Hadelliotte: Research into Drama.

What makes a drama film?

The PURPOSE of a dramatic narrative is to move the audience emotionally. Drama films depend on the development of realistic characters dealing with emotional issues and real life scenarios. In most cases, the film concentrates on normal, everyday characters who are dealing with conflict or a dilemma.

Conventions of drama films.

Portrays a characters journey and their developments.
Exhibits real life characters, situations, settings and stories.
Intense social interaction.
Dramatic sounds and exaggerated performance.

Sub-genres of drama films.

Drama is a very broad genre and sub-genres of a drama often overlap. Some examples this includes are:

Crime Drama- This sub-genre usually follows characters included in criminal activity or law enforcement. Examples of this sub-genre are The Shawshank Redemption and The Godfather.

Historical Drama- Films that focus on dramatic events in history. These particularly are war films. An example of this sub-genre are Titanic.

Comedy Drama- A comedy drama uses an equal or nearly equal balance of both comedy and drama. A great example of this sub-genre is Forest Gump.

Melodrama- A sub-type of drama films that uses plots which appeal to the heightened emotions of the audience. These films tend to put the character in danger to appeal to the emotions of the audience. These plots often deal with "crises of human emotion, failed romance or friendship, strained familial situations, tragedy, illness or emotional and physical hardship." Also called "tearjerkers" or "chick flicks". Some good examples of melodramas are Oliver Twist and Me before you.

Romantic Drama- A drama film which dwells on the elements of romantic love. Some examples include The Notebook, Dear John and The Vow.

History of the Drama genre

Early years- 1940's- In the early years of film, there were mostly pantomime styled melodrama in silent films. In 1940 Films like The grapes of wrath show the effects of the Great Depression.

1950's- In the 1950's a rise began in well-known actors. Some of these actors were Marilyn Monroe, Bette Davis and Montgomery Clift. Dramatic films were focused on character relationships and development.

All about Eve (1955) focused on women and their relationships with men.

Rebel Without a Cause (1955) displayed a teen angst.

Films like 12 Angry Men (1957) and Anatomy of a Murder (1959) show the inner workings of a courtroom.

1960's- The 1960's brought politically driven dramas focusing on war, such as:

Judgement at Nuremberg (1961)

Flashback (1969)

The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

Sports dramas became such an inspiration such as:

The Hustler (1961)

Downhill Racer (1969)

1970's- During the 1970's modern dramatic directors made some of their first films.

Francis Ford Coppola directed The Godfather (1972).

Martin Scorsese directed Taxi Driver (1976) and Mean Streets (1973).

Sylvester Stallone created one of the most successful sport drama franchises with Rocky (1976) and also directed the sequel Rocky 2 (1979).

In addition, in sports drama there were films that focused on the struggle of athletes such as:

Brian's Song (1970)

The Longest Yard (1974)

War films and specifically World War 2 films were produced, giving the most realistic adaptation of the war seen at the time.

Toral Toral Toral (1970)
Patton (1970)

Apocalypse Now (1979)

These all show the trials and hardships of war and are still considered classic war films.

1980's- In the 1980's, dramatic film put emphasis on highly emotional themes.

Do the Right Thing (1989).

The Colour Purple (1985).

These were full character studies of African American culture and History.

War Dramas:

Platoon (1986) - showed the horrors of Vietnam.

Das Boot (1981) - focused on the German viewpoint of World War 2.

Drama, with a science fiction edge was a theme when Steven Spielberg directed E.T. (1982) and Ridley Scott directed Blade Runner (1982) and also The Accused (1988).