Genre Research- Action

The History Of Action Films

Action films came about in the 1920's and 30's, and were usually more adventurous or western based pieces. 

The 1940's and 50's saw action turn to the form of war and cowboy movies, and Alfred Hitchcock soon introduced spy adventures to the genre.  

Spy orientated action films dominated the 1960's, predominantly with the James Bond series, which had long time success. These films introduced the characterises that we now associate with modern day action, such as their larger than life characters; the hero, who acts as his own army, with villains and masterminds that such a hero can easily rid of them in ever changing ways, which are normally followed by a one liner. They also used quick cuts, vehicle chases, fights, gadgets, weapons, and elaborate action sequences. 

By the 1970's, action saw gritty detectives and urban crimes attach to them, and police officer films, such as Bullitt (1968), The French Connection (1971), Dirty Harry (1971). These films all featured intense car chases, inspired by those in the Bond series. Dirty Harry also saw Clint Eastwood lifted from his cowboy roots, and become the first true archetype in urban action films. The film also proved that the modern world had an equal amount of glamour, excitement, and violence as old west films, and signalled the end of 'Cowboys and Indians'. The 1970's also introduced martial arts themed action movies to western audiences, as films such as Bruce Lee's 'Enter the Dragon' (1973) and 'Way of (or Return Of) The Dragon' (1972). This also inspired additional success to the Bond films, such as the Asian influenced 'You Only Live Twice' (). the Martial arts action genre thrived throughout the rest of the 1970's.

The 1980's saw action take over Hollywood. The 80's were 'the action era', and was popularized by actors such as Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, and Chuck Norris. In 1981, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg made 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' which paid true homage to the Bond style. In 1982, Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy smashed box office records with action comedy film '48hours', which is also credited as being the first buddy cop movie. That year, Sylvester Stallone starred in the first of the Rambo series. 'First Blood' which proves so successful that three years later 'Rambo: First Blood Part II' was released, making Rambo a pop cultural icon. 'Die Hard' (1988) payed particular influence on the action genre; in the film Bruce Willis plays a New york police detective who becomes involved in a terrorist take over of an LA office building. By the end of the 80's the influence of the action genre could be felt in many genre hybrids, such as: War- Actions, Science- Fiction Actions, Horror Actions, and Musical Action Comedy's. 

The 1990's was an era of sequels and hybrids. Action films were beginning to parody themselves, and the growing use of CGI gave real life settings over to new and more exciting environments. The decade also saw a rise in film budgets, and a collective amount of sequels to action films since earlier ones had proven that the success of one singular action film could guarantee success of a continuing franchise. Although sequels had before been frowned upon by film-makers and goes, the later 1980's saw a dramatic increase in them, as film makers and stars began to compete and try to top the previous film in their sequel. This drive led to the increased want and need for more advanced technologies that would allow film-makers to take audiences to entirely new places,   heights and idea's. The success of Tim Burton's 'Batman' in 1989 led to successful sequels, and proved the success of the comic book action film.