Here are most of the more popular and common film genres :
Action - A film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases. Story and character development are generally secondary to explosions, fist fights, gunplay and car chases.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_film
Adventure - Adventure Films are exciting stories, with new experiences or exotic locales. Adventure films are very similar to the action film genre, in that they are designed to provide an action-filled, energetic experience for the film viewer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adventure_film
Comedy - Film in which the main emphasis is on humor. Also, films in this style typically have a happy ending. One of the oldest genres in film, some of the very first silent movies were comedies. Comedy, unlike other film genres, puts much more focus on individual stars, with many former stand-up comics transitioning to the film industry due to their popularity. While many comic films are lighthearted stories with no intent other than to amuse, others contain political or social commentary (such as Wag the dog and Man of the year).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comedy_film
Crime - Films which focus on the lives of criminals. The stylistic approach to a crime film varies from realistic portrayals of real-life criminal figures, to the far-fetched evil doings of imaginary arch-villains. Criminal acts are almost always glorified in these movies.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_film
Documentary - A broad category of moving pictures intended to document some aspect of reality. A "documentary film" was originally a movie shot on film stock — the only medium available — but now includes video and digital productions that can be either direct-to-video or made for a television programme. "Documentary" has been described as a "filmmaking practice, a cinematic tradition, and mode of audience reception" that is continually evolving and is without clear boundaries.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Documentary_film
Drama - A film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, crime and corruption put the characters in conflict with themselves, others, society and even natural phenomena.
This film genre can be contrasted with an action film, which relies on fast-paced action and physical conflict, but superficial character development. All film genres can include dramatic elements, but typically, films considered drama films focus mainly on the drama of the main issue.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drama_film
Family - A film genre that is designed to appeal to a variety of age groups and, thus, families. To attract these diverse audiences, film makers often create works that operate simultaneously on several levels of appeal. Comic songs might appeal to younger children, for example, while wittier jokes and pop culture references attract adults.
Family films generally do not contain content that would be deemed unsuitable for children. In the United States, such films are usually conceived so as to guarantee nothing greater than a G or PG rating.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_film
Fantasy - Films with fantastic themes, usually involving magic, supernatural events, make-believe creatures, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered to be distinct from science fiction film and horror film, although the genres do overlap.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantasy_film
Horror - Horror films are unsettling movies that strive to elicit the emotions of fear,disgust and horror from viewers. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres. Horrors also frequently overlap with the thriller genre.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/horror_film
Musical - The musical film is a film genre in which several songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative. The songs are used to advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but some musical films (e.g. Down Argentine Way) simply plop the songs in as unrelated "specialties" (also called "production numbers") - as with Carmen Miranda's numbers. A subgenre of the musical film is the musical comedy, which includes a strong element of humor as well as the usual music, dancing and story line.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/musical_film
Mystery - Mystery film is a sub-genre of the more general category of crime film. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of a crime by means of clues, investigation, and clever deduction.
The successful mystery film adheres to one of two story types, known as Open and Closed. The Closed (or whodunit) mystery conceals the identity of the perpetrator until late in the story, adding an element of suspense during the apprehension of the suspect, as the audience is never quite sure who it is. The Open mystery, in contrast, reveals the identity of the perpetrator at the top of the story, showcasing the "perfect crime" which the audience then watches the protagonist unravel, usually at the very end of the story, akin to the unveiling scenes in the Closed style.
The appeal of these films is in the dramatic reality of the emotions expressed by the characters. The following is a list of recent romantic films. The most successful romantic film is the 1997 blockbuster, Titanic which grossed over $600 million in America and $1.8 billion, worldwide.
The appeal of these films is in the dramatic reality of the emotions expressed by the characters. The following is a list of recent romantic films. The most successful romantic film is the 1997 blockbuster, Titanic which grossed over $600 million in America and $1.8 billion, worldwide.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/sports_film
Thriller - Thriller is a genre of literature, film, and television that uses suspense, tension, and excitement as the main elements. The primary subgenres are mystery,crime, and psychological thrillers. After the assassination of President Kennedy,political thriller and paranoid thriller films became very popular. The brightest examples of thrillers are the Hitchcock’s movies. The cover-up of important information from the viewer and fight/chase scenes are common methods in all of the thriller subgenres, although each subgenre has its own characteristics and methods.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/thriller_film
War - War films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily military or civilian life in wartime without depicting battles. Their stories may be fiction, based on history, docudrama, biographical, or even alternate history fiction.
The term anti-war film is sometimes used to describe films which bring to the viewer the pain and horror of war, often from a political or ideological perspective.
Westerns often portray how primitive and obsolete ways of life confronted modern technological or social changes. This may be depicted by showing conflict between natives and settlers or U.S. Cavalry or between cattle ranchers and farmers ("sodbusters"), or by showing ranchers being threatened by the onset of the Industrial Revolution.
