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List of film genres

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Films are often divided into genres, which describe the typical subject matter -- what the film is about. This is distinct from the film style, which describes filmic conventions which can be applied to any genre. Of course, the more that genres are defined, the more likely that a filmmaker will try to combine, transcend and evade categories, so not every film can be neatly labeled.

Some of the most common film genres are:

Action film
Adventure film
Animation
Art film
Blaxploitation
Comedy film
Documentary film
Dogme 95
Drama film
Family film
Fantasy film
Film noir
Historical drama film
Horror film
Martial arts film
Musical film
Newsreel
Pornographic film
Propaganda film
Romantic comedy film
Science fiction film
Short
Silent film
Spy film
Surrealist film
Thriller film
War film
Western film
Wu Xia film


Post-hoc descriptions

Cult film

Other related terms

genre film theory