According to the Screenwriters' Taxonomy, all film descriptions should contain their type (comedy or drama) combined with one (or more) of the eleven super-genres.
Crime drama Crime dramas explore themes of truth, justice, and freedom, and contain the fundamental dichotomy of "criminal vs. lawman". Crime films make the audience jump through a series of mental "hoops"; it is not uncommon for the crime drama to use verbal gymnastics to keep the audience and the protagonist on their toes. This feeds into the drama, and it adds senses of character to the film. Examples of crime dramas include:
The Godfather (1972),
Chinatown (1974),
Goodfellas (1990),
The Usual Suspects (1995), and
The Big Short (2015).
Fantasy drama According to
Eric R. Williams, the hallmark of fantasy drama films is "a sense of wonderment, typically played out in a visually intense world inhabited by mythic creatures, magic or superhuman characters. Props and costumes within these films often belie a sense of mythology and folklore – whether ancient, futuristic, or other-worldly. The costumes, as well as the exotic world, reflect the personal, inner struggles that the hero faces in the story." Romantic drama often involves two characters who go through various trials and tribulations together as their relationship grows over time. often times there is a conflict between the two characters, which results in a temporary separation, but they often come back together for an optimistic ending.
Annie Hall (1977),
The Notebook (2004),
Carol (2015),
Her (2013)
, The Great Gatsby (2013)
and La La Land (2016) are examples of romance dramas.
Science fiction drama The science fiction drama film is often the story of a protagonist (and their allies) facing something "unknown" that has the potential to change the future of humanity; this unknown may be represented by a villain with incomprehensible powers, a creature we do not understand, or a scientific scenario that threatens to change the world; the science fiction story forces the audience to consider the nature of human beings, the confines of time or space or the concepts of human existence in general. Examples include:
Metropolis (1927),
Planet of the Apes (1968),
A Clockwork Orange (1971),
Blade Runner (1982) and its sequel
Blade Runner 2049 (2017),
Children of Men (2006),
Interstellar (2014), and
Arrival (2016).
Sports drama In the sports super-genre, characters will be playing sports. Thematically, the story is often one of "Our Team" versus "Their Team"; their team will always try to win, and our team will show the world that they deserve recognition or redemption; the story does not always have to involve a team. The story could also be about an individual athlete or the story could focus on an individual playing on a team. Examples of this genre/type include:
The Hustler (1961),
Hoosiers (1986),
Remember the Titans (2000), and
Moneyball (2011).
War drama War films typically tells the story of a small group of isolated individuals who – one by one – get killed (literally or metaphorically) by an outside force until there is a final fight to the death; the idea of the protagonists facing death is a central expectation in a war drama film. In a war film even though the enemy may out-number, or out-power, the hero, we assume that the enemy
can be defeated if only the hero can figure out how. Examples include:
Apocalypse Now (1979),
Come and See (1985),
Braveheart (1995),
Life Is Beautiful (1997),
Black Book (2006),
The Hurt Locker (2008),
1944 (2015),
Wildeye (2015), and
1917 (2019).
Western drama Films in the
western super-genre often take place in the
American Southwest or Mexico, with a large number of scenes occurring outdoors so we can soak in scenic landscapes. Visceral expectations for the audience include fistfights, gunplay, and chase scenes. There is also the expectation of spectacular panoramic images of the countryside including sunsets, wide open landscapes, and endless deserts and sky. Examples of western dramas include:
True Grit (1969) and its
2010 remake,
Mad Max (1979),
Unforgiven (1992),
No Country for Old Men (2007),
Django Unchained (2012),
Hell or High Water (2016), and
Logan (2017). == Misidentified categories ==