Abstract: Rick Altman with the University of Iowa is one of the most respected scholars in the field of international film genre researches. In his more than 20 years of film genre researches, he constantly revised and perfected the theoretical framework, and finally formed a threelayer analytical framework of grammar, history and culture. This theoretical framework can powerfully reveal the aesthetics, commercial and cultural features of commercial genre films and their interactive force. His theoretical achievements are of great significance to the promotion of the theoretical construction of film genre researches in China.

Key words: film genre research, Rick Altman, threelayer analytical framework, genre grammar research, genre culture research, genre history research