FILM LINGO (terms to describe movies) CRITICAL VIEWING

“B” MOVIE a low-budget production, originally screened to support a more important film in a double feature Roger Corman – show video

SWORD & SANDAL a gladiator, Biblical, or Greco-Roman mythology film

CHOP SOCKY a martial arts film

FORMULA a blockbuster production with a predictable, overused scheme or plot e.g. family is killed, father kills everybody (Punisher, Man on Fire, Collateral Damage, etc.)

PREQUEL the opposite of a sequel, depicts action that happened before the original film.

SEQUEL a film which continues the action and characters of an earlier film.

TURKEY a film that flops in the box office. Pluto Nash: Cost – 100 million, made 4.4 million./ John Carter

SLEEPER a movie that is released with little publicity, often directed by and starring relatively unknown people, that by positive word-of-mouth eventually becomes popular or financially successful beyond expectations.

HORSE OPERA a Western film.

SPACE OPERA a science fiction film.

CINEMA VERITE a French word that literally means "true cinema"; a method or style of documentary movie-making with long takes, no narration, impromptu interview techniques, a hand-held camera, and little or no editing of the finished product; usually made without actors and with a minimal crew. E.g. Paranormal Activity, The Blair Witch Project

FILM NOIR a French phrase literally meaning "black film"; a genre of mostly black-and-white films that blossomed in post-war American cinema, with a somber, downbeat tone: the plot is often a quest, low-key lighting features night scenes, camera angles are often canted or high, the setting and symbols feature the gloomy underworld of crime and corruption, and voice-overs and flashbacks combine to present a dark atmosphere of pessimism, or cynicism; characters frequently include the private detectives and the treacherous femme fatale. e.g. Sin City

CULT OR UNDERGROUND FILM underfinanced and often experimental films produced on a director’s whim, sometimes resulting in a non-mainstream “cult classic”

INDEPENDENT OR “INDIE” film small, low-budget companies producing and distributing films made outside of the major Hollywood studio system; also refers to a movie, director, distributor, or producer whose groundbreaking subject matter is designed for sophisticated audiences and is not necessarily produced with commercial success as the goal.