Conventions and the History of Action Films

There are many types of successful action films, including

-Robin Hood

-Star Wars

-The Three Musketeers

-District 13

-James Bond... Casino Royal

Common Conventions:

Most action films adopt a fast pace and continuous high energy to maintain the speed and flow of the film. Stunts and activity is used to emphasise the genre of film. They include chase scenes, rescues, battles etc... they use these to increase the adrenaline of the audience so they are 100% focused on the film, and stunt scenes for example come to full effect. When the two main characters meet (antagonist and protagonist) fights and martial arts for example are used, at this point, tense music is used with sharp editing to get the audience to feel the speed and pace of the fight, and keep them engaged. And finally, huge plot twists are common, usually from the use of a huge disaster which remove one of the vulnerable yet well liked characters, to change the emotion of the audience, and again keep them engaged. All of these are used in many many action related films including the samples above.

The History of Action Films:

-The '40s and '50s saw many 'Cowboy and Indian' and 'warfare' related films. 

-The '60s introduced 'spy' films, for example James Bond. these films normally include high speed car chases to really engage the viewer, and soon became an icon of James Bond, with the Aston Martin.

-The '70s brought 'urban crime dramas' and martial arts.

-Hollywood then took over the film industry in the '80s with big time actors like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone who was in 'Rocky', arguably the greatest boxing film ever produced.

-And the '90s saw sequels of many films. The success of many film sequels proved successful as a franchise. It also proved how marketable films had become, with toys and video games spiralling of for the film itself, opening a new gap in the market.

Having done this research, as a group we felt confident this was a good genre to go with, it allows us to have fun with music, camera shots, editing and a great storyline, it also eliminates the use of too much dialogue so that what we have is emphasised.