Drams

These portray a characters journey and developments during a film. These are often real to life with

the situation in which they are in. the reason why these are so popular is because people can often

relate to them. The performances in these are normally over exaggerated and dramatic sounds to

engage the audience more than other film genres.

In drama there are sub genres. In one of these are crime dramas. This is the one that I will be looking

at because my film opening is a London twist on crime dramas. Crime dramas often follow

characters involved in a criminal activity or law enforcement and the justice/ legal system.

History of dramas

Early years- 1940’s

In the early years films were mostly pantomimed styled

and silent. They were often depressing due to the social

conflict of the war at that period of time (the grapes of

wrath)

1950’s-

The 50’s was the year of the up rise of well-known dramatic actors

(Montgomery Clift, Glenn ford, James dean, Bette Davis ect..). these dramatic

films mainly focused on the characters relationship and developments of

them as the film progresses towards the end.

1960’s-

The 60’s dominantly brought politically focused dramas dominantly

focusing on wars such as “the flash back (1969)” and “the judgment

at nuremberg (1961)”. The 60’s also came up with sports dramas

which then came inspirational such as “the hustler (1961)” and

“downhill racer (1969)”

1970’s-

During the 70’s, modern dramatic directors directed some of their first films. Francis

ford coppola directed “the godfather(1972)”. Martin Scorsese directed “taxi

driver(1976)”, “mean streets(1973)” and the musical drama “new York, new York

(1977)”. Sylvester Stallone created one of the most successful and famous sports

dramas and arguably the most famous film franchise “Rocky”. War films specifically

world war 2 films were also produced such as “tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)”, “Patton

(1970)” and “apocalypse now (1979)”. These are all considered classic war films

which all sjhow the hardship and problems about the Great

War.

1980’s-

In the 80’s, dramatic films put emphasis on highly

emotional themes such as “do the right thing (1989)” and

“the colour purple (1985)” these were full character films

of African American culture and history.

Famous war films were also made such as “platoon

(1986)” and “das boot (1986)- focused on the point of

view from a German solider in WW2”. This is also the

year or a drama with sci-fi fix to it such as Steven

Spielberg’s “E.T (1982).

1990’s-

Crime dramas the were made during the 90’s are

“goodfellas (1990)”. Themes of hope such as “shawshank

redemption (1994)” and “schindlers list (1993)”. Dramas

also started to introduce thriller dramas such as “fight club (1999)”.

Race relationships were also introduced such are “American history x

(1998)” finally comedy dramas were featured such as “Forrest Gump

(1994)”

Common characters that you can often find In a drama are…

The protagonist: they are normally the main character in the film.

These are normally the ones who solve the puzzle or the one to save

the day. They are the one who are brave and always the one never to

give up despite the odds. This character is generally good looking to

pull in a audiences that have a fan base. This character is dominantly

played by a male however and up rise of females has come to the

screen playing the hero in the last decade. (Lara croft: tomb raider)

The helper/ best friend:

This character normally displays a high amount of loyalty and trust towards the hero. The helper

normally tends to be there for the hero throughout the film. They normally have moral codes which are

often broken in order to help the hero win the battle at the end. If the helper is a girl and the

protagonist is a male they often fall in love with each other towards the end.

The antagonist:

The antagonist is normally the one to go to extreme lengths to get what they want. This includes

breaking the law, hurt someone or potentially killing someone. This character primary looks out for

them self’s and don’t care about anyone else. There is always a feud between the agonist and

protagonist, whether that be long term or short term. The agonist is determined to ruin the

protagonists life.

List of film directors that make dramas are:

James Cameron (titanic)

Peter Jackson (LOTR)

Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump)

Christopher Nolan (great director!!)

Martin Scorsese (the departed )

Mel Gibson (brave heart)

List of film actors that often feature in dramas are:

Tom hanks

Mathew mcconaughey

Leonardo DiCaprio

Morgan freeman

Michael Caine