At the end of the first semester of Screen English, we will cover famous genres like Westerns, Dramas & War Movies. However, today we will talk about a few movie sub-genres.
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| Bruce Lee |
Martial Arts Films (sub-genre of Action)
Martial Arts Films feature characters training in martial arts, such as Kung Fu or Karate, and using their skills to fight their enemies. These films usually have many fight scenes, and the hero of the film (almost?) always succeeds in defeating the bad guys. Dangerous stunts are a feature of this type of movie. While there are some famous martial arts movies, many tend to be B-movies (low budget films), and the actors are usually more well-known than their individual films.
A few famous martial arts actors are Sonny Chiba (Japanese), Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Li.
'Best of' Sonny Chiba
Top 10 Bruce Lee Moments (WatchMojo.com)
Top 10 Jackie Chan Moments (WatchMojo.com)
Top 10 Jet Li Moments (WatchMojo.com)
Two famous movie titles:
Enter the Dragon (1973) opening scene, featuring Bruce Lee
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) trailer, directed by Ang Lee
Some more recent martial arts actors:
Michael Jai White
Donnie Yen
Jason Statham
Scott Adkins
Disaster Films (sub-genre of Action)
Disaster Films are movies where the story takes place during a disaster of some type. The disaster may be a natural disaster, such as a tornado, earthquake, tsunami, or fire, or it may be an accident, such as an airplane crash or shipwreck. The story is usually based on how the main characters escape from or cope with the disaster. Often, they must rescue their family members or crew as well. Nowadays, CGI can be used to create realistic visual effects of disasters.
The Best Disaster Movies of All Time A-Z
IGN's Top 10 Disaster Movies
Top 10 Disaster Film Cliches (Watchmojo.com)
Kevin's Pick: Das Boot (1981), a German disaster/war movie about a German submarine crew during World War II.
Biopics (Biographical Films; a sub-genre of Historical Movies)
Biopics show the life of a historical person. Biopics try to give viewers a historical perspective about a famous person, but often the details are fictitious. Most of the dialog is created by writers, except when there are famous quotes. Below are some famous biopics.
Gandhi (1982) - about Mahatma Gandhi, India's famous civil rights leader, starring Ben Kingsley
Chaplin (1992) - about Charlie Chaplin, the silent movie comedian, starring Robert Downey Jr.
Ray (2004) - about blind singer, songwriter, pianist Ray Charles; starring Jamie Foxx
The Iron Lady (2011) - about UK Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, starring Meryl Streep
Malcom X (1992) - about Malcom X, the American civil rights leader, starring Denzel Washington
42 (2013) - about Jackie Robinson, the pioneering black baseball player, starring Chadwick Boseman (also Harrison Ford)
Ali (2001) - about Mohammed Ali, the boxer and international icon, starring Will Smith
The Theory of Everything (2014) - about Stephen Hawking, the disabled physicist; starring Eddie Redmayne
Jackie (2016) - about Jackie Kennedy, starring Natalie Portman
I, Tonya (2017) - about figure skater, Tonya Harding, starring Margot Robbie
The U.S. vs Billie Holiday (2021) - about Billie Holiday; starring Andra Day
A Beautyful Day in the Neighborhood (2020) - about Mr. Rogers; starring Tom Hanks
Elvis (2022) - about Elvis Presley
Concert Films (sub-genre of Documentary)
Concert Films document the concerts of famous artists or the performances of famous comedians.
Woodstock (1970) - trailer; the legendary1969 upstate New York outdoor concert; featuring artists Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Sly & the Family Stone and many more
Top 5 Rockin' Facts about Woodstock (WatchMojo.com)
Stop Making Sense (1984) - greatest concert film by Jonathan Demme, about the Talking Heads
Gimme Shelter (1970) - trailer; about the Rolling Stones concert at Altamont. Inexplicably, the Hell's Angels motorcycle gang was hired to do security. Four people were killed, including one stabbed to death by a Hell's Angel.
Michael Jackson's This Is It (2009) trailer; Michael Jackson's rehearsals for a concert tour that never happened due to his untimely death
The Last Waltz (1978) - famous Martin Scorsese concert film featuring The Band, Bob Dylan, Muddy Waters, Neil Young, Van Morrison and more.
Queen: Live in Budapest (1986) -trailer
(Stand up comedy film) Eddie Murphy Raw (1987) - trailer; the #1 comedy concert film
More recently:
Homecoming: Beyoncé (2019) - Beyoncé
Rolling Thunder Review (2019) - Bob Dylan
Never Say Never (2011) - Justin Bieber
Courtroom Dramas (also called Legal Dramas; a sub-genre of Dramas)
The story involves lawyers trying to defend their clients. There is usually little "action" but a lot of dialog, as much of the story takes place in court. Suspense is created as viewers wonder about the verdict.
Top 10 Movie Lawyers (WatchMojo.com)
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) - Top 10 Trivia; about racial prejudice; starring Gregory Peck
12 Angry Men (1957) - trailer; about a jury; starring Henry Fonda
Philadelphia (1993) - trailer; about HIV discrimination; starring Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington
A Few Good Men (1992) - trailer; a military trial; starring Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson
My Cousin Vinny (1992) - trailer; a comedy starring Joe Pesci and Marissa Tomei
Erin Bockovich (2000) - trailer; starring Julia Roberts
Kramer vs Kramer (1979) - trailer; about divorce; starring Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep
Primal Fear (1996) - trailer; starring Richard Gere and Edward Norton
The Verdict (1982) - trailer; starring Paul Newman
The Rainmaker (1997) - trailer; starring Matt Damon and Danny DeVito
A Time to Kill (1996) - trailer; starring Matthew McConaughey
A Civil Action (1998) - trailer; starring John Travolta
Some famous movie catchphrases. Match them with the correct movies on the handout. Top 10 Movie Catchphrases PDF
- May the force be with you.
- I'll be back.
- Say hello to my little friend.
- I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse.
- You can't handle the truth.
- Bond. James Bond.
- Yippee ki yay.
- Show me the money.
- Go ahead. Make my day.
- There's no place like home.
Top 10 Movie Catchphrases (WatchMojo.com)
Conjunctions Practice
- Conjunctions online exercise 1
- Conjunctions online exercise 2
- Conjunctions online exercise 3
To Do List:
1) Watch some videos from at least two of the subgenres above (there are 5, so please choose 2, from Martial Arts, Disaster, Biopics, Concert Movies, Courtroom Dramas).
2) Make a blog post about 1 (one!) of the subgenres. Explain why you are interested in that subgenre.
3) Do the Top 10 Movie Catchphrases PDF
4) Do the Conjunctions Practice online exercises 1, 2, 3
There are 3 classes remaining in this seminar - 7/7, 7/14, 7/21. It's hot, but you should not have many absences!
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