Answer the questions based on the text above:
What is the central idea of romantic comedy?
What is the basic plot of romantic comedy? Characterize it in detail.
Is the end if such films always happy or not? Why or why not? Support your opinion.
What type of characters is typical for romantic comedies?
What kind of messages must romantic films express?
What means of comic do the film directors usually use to create necessary effect?
TEXT 4
Read and retell the text: The Action Film Genre: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
T
his
major genre type includes films that have tremendous impact,
continuous high energy, lots of physical stunts and activity,
possibly extended chase
scenes,
races, rescues, battles, martial arts, mountains and mountaineering,
destructive disasters
(floods, explosions, natural disasters, fires, etc.), fights,
escapes, non-stop motion, spectacular rhythm and pacing, and
adventurous heroes – all designed for pure audience escapism with
the action sequences at the core of the film.
Action films and adventure films have tremendous cross-over potential as film genres, and road films often overlap with action films. (See the adventure film genre listings for examples of these action/adventure pictures.) Both types of films come in a variety of forms or genre-hybrids: sci-fi or space, thrillers, crime-drama, war, horror, westerns, etc. Oftentimes, action films are great box-office hits, but lack critical appeal because of their two-dimensional heroes or villains.
The main action centers around a male action hero or protagonist – portrayed by these most prominent actors: Bruce Lee, Steven Seagal, Sylvester Stallone, Harrison Ford, Bruce Willis, Chuck Norris, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Douglas Fairbanks Sr., Bruce Lee, Charles Bronson, Steve McQueen, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Chuck Norris, and Jean Claude Van Damme. Women in action-films usually play the roles of accomplices or romantic interests of the hero, although modern action films have featured strong female characters to broaden demographic appeal.
They almost always have a resourceful hero(ine) struggling against incredible odds, life-threatening circumstances, or an evil villain, and/or trapped or chasing each other in various modes of transportation (bus, auto, ship, train, plane, horseback, on foot, etc.), with victory or resolution attained by the end after strenuous physical feats and violence (fist fights, gunplay). Action films have traditionally been aimed at male audiences, ages 13 to the mid-30s in both American and world-wide markets.
The Beginnings:
This film genre actually began with the silent era's serial films around the time of Edwin S. Porter's classic action-western The Great Train Robbery (1903). And it has remained strong throughout all of cinematic history. Action films then expanded in the 80s and 90s, with the growth of special effects techniques and in response to jaded audiences who demanded faster plots (coherent or not), greater violence, and stimulation.
In some ways, the action film genre is as stylized as kabuki theatre. You'd think audiences would get bored with the same plots and elements, but fans of the action film genre appreciate the familiar, while looking forward to the innovations that each new film brings.
Action Film Genre Essentials
Just like westerns need horses and science fiction movies need lasers; the action film genre has its required elements. Here are some of the most important:
It's black and white. In an action film, the hero and antagonist are well defined. While the hero may make some questionable decisions and the antagonist may have some sympathetic qualities, it's never hard to tell which is which.
Limited support. Either by choice or circumstance the hero is usually a loner. From James Bonds' exotic locales to the trapped off-duty cop in Die Hard (1988), action film writers always find a way to put the hero up against a raft of villains with little chance of relief.
Don't blink. When it comes to film editing, horror movies build tension with long, slow pans or travel shots, while action movies get adrenaline pumping with quick cutting scenes. Sharp cuts lead the viewer to feel off-balance and unsure of where the next threat will come from.
I've been waiting for this. Central to any good action movie is the set piece-think of the climatic battle in the bad guy's lair or the running gunfight through a crowded market. Several scenes are often used to establish the situation, goal and players for these big, drawn-out action sequences. A good action movie will often have several set pieces, each one bigger and louder than the last.
Can you hurry up a little? The concept of the ticking clock is important to the action film genre. Whether it's a bomb timer or a kidnapper's deadline, the hero is almost always asked to perform his amazing feats before time runs out.
Crash, boom, bang! Action movies contain a lot of action, of course, but the action usually takes very specific forms: chases, fights and property damage. Chases may be on foot or any form of vehicle, but almost always involve cars on crowded streets or twisting roads. Fights can run the gamut from fistfights to intricate martial arts to bloody gun battles. Property damage usually comes in the form of explosions-lots and lots of explosions.
martial art – бойове мистецтво
be at the core – бути у центрі
spectacular rhythm and pacing – захоплюючий ритм і карколомна швидкість
to overlap with – мати спільні ознаки з …
box-office hit – високоприбутковий хіт, касовий фільм
life-threatening circumstances – обставини, що загрожують життю
jaded audience – вимогливі глядачі
set piece – епізод
to run the gamut from/to – охоплювати весь спектр від/до