Science fiction is an incredibly popular film genre that uses fictional science-based depictions like extra-terrestrial lifeforms, alien worlds, time-travel and other futuristic elements like spaceships and robots as their primary focus. These films often take some kind of political or social issue like the human condition to tell their story. Sci-fi aims to combine the real world with the supernatural to any questions of the unknown in science.
Silent Film Star: Charlie Chaplin
The technological era of the 1920s brought films to large audiences. Before the rise of these “talkies”, silent films were all the rage. Silent films had a live orchestra playing alongside film viewings, and title cards were used to show character dialogue – like subtitles today. And in this era of the silent film there were a number of prominent stars of the day, including perhaps the biggest, and most well-known silent film star of all time: Charlie Chaplin.
How Disney Dominated the Film Industry
It’s safe to say that the Disney empire has well and truly taken a stranglehold on the entertainment industry. If you look at the top ten highest-grossing films of all time, six of them belong to the Disney franchise. What started as a company making beloved animated and live-action films has turned into a global giant following the acquisition of many lucrative franchises and other production companies.
Genre Spotlight: Disaster
Disaster films depict the story of impending or an ongoing disaster as its main plot focus. These disasters can include anything from natural disasters, disease outbreaks, alien invasions or shipwrecks and aeroplane crashes. Disaster films are considered to be a subgenre of action films, and the film will usually feature some kind of build-up to the disaster, the disaster itself and sometimes the aftermath, often from the point of view of survivors.
7 Famous Lost Films
When humanity developed the ability to take photos and videos of our lives, it changed the way we captured the past forever. Today, we can look back at old photographs and incredible footage of some of the most amazing moments in human history.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t always smooth sailings. While the technology was new, a lot of video footage was lost to time due to the lack of digital backups that we can take advantage of today. This includes some of the earliest films that were made, which now have no remaining copies. Here are just seven of those famous films that are now lost to time.
Behind Film’s Most Famous Sound Effects
When you’re watching a film, have you ever heard something that makes you think: “Wait a second, I’ve heard that before”? Well, there’s a good chance you’ve just recognised a famous sound effect that has been used time and time again.
Here’s a look at some of the most famous and most-used sound effects in film, as well as how some of the most iconic sound effects were created.
Genre Spotlight: Romance
Romance is a film genre that focuses on romantic love stories, typically the romantic relationship between two main characters on a journey that takes them through dating and possibly to marriage. Often, a romance film can involve the couple overcoming obstacles such as financial difficulties, illness, work and family relations.
Film Remakes Galore: Is Hollywood Out of Ideas?
Today, the world of cinema is dominated by remakes. And while Hollywood has always taken inspiration for its stories from pre-existing tales, it seems that this is being taken a step further, with films that already exist being re-made over again.
Genre Spotlight: Action
Action is a popular film genre that typically features the likes of violence, extended fight scenes, incredible physical feats and mind-blowing car chases. These films tend to focus around a singular hero struggling against the odds, which often include a number of life-threatening situations, in pursuit of the villain.
The Best Film Remakes of All Time
Remakes are all the rage nowadays. With the likes of Disney churning out remake after remake of their classic films, it feels like original films are few and far between.
But is this necessarily a bad thing? Whilst remakes can often get a bad reputation for “ruining” the original by taking away the nostalgia and missing the entire feel of what made the original so great in the first place, some remakes knock it out of the ballpark.
