Best Traitor Movies
Ranked by how strongly each film carries the visual signature of traitor cinema — measured across 741 indexed frames from 11 films, against a 408,752-frame catalogue baseline. Not by box office, and not by vote.
Traitor films over-index on tunic, stone wall and clouds — the objects that make the genre recognisable before a line is spoken.
- 1
Martin ScorseseDP Michael BallhausIMDb 7.5TMDB 7.2See in full on FrameThrower →
The carpenter, Jesus of Nazareth, tormented by the temptations of demons, the guilt of making crosses for the Romans, pity for men and the world, and the constant call of God, sets out to find what God wills for Him. But as His mission nears fulfillment, He must face the greatest temptation; the normal life of a good man. Based, not on the Gospels, but on Nikos Kazantzakis' novel of the same name.
- 2
Your Highness (2011)
David Gordon GreenDP Tim OrrIMDb 5.5TMDB 5.3See in full on FrameThrower →
Throughout history, tales of chivalry have burnished the legends of brave, handsome knights who rescue fair damsels, slay dragons and conquer evil. But behind many a hero is a good-for-nothing younger brother trying just to stay out of the way of those dragons, evil and trouble in general. As two princes on a daring mission to save their land, they must rescue the heir apparent's fiancée before their kingdom is destroyed. Thadeous (McBride) has spent his life watching his perfect older brother Fabious (Franco) embark upon valiant journeys and win the hearts of his people. Tired of being passed over for adventure, adoration and the throne, he's settled for a life of wizard's weed, hard booze and easy maidens. But when Fabious' bride-to-be, Belladonna (Zooey Deschanel), gets kidnapped by the evil wizard Leezar (Justin Theroux), the king gives his deadbeat son an ultimatum: Man up and help rescue her or get cut off. Half-assedly embarking upon his first quest, Thadeous joins Fabious to trek across the perilous outlands and free the princess. Joined by Isabel (Natalie Portman)-an elusive warrior with a dangerous agenda of her own-the brothers must vanquish horrific creatures and traitorous knights before they can reach Belladonna. If Thadeous can find his inner hero, he can help his brother prevent the destruction of his land. Stay a slacker, and not only does he die a coward, he gets front row seats to the dawn of an all-new Dark Ages.
- 3
Shrek the Third (2007)
Chris MillerIMDb 6.1TMDB 6.3See in full on FrameThrower →
When King Harold (John Cleese) of Far, Far Away dies, the clumsy Shrek (Mike Myers) becomes the immediate successor of the throne. However, Shrek decides to find the legitimate heir Artie (Justin Timberlake) in a distant kingdom with his friends Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) to be able return to his beloved house in the swamp with the pregnant Fiona (Cameron Diaz). Meanwhile, the envious and ambitious Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) joins the villains of the fairytales plotting a coup d'état to become the new King.
- 4
Alfonso CuarónDP Michael SeresinIMDb 7.9TMDB 8.0See in full on FrameThrower →
Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) is having a tough time with his relatives (yet again). He runs away after using magic to inflate Uncle Vernon's (Richard Griffiths') sister Marge (Pam Ferris), who was being offensive towards Harry's parents. Initially scared for using magic outside the school, he is pleasantly surprised that he won't be penalized after all. However, he soon learns that a dangerous criminal and Voldemort's trusted aide Sirius Black (Gary Oldman) has escaped from Azkaban Prison and wants to kill Harry to avenge the Dark Lord. To worsen the conditions for Harry, vile creatures called Dementors are appointed to guard the school gates and inexplicably happen to have the most horrible effect on him. Little does Harry know that by the end of this year, many holes in his past (whatever he knows of it) will be filled up and he will have a clearer vision of what the future has in store.
