Crime film

Crime films,in the broadest sense, is afilm genreinspired by and analogous to thecrime fictionliterary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects ofcrimeand its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such asdramaorgangster film,but also includecomedy,and, in turn, is divided into many sub-genres, such asmystery,suspenseornoir.

Screenwriter and scholarEric R. Williamsidentified crime film as one of eleven super-genres in hisScreenwriters Taxonomy,claiming that all feature-lengthnarrative filmscan be classified by these super-genres. The other ten super-genres are action, fantasy, horror, romance, science fiction, slice of life, sports, thriller, war and western.Williams identifies drama in a broader category called "film type", mystery and suspense as "macro-genres", and film noir as a "screenwriter's pathway" explaining that these categories are additive rather than exclusionary.Chinatownwould be an example of a film that is a drama (film type) crime film (super-genre) that is also a noir (pathway) mystery (macro-genre).

Source of plots

Crime films are often based on real events or areadaptationsofplaysor novels, or a remake or adoption of a previous film. Some plots are original and entirely fictional. For example, the 1957 film version ofWitness for the Prosecutionis an adaptation of a 1953stage play of that name,which is in turn based onAgatha Christie'sshort story,originally published in 1933. The film version wasremade in 1982,and there have been other adaptations. However, each of these media has its own advantages and limitations, which in the case of cinema is the time constraint.

Plays and films

Humphrey BogartinThe Petrified Forest(1936)

Witness for the Prosecutionis a classic example of acourtroom drama.In a courtroom drama, a charge is brought against one of the main characters, who claims to be innocent. Another major part is played by the lawyer (in England abarrister) representing thedefendantin court and battling with the public prosecutor. They may enlist the services of aprivate investigatorto find out what really happened and who the real perpetrator is. However, in most cases it is not clear at all whether the accused is guilty of the crime or not—this is how suspense is created.

Often, the private investigator storms into the courtroom at the last minute in order to bring a new and crucial piece of information to the attention of the court. This type of literature lends itself to the literary genre of drama focused more on dialogue (the opening and closing statements, the witnesses' testimonies, etc.) and little or no necessity for a shift in scenery. The auditorium of the theatre becomes an extension of the courtroom. When a courtroom drama is filmed, the traditional device employed by screenwriters and directors is the frequent use offlashbacks,in which the crime and everything that led up to it is narrated and reconstructed from different angles.

A classic courtroom drama is U.S. playwrightReginald Rose'sTwelve Angry Men(1954), which is set in thejurydeliberation room of aNew Yorkcourt. Eleven members of the jury, aiming at a unanimousverdictof "guilty",try to get it over with as quickly as possible. And they would really succeed in achieving their common aim if it were not for the eighth juror (played byHenry Fondain the 1957 movie adaptation), who, on second thoughts, considers it his duty to convince his colleagues that the defendant may be innocent after all, and who, by doing so, triggers much discussion, confusion, and anger.

Subgenres

Crime comedy

Crime comedy films are a hybrid of the crime film and the comedy that play with the conventions of the crime film and may introduce aspects ofdark humor.Generally, they feature dim-witted criminals or crime sprees that are bumblingly executed or are presented in a lighthearted manner. The genre had a resurgence in popularity in the independent film scene of the 1990s, which combined the clichés of the crime thriller with comic appropriations.Examples includeKung Fu Hustle,The Wolf of Wall Street,22 Jump Street,andSeven Psychopaths.

Crime drama

Crime dramas are films that focus on the moral dilemmas of criminals. They differ from crime thrillers as the films generally focus on a grimmer and more realistic portrayal of the criminal world over violence and gunplay sequences. Occasionally these films begin with the flashier elements of the crime thriller such as inThe Godfather,GoodfellasandOnce Upon a Time in Americato develop into more contemplative narratives.

Crime thriller

Crimethrillersfocus on the exciting elements of both successful and unsuccessful crimes. Unlikepolice procedurals,they focus on a criminal or a group of criminals rather than law enforcement. These films tend to focus on conspiracies and psychopathology of criminals, and are often violent and nihilistic. Examples includeThe Killers,The Peacock,Av MevsimiandMemories of Murder.

Dacoit film

Main article:Dacoit film

Dacoit films are a genre ofIndian cinemarevolving arounddacoity.The genre was pioneered byMehboob Khan'sAurat(1940) andMother India(1957). Other examples includeGunga Jumna(1961),Sholay(1975) andBandit Queen(1994).

Gangster film

Main articles:Gangster filmandYakuza film

Gangster films are films that tell the story from the perspective of gangsters, who are portrayed as idealistic antiheroes. The gangster film is among the oldest genres of films, with examples dating as early asUnderworld,Little CaesarandScarface.After World War II, these films became increasingly violent and menacing with films likeUnderworld USA.These films also were made outside the United States in Hong Kong, Japan and France.

Heist film

Main article:Heist film

This film deals with a group of criminals attempting to perform a theft or robbery, as well as the possible consequences that follow. Heist films that are lighter in tone are called caper films. Examples includeThe Killing,Ocean's 11,Dog Day Afternoon,Reservoir Dogs,HeatandThe Town.

