Adventure film
|
The quintessential adventure film. |
Adventure films is a
genre of films that contain elements of
adventure. Unlike modern
action films, which often take place in a modern city, often with the hero battling drug cartels or terrorists, an adventure film typically takes place in the past (or the future), often with much
swordfighting or
swashbuckling. The
genre probably reached the peak of its popularity in
Hollywood in the
1930s and
1940s, when films like
Captain Blood,
The Adventures of Robin Hood and
The Mark of Zorro were regularly being made and a number of the biggest stars, notably
Errol Flynn and
Tyrone Power, become closely associated with it. At the same time, lower down the scale, Saturday morning
serials were often using many of the same thematic elements as adventure films.
The genre has undergone periodic revivals since the
1950s, with figures like
Robin Hood and
Zorro often being re-cast for a new generation. Some of these revivals have been successful, as with
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, and some less so, as with
Swashbuckler. In the
1980s the success of
Steven Spielberg's Saturday Morning serial-style adventure
Raiders of the Lost Ark spawned a host of imitators, mostly unsuccessful.
There is often a degree of overlap between the adventure film and other genres. For example,
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (
1977) contains many adventure film as well as
science fiction elements, while
The Mummy (
1999) combines the adventure and
horror genres.
Popular adventure film concepts include:
* An outlaw figure fighting for justice or battling a tyrant (as in
Zorro or
Robin Hood)
* Pirates (as in
Captain Blood)
* A search for a lost city or for hidden treasure (as in
King Solomon's Mines)
*
The Adventures of Robin Hood* The
Back to the Future films
*
Captain Blood*
Count of Monte Cristo*
The Crimson Pirate*
Gladiator*
The Goonies*
The Great Escape*
Hero*
The Incredibles* The
Indiana Jones films
* The early
James Bond films
*
Jaws*
Lawrence of Arabia* The
Lord of the Rings films
*
The Mark of Zorro*
Nate and Hayes, also known as
Savage Islands* The
Pirates of the Caribbean films
*
The Princess Bride*
The Rocketeer*
Romancing the Stone*
The Sea Hawk*
Spartacus* The
Star Wars films
*
Michael Curtiz*
George Lucas*
Steven Spielberg*
Raoul Walsh
