Film Genre

1. Film Genre

2. Film Genres are identifiable types, classifications or groups of films that have similar, familiar or instantly-recognizable patterns, syntax, filmic techniques or conventions - that include one or more of the following: settings (and props), content and subject matter, themes, mood, period, plot, central narrative events, motifs, styles, structures, situations, recurring icons, characters, and stars. Many films are considered hybrids - they include several film genres.

3. Genres History • By the end of the silent era, many of the main genres were established: the melodrama, the western, the horror film, comedies, and action-adventure films. • Musicals were began with the era of the Talkies. • Science-fiction films weren't generally popularized until the 1950s.

4. One problem with genre films is that they can become stale, cliché ridden, and over-imitated. • A traditional genre that has been reinterpreted, challenged, or subjected to scrutiny may be termed revisionist.

5. Examples of 14 Film Genres • Action (Disaster): Stories whose central struggle plays out mainly through a clash of physical forces. • Air Force One
 • Jurassic Park
 • Lethal Weapon • Return of the Jedi (also Science Fiction) • Speed (also a Thriller)
 • Titanic (also a Love story) • The Terminator
 • Twister

6. Adventure: Stories whose central struggle plays out mainly through encounters with new "worlds." • Apollo 13
 • The Deep
 • Get Shorty (blend of Gangster, Love, and Crime with a twist)
 • Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (also an Action picture) • 
Robinson Crusoe
 • Water World

7. Comedy: Stories whose central struggle causes hilarious results. • Ace Ventura, Pet Detective (also Adventure) • 
French Kiss
 • Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (also Fantasy) • My Best Friend's Wedding
 • 
When Harry Met Sally
 • Working Girl (also Love Story)

8. Coming-of-Age Drama: Stories whose central struggle is about the hero finding his or her place in the world. • American Beauty
 • The Breakfast Club
 • The Graduate
 • 
The Lion King
 • Without a Cause
 • Shakespeare in Love (also Romantic Comedy)
 • The Water Boy (also Comedy)

9. Crime: Stories whose central struggle is about catching a criminal. • Basic Instinct
 • Fargo
 • 
Ghost (also Love and Thriller)
 • Patriot Games
 • Pulp Fiction • The Sting
 • The Untouchables

10. Detective Story/Courtroom Drama: Stories whose central struggle is to find out what really happened and thus to expose the truth. • A Few Good Men
 • The General's Daughter
 • Inherit the • Rear Window
 • A Time to Kill
 • The Verdict • 
Vertigo

11. Epic/Myth: Stories whose central struggle plays out in the midst of a clash of great forces or in the sweep of great historical change. • 
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
 • The Godfather • Gone With the Wind
 • The Grapes of Wrath
 • Lawrence of Arabia (also Adventure)
 • Star Wars
 • The Ten Commandments

12. Fantasy: Stories which are animated, or whose central struggle plays out in two worlds - the "real" world and an imaginary world. • 
Alice in Wonderland
 • Antz
 • Ghostbusters • Mary Poppins
 • The Mask
 • Peter Pan • 
Toy Story
 • The Wizard of Oz


13. Gangster: Stories whose central struggle is between a criminal and society. A cautionary tale, rooted in a main character who commits crimes. • Bonnie and Clyde
 • Dead Man Walking
 • The Godfather (also Epic/Myth) • Goodfellas
 • Sling Blade
 • The Usual Suspects • Public Enemies

14. Horror: Stories whose central struggle focuses on escaping from and eventually defeating a Monster (either human or non-human). • Alien
 • The Blair Witch Project
 • Friday the Thirteenth
 • Halloween
 • I Know What You Did Last Summer • Nightmare on Elm Street • 
Psycho • 
Scream


15. Love (Romance): Stories whose central struggle is between two people who each want to win or keep the love of the other. • 
As Good As It Gets
 • Casablanca (also Epic/Myth) • Ghost
 • 
Notting Hill
 • Pretty Woman
 • Roman Holiday
 • The Way We Were
 • Wuthering Heights

16. Science Fiction: Stories whose central struggle is generated from the technology and tools of a scientifically imaginable world. • 2001 A Space Odyssey • 
Back to the Future
 • Blade Runner (also Crime)
 • ET: The Extra Terrestrial

 • The Sixth Sense
 • Stargate
 • Star Wars (and all the sequels or prequels) • The Terminator


17. Social Drama: Stories whose central struggle is between a Champion and a problem or injustice in society. Usually the Champion has a personal stake in the outcome of the struggle. • A Civil Action
 • Dead Man Walking
 • 
Grapes of Wrath
 • Kramer Vs Kramer Network
 • Philadelphia (also Courtroom Drama)
 • Schindler's List
 • To Kill a Mockingbird

18. Thriller: Stories whose central struggle pits an innocent hero against a lethal enemy who is out to kill him or her. • The Net
 • No Way Out
 • Night of the Hunter
 • Three Days of the Condor
 • Wait Until Dark
 • Witness (also Love Story)