Hood film

Main article:Hood film

Apart from telling their own tales of African American gangsters in syndicates, films likeBlack Caesarfeature the Italian mafia prominently. Often theblaxploitationfilms of the 1970s such asShafttell the tale of African American gangsters rising up and defeating the established white criminal order.African Americans were under-represented in filmmaking roles during much of the 20th century. It took African American producers and directors of the 1990s likeJohn Singleton,Spike Leeand theHughes Brothersto begin exploring the criminal lifestyle in American urban communities, telling stories of drugs, gang culture, gang violence, racism and poverty in African American communities.Examples of films from the 1990s fitting the African-American gangster genre includeBoyz N The Hood,Menace II SocietyandNew Jack City.

Mumbai underworld

Main article:Mumbai underworld films

Mumbai underworld is an Indian cinema crime film genre. The genre frequently draws inspiration from realMumbai underworldgangsters, such asHaji Mastan,Dawood IbrahimandD-Company.The genre was pioneered bySalim–Javed'sZanjeer(1973) andDeewaar(1975), starringAmitabh Bachchan.Other examples include theDonfranchise (1978–2012),Nayakan(1986),Salaam Bombay!(1988),Parinda(1989),Satya(1998),Company(2002),Black Friday(2004),Slumdog Millionaire(2008) andOnce Upon a Time in Mumbaai(2010).

Police procedural

Main article:Police procedural

Police procedurals focus on the police who investigate the actions of criminals, with examples such asHe Walked by Night,In the Heat of the Night,Madigan,andThe French Connection.

Prison film

Main article:Prison film

The prison film is a type of crime film that focuses on the difficult living conditions in prisons, as well as occasionally focusing on inmates adjusting to life outside of prison.

See also

• Lists of crime films
• Pre-Code crime films

Further reading

• Criminology and Criminal Justice
• Cavender, Gray, and Nancy C. Jurik. "Risky business: Visual representations in corporate crime films."Routledge international handbook of visual criminology(2017): 215-228.
• Hughes, Howard.Crime Wave: The Filmgoers' Guide to the Great Crime Movies(2006)excerpt
• Kadleck, Colleen, and Alexander M. Holsinger. "'Two Perspectives' on Teaching Crime Films."Journal of criminal justice education29.2 (2018): 178-197.[1]
• King, Neal, Rayanne Streeter, and Talitha Rose. "Cultural Studies Approaches to the Study of Crime in Film and on Television."Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice(2016).online
• Leitch, Thomas M.Crime Films.(Cambridge UP, 2002),ISBN978-0-521-64671-0
• Lenz, Timothy O.Changing Images of Law in Film and Television Crime Stories(Lang, 2003)
• Lichtenfeld, Eric.Action speaks louder: Violence, spectacle, and the American action movie(Wesleyan University Press, 2007).
• Mayer, Geoff.Historical dictionary of crime films(Scarecrow Press, 2012).online
• Rafter, Nicole.Shots in the Mirror: Crime Films and Society,(2nd ed. Oxford UP, 2006),ISBN978-0-19-517506-6online
• Rafter, Nicole. "Crime, film and criminology: Recent sex-crime movies."Theoretical criminology11.3 (2007): 403-420.
• Rafter, Nicole Hahn, and Michelle Brown.Criminology goes to the movies: Crime theory and popular culture(NYU Press, 2011).
• Ramaeker, Paul. "Realism, revisionism and visual style: The French Connection and the New Hollywood policier."New Review of Film and Television Studies8.2 (2010): 144-163.online
• Simpson, Philip L.Psycho Paths: Tracking the Serial Killer through Contemporary American Film and Fiction(University of Southern Illinois Press, 2000).
• Sorrento, Matthew.The New American Crime Film(2012)excerpt
• Spina, Ferdinando. "Crime Films".Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Criminology(Oxford University Press, 2017)
• Welsh, Andrew, Thomas Fleming, and Kenneth Dowler. "Constructing crime and justice on film: Meaning and message in cinema."Contemporary Justice Review14.4 (2011): 457-476.online

European

• Baschiera, Stefano. "European Crime Cinema and the Auteur."European Review29.5 (2021): 588-600.
• Chibnall, Steve, and Robert Murphy.British crime cinema(Routledge, 2005).
• Curti, Roberto.Italian Crime Filmography, 1968-1980(McFarland, 2013).
• Davies, Ann. "Can the contemporary crime thriller be Spanish?"Studies in European Cinema2.3 (2005).online
• Forshaw, Barry.British crime film: Subverting the social order(Springer, 2012).
• Forshaw, Barry.Euro Noir: The Pocket Essential Guide to European Crime Fiction, Film and TV(2014)excerpt
• Gerhards, Sascha. "Ironizing Identity: The German Crime Genre and the Edgar Wallace Production Trend of the 1960s." inGeneric Histories of German Cinema: Genre and its Deviations(Camden House, 2013) pp: 133-155.
• Hansen, Kim Toft, Steven Peacock, and Sue Turnbull, eds.European television crime drama and beyond(Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2018).
• Marlow-Mann, Alex. "Strategies of Tension: Towards a Reinterpretation of Enzo G. Castellari's The Big Racket and the Italian Crime Film." inPopular Italian Cinema(2013) pp: 133-146.
• Peacock, Steven.Swedish crime fiction: Novel, film, television(Manchester University Press, 2015).
• Reisinger, Deborah Streifford.Crime and media in contemporary France(Purdue University Press, 2007).
• Toft Hansen, Kim, Steven Peacock, and Sue Turnbull. "Down these European mean streets: Contemporary issues in European television crime drama." inEuropean television crime drama and beyond(2018) pp: 1-19.online

Wilson, David, and Sean O'Sullivan.Images of Incarceration: Representations of Prison in Film and Television(Waterside Press, 2004), British emphasis.