Your favourite multi-genre film?

[stigdu]

I was thinking how hard it must be to juggle different genres throughout a movie whilst keeping it all thematically consistent.

I'm not just talking about dual-genre movies like, say Evil Dead 2 and Braindead (comedy/horror) or Shazam and Deadpool (superhero comedies with a dark edge) but ones that manage to successfully mix 4 or 5 different genres.

I think one of the best handled films is Jerry Zucker's Ghost, which in my opinion marries comedy, fantasy, romance, drama, thriller and horror elements with great coherence.

What would your choice be?

[CyberpunkCentral]

Alien since it's both sci-fi and horror.

[EvaDK]

A lot of Kubrick's films defy genre classification; their common trait revolves around studying human behavior and interaction.

[Todd Tomorrow]

Originally Posted by EvaDK

A lot of Kubrick's films defy genre classification; their common trait revolves around studying human behavior and interaction.

Odd one to point to because most of Kubrick’s films are pure genre films. One thing which is interesting about his career is that despite being a high brow director, he was drawn to genres and enjoyed working in them. Any genre can explore human behaviour and interaction and just because a film is sophisticated in that regard doesn’t remove it from that genre.

[stigdu]

Originally Posted by CyberpunkCentral

Alien since it's both sci-fi and horror.

I'm assuming you didn't read my post, then?

[Al_The_Strange]

Kill Bill: material arts, crime, action, adventure, comedy, drama, western, and some bits of anime and horror.

[lud]

Psycho. Thriller-horror-mystery- even adventure.

The Crying Game. War-Romance-Thriller.

From Dusk Till Dawn. Not a fan. Probably most epic genre switch of all time.

[ninfan81]

[QUOTE=lud;16741698]Psycho. Thriller-horror-mystery- even adventure.

The Crying Game. War-Romance-Thriller.

From Dusk Till Dawn. Not a fan. Probably most epic genre switch of all time.[/QUOTE]

Looking back it was basically Grindhouse before Grindhouse, with each director almost mirroring the style years later.

[surfdude12]

Mulholland Drive - drama, suspense, thriller, horror, crime mystery, fantasy, mind bender

[traths]

Ocean's Eleven (2001)- drama, heist, comedy, suspense

[EvaDK]

Originally Posted by Todd Tomorrow

Odd one to point to because most of Kubrick’s films are pure genre films. One thing which is interesting about his career is that despite being a high brow director, he was drawn to genres and enjoyed working in them. Any genre can explore human behaviour and interaction and just because a film is sophisticated in that regard doesn’t remove it from that genre.

I didn't say that Kubrick doesn't navigate in genres; I said that his films often defy genre classification as in a single genre or a mix of two easily definable genres. I see a film like Eyes Wide Shut as equal parts mystery, relationship drama, psychological thriller, erotic thriller and slightly surreal/dreamy. To 'just' label it as, say an erotic thriller, is doing the film a disservice and not representative of the film as a whole.

[DanTheMan]

Back to the Future (Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Comedy/Family)

[Todd Tomorrow]

Originally Posted by EvaDK

I didn't say that Kubrick doesn't navigate in genres; I said that his films often defy genre classification as in a single genre or a mix of two easily definable genres. I see a film like Eyes Wide Shut as equal parts mystery, relationship drama, psychological thriller, erotic thriller and slightly surreal/dreamy. To 'just' label it as, say an erotic thriller, is doing the film a disservice and not representative of the film as a whole.

That’s one of the rare films of his which is more of genre-hybrid, even as it is his take on the erotic thriller.

Most of his Films do not defy genre classification, rather they were milestones in genre filmmaking against which other genre films still keep getting compared.

Two science fiction films, two war films, one horror film, one Hollywood (swords and sandals) epic, one costume drama, two film noir crime movies and I’ll concede that his two black comedies contain other genre elements. But that’s not often.

[UltraMario9]

Cloud Atlas

[Todd Tomorrow]

David Lynch’s films often combine several genres. Blue Velvet is a film noir, horror film, coming of age film, gangster film, psychological thriller and a black comedy informed by the look of 50s Technicolor melodramas.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a science fiction horror sex comedy musical

[surfdude12]

Across the Universe (drama, fantasy, period piece)
The Fall (action, adventure, fantasy, drama)
Big Fish (drama, fantasy, adventure)
Last Year at Marienbad (mystery, drama, fantasy)
The Fountain (sci-fi, drama, fantasy, romance)
Videodrome (horror, sci-fi, thriller)
Vanilla Sky (sci-fi, fantasy, drama, romance)

[filmbuffTX]

The Color Purple - a period drama with tragic circumstances for some its main characters that also manages to be quite hilarious throughout and includes a fun musical element. Spielberg did a great job of balancing the disparate tones. His movie is a bit softer and more idyllic than the novel, but he made the movie he wanted to make. The original songs in the film were written by Quincy Jones who also composed the excellent score. The scenes they are in feel like big musical productions. You wouldn’t necessarily expect to feel as much joy and have as much fun watching a movie with this kind of premise.

I’ve been to social gatherings and parties where people would start quoting The Color Purple as a joke/for kicks like you would for some comedy or cult film. People love the movie.

Meet Joe Black - an epic 3 hour romantic fantasy drama that feels much bigger than just a “romantic drama”. It’s like a meditation on life itself and what it means to live and be human.

[EvaDK]

Originally Posted by Todd Tomorrow

Two science fiction films, two war films, one horror film, one Hollywood (swords and sandals) epic, one costume drama, two film noir crime movies and I’ll concede that his two black comedies contain other genre elements. But that’s not often.

Hey, we could discuss Kubrick's work in length but I have no intention to derail the thread. Agree with the David Lynch namedrop; another true auteur that escapes easy classification, just like his films.

I wish good luck to anyone attempting to pin various films from the likes of Terrence Malick, Yorgos Lanthimos and Tarkovsky into single genre boxes.

[MassiveMovieBuff]

Kindergarten Cop. It's a superb mix of comedy, romance and thriller.

An American Werewolf in London. IMHO the definitive mixture of hilarious comedy and very frightening horror even though it's really only 2 genres.

From Dusk till Dawn. Another superb mixture of action, character drama, thriller and horror. Even has some modern western thrown in.

Bone Tomahawk. Speaking of western, this is another superb mixture of modern western, action, thriller, horror, character drama and some comedy as well.

Let Me In. This film is a straight up masterpiece IMHO that masterfully combines character drama, coming of age, a couple "bizarre" love stories, thriller and horror.

[Stanis]

Just finished Explorers, can't name too many other Family friendly Sci-fi comedys