GEORGE PEARSON
MOSSBOURNE COMMUNITY ACADEMY
CANDIDATE NUMBER: 5150
PEARSON STUDIOS
Action is a film genre in which one or more heroes are thrust into a series of challenges that typically include physical feats, extended fight scenes, violence, and frantic chases.
The concept of an action film is to grasp the audience by using a variety of exaggerated scenes where there would be an abundance of explosions, guns and violence.
The beginnings: Action films were first introduced from around the time of the release of the Great train robbery (1901) and remained the gateway to the genre and was seen as the exemplar film until the 80s. As the 1980s took shape there was the introduction of special effects which helped to bring the genre to life with increasing violence and faster plots to create a new era in cinema.
For an indepth action movie timeline click on Arnold
Characters:
The Hero- As the most recognizable aspect of an action film, the hero is used as the popular character which is ultimately likeable. They are usually portrayed as having a lack of vocabulary and instead are acustomed to 'one liners' as a trademark to their dominance over evil. For example, Arnold Schwarzenegger spoke only 700 words in the Terminator. His one - liner 'Hasta la vista baby' earned $85,716
The Villain- The main characteristic of an action villain is their intelligence. However, their interest in achieving an urealistic goal will conclude with their downfall. There is also a recognizable trademark about the villain such as a scar or an interesting outfit that signifies them as unique. The villain will also suggest a negotiation with the hero to join forces such as in the star wars franchise. As well as this when the hero and villian are in a stand off the villain opts to talk too much which results in the hero having enough time to evade them.
Be sure to read the films in the 80s and 90s as you will be entering the era of special effects
Scene from 300 shows the main aspects of an action movie e.g. intensity and violence
Sin City
Sin city is a unique action film that is noticable because of its editing. The duration of the film is in black and white clearly highlighting protagonists of the film as sinister hence the title 'Sin City'. Also the characters show a 'tough guy' cliche as they are all smoking cigars and have scars on their faces which suggests an anti - hero type. This is typical of modern action films as they are likeable to the audience.
Sound
-Diegetic sound used in Action films e.g. explosions
-Ambient sounds (Background sound) Car chases
-Non-diegetic in the form of voiceovers
- Contrapuntal sound in the form of SFX
Mise en scene
- Fake blood/wounds
- High lighting on the hero of the film
- Heroes tend to be muscular to look like an aspiration to the audience
- Guns, explosions
Editing
- Quick cuts to add intensity to an action scene with fighting
- long takes to add realism such as in 'Oldboy'
Camera
- Wide shots establish the area such as in the 'final batyle between the villain and the hero'
- Low angles of hero to show dominance
Die Hard
- The epitome of the action blockbuster genre comes from the film die hard. Bruce Willis stars as John McClane who gets drawn into a group of highly organized criminals attempting heist into a high rise building set - up and has the task of saving the hostages in the building which include his wife. The film uses a unique setting in the central business district of Los angeles and consists of the main aspects of your typical action movie including loud gunshots explosions and fighting.
- Story takes place in limited location – single building or vehicle – seized or under threat by enemy agents. This sub-genre began with the film, Die Hard, but has become popular in Hollywood movie making both because of its crowd appeal and the relative simplicity of building sets for such a constrained piece.
RAMBO
Follows a troubled and misunderstood Vietnam veteran who must rely on his combat and survival senses against the abusive law enforcement of a small town. It is seen as a cult classic in the action genre and as it follows a Vietnam Veteran it is guaranteed to be explosive!
FEMINIST THEORY
Feminist film theory has been used to analyze action movies, owing to their rare variance from a core archetype. The separation between the physical male, who controls the scene and the gaze, and the female, who is almost always the object of the gaze, is very clear in most such films. Although female characters in most action films are nothing more than objects, a prize for the winner, hostages, loving wives and the like, there has been a move towards stronger female characters such as those in works by James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow, and a move towards “girl power”-style feminine empowerment (e.g. Charlie’s Angels), in place of the traditional “damsel in distress”.
HERO
Villain
To learn more about action stars and their roles click here
WHAT MAKES AN ACTION FILM WHAT IT IS?
Quick cuts shown to highlight the intensity of the scene.
Film: Captain America - The winter Soldier
The action movie genre has a variety of different forms such as:
Action - Sub Genres
- Action drama - Combines action set-pieces with serious themes, character insight and/or emotional power. This sub-genre can be traced back to the origins of the action film. Carol Reed's The Third Man (written by Grahame Greene) was an award-winning predecessor of this sub-genre
- Buddy cop - Two mismatched cops (or some variation such as a cop and a criminal) team-up as the main protagonists. Major examples are Rush Hour, 48 Hrs., Lethal Weapon, and Hot Fuzz
- Action comedy - Mixture of action and comedy usually based on mismatched partners (the standard "buddy film" formula) or unlikely setting. The action comedy sub-genre was re-vitalized with the popularity of the Lethal Weapon series of movies in the 1980s and 1990s.
Disaster Movie - A disaster film is a film genre that has an impending or ongoing disaster as its subject and primary plot device. Such disasters include natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes or asteroid collisions, accidents such as shipwrecks or airplane crashes, or calamities like worldwide disease pandemics.
Superhero Movie - A superhero film, superhero movie, or superhero motion picture is a film that is focused on the actions of one or more superheroes: individuals who usually possess superhuman abilities relative to a normal person and are dedicated to protecting the public.
The Action genre is the second most popular genre amongst audiences
Skyfall Analysis
Many conventions of an action film are portrayed in this scene from 'Skyfall'.
- Guns
- Explosions
- Car chases
