Research

Research

In order to properly create my film opening, I am researching the genre, and more specifically, the types of films within it that reflect my ideas for a film opening and can give insight into what content and plot can be used in my opening.

Action Film Overview 

The focus of the primary genre is action. Action films can take place in a realistic urban environment that the audience has a high chance of recognizing (Ex: Avengers (2010) taking place in New York), with the plot usually revolves around some sort of conflict, whether it is a battle or war, a disaster either natural or manmade, or a competition. All action films have a hero, and most have a villain. Sometimes these films are based on real events but others are usually based on novels or comics. Characters often fall under the good or bad umbrellas whether they are supporting or the main characters. For example in the James Bond films, there is usually a supporting character introduced partway through the film (Ex: Luigi Farrera in For Your Eyes Only) that helps the protagonist gain a crucial step forward towards the solution/victory but pays with his or her life for it. For the main characters, they can consist of spies, heroes, soldiers, average people cast into the spotlight, athletes, warriors, policemen, bounty hunters, hitmen, race car drivers, and even animals or aliens. These varied formats give action films a lot of flexibility.

Racing Action Films

Racing action films have been on the rise in popularity since the late 90s, surging in popularity in the mid-2000s, and still doing fairly well today. Different from films about specific race car drivers and circuit racing, these movies usually focus on the illegal street racing scenes across the world. In some cases, these movies also include crime, either on a petty or grand scale, due to the illegal nature of street racing itself. To understand the movies, one must get the origin of the subject. Street racing took off in the United States and Europe with drag-racing back in the 60s. American and European automakers (particularly American ones) were putting out cheap, high power cars that encouraged this sort of activity. Fast-forwarding 20 years to the late 70s to mid-80s, new forms of racing took ahold of Japan. The first was toūge (mountain pass) racing and the second drifting. The two somewhat intertwined, they are essentially high-speed flashy races through narrow mountain passes in which either cat and mouse rules or overtaking are used. This was extremely popular up until the mid-2000s when the Japanese Police Force issued crackdowns. For drag racing, it was popularized by the Fast and the Furious films, while toūge was popularized through the iconic anime Initial D. The Fast and the Furious saga, in particular, became a multi-billion dollar franchise, starting out with the elements of crime and street racing and eventually changing into battling villains and using extreme stunts with exotic cars. For my opening, I will focus specifically focus on content similar to that of Fast and Furious films and one-off movies like Baby Driver.