A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, crime and corruption put the characters in conflict with themselves, others, society and even natural phenomena."Drama Films". Filmsite.org

This film genre can be contrasted with an action film which relies on fast-paced action, and physical conflict but superficial character development. All film genres can include dramatic elements, but typically, films considered drama films focus mainly on the drama of the main issue.

Some of well-known drama films include The Godfather (1972), The Shawshank Redemption (1994), and Schindler's List (1993) ref>"Top Drama Movies". Internet Movie Database

Sub-genres

Dramatic films include a very large spectrum of film genres. Because of the large number of drama films, these movies have been sub-categorized:

• Crime drama and Legal drama - Character development based on themes involving criminals, law enforcement and the legal system.
• Historical drama (epic) (including War drama) - Films that focus on dramatic events in history.
• Biographical drama (biopic) - Films that focus on true stories of real people.
• Comedy-drama: is in which there is an equal, or nearly equal balance of humor and serious content.
• Melodrama: a sub-type of drama films that uses plots that appeal to the heightened emotions of the audience. Melodramatic plots often deal with "crises of human emotion, failed romance or friendship, strained familial situations, tragedy, illness, neuroses, or emotional and physical hardship." Film critics sometimes use the term "pejoratively to connote an unrealistic, pathos-filled, campy tale of romance or domestic situations with stereotypical characters (often including a central female character) that would directly appeal to feminine audiences." Also called "women's movies", "weepies", tearjerkers, or "chick flicks".
• Romance: a sub-type of dramatic film which dwells on the elements of romantic love.
• Tragedy: a drama in which a character's downfall is caused by a flaw in their character or by a major error in judgment.

Early film-1950s

From the silent era to the 1950s, Dramas were tools to teach the audience. Films like The Grapes of Wrath (1940) show the effects of the depression. Citizen Kane (1941) was said by Orson Welles to not be a biography of William Randolph Hearst, but a composite of many people from that era. In the 1950s, began a rise in well-known dramatic actors. Glenn Ford, James Dean, Bette Davis, and Marilyn Monroe were notable dramatic actors. Dramatic Films focused on character relationships and development. All About Eve (1950) focused on women, and their relationship with men. Rebel Without a Cause (1955) displayed teenage angst. Films like 12 Angry Men (1957) and Anatomy of a Murder (1959) show the inner workings of a courtroom. The 1950s was the debut of Akira Kurosawa, and films such as Rashomon (1950) and Seven Samurai (1954).