Dramatic Film

Tragedy has always been a favorite movie theme. Or, maybe I should say, tragedy and then triumph over tragedy has always been a favorite movie theme. We call it drama.

There are a great many subsets under the general genre "drama," such as historical dramas, melodramas, epics, romantic dramas, even dramatic biographies. A drama is a serious, plot-driven movie that depicts realistic characters, settings, life situations, and stories that involve intense character development. Usually a drama is not based on special effects, comedy, or action, Dramatic films are probably the largest film genre.

Here are my picks of the five best dramatic films of all time. I had a hard time narrowing down my selection, and there are so many others that should have been included.

1. "I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang": It was released in 1932 and is what I call a "social Justice" drama. It's about how prisoners were mistreated in southern prisons. Its story of a World War I veteran who battles unemployment during the Depression, is unjustly convicted of a petty robbery, and then twice serves and escapes from a southern chain gang.

2. "The Grapes of Wrath": It was released in 1940. "The Grapes of Wrath" is about an indomitable, Depression-era family from Oklahoma — the Joads — who survive a tragic journey from Oklahoma to California because of the tragic circumstances of the Dust Bowl.

3. "Rebel Without a Cause": It was released in 1955 and was about a troubled teen who was trying to deal with life and life changes (sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll) that he didn't understand and couldn't control.

4. "Days of Wine and Roses": It was released in 1962. It's a dramatic film about the effects of alcoholism on marriage and family.

5. "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest": It was released in 1975. "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" was filmed in a mental hospital. It tells the story of a wise-guy antihero who stages a fishing trip and a drinking party in a mental ward, which leads to him being given a lobotomy.