Adventure film

Adventure Film is a film genre.

History

The adventure film reached its peak of popularity in 1930s and 1940s Hollywood, when films such as "Captain Blood", "The Adventures of Robin Hood" and "The Mark of Zorro" were regularly made with major stars, notably Errol Flynn and Tyrone Power, who were closely associated with the genre. At the same time, Saturday morning serials were often using many of the same thematic elements as high-budget adventure films.

Modernizing the genre

The genre has undergone periodic revivals since the 1950s, with figures like Robin Hood being re-cast for a new generation. Some of the revivals have been successful, as with "" (1991), and some less so, as with "Swashbuckler" (1976). In the 1980s the success of Steven Spielberg's Saturday morning serial-style adventure "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade" spawned a host of imitators, such as the "Pirates of the Caribbean"

There is often a degree of overlap between the adventure film and other genres. For example, "" (1977) contains elements of science fiction, while "The Mummy" (1999) combines the horror genre.

Popular concepts

* An outlaw fighting for justice or battling a tyrant (e.g., "Robin Hood", "Zorro" or "Star Wars")
* Pirates (e.g., "Captain Blood" or "Pirates of the Caribbean")
* Searching for a lost city or for hidden treasure (e.g., "King Solomon's Mines" or "Indiana Jones")

Notable adventure films

See also List of adventure films.
* "Captain Blood" (1935)
* "King Solomon's Mines" (1937), (1950), (1985)
* "The Prisoner of Zenda" (1937) and (1952)
* "The Adventures of Robin Hood" (1938)
* "The Sea Hawk" (1940)
* "The Black Swan" (1942)
* "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" (1948)
* "The African Queen" (1951)
* "The Crimson Pirate" (1952)
* "Scaramouche" (1952)
* "The Man Who Would Be King" (1975)
* "" (1977)
* "" (1980)
* "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981)
* "" (1983)
* "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" (1984)
* "Romancing the Stone" (1984)
* "The Goonies" (1985)
* "Sesame Street Presents Follow That Bird" (1985)
* "The Princess Bride" (1987)
* "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" (1989)
* "" (1991)
* "The Rocketeer" (1991)
* "Jurassic Park" (1993)
* "The Lost World" (1997)
* "The Mummy" films (1999–2008)
* "" (1999)
* "" (2001)
* "Hero" (2002)
* "" (2002)
* "" (2002)
* "" (2003)
* "" (2003)
* "The Incredibles" (2004)
* "" (2006)
* "The Librarian" films (2004–2008)
* "" (2007)
* "National Treasure" (2004)
* "" (2005)
* "Blood Diamond" (2006)
* "" (2007)
* "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" (2008)
* "Zorro" films
* "Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D" (2008)
* Various versions of the novels of Alexandre Dumas, including "The Count of Monte Cristo", "The Three Musketeers" and "The Man in the Iron Mask"

Popular adventure film filmmakers

* Michael Curtiz
* John Huston
* George Lucas
* Steven Spielberg
* Raoul Walsh

External links

* [http://wm06.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=24:D|||647 Adventure films] at Allmusic