The Importance Of Action Films

The genre of action films has been around for a long time beginning all the way back in the silent film era. An article on action speaks to the influence of action in early cinema, “Action and adventure form a key component of early and silent cinema” (“Action and Adventure Films.”). Some of the key components of action include the all too familiar conflict, chase, challenge, combat and violence. In most films, heroes face an evil villain or organization causing some type of conflict that needs to be resolved. In the end, the hero displays courage, strength, and will-power are often able to triumph against all odds. Action films tended to change with the times, reflecting what was going on in the United States. One example is the outflow of action military movies in the 1970’s, reflecting how the United States had entered into the Vietnam War. The action we know today was vastly different than that of early action films. Beginning in the 1970’s Hollywood action films began to push the boundaries for on-screen violence. This was in part due to the collapse of the Production Code, “In 1968, ineffectual and infirm, defunct in all but name, the PCA [Production Code Administration] was formally supplanted” (Doherty). With the Production Code out of the way, filmmakers and directors were able to include violent scenes that would not have been allowed under the PCA. Two films in specific, Arthur Penn 's Bonnie and Clyde and Sam Peckinpah 's The Wild Bunch, took advantage of this