MOVIE GENRES

1. MOVIE GENRES Categorizing the Movies You Watch

2. “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.

3. Action Adventure Animation Biography Comedy Crime Detective/Courtroom Documentary Drama Epic Family Fantasy Film-Noir History Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Sports Thriller War Western Main Film Genres

4. 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

5. Action Stories whose central struggle plays out mainly through a clash of physical forces.

6. Action Movies • The Dark Knight • 48 Hours • Face/Off • Die Hard • Lethal Weapon • Fight Club • Bourne Ultimatum

7. Adventure Stories whose central struggle plays out mainly through encounters with new “worlds.”

8. Apollo 13 Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Water World The Matrix Wizard of Oz Into the Wild Adventure Movies

9. Animation Animation is not a strictly-defined genre category, but rather a film technique, but it is large enough to deserve its own category.

10. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs WALL-E South Park The Incredibles Monsters, Inc. Shrek Watership Down Wallace & Gromit Fantasia Animation Movies

11. Biography Stories whose central theme focuses on an important historical person, place or thing.

12. Ray Patton The Aviator Amadeus Gandhi Evita Citizen Kane Man on the Moon Biographical Movies

13. Comedy Stories whose central struggle causes hilarious results.

14. Ace Ventura, Pet Detective Monty Python and the Holy Grail The Big Lebowski The Wedding Crashers Caddyshack Meatballs Comedy Movies

15. Crime Also: Gangster Stories whose central struggle is about catching a criminal – or watching him or her get away.

16. 48 Hours Fargo The Usual Suspects Pulp Fiction The Sting No Country for Old Men The Departed Crime/Gangster Movies

17. Detective/Mystery Also Courtroom and Mystery Stories whose central struggle is to find out what really happened and thus to expose the truth.

18. A Few Good Men Caine Mutiny The Verdict Vertigo The Maltese Falcon Chinatown Vantage Point JFK Detective/Courtroom Movies

19. Documentary A movie that attempts to document reality.

20. Fahrenheit 9/11 Bowling for Columbine An Inconvenient Truth March of the Penguins Super Size Me Hoop Dreams Documentary Movies

21. Drama Stories whose central struggle involves intense realistic characters and situations in conflict with either themselves, others, or forces of nature.

22. I Am Legend 21 Casablanca Memento Shawshank Redemption Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Drama Movies

23. Epic Stories whose central struggle plays out in the midst of a clash of great forces or in the sweep of great historical change.

24. 300 Star Wars The Ten Commandments Ben Hur 2001: A Space Odyssey Empire of the Sun Epic Movies

25. Family Also: Children’s Stories whose central theme is primarily for children and families.

26. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Home Alone Charlie and the Chocolate Factory A Bug’s Life Shrek Sky High Family Movies

27. Fantasy Stories which are animated, or whose central struggle plays out in two worlds - the "real" world and an imaginary world.

28. Big Ghostbusters Mary Poppins The Mask Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Lord of the Rings Groundhog Day Fantasy Movies

29. Film-Noir Strictly speaking, film noir is not a genre, but rather the mood, style, point-of-view, or tone of a film.

30. Citizen Kane Murder, My Sweet Notorious The Maltese Falcon Sunset Blvd. Double Indemnity The Third Man Touch of Evil Film-Noir Movies

31. History Stories which bring to life an actual historical event, place or person—usually not as grand as an epic.

32. Gettysburg Malcolm X Chaplin Nixon The Alamo Galipoli Ride With the Devil Wyatt Earp Historical Movies

33. Horror Stories whose central struggle focuses on escaping from and eventually defeating a Monster (either human or non-human).

34. Blair Witch Project Psycho Scream Tremors Saw The Grudge Amityville Horror The Exorcist Horror Movies

35. Musical Stories that can revolve around any theme as long as the narrative is significantly carried along by songs.

36. Singin’ in the Rain Moulin Rouge! Chicago The Sound of Music Rocky Horror Picture Show West Side Story Musical Movies

37. Romance Also: Love Stories whose central struggle is between two people who each want to win or keep the love of the other

38. Ghost Pretty Woman The Way We Were Titanic Sleepless in Seattle Sex and the City Annie Hall As Good As It Gets Romance Movies

39. Sci-Fi Science-Fiction Stories whose central struggle is generated from the technology and tools of a scientifically imaginable world.

40. The Sixth Sense Star Wars series Back to the Future Iron Man The Truman Show The Prestige Twelve Monkeys Planet of the Apes Sci-Fi Movies

41. Sports Stories whose central struggle is related to a sport or sports figure.

42. Miracle Remember the Titans The Natural Brian’s Song Cool Runnings Hoosiers Chariots of Fire Slap Shot Sports Movies

43. Thriller Stories whose central struggle pits an innocent hero against a lethal enemy who is out to kill him or her.

44. Three Days of the Condor The Dark Knight Silence of the Lambs Hotel Rwanda There Will Be Blood Reservoir Dogs Fatal Attraction Thriller Movies

45. War Stories whose central struggle deals with war or the impact of war.

46. Saving Private Ryan The Longest Day Platoon Full Metal Jacket M*A*S*H Gladiator Stalag 17 Kelly’s Heroes War Movies

47. Western Stories whose central struggle deals with the Western/cowboy era.

48. Red River Silverado Tombstone The Cowboys Outlaw Josie Wales Quigley Down Under High Noon Western Movies