As I am going to create an opening sequence for a drama I decided to research into the background of the drama genre and understand types of films that have been created throughout the film period.
In the 1950s, the arrival of stage actors like Marlon Brando, trained in more naturalistic techniques, and therefore slowly changed drama to a more realistic tenor. A Streetcar Named Desire is considered a pivotal film in this development. The 1960s brought politically driven dramas focusing on war, such as Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), Flashback (1969) and The Manchurian Candidate (1962). Sports dramas became inspiration such as The Hustler (1961) and Downhill Racer (1969).During the 1970s, modern dramatic directors made some of their first films. Francis Ford Coppola directed The Godfather (1972). Martin Scorsese directed Taxi Driver (1976), Mean Streets (1973), and musical drama New York, New York (1977). Sylvester Stallone created one of the most successful sports drama franchises with Rocky (1976) and also directed the sequel Rocky II (1979) In the 1980s; dramatic film put emphasis on highly emotional themes. Do the Right Thing (1989), Spike Lee's debut film, and The Color Purple (1985) were full character studies of African American culture and history. War dramas again played a big part as Platoon (1986) showed the horrors of Vietnam.
Looking through these films I can see that since the 1950s the ideas and conventions of drama have changed and also certain aspects in the time period can influence the films story line and how it affects people. In the 1950s I understand that the story lines didn’t show some of the conventions that a drama in the 21st century would have such as it wouldn’t relate to the audience as films now days would. In the 60s most of the dramas related to war as during this period it was 15 years after the ending of World War 2 therefore they had probably rehabilitated and therefore felt ready to relive that period knowing that it would relate to peoples experiences.
After this period sport drama became popular Sylvester Stallone was one of the best film directors in this period after creating the hit, Rocky which he was inspired by the Muhammad Ali–Chuck Wepner fight, then later on carried on his ambition of film making with the sequel Rocky II and Rambo.
The 1980s was the period when the 'high concept' films were introduced. The movies were supposed to be easily marketable and understandable, and, therefore, they had short cinematic plots that could be summarized in one or two sentences. The modern Hollywood blockbuster is the most popular film format from the 1980s. Producer Don Simpson is usually credited with the creation of the high-concept picture of the modern Hollywood blockbuster.
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