6.1 BIG SCREEN FILMS AND FILM GENRES Films A film, also called a motion picture, is "a series of still photographs [...] projected in rapid succession onto a screen", according to the , but in fact it is so much more, that is why its making has been called the seventh art: films are descendants of storytelling, and tell stories, move, report, entertain... Encyclopedia Britannica Classification of films All films are classified according to one major – even if there are films that belong to more than one – or according to the , in which films are rated on the basis of the expression of the director, because of his/her particular style. genre auteur system 1 DO What genres are Woody Allen and Alfred Hitchcock associated with, for example? 1 Main film genres films are characterised by chases, rescues, fights, natural disasters, exotic places, expeditions, spectacular rhythm, and often two-dimensional ‘good-guy’ heroes or heroines ‘bad guys’. Action/Adventure defeating films aim at amusing and provoking laughter by exaggerating the situation, the language, the action, relationships and character. Comedy films are developed around the actions of criminals, often counteracted by a detective-protagonist with a . Crime & Gang/Thriller who-dun-it plot films aim at documenting reality for an educational or historic purpose. Documentary films portray realistic characters, settings, life situations, and stories involving intense character development, interaction, and social issues. Drama films take an historical or imagined event, mythic, legendary, or heroic figure, add accurate costumes, and accompany everything with and spectacle. Epics/Historical/War grandeur 1 films are designed to frighten and to invoke our worst hidden fears. Horror films integrate song and dance routines in the film narrative in a significant way. Musical/Dance films have a theme that explores an intense love, such as love at first sight, forbidden love, love triangles, and sacrificial love. Romance films often express the potential of technology to destroy humankind and easily with horror films. Science fiction overlap films are the oldest genre and have very recognizable plots, elements, and characters: guns, horses, towns, cowboys, Indians, etc. Western dusty 2 MORE Epics often share elements of the elaborate adventure films genre. 1 DO What are Italian westerns called? 2