Movies That Revolutionized Their Genre

[Chris]

While they may not be the best, they're one of the most well-known of their genre and newer movies use aspects of them because of how influential these movies were. What are some movies that you believe completely revolutionized their respective genre.

 

[zigglerHEEL]

Naturally Star Wars should be at the top of the list.... Although I don't think any of us (no not even me) were alive when it was originally released, I've been told by people that saw it in the theater that they'd never seen anything even remotely like it

For a more modern example, I always though the way they recreated ancient Rome in Gladiator was remarkable and like nothing I had seen before...... Plot wise, I think M. Night reinvented the swerve ending with The Sixth Sense, too bad he's made nothing but garbage since

 

[Ozymandias]

Blair Witch Project. Whatever you may think of the whole 'found footage' sub-genre, there's no denying that BWP started it all, and it's been replicated so many times in the intervening years.

 

[The Cork]

Twilight, unfortunately.

The Matrix spawned a whole load of 'fancy special effects rather than interesting plot' type of films too.

Most obvious one of all would be The Dark Knight making the comic book genre really depressing and dark.

 

[Mick Donalds]

Gladiator for sure!
Saving Private Ryan. Nobody had ever seen a war movie so visceral, graphic and realistic. People hailed Platoon as the "standard" for war movies until Saving Private Ryan came along and swept it back into a dark corner of the room.
Dances With Wolves. Was a pure piece of historical revisionism. Absolutely revolutionary in terms of historical piece films. The first and best example of a western as told from the Native American experience (even though the lead character was a transplanted white man).
Terminator 2: Judgment Day/Aliens: I linked them together because of James Cameron's direction and personal involvement. Aliens literally helped shape and inspire military technology and hardware. I'm being serious. Look at what a US Soldier or Marine is wearing in A'stan right now for gear and then go watch Aliens. Even the camera and stats monitoring that happens in that movie was somewhat replicated by the DoD for the battlefield. Terminator 2 took Science Fiction light millenia years ahead of where it had been established. It STILL looks visually impressive, and it came out in 1992!!! You could say that Terminator 2 has influenced popular, social opinion into the belief that there may be an end to the technology race when someday we fight a war against artificial intelligence that we created.

 

[John McHenry]

Not really sure what genre Gladiator revolutionized.

The Hobbit is sure to go on this list once all is said and done.

Die Hard probably did a lot for changing the types of heroes in action.

Lonesome Dove changed the way the westerns were made in my opinion.

Avatar though I hate it and not a fan of 3D no denying it's involvement.

To name a few.

 

[zigglerHEEL]

Not really sure what genre Gladiator revolutionized.

The Hobbit is sure to go on this list once all is said and done.

Die Hard probably did a lot for changing the types of heroes in action.

Lonesome Dove changed the way the westerns were made in my opinion.

Avatar though I hate it and not a fan of 3D no denying it's involvement.

To name a few.

Gladiator Movies???? I guess it was more influential in the field of visual effects than a specific genre of film

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon for Martial Arts films.... although I don't know that it was a good thing

 

[ThatGuyFromNukemHigh]

Night of the Living Dead: Just about every zombie anything that came after it used the same basic rules G.A. Romero created.

I Spit On Your Grave/Last House On The Left: Both were very important in bringing the strong female leads into horror.

 

[Rated R Superstar]

Nightmare on elm street probably revolutionized horror flicks. I know I shit bricks when I heard the 1...2...

 

[Kiffy Lube]

Nightmare on elm street probably revolutionized horror flicks. I know I shit bricks when I heard the 1...2...

Slasher flicks really took off in 1978 with Halloween. Catch up.

 

[Rated R Superstar]

Whatever you say there bud.

 

[ThatGuyFromNukemHigh]

Slasher flicks really took off in 1978 with Halloween. Catch up.

Try 1974 with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

 

[zigglerHEEL]

Psycho 1960

 

[ThatGuyFromNukemHigh]

I personally don't consider Psycho as a slasher, since the staple for them is typically over the top gore. Hitchcock was more about the using the ambience to scare his audience.

 

[zigglerHEEL]

True, it more revolutionized Horror in general, not the more specific Slasher genre