Film Genres - detailed examples

This slide presentation has several examples for each film genre and sub genres.

Film Genres

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Film Classification in the UK

This is helpful also for understanding the history of censorship in film in the UK. Film and video classification in the UK

View more presentations from Jim Barratt.

Movie Diva - an interesting cross between academic and popular film reviews

This is a great site for reading reviews on older films. Movie Diva's breadth of academic research informs each review and makes what might have been complex accessible and easy to understand.

http://www.moviediva.com/MD_root/webpages/MDIndex.htm

Various documentaries on film genres

http://www.learner.org/resources/series67.html

FM3: Harrison Ford and Wife Force 1!

FM3 Small Scale Research Project ideas
Harrison Ford
As amusing as this selection of clips may be they are still useful for examining star/performance issues on Harrison Ford - the repetition associated with his screen persona in similar film genres and and the meanings that he brings to the roles. Just as John Wayne used to furrow his forehead before expressing his anger in his films, there is also the trade-mark look of angry surprise on Harrison's face across a range of films. It is shots like these that audiences "expect" and "want" , whether they are always conscious of them or not, because they often derive pleasure from them. And, yes, Ford seems to be forever saving his wife! (Not withstanding Indiana Jones films in which he saves women who, had he married, could have been his wife).

An important aspect of Harrison Ford's persona and one worth exploring, is Ford's representation of masculinity - in this instance, the protective husband. Some modern US critics and writers bemoan younger American heroes who lack the assured masculinity that the now ageing Ford and Clint Eastwood, exude with ease.

For performance consider Harrison Ford's

• Voice, intonation, accent, pitch
• Facial gestures and movement
• body movement and the idiosyncrasies he displays as a performer
• use of space and his phsyical presence and room he takes up in frames
• how all of the above represent his masculinity and the persona he projects on screen.

Any aspect of the above can create meaning from performance as they can show his character's feelings about other characters. These elements can affect how audiences react to Ford at various points in a film's narrative.

Film Research and Creative Projects - FM3

The German film director, Fritz Lang, would make a great subject for an auteur study. His film, "Metropolis" (1927), was a big- budget, futuristic movie, that was then the most expensive in Germany. With the rise of Hitler Lang fled to the USA where he used his experience and knowledge of expressionism to make several films in several genres, particularly, westerns and film noir.

"Metropolis" was reputedly Hitler's favourite film. Hitler's minister for propaganda, Joseph Geobbels thought the film encapsulated nazi ideals. Fritz Lang himself became uncomfortable with the film and disliked it possibly for the same reason, even though "Metropolis" that he made his name. His wife and co-creator of the film, Thea Gabriele von Harbou, remained in Germany as a faithful supporter of the nazi regime.

These clips are from the Giorgio Moroder version which he coloured and set to mostly synthesiser music in 1984. This version is both loved for its music and despised by some purists of the film.

The film would also make an interesting genre or gender study.

The mad scientist, C. A. Rotwang, has made a female robot for the master of Metropolis, Fredersen. But scientist has ulterior motives!


Rotwang throws a party for Fredersen and his friends to prove how human his devilishly tempting creation can be! By this time the female robot has been given the appearance of Maria.


The real Maria meet Fredersen's rich son by mistake as she goes through a door on the wrong floor. Two worlds collide in fully-blown German expressionism.

Rotwang chases after Maria so he can carry out his experiment to gain her appearance for his robot.


Rotwang's transformation of the Robot after he captures Maria.


A longer sequence from the film after which the Robot, as the false Maria, has done its worst by getting the workers to flood their factory underworld. (This clip's quality is poorer than those above. These clips are the work of Metropolis-Redux, an American who has gone to great pains to produce a DVD quality print of the film.)

Genre as a critical framework to question and assess film - "Stagecoach" from 1939

If you prefer assessing John Ford's "Stagecoach" using a genre approach you could focus on some of these points and view several scenes to decide whether Ford consciously focuses on, say, various forms of social prejudice, or whether these issues simply emerge out of the time in which the film was made. Perhaps there is something to be said for each approach. Clint Eastwood said that in "Josey Wales" (1975-6)he was not particularly conscious of his theme of social unity which could be seen as the need for Americans to unite after the Vietnam War. (See earlier posts). Yet in retrospect that is what he seems to have reflected in his film - Josey Wales is supported by the different types who, through his help, have banded together into a social group, suggesting that there is strength through social unity. Ford's film also mirrors an American society that was divided by the Depression and, perhaps, still feeling the after-effects of the Civil War from 65 years earlier.

Click on this image to enlarge.