2. Love (Romance):
Stories whose central struggle is between two people
who each want to win or keep the love of the other.
Annie Hall
As Good As It Gets
Casablanca (also Epic/Myth)
Ghost
The Graduate
It Happened One Night
Mickey Blue Eyes
Notting Hill
Pretty Woman
Roman Holiday
The Way We Were
Wuthering Heights

3. Science Fiction:
Stories whose central struggle is generated from the technology
and tools of a scientifically imaginable world.
2001 A Space Odyssey
Back to the Future
Blade Runner (also Crime)
ET: The Extra Terrestrial
The Fifth Element
Gattaca
The Sixth Sense
Stargate
Star Wars (and all the sequels or prequels)
The Terminator
Twelve Monkeys

4. Thriller:
Stories whose central struggle pits an innocent hero against a
lethal enemy who is out to kill him or her.
The Net
No Way Out
North by Northwest (also Love Story)
Sleeping With the Enemy
Night of the Hunter
Three Days of the Condor
Wait Until Dark
Witness (also Love Story)

5. Horror:
Stories whose central struggle focuses on escaping from and
eventually defeating a Monster (either human or non-human).
Alien
The Blair Witch Project
Friday the Thirteenth
Halloween
I Know What You Did Last Summer
It's Alive
Nightmare on Elm Street
Psycho
Scream
Tremors

6. Gangster:
Stories whose central struggle is between a criminal and society. A
cautionary tale, rooted in a main character who commits crimes (This
genre is often blended with Film Noir).
Badlands
Bonnie and Clyde
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Dead End
Dead Man Walking
The Godfather (also Epic/Myth)
Goodfellas
La Femme Nikita
M.
Out of Sight (also Love Story)
Sling Blade
The Usual Suspects

7. Fantasy:
Stories which are animated, or whose central struggle plays out
in two worlds - the "real" world and an imaginary world.
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
Alice in Wonderland
Antz
Big
Ghostbusters
Heaven Can Wait
Mary Poppins
The Mask
Peter Pan
Snow White
Toy Story
The Wizard of Oz
Who Killed Roger Rabbit?

8. Epic/Myth:
Stories whose central struggle plays out in the midst of a clash of
great forces or in the sweep of great historical change.
Apocalypse Now
The Birth of a Nation
Bridge on the River Kwai
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Ghandi
The Godfather
Gone With the Wind
The Grapes of Wrath
Lawrence of Arabia (also Adventure)
Star Wars
The Ten Commandments

9. Crime:
Stories whose central struggle is about catching a
criminal.
48 Hours
Basic Instinct
Fargo
French Connection
Ghost (also Love and Thriller)
L.A.Confidential
Patriot Games
Pulp Fiction (Also Black Comedy, Bends the Genre a lot))
The Sting
The Untouchables

10. Coming-of-Age Drama:
Stories whose central struggle is about the hero finding his or her place in
the world.
American Beauty
American Graffiti
The Breakfast Club
The Graduate
The Last Picture Show
The Lion King
My Brilliant Career
The Paper Chase
Pretty In Pink
Rebel Without a Cause
Risky Business
Saturday Night Fever
Shakespeare in Love (also Romantic Comedy)
Splendor in the Grass
Top Gun (also Action)
The Water Boy (also Comedy)

11. Comedy:
Stories whose central struggle causes hilarious
results.
Ace Ventura, Pet Detective (also Adventure - the name gives it away)
Analyze This
Annie Hall
Bowfinger
French Kiss
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (also Fantasy)
My Best Friend's Wedding
Nine to Five
Shakespeare in Love
The Spy Who Shagged Me
When Harry Met Sally
Working Girl (also Love Story)

12. Adventure:
Stories whose central struggle plays out mainly through encounters with new
"worlds."
Apollo 13
The Deep
Get Shorty (extraordinary blend of Gangster, Love, and Crime with a twist)
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (also an Action picture)
Little Big Man (Also Epic/Myth)
Lawrence of Arabia
Quest For Fire
Rain Man
Robinson Crusoe
Water World
Lord Of the Rings (Also an Action picture)

13. Action (Disaster)
Stories whose central struggle plays out mainly through
a clash of physical forces.
48 Hours
Face/Off
Die Hard
Air Force One
Jurassic Park
Lethal Weapon
Star Wars (also Science Fiction)
Speed (also a Thriller)
Titanic (also a Love story)
The Terminator
True Lies
Twister

14. Detective Story/Courtroom Drama
Stories whose central struggle is to find out what really
happened and thus to expose the truth.
Caine Mutiny
Chinatown
Death and the Maiden
A Few Good Men
The General's Daughter
Inherit the Wind
The Maltese Falcon
Philadelphia
Rear Window
A Time to Kill
The Verdict
Vertigo

15. Social Drama:
Stories whose central struggle is between a Champion and a
problem or injustice in society. Usually the Champion has a
personal stake in the outcome of the struggle.
A Civil Action
Dead Man Walking
Dr Strangelove
Grapes of Wrath
Kramer Vs Kramer
Network
Philadelphia (also Courtroom Drama)
Schindler's List
To Kill a Mockingbird