- 5
Ken LoachDP Barry AckroydIMDb 7.5TMDB 7.3See in full on FrameThrower →
In 1920, rural Ireland is the vicious battlefield of republican rebels against the British security forces and Irish Unionist population who oppose them, a recipe for mutual cruelty. Medical graduate Damien O'Donovan always gave priority to his socialist ideals and simply helping people in need. Just when he's leaving Ireland to work in a highly reputed London hospital, witnessing gross abuse of commoners changes his mind. he returns and joins the local IRA brigade, commanded by his brother Teddy, and adopts the merciless logic of civil war, while Teddy mellows by experiencing first-hand endless suffering. When IRA leaders negotiate an autonomous Free State under the British crown, Teddy defends the pragmatic best possible deal at this stage. Damien however joins the large seceding faction which holds nothing less than a socialist republic will do. The result is another civil war, bloodily opposing former Irish comrades in arms, even the brothers.
- 6
Dune (1984)
David LynchDP Freddie FrancisIMDb 6.3TMDB 6.2See in full on FrameThrower →
In the distant year of 10191, all the planets of the known Universe are under the control of Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV and the most important commodity in the Universe is a substance called the spice "MELANGE" which is said to have the power of extending life, expanding the consciousness and even to "fold space" ; being able to travel to any distance without physically moving. This spice "MELANGE" is said to only be produced in the desert planet of Arrakis, where the FREMEN people have the prophecy of a man who will lead them to true freedom. This "desert planet"of Arrakis is also known as DUNE. A secret report of the space "GUILD" talks about some circumstances and plans that could jeopardize the production of "SPICE" with four planets involved: ARRAKIS, CALADAN, GIEDI PRIME and KAITAIN, a world at least visually very alike to Earth and house of the Emperor of the known Universe. The "GUILD" sends a third stage navigator to KAITAIN to ask details from the Emperor and to demand him the killing of young Paul Atreides, son of the Duke Leto Atreides of CALADAN.
- 7
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Quentin TarantinoDP Andrzej SekulaIMDb 8.3TMDB 8.1See in full on FrameThrower →
Harvey Keitelas Mr. White / Larry Dimmick
Tim Rothas Mr. Orange / Freddy Newandyke
Michael Madsenas Mr. Blonde / Vic Vega
Six thugs, who are strangers to each other, are hired by a crime boss, Joe Cabot, to carry out a diamond robbery. Right at the outset, they are given false names with the intention that they won't get too close and will concentrate on the job instead. They are completely sure that the robbery is going to be a success. But, when the police show up right at the time and the site of the robbery, panic spreads amongst the group members, and two of them are killed in the subsequent shootout, along with a few policemen and civilians. When the remaining people assemble at the premeditated rendezvous point (a warehouse), they begin to suspect that one of them is an undercover cop.
- 8
Gore VerbinskiDP Dariusz WolskiIMDb 7.2TMDB 7.3See in full on FrameThrower →
After losing Jack Sparrow to the locker of Davy Jones, the team of Will Turner, Elizabeth Swan and Captain Barbossa make their final alliances with the pirate world to take on the forces of Lord Cutler Beckett and his crew, including Davy Jones, who he now has control over. It's not going to be easy, as they must rescue Sparrow, convince all the pirate lords to join them and defeats Beckett, whilst each individual pirate has their own route which they wish to follow.
What traitor films are made of
How much more often each element appears in a traitor frame than in an average frame from the catalogue. A ratio, not a share — tunic is not in most frames, it is simply far more common here than anywhere else.
- tunic9.0×
- stone wall4.1×
- clouds2.4×
- blood1.8×
- suit jacket1.7×
- grass1.6×
How traitor films are shot
Weaker signals than the objects above, and worth saying so: most dramatic genres skew dark and night-heavy, so these numbers separate traitor from the catalogue far more than they separate it from its neighbours.
- 25%widevs 20% baseline
- 83%eye levelvs 69% baseline
What breaks the pattern
Downfall (2004) is the least typical film here — it carries the least of what the rest of this list is made of. Which is either a failure of the genre label, or the most interesting film on the page.
Method
Every frame in the FrameThrower catalogue is tagged for shot size, lighting, time of day, camera angle, colour and the objects visible in it. This page aggregates those tags across 741 frames from 11 films carrying the traitor label, and compares each figure to the same measurement across the whole catalogue (408,752 frames). Films are ranked by how closely they match the theme’s over-indexed elements, weighted by how distinctive each element is; one film per series. Only films with at least 20 indexed frames and 500 TMDB votes are listed.
Machine-readable: /api/list/traitor
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