1. Film Genre- Crime
BY CHRIS OSBYRNE

2. What is the crime genre?
 Crime films are films that focus on the lives of criminals. The
stylistic approach to a crime film varies from realistic
portrayals of real-life criminal figures, to the far-fetched evil
doings of imaginary arch-villains.

3. What are some of its sub-genres?
 Crime films may fall under several different subgenres. These
include:
1. Crime-comedies- ‘Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’, ‘Boondock
Saints’
2. Crime-thrillers- ‘Silence of the Lambs’, ‘No Country for Old Men’
3. Heist Films-‘Reservoir dogs’, ‘Dog Day Afternoon’, ‘Point Break’
4. Mob Films- ‘The Godfather’, ‘Goodfellas’, ‘Scarface’

4. Crime Genre Conventions and
Iconography
 Crime films tend to share the same genre codes and style. Some of the most popular
could be:
• Strong Violence (Bloody murder, torture, assault etc.)
• Strong Language ($&%*!)
• Some Sexual Content
And of course:
 Crime (Theft, murder, GTA, drugs, rape etc.)
Also, Crime films almost always contain:
 Guns
 Drugs
 Strong Male Characters/Weak Female Characters
 Authority (e.g. Police, SWAT etc.)

5. Cinematography and Mise-en-scene of
Crime
 Extreme long shots and long shots are often used in crime films to establish a
location or add mystery to a character.
For example this shot from ‘The Dark Knight’. The fact that
we cannot see the face of Joker adds an element of
intrigue but fears also of what his face might look like and
why he has to wear a mask. The mask itself and the duffel
bag fit into the crime genre because heist films such as
‘Point Break’ include this kind of iconography.
In the background, the audience are presented with quite a
bright and clean shot of a busy part of the city. The city
should be a conventional crime location however this shots
subverts the traditional dark and grimy streets of a
stereotypical crime film to a brighter, realistic setting.