He Gonna Do One!: Picking The Archetypal Film From Every Major Genre

As a soon-to-be husband and wanna-be father, I've been spending some time thinking about how to introduce film to my theoretical spud (I'm currently thinking about starting with the Silents, and going up chronologically).  This thought process led to a broader question;  if someone were completely unfamiliar with a certain type of genre, what movie would be the ONE FILM that you would show to them?  Maybe not the highest quality film (though that would help), and maybe not the originator of the genre, but just the best overall representation of what the genre is.

Here are my picks:

DRAMA:  A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (1951)

Along with "Comedy", this is a pretty ridiculously broad genre, but when I think "Drama", I often think of films that are intimate and real, yet have a tragic fatalism to them.  In the most effective drama, no one wins, and everyone loses just a bit.

COMEDY:  AIRPLANE! (1980)

The ZAZ-team's greatest achievement; often imitated but never duplicated.  This is simply comic madness from beginning to end, without a serious moment to mar the purity.

ACTION:  COMMANDO (1985)

There are certainly better action films, and even better 80's action films, but no other film better defines what an action movie is.  Arnold Schwarzenegger kicks ass and takes names, leaving a trail of bodies and explosions in his wake.  Even grenades exploding next to him only serve to make him mad.

GANGSTER:  SCARFACE (1932)

There are a lot of options here, but there's something so manic, desperate and energetic about this film that I think really defines the undercurrent of all gangster films;  paranoia, and the inevitability of being hoisted by your own petard.

WESTERN:  STAGECOACH (1939)

B&W, John Wayne, John Ford, and featuring every Western cliche imaginable.

MUSICAL: SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (1952)

 A two-for-one;  you get the standard, upbeat, song-and-dance entertainment, and a bit of an exploration of film history.

MYSTERY:  THE THIRD MAN (1949)

This also doubles as my Noir entry.

SCIENCE FICTION:  STAR WARS (1977)

You just get MORE of everything here.  Tons of aliens, laserguns, robots, spaceships, and telekinesis.

FANTASY:  THE LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY(2001-2003)

Same logic as Star Wars.  It's the film adaptation of the quintessential fantasy book of the last century.

WAR:  SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (1998)

For being smack dab in the middle between cheery propaganda and brutal realism.

SPY:  NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959)

Hitchcock at his most playful.

HORROR:  NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968)

Does it get bleaker, or creepier, than this?



Any thoughts?  Disagreements?  Omissions?  Let me know what you think.