An anthology film (also known as an omnibus film or a portmanteau film) is a single film consisting of three or more shorter films, each complete in itself and distinguished from the other, though frequently tied together by a single theme, premise, or author. Sometimes each one is directed by a different director or written by a different author, or may even have been made at different times or in different countries. Anthology films are distinguished from " revue films" such as '' Paramount on Parade'' (1930)—which were common in Hollywood in the early decades of

sound film A sound film is a Film, motion picture with synchronization, synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, bu ...

, composite films, and

compilation film A compilation film, or compilation movie is a film composed of scenes and shots taken from two or more prior films or television programs and edited together so as to make a new film, whether on the same or a different subject. The most common e ...

s. Anthology films are often mistaken with hyperlink cinema. Hyperlink cinema shows parts of many stories throughout a film, whereas anthology films show story segments of one at a time. Some mistaken examples include ''

Pulp Fiction ''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American independent crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino from a story he conceived with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; It tells four intertwining tales of crime and violence ...

'' (1994) and '' Amores Perros'' (2000), distributing their storylines non-chronologically, separated by segments.

Films

*''

Intolerance Intolerance may refer to: * Hypersensitivity or intolerance, undesirable reactions produced by the immune system * ''Intolerance'' (film), a 1916 film by D. W. Griffith * ''Intolerance'' (album), the first solo album from Grant Hart, formerly ...

'' (1916) *''

If I Had a Million ''If I Had a Million'' is a 1932 American pre-Code Paramount Studios anthology film starring Gary Cooper, George Raft, Charles Laughton, W. C. Fields, Jack Oakie, Frances Dee and Charlie Ruggles, among others. There were seven directors: ...

'' (1932) *'' Fantasia'' (1940) *'' Tales of Manhattan'' (1942) *'' Flesh and Fantasy'' (1943) *'' Dead of Night'' (1945) *'' L'Amore'' (1948) *''

Quartet In music, a quartet (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers. Classical String quartet In classical music, one of the most common combinations of four instruments in chamber music is the string quartet. String quar ...

'' (1948) *'' Trio'' (1950) *'' Encore'' (1951) *'' O. Henry's Full House'' (1952) *'' Actors and Sin'' (1952) *'' Love in the City'' (1953) *''

Siamo donne ''We, the Women'' (also known as ''Of Life and Love'' and in ) is a 1953 Italian portmanteau film divided into five segments and directed by five different directors. Four of these segments focus upon alleged events in the private lives of the f ...

'' (1953) *'' Invitation to the Dance'' (1956) *''

Love and the Frenchwoman ''Love and the Frenchwoman'' is the US title of a 1960 French anthology film originally entitled ''La française et l'amour''. It starred Jean-Paul Belmondo and Dany Robin. The movie was a big hit in France with admissions of 3,056,736.< ...

'' (1960) *''

Boccaccio '70 ''Boccaccio '70'' is a 1962 comedy anthology film directed by Vittorio De Sica, Federico Fellini, Mario Monicelli and Luchino Visconti from an idea by Cesare Zavattini. It consists of four episodes, each by one of the directors, all about ...

'' (1962) *''

Love at Twenty ''Love at Twenty'' (, , , , ) is a 1962 French-produced omnibus project of Pierre Roustang, consisting of five segments, each with a different director from a different country. It was entered into the 12th Berlin International Film Festival. ...

'' (1962) *''

Mondo Cane ''Mondo Cane'' (a somewhat coarse Italian expletive, literally ) is a 1962 Italian mondo documentary film and directed by the trio of Gualtiero Jacopetti, Paolo Cavara, and Franco E. Prosperi, with narration by Stefano Sibaldi. The film ...

'' (1962) *''

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band ...

'' (1963) *''

The Devil and the Ten Commandments ''Le Diable et les Dix Commandements'' () is a French film from 1962 directed by Julien Duvivier that consists of seven sketches (eight in the versions shown in Germany and Japan) played by an ensemble cast that includes Michel Simon, Micheline ...

'' (1963) *'' Ro.Go.Pa.G.'' (1963) *''

Countersex ''Controsesso'', internationally released as ''Countersex'', is a 1964 Italian anthology comedy film directed by Franco Rossi, Marco Ferreri and Renato Castellani. All the episodes have sex as main theme. The episode of Ferreri is considere ...

'' (1964) *''

My Wife My Wife may refer: *My Wife (1918 film), ''My Wife'' (1918 film), an American silent film *''My Wife'', English language title for the 1942 Indian film ''En Manaivi'' *My Wife (1964 film), ''My Wife'' (1964 film), an Italian comedy film *My Wife (so ...

'' (1964) *'' The Yellow Rolls-Royce'' (1964) *'' Kwaidan'' (1964) *'' Operation Y and Shurik's Other Adventures'' (1965) *'' Le bambole'' (1965) *'' Dr. Terror's House of Horrors'' (1965) *'' Six in Paris'' (1965) *'' 4x4'' (1965) *'' Sex Quartet'' (1966) *'' The Witches'' (1967) *'' The Illustrated Man'' (1968) *'' Spirits of the Dead'' (1968) *'' The House That Dripped Blood'' (1971) *'' Asylum'' (1972) *'' Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask)'' (1972) *'' Tales from the Crypt'' (1972) *'' The Vault of Horror'' (1973) *'' From Beyond the Grave'' (1974) *''

Trilogy of Terror ''Trilogy of Terror'' is a 1975 American made-for-television anthology horror film directed by Dan Curtis and starring Karen Black. It features three segments, each based on unrelated short stories by Richard Matheson. The first follows a col ...

