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Adventure Film is a film genre.

History

The adventure film reached its peak of popularity in 1930s and 1940s Hollywood, when films such as Captain Blood, The Adventures of Robin Hood and The Mark of Zorro were regularly made with major stars, notably Errol Flynn and Tyrone Power, who were closely associated with the genre. At the same time, Saturday morning serials were often using many of the same thematic elements as high-budget adventure films.

Modernizing the genre

The genre has undergone periodic revivals since the 1950s, with figures like Robin Hood being re-cast for a new generation. Some of the revivals have been successful, as with Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), and some less so, as with Swashbuckler (1976). In the 1980s the success of Steven Spielberg's Saturday morning serial-style adventure Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade spawned a host of imitators, such as the Pirates of the Caribbean

There is often a degree of overlap between the adventure film and other genres. For example, Star Wars (1977) contains elements of science fiction, while The Mummy (1999) combines the horror genre.

Popular concepts

• An outlaw fighting for justice or battling a tyrant (e.g., Robin Hood, Zorro or Star Wars)
• Pirates (e.g., Captain Blood or Pirates of the Caribbean)
• Searching for a lost city or for hidden treasure (e.g., King Solomon's Mines or Indiana Jones)

Notable adventure films

See also List of adventure films.

• Captain Blood (1935)
• King Solomon's Mines (1937), (1950), (1985)
• The Prisoner of Zenda (1937) and (1952)
• The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
• The Sea Hawk (1940)
• The Black Swan (1942)
• The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
• The African Queen (1951)
• The Crimson Pirate (1952)
• Scaramouche (1952)
• The Man Who Would Be King (1975)
• Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)
• Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
• Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
• Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)
• Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
• Romancing the Stone (1984)
• The Goonies (1985)
• Sesame Street Presents Follow That Bird (1985)
• The Princess Bride (1987)
• Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
• Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)
• The Rocketeer (1991)
• Jurassic Park (1993)
• The Lost World (1997)
• The Mummy films (1999–2008)
• Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
• Hero (2002)
• Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
• The Incredibles (2004)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)
• The Librarian films (2004–2008)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)
• National Treasure (2004)
• Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)
• Blood Diamond (2006)
• National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007)
• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
• Zorro films
• Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D (2008)
• Various versions of the novels of Alexandre Dumas, including The Count of Monte Cristo, The Three Musketeers and The Man in the Iron Mask

Popular adventure film filmmakers

• Michael Curtiz
• John Huston
• George Lucas
• Steven Spielberg
• Raoul Walsh

External links

• Adventure films at Allmusic