March | 2010 | Power of the Arts

Action Presentation Power Point Version. Click on it.

Action is a violent film genre where in the story is told through physical action as opposed to dialogue. The plot of action films centers around a struggle of a hero and a villain. Typically the protagonist wins and the movie ends with a happy end.

A list of the prominent action actors include Bruce Lee, Steven Seagal, Sylvester Stallone, Harrison Ford, Bruce Willis, Chuck Norris, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Douglas Fairbanks Sr., Bruce Lee, Charles Bronson, Steve McQueen, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Chuck Norris, and Jean Claude Van Damme.

Women in action films usually play the roles of accomplices or romantic interests of the hero. However, contemporary action films from the 1990s and 2000s have featured strong female characters to broaden demographic appeal, glorifying the strong female archetype. For example, “Lara Croft” and “Kill Bill.”

Though action has long been an element of films, the “Action film” as a genre of its own began to develop in the 1970s. The genre is closely linked with the thriller and adventure film genres.

This film element “action” began with the silent era’s serial films around the time of Edwin S. Porter’s classic action-western “The Great Train Robbery” (1903). And it has remained strong throughout all of cinematic history. Action films then expanded in the 80s and 90s, with the growth of special effects techniques and in response to jaded audiences who demanded faster plots (coherent or not), greater violence, and stimulation.

Action films have traditionally been aimed at male audiences, ages 13 to the mid-30s in both American and world-wide markets. While action films have traditionally been a reliable source of revenue for movie studios, relatively few action films garner critical praise.

Action genre time frame

Time period	Attributes	Movie examples
1900s-1920s	Part of westerns; innovative techniques such as parallel editing, minor camera movement, location shooting	The first narrative film “The Great Train Robbery” (1903)
1920s-1930s	Part of adventure films; fights, wield swords	Silent movies “Robin Hood”(1922), “The Thief of Baghdad”(1924)
1940s-1950s	Action in the form of war and cowboy movies; horse chases, shooting and fights	“Edge of Darkness”(1943), “The Young Lions”(1958)
1960s-1999	larger-than-life characters, quick cutting, car chases, fist fights, a variety of weapons	Dominant long-running film “James Bond”
1970s	Action is an element of detective stories and urban crime dramas; all movies feature car chases inspired by James Bond`s movies; the introduction of martial arts themed movies	“The French Connection”(1971), “Dirty Harry”(1970), “Rocky” (1976)
1980s	Genre-hybrids feature action; the action film takes over Hollywood, becomes dominant form of blockbuster popularized by actors S. Stallone, A. Schwarzenegger, Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, etc	“Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981), “Die Hard” (1988), “Lethal Weapon” (1987), “Robo-cop” (1987)
Late 1980s-1990s	an era of sequels and hybrid action; parody on spy-movies, urban-action,	“Batman” (1989), “Rumble in the Bronx” (1995), “Rush hour” (1998)
End of 1990s- beginning of 200s	Big budget action fantasies	“Lord of the Rings” film trilogy (2001-2003), “Pirates of the Caribbean” adventure films (2003-present)