1. Genre Research- Crime/thriller
Where is crime/thriller originated from?-
Criminal based films are one of the most interesting and enduring and also most
popular film genre. The date back to the early days of film in the silent era of film. In
fact Edwin Porter’s silent short western ‘The Great Train Robbery (1903) this has often
been considered a classic hold-up story and chase film and a film about crime.
Perhaps the earliest 'crime' film was Sherlock Holmes Baffled (1900), a 45 seconds
long short (released in 1903) that was shown one-person at a time in hand-cranked
Mutoscope machines or nickelodeons in amusement arcades. It was also the earliest
known film featuring Sherlock Holmes. The plot was about how the famed Arthur
Conan Doyle detective, a cigar-smoking gentleman, was 'baffled' when a black-
clothed thief magically disappeared (through trick-photography) with a sack of
stolen goods. Also, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1905), released by Vitagraph
(although now a lost film) has been considered the first Sherlock Holmes film since it
was created for a theatrical audience rather than as a one-person Mutoscope
production
Main film companies/directors/actors in these films?
Directors such as the following are famous directors that have created amazing crime
films-
- Quentin Tarantino- ‘Reservoir Dogs’, ‘True romance’, ‘Pulp fiction’
- Guy Ritchie- ‘Lock, stock, and two smoking barrels’, ‘Snatch’
- Francis Ford Coppola- ‘The Godfather Trilogy’
- Martin Scorsese- ‘mean Streets’, ‘Casino’, ‘Gangs Of New York’
These are actors who are often play the part of Criminals/Gangsters-
- Joe Pesci- ‘Goodfellas’
- Robert De Niro- ‘Goodfellas’
- Al Pacino- ‘The Godfather’
- Michael Madsen- ‘Reservoir Dogs’
Film companies that distribute these genres of films-
- Warner Bros- ‘Goodfellas’
- Universal Pictures- ‘Casino’
- Paramount Pictures- ‘The Godfather’
2. Key Features of crime films-
Crime film is a genre that revolves around the action of a criminal mastermind. A Crime
film will often revolve around the criminal himself, chronicling his rise and fall. Some
Crime films will have a storyline that follows the criminal's victim, yet others follow the
person in pursuit of the criminal. This genre tends to be fast paced with an air of
mystery – this mystery can come from the plot or from the characters themselves. They
also usually contain-
- Murder
- Serial Killing
- Robbery
- Suspense
- Violence
- Detectives
- Police
- Forensics etc.
