monkeys
Planet of the Apes
Sports
Stories whose central struggle is
related to a sport or sports figure.
Sports Movies
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Miracle
Remember the Titans
The Natural
Brian’s Song
Cool Runnings
Hoosiers
Chariots of Fire
Slap Shot
Thriller
Stories whose central struggle pits an
innocent hero against a lethal enemy
who is out to kill him or her.
Thriller Movies
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Three Days of the
Condor
The Dark Knight
Silence of the Lambs
Hotel Rwanda
There Will Be Blood
Reservoir Dogs
Fatal Attraction
War
Stories whose central struggle
deals with war or the impact of
war.
War Movies
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Saving Private Ryan
The Longest Day
Platoon
Full Metal Jacket
M*A*S*H
Gladiator
Stalag 17
Kelly’s Heroes
Western
Stories whose central struggle
deals with the Western/cowboy
era.
Western Movies
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Red River
Silverado
Tombstone
The Cowboys
Outlaw Josie Wales
Quigley Down Under
High Noon