The term ‘Genre’ can be defined as the loose set of criteria for a category of composition. For Movies, the genres refer to various categories of Movies. Movies can be classified into some Major genres. Many of the major genres hold the majority of popular movies, while the less popular genres have movies that appeal to smaller segment of people. Some of the major movie genres are:
1. Action Films: These are the films which include high energy, high performance activities. There are stunts, fights, crisis situation etc. Its major sub-genres are disaster films. Ex: Air Force One
2. Adventure Films: These films revolve around exciting stories, expeditions, and situations in difficult terrains. These films are much similar to actions films genre. Ex: Apollo 13
3. Comedy Films: These films contain humorous plots and light-hearted moments created to make people laugh. Ex: Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
4. Crime and Gangster Films: These films highlight criminal and gangster activities. These portray those people who operate outside law and doing unlawful activities. Ex: Fargo
5. Drama Films: They portray serious life situations and includes intense characters and Settings. Ex:The Godfather
6. Epics/Historial Films: These films are based on historic or imagine events or on mythic, legendary, heroic figure. These films have mostly grand sets and appealing music. These are mostly high budget films. Ex: Cleopatra
7. Horror Films: Horror Films are mostly designed to frighten and arouse our hidden fears about unknown and dangerous things. The plots are terrifying, shocking, captivating. There are many sub-genres of horror. Ex:Scream
8. Musical Films: Musical films are those films that include songs and dance routines or these are films that include mix of music, dance, song, and choreography. Ex:Saturday Night Fever, The Sound of Music
9. Romance Films: These are stories whose central plot is between two people who each want to win over circumstances and keep the love between them alive. Ex:Casablanca
10. Science Fiction Films: These films are mostly based on imaginative plots, which include heroes, aliens, distant planets, impossible situations, fantastic places, intense villains, technology etc. Ex:ET, Star Wars
11. Thriller Films: These movies include intense excitement, suspense, uncertainty, and heightened expectation. The thriller movies are often mix of various genres. Ex:The Net, The Fugitive
12. War Films: War Films are based on war stories. The actual fighting sequences, plots, stories of military operations, POW tales are included in these films. War Films are often combined with other genres of films action, adventure, drama, romance. Ex:We Were Soldiers
Each film genre is further classified into sub-genres. The films in sub-genre are the sub-classes of main film genres. The Sub-genres have their own style, manner, stories, and plot. Some of the prominent sub-genres are: Biographical films, ‘chick’ flicks, detective/mystery films, disaster films, fantasy films, film noir, ‘guy’ films, melodramas (or ‘weepers’), road films, romances, sports films, supernatural films, and thriller/suspense films. There are also some minor sub-genre films, which are categorized under each main film genres.
There are also other films which can not be included in any of the genres and form other categories. The non-genre based categories are children’s films, family films, cult films, documentary films, pornographic films, and silent films.
These classifications of films in different genres are mainly based on international film market. The audience too plays an important role in movie genres. The taste of specific segment of audiences makes the movies on particular genres popular. Most filmmakers in India tend to focus on making blockbuster films as they appeal to larger section of society and can earn them huge profits. These blockbuster films is amalgamation of songs, drama, action, romance that gives an entertainment pack to audience for 3 hrs. Very few genre based Indian films are seen as most of the Indian films focus on entertaining the masses. Very few films aims to cater to selected segment of society. Whereas audiences in international markets are more sophisticated and like to see movies based on specific genres. The movie genres will also help to choose which movie to watch and to enjoy the movie.