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What are film genres?
How many genres are there in a movie?
What are the different types of movie genres & sub-genres?
What determines the genre of a movie?
- Action genre. Action Movie genres. Action Movie Genre List. Action Genre. Movies in the action genre are defined by risk and stakes. While many movies may feature an action sequence, to be appropriately categorized inside the action genre, the bulk of the content must be action-oriented, including fight scenes, stunts, car chases, and general danger.
- Animation Genre. Animation Movie Genres. Types of Animation Movies. The animation genre is defined by inanimate objects being manipulated to appear as though they are living.
- Comedy genre. Comedy Movie Genres. List of Comedy Film Genres. Comedy Genre. The comedy genre is defined by events that are intended to make someone laugh, no matter if the story is macabre, droll, or zany.
- Crime Genre. Crime Movie Genres. Crime Film Genre List. The crime genre deals with both sides of the criminal justice system but does not focus on legislative matters or civil suits and legal actions.
- Overview
- What is a film style?
- What is a film genre?
- Film style vs. genre
- 5 types of film styles
- 10 types of film genres
When you watch a film, you might notice its characters, actions and visuals have a common theme. These combined elements can form the film's style or determine its genre. Researching the different styles and genres producers use in films can help you successfully visualize your story and connect with your audience. In this article, we define film s...
A film's style refers to the techniques a director uses to create a movie, and it can include themes, sound, dialogue, cinematography and lighting. All the aspects of production that provide value to the film and help determine how the audience perceives it goes into its style. You often can credit the film's style as a director's way to reflect th...
A film's genre is a definitive category based on its narrative elements. Filmmakers can structure their stories to the framework of a genre by including familiar patterns, themes, motifs and conventions. The narrative is typically the deciding factor in categorizing a film into a genre. You can discover a film's genre by analyzing the story's setti...
Identifying the film style involves analyzing production techniques, and identifying the film genre involves analyzing narrative elements, which is the key distinction between these terms. There isn't a direct relationship between these terms, though movies of some genres may have more common styles directors use.Two films shot in the same style ca...
1. Film noir
One of the most popular styles in cinema is film noir. It's usually associated with fictional crime stories and emphasizes cynical attitudes and motivations. A major characteristic of film noir is its black-and-white visual style, which uses a high-contrast lighting technique called chiaroscuro to create dramatic shadows and striking scenes. Characters in film noir are often morally ambiguous, and their dialogue usually contains a significant use of exposition, which is an explanation of elements in the story. This is because film noirs can obscure the narrative sequence, and exposition can help as a structuring device.
2. Documentary
The purpose of documentary filmmaking is to chronicle an authentic depiction of reality with the intent to instruct, educate or maintain a historical record. In these films, the camera often acts as a passive observer and appears to react to the events on camera. Two familiar camera techniques in this film style are handheld and observational. These generally connect well with improvisation and can cause feelings of spontaneity in the audience.
3. German expressionism
German expressionist films typically explore a subjective experience of the world by attempting to visualize anxiety through distorted and unusual imagery. They rose in popularity after the First World War because their tones often reflected the collective emotion of society. This style is also notable for its use of chiaroscuro and extreme camera angles to provide visual depth or distortion in the frame. People often associate the horror genre with the German expressionist film style.
1. Action
Action films traditionally contain dangerous situations and high-stake risks, and many require the use of physical stunts, fight choreography or disaster sequences. The high-energy elements in these films can aid in achieving audience escapism because viewers often appeal to the story of a hero who struggles against all odds and still achieves victory. The films in this category share a common theme, which is most of their content is action-oriented. They often include having some sense of danger through a majority of their scenes. Some familiar subgenres of the action genre are superhero, disaster and espionage.
2. Adventure
Adventure films typically involve a journey, and some may include a pursuit. They might also have action-oriented scenes like action films, but the travels and conquests of the main characters primarily define them. This emphasis on a character's adventure can help the audience imagine themselves in those experiences. You can create an adventure film in any setting, as long as your narrative involves a journey.
3. Comedy
Comedies are films intended to make the audience laugh through their use of exaggeration of language, action or characters who add humor to a situation. Many comedies use everyday situations in their stories to provide a funny commentary on a common life frustration to relate to the audience. Two common comedy formats are comedian-led and situational comedies. There are many subgenres of comedy, including romantic comedy, spoof, parody, satire, sitcom, sketch comedy and mockumentary.
Alan Williams distinguishes three main genre categories: narrative, avant-garde, and documentary. [7] With the proliferation of particular genres, film subgenres can also emerge: the legal drama, for example, is a sub-genre of drama that includes courtroom- and trial-focused films.
GenreDescriptionSubgenre (s)ExamplesAssociated with particular types of ...Disaster film Heroic bloodshed: defined ...Commando (1985) Die Hard (1988) Face/Off ...Implies a narrative that is defined by a ...Pirate film Swashbuckler film Samurai ...Swiss Family Robinson (1960) Romancing ...A film medium in which the film's images ...CGI animation Cutout animation ...Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) ...Defined by events that are primarily ...Action comedy film Buddy comedy ...Safety Last! (1923) Some Like It Hot ...May 2, 2024 · Below, you can see a genre taxonomy of 25 main movie genres, including three common subgenres for each main genre. I’ve included a brief description and movie examples for each genre and subgenre. Read more on the definition of genre.
May 19, 2015 · I’ve started by listing a dozen major genres. I sub-divided each of these into between 6 and 25 sub-genres. You’ll find a total of 188 sub-genres on this page. I’ve also included at least 2 recommendations for each sub-genre. That makes a total of almost 376 category-specific movie recommendations.
- Cinema
Aug 29, 2022 · What Are Film Genres? The Basic Film Genres; The Action Film Genre; The Comedy Film Genre; The Horror Film Genre; The Sci-Fi Film Genre; The Western Film Genre; The Romance Film Genre; The Thriller Film Genre; The Fantasy Film Genre; The Apocalypse Film Genre; The Martial Arts Film Genre; The Sports Film Genre; How to Use Film Genres
Sep 19, 2023 · While relatively subjective, a film's genre is usually determined through factors like tone, plot structure, Mise-en-scène (on-camera set arrangements) and the film styles. Compiling a cohesive list of every possible genre is nearly impossible because there are many different types of movies.
