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Prior 1950's
Ever since the the early years of cinema and film their has been elements of drama in films. For example, The Grape Of Wrath in the 1940's was an American film drama adpated from the novel written by John Steinbeck. The film tells the story of a family who lost their farm during Great Depression in the 1930s and who become migrant workers in Calafornia. The storyline is emotional and shows the development of realistic characters, and this is what makes the film a drama. -
1950's
In the 1950's there was a increasing amount of established dramatic actors, who are still very iconic nowadays e.g. Bette Davis, James Dean and Marilyn Monroe. The dramas that these stars were focused on were the development of characters and their relationship with other characters. All About Eve was a drama which included both Bette Davis and Marilyn Monroe and in 1998 was ranked sixteenth in Americas greatest films. -
1960's
Throughout the 1960's the main focus for broadway dramas were sport dramas and war dramas. Judgement At Nuremburg was a war drama which focused on the Holocaust, World War II. The storyline is based around the trials of judges who served during Nazi Germany. Spencer Tracy starred in the drama and became a major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age. -
1960's
Sport dramas were very common in the 1960's as well as war dramas. Downhill Racer is a film which follows the development of an American ski race olympian and his battles to make the olympic team. The film stars Robert Redford who is a successful actor and film director who has recieved two oscars throughout his acting career. -
1970's
Taxi Driver was a successful drama during the 1970s, the film was a psychological thriller drama which included the themes: romance, drugs and crime and violence. The drama shows the development of a character Travis acted by Robert De Niro and his reactions to the 'scums' of his town. -
1980's
In 1982 the successful sci-fi drama, E.T was released. This film was directed and produced by Steven Spielburg, who has now been in the film industry for over 40 years and is a worldwide recognised director. ET widened the subgenres of dramatic films and created a new era of the genre. -
1990's
In the 1990's film dramas became very crime orientated. For example, Goodfellas, starring Robert De Niro was a film drama which had a strong theme of mob crime. Also, in the 1990's Shawshank Redemption was another successful crime related drama which was set in a cime-filled prison. -
late 1990's
In the mid 90's- late 90's comedy dramas were also very successful dramatic films. Forrest Gump and As Good As It Gets are two examples of this. Forrest Gump, featuring Tom Hanks was a comic drama about the development of the character 'Forrest Gump', the comic drama shows the childhood and adulthood of this character with a comic theme. -
2000's
Film dramas have now developed so much that there a no common themes, producers and directors can choose any sub genre of drama to base their dramatic film on. Gladiator was a historical drama which was successful in 2000. The film was nominated for and won multiple awards, and includes successful stars such as Russell Crowe. -
1990's
Also in the 1990's. historial dramas were a common theme for dramatic films. For example, Schindlers list (also a crime drama) and American History X were both historical dramas, which were successful in the 1990's