'' (1975) *''

It Can't Be! ''It Can't Be!'' () is a 1975 Soviet Union, Soviet Anthology film, anthology comedy film directed by Leonid Gaidai. It consists of three short stories, based on the works of Mikhail Zoshchenko: ''Crime and Punishment'', ''Fun Adventure'' and ''Wed ...

'' (1975) *'' Germany in Autumn'' (1978) *'' Heavy Metal'' (1981) *'' The Monster Club'' (1981) *'' Creepshow'' (1982) *'' The Adventures of Monica and Friends'' (1982) *''

Nightmares A nightmare, also known as a bad dream, Retrieved 11 July 2016. is an unpleasant dream that can cause a strong emotional response from the mind, typically fear but also despair, anxiety, disgust or sadness. The dream may contain situations o ...

'' (1983) *'' Twilight Zone: The Movie'' (1983) *'' Kaos'' (1984) *'' The Company of Wolves'' (1984) *'' Shake, Rattle & Roll'' series (1984–present) *'' Cat's Eye'' (1985) *'' The New Adventures of Monica and Friends'' (1986) *''

Aria In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...

'' (1987) *'' Creepshow 2'' (1987) *'' Martha, Ruth and Edie'' (1988) *''

New York Stories ''New York Stories'' is a 1989 American anthology film consisting of three segments with the central theme being New York City. The first is ''Life Lessons'', directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Richard Price and starring Nick Nolte. The ...

'' (1989) *''

Mystery Train "Mystery Train" is a song written and recorded by American blues musician Junior Parker in 1953. Originally performed in the style of a Memphis blues or rhythm and blues tune, it was inspired by earlier songs and later became a popular rockabil ...

'' (1989) *''

Dreams A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5–20 minutes, althou ...

'' (1990) *'' Tales from the Darkside: The Movie'' (1990) *'' Montreal Stories'' (1991) *'' Night on Earth'' (1991) *'' Necronomicon'' (1993) *'' Twenty Bucks'' (1993) *'' Chungking Express'' (1994) *'' Four Rooms'' (1995) *'' Rendezvous in Paris'' (1995) *'' Tales from the Hood'' (1995) *''

Cosmos The cosmos (, ; ) is an alternative name for the universe or its nature or order. Usage of the word ''cosmos'' implies viewing the universe as a complex and orderly system or entity. The cosmos is studied in cosmologya broad discipline covering ...

'' (1996) *'' Troublesome Night'' series (1997–2017) *''

The Red Violin ''The Red Violin'' () is a 1998 anthology Drama (film and television), drama film directed by François Girard and starring Samuel L. Jackson, Carlo Cecchi and Sylvia Chang. It spans four centuries and five countries telling the story of a myster ...

'' (1998) *'' The Animatrix'' (2003) *'' Coffee and Cigarettes'' (2003) *''

Eros Eros (, ; ) is the Greek god of love and sex. The Romans referred to him as Cupid or Amor. In the earliest account, he is a primordial god, while in later accounts he is the child of Aphrodite. He is usually presented as a handsome young ma ...

'' (2004) *'' Cine Gibi: O Filme'' (2004) *''

Sin City ''Sin City'' is a series of neo-noir Comic book, comics by American comic book writer-artist Frank Miller. The first story originally appeared in ''Dark Horse Presents Fifth Anniversary Special'' (April 1991), and continued in ''Dark Horse Prese ...

'' (2005) *'' Hood of Horror'' (2006) *''

Paris, je t'aime ''Paris, je t'aime'' (; ) is a 2006 anthology film starring an ensemble cast of actors of various nationalities. The two-hour film consists of eighteen short films set in different '' arrondissements'' (districts). The 22 directors include Guri ...

'' (2006) *'' Wag Kang Lilingon'' (2006) *'' Batman: Gotham Knight'' (2008) *'' Kerala Cafe'' (2009) *'' Cinco'' (2010) *'' Please Do Not Disturb'' (2010) *'' Burning Palms'' (2010) *'' The Road'' (2011) *'' 24/7 in Love'' (2012) *'' V/H/S'' (2012) *'' All Hallows' Eve'' (2013) *'' 5 Sundarikal'' (2013) *'' Tuhog'' (2013) *'' V/H/S/2'' (2013) *'' V/H/S: Viral'' (2014) *'' Wild Tales'' (2014) *'' A Gift'' (2016) *''

Solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''Star Wars Legends'' continuity * Kylo Ren (Ben Solo), a ''Star Wars'' character * Napoleon Solo, fr ...

'' (2017) *'' The Ballad of Buster Scruggs'' (2018) *'' Lust Stories'' (2018) *'' Kathasangama'' (2019) *'' Omniboat: A Fast Boat Fantasia'' (2020) *''

Aanum Pennum ''Aanum Pennum'' () is a 2021 Indian Malayalam cinema, Malayalam-language anthology film featuring three segments directed by Venu (cinematographer), Venu, Aashiq Abu and Jay K. The film explores the stories of man-woman relationships in the b ...

'' (2021) *'' Ajeeb Daastaans'' (2021) *'' V/H/S/94'' (2021) *''

The French Dispatch ''The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun'' (or simply ''The French Dispatch'') is a 2021 American anthology comedy drama film written, directed, and co-produced by Wes Anderson from a story he conceived with Roman Coppola, Hugo ...

'' (2021) *'' V/H/S/99'' (2022) *'' The House'' (2022) *'' We Are Still Here'' (2022) *'' V/H/S/85'' (2023) *'' Lust Stories 2'' (2023) *'' Kinds of Kindness ''(2024) *'' That Christmas'' (2024) *'' V/H/S/Beyond'' (2024) *'' Predator: Killer of Killers'' (2025)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anthology Film Film styles Film genres

Films

See also

References