Research - Genres

Crime Genre Research

I am going to research the crime genre and the many sub-genres, involved with crime, such as, gangster films, detective films, film noir, spy films, physiological thriller. I am going to focus more in detail on a selection of these sub-genres.

Gangster Films
E.g. The Godfather, Goodfellas, Pulp Fiction, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

Gangster Films are developed around the sinister actions of criminals/gangsters, particularly thieves, drug dealers, murderers etc. Crime stories in this genre often highlight the life of a criminal. This often includes the rise and fall of a criminal. Real-life gangsters or crime related headlines are often used in crime films. Gangster/crime films are usually set in large, cities, to provide a view of the secret world of the criminal: dark nightclubs or streets, fast cars, money. The early gangster movies set the standard for all the great gangster movies that have followed. Several gangster related films were produced during the silent era of cinema. D.W. Griffith's The Musketeers of Pig Alley from 1912, is thought to be one of the first, it also laid down the foundations for the classic era of gangster movies that started in the 1930's with the addition of sound.

Detective Films
E.g. Se7en, L.A. Confidential, The French Connection, The Sixth Sense

For a film to belong to the detective genre, it requires two features: a narrative that follows an investigation, and a protagonist that functions as a detective-figure. The narrative of the detective film follows the hero's investigation of a crime. Detective films often start with the “Perfect Crime” and then viewers watch the crime unfold and the detectives find the culprit. The detective genre has remained popular because of its ability to adapt with change. The genre has seen an evolution from the classical detective to the hard-boiled, to the cop who follows procedure to the one that throws the book away Sherlock Holmes was one of the first prominent detective characters made into film. Sherlock Holmes made his debut in film in 1924. Holmes solved mysteries through observation and logical deduction in a reflection of Victorian ideals of manhood. Until the 1980s women in detective films provided a relationship with the detective and frequently played the part of a woman in peril. They served as an element of suspense as helpless victims. In modern detective films, woman can play the role as the hero or work along side the male as partners. The help forward the storyline and are seen with the same respect as males. Suspense is often maintained as an important plot element. This can be done through the use of the sound track, camera angles, heavy shadows, and surprising plot twists.

Spy Films
E.g. James Bond films, Enemy of the State, Sebastian, Suddenly!, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold

Spy films can either be realistic (e.g. The Spy who came in from the cold) or a fantasy type film (e.g. James Bond films). The genre first appeared in the silent era, the first film being The German Spy Peril which was released in 1914. In 1928, Fritz Lang made the film Spies which contained many tropes that became popular in later spy dramas, including secret headquarters, an agent known by a number, and the beautiful foreign agent who comes to love the hero. Alfred Hitchcock did much to popularize the spy film in the 1930s with his influential thrillers The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), The 39 Steps (1935), Sabotage (1937) and The Lady Vanishes (1938). The peak of popularity of the spy film is often considered to be the 1960s when Cold War fears meshed with a desire by audiences to see exciting and suspenseful films. The spy film developed in two directions at this time, realistic and fantasy-like. On the one hand, the realistic spy novels of John le Carré were adapted into relatively serious Cold War thrillers which dealt with some of the realities of the espionage world. Some of these films included The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965), The Deadly Affair (1966). At the same time, the James Bond novels by Ian Fleming were adapted into an increasingly fantastical series of adventure films. The huge success of the Bond series led to imitations, such as the Euro spy genre and several from America Spies have remained popular on TV to the present day with series such as Spooks. Spy films also enjoyed something of a revival in the late 1990s, although these were often action films with espionage elements, or comedies like Austin Powers. Today, spy films have trended away from fantasy elements in favor of realism. This trend can be seen in Syriana, the Bourne film series and the more recent James Bond films Casino Royale (2006) and Quantum of Solace (2008).

Film Noir
E.g. Sin City, The Big Combo and Murder, My Sweet

The words Film Noir are a French term literally meaning ‘Black Film’ this sub-genre was developed in the early 40’s. The features to a film noir are usually dark, violent, urban and downbeat. The film noir, first applied to Hollywood movies by French critic Nino Frank in 1946, and it was unknown to most American film industry professionals of the classic era, Cinema historians and critics defined the noir canon in retrospect; before the notion was widely adopted in the 1970s, many of the classic film noirs were referred to as melodramas. The question of whether film noir qualifies as a distinct genre is still a matter of ongoing debate. The expressive visual style of film noir helps the audience get inside this world of instability, fear and/ or alienation. The settings and surroundings used in film noir are usually in a big American city with dark alleys, stifling hot apartments, smoky jazz clubs, roadside drives and rainy highways prevail. The use of harsh key lights causes all shadows – reflecting the darkness of the film. Another common aspect of Film Noir’s is a femme fatale. A femme fatale is an alluring and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers in bonds of irresistible desire, often leading them into compromising, dangerous, and deadly situations. During the film noir era of the 1940s and 1950s, the femme fatale flourished in American cinema. Examples include the overly possessive and narcissistic wife Ellen Brent Harland in Leave Her to Heaven (1945), who will stop at nothing to keep her husband's affections. Another is Brigid O'Shaughnessy, who uses her acting skills to murder Sam Spade's partner in The Maltese Falcon. I have put together this research by visiting many websites such as,

http://www.filmsite.org/filmnoir.html
http://www.filmsite.org/thrillerfilms3.html
http://www.filmsite.org/crimefilms.html
http://www.filmsite.org/mysteryfilms.html