An anthology film or omnibus film or portmanteau film is a film consisting of several different short films, often tied together by only a single theme, premise, or brief interlocking event (often a turning point). Sometimes each one is directed by a different director. Sometimes there is a theme, such as a place (e.g. New York Stories, Paris, je t'aime), a person (e.g. Four Rooms), or a thing (e.g. Twenty Bucks, Coffee and Cigarettes), that is present in each story and serves to bind them together. One of the earliest films to use the form was the 1948 film Quartet based on stories by W. Somerset Maugham. This led to two sequels, Trio (1950) and Encore (1951), as well as imitators like O. Henry's Full House. Film is a term that encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. ... The film director, on the right, gives last minute direction to the cast and crew, whilst filming a costume drama on location in London. ... New York Stories DVD cover New York Stories is a movie which was released in the USA in March 1989. ... Paris, je taime (Paris, I love you) is a 2006 film starring several famous (and less famous) American, British and French movie actors, including Nick Nolte, Elijah Wood, Bob Hoskins, Natalie Portman, Gérard Depardieu, Juliette Binoche, Willem Dafoe, Steve Buscemi and Gena Rowlands. ... Four Rooms is a 1995 anthology film telling four stories set in a Los Angeles hotel on New Years Eve. ... Twenty Bucks is a 1993 film that follows the travels of a $20 bill from a crisp new bill from the ATM through various transactions an incidents from person to person through the city. ... Coffee and Cigarettes is a 2003 independent film directed by Jim Jarmusch. ... The year 1948 in film involved some significant events. ... W. Somerset Maugham as photographed in 1934 by Carl Van Vechten. ... Year 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... O. Henrys Full House is a 1952 portmanteau film made by 20th Century Fox, consisting of five separate stories by O. Henry. ...

Sometimes there is one "top-level" story, a framing device, which leads into the various "sub-stories", as in Tales of Manhattan, Flesh and Fantasy (1943 film), Dead of Night and The Illustrated Man. The former helped to popularise the format for horror films (though they had existed as far back as Unheimliche Geschichten (1919)), and British company Amicus made several such films in the 1960s and 1970s. Another variation is when different sub-narratives share a common incident (usually a turning point), as in Amores perros. The term framing device refers to the usage of a single action, scene, event, setting, or any element of significance at the beginning and end of a work. ... Tales of Manhattan is a 1942 black-and-white anthology film directed by Julien Duvivier. ... Flesh and Fantasy is a 1943 anthology film, directed by Julien Duvivier, starring Edward G. Robinson, Charles Boyer and Barbara Stanwyck. ... This article is about the 1945 film. ... Amicus Productions was founded in the UK by American producer and screenwriter Milton Subotsky, and served primarily as vehicle for Subotskys anthology horror films such as Dr. Terrors House of Horrors (1964), directed by genre stalwart Freddie Francis, and The House That Dripped Blood. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, also called The Seventies. ... Amores perros is a Mexican film directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu in 2000. ...

The Red Violin (1998) could also be considered a portmanteau film, since the storylines revolve around the various owners of a precious sixteenth-century violin through the centuries. Similarly, 1964's The Yellow Rolls-Royce follows the owners of the titular vehicle. The Red Violin (French: Le Violon rouge, German: Die Rote Geige, Italian: Il Violino Rosso, Mandarin: 红提琴) is a Canadian film released on November 13, 1998 (in the USA on June 11, 1999). ... Cinema poster for The Yellow Rolls Royce The Yellow Rolls-Royce is a 1964 MGM drama film. ...

Gene Kelly's 1956 all-dance film Invitation to the Dance consisted of three distinct stories, each different in tone and with its own plot line. Kelly appeared in each of the stories. Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996), better known as Gene Kelly, was an American dancer, actor, singer, director, producer, and choreographer. ... Invitation to the Dance is a 1956 anthology film consisting of three distinct stories, all starring and directed by Gene Kelly. ...

Recent examples from Bollywood include Ram Gopal Varma's. Darna Mana Hai and its sequel Darna Zaroori Hai. Bollywood (Hindi: , Urdu: ) is the informal name given to the popular Mumbai-based Hindi language film industry in India. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Darna Mana Hai (Hindi: डरना मना है, Urdu: ڈرنا منع ہے) is a Bollywood production, released on July 25, 2003. ... Darna Zaroori Hai (Hindi: डरना ज़रूरी है, Urdu: ڈرنا ضروری ہے) is a 2006 Indian portmanteau film, in which an old lady tells six scary stories to a group of five children. ...

See also

• List of package films
• Anthology
• Frame tale
• portmanteau