mov ‧ ie S2 W2 /ˈmuːvi/ BrE AmE noun [countable] especially American English
1 . a film made to be shown at the cinema or on television:
It was like one of those old John Wayne movies.
in a movie
She once played the innocent victim in a horror movie.
movie about
a movie about two gay teenagers who fall in love
2 . the movies
a) the cinema:
We took the kids to the movies.
In those days, we went to the movies every week.
at the movies
Why were you at the movies all by yourself?
b) films in general, and the events in them
in (the) movies
He couldn’t believe his luck. It was the sort of thing that only happened in the movies.
c) the business of producing films:
a career in the movies
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COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ watch/see a movie
We watched the movie and ate popcorn.
▪ go to a movie
How about going to a movie?
▪ take in a movie American English (=go to see a movie)
Maybe we could go out to dinner and take in a movie.
▪ appear in/be in a movie
She’s also appeared in ten movies.
▪ star in a movie (=play one of the main characters)
Depp will star in director Tim Burton’s next movie.
▪ a movie stars/features somebody
a movie starring Will Smith
▪ make/shoot a movie
The children have made their own movies for the contest.
▪ direct a movie
He wrote and directed the movie.
▪ show/screen a movie
What movies are they showing this weekend?
▪ a movie is released (=becomes available for the public to see)
The movie has already been released in the US.
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + movie
▪ an old movie
She was watching an old movie on television.
▪ a classic movie (=an old movie that is very good)
a scene from the classic movie ‘Casablanca’
▪ a hit movie (=a successful movie)
He has directed a string of hit movies.
▪ a cult movie (=one that a small group of people like very much and watch often)
a showing of the cult movie ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’
▪ a big-budget/low-budget movie (=one that cost a lot of money to make, or very little money to make)
He won a role in a big-budget movie.
■ movie + NOUN
▪ the movie industry
How did you get started in the movie industry?
▪ a movie star
She looked like a movie star.
▪ a movie director
He and his wife are both movie directors.
▪ a movie producer
He started out as an actor, then became a movie producer.
▪ a movie premiere (=the first showing of a movie)
She wore the dress to a movie premiere.
▪ a movie camera
Do you know how to operate a movie camera?
▪ a movie screen
It was strange to see herself up there on the movie screen.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ film especially British English , movie especially American English a series of images that tell a story and are shown in a cinema or on television:
What’s your favourite movie?
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It won the award for best foreign film.
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a made-for-TV movie
▪ motion picture formal ( also picture ) a film – used especially by people who make films or by critics:
a major Hollywood motion picture
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Tell us about your latest picture.
▪ blockbuster informal a very successful film:
Steven Spielberg’s latest Hollywood blockbuster
▪ flick informal a film – a very informal use:
an action flick
▪ documentary a film that gives detailed information and facts about a particular subject:
a documentary on the rain forest
▪ feature film a film made to be shown in cinemas:
The book was later made into a full-length feature film starring Sean Penn.
▪ comedy a film intended to make people laugh:
Monroe appeared in a number of comedies.
▪ romantic comedy ( also romcom British English informal ) a film about two people who are in love, which is intended to make the people who watch it feel happy:
‘Notting Hill’ is a romantic comedy starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant.
▪ thriller an exciting film, especially about murder or serious crimes:
‘The Birds’ is a classic Hitchcock thriller.
▪ film noir a film that shows strong feelings of fear or evil and whose characters are often immoral, or these films in general:
‘The Big Sleep’ is a classic Hollywood film noir.
▪ action film/movie a film that has lots of fighting, explosions etc:
Stallone’s latest action movie
▪ horror film/movie a frightening film about ghosts, murders etc:
She loves watching old horror movies.
▪ western a film with cowboys in it:
John Wayne is famous for making westerns.
▪ science fiction film/movie ( also sci-fi film/movie informal ) a film about imaginary events in the future or in outer space:
‘2001’ is probably the most famous sci-fi movie ever made.
▪ gangster film/movie a film about violent criminals
▪ silent film/movie an old film without any sound:
The 1920s were the golden age of silent movies.
▪ an independent film/movie a film made by a small film company
▪ animated film/movie/cartoon a film with characters that are drawn or made using a computer:
One of his first animated films was ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’.
▪ anime /ˈænɪmeɪ, -mə/ a type of Japanese animated film, which often has a science fiction story:
Miyazaki’s anime film ‘Spirited Away’ became an international success.
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an anime character
▪ CGI the use of computers to create characters and images in a film:
The film uses CGI.
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Disney’s latest CGI movie
▪ short a short film, usually shown before a longer movie in the cinema:
an animated short
▪ trailer a series of short scenes from a film or programme, shown in order to advertise it in a cinema, on television etc:
We had to sit through all the trailers.
■ the people who make film
▪ actor a man or woman who acts in a film:
a previously unknown actor
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Brando was one of Hollywood’s greatest actors.
▪ actress a woman who acts in a film. Women who appear in films or plays usually prefer to be called actors :
She was the actress who played Scarlet O'Hara in ‘Gone with the Wind’.
▪ star a famous actor or actress:
He looked liked a movie star.
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a hotel which was used by the stars
▪ director the person who tells the actors and actresses in a film what to do:
The director of the film is Quentin Tarantino.
▪ producer the person who makes the arrangements for a film to be made and controls the ↑ budget
▪ film/movie crew the people operating the camera, lights etc who help the director make a film