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Library Resources for Film & Media Studies

Articles & Reviews | Older Reviews | Books & Journals |

Videos | Archives | Scholarly, Popular & Web Sources | Other Links

BMC Film Studies webpage | New & Featured Videos | Have a question? Ask A Librarian

 

 

Finding journal articles and reviews:

Film Literature Index

The most important index for Film Studies. Citations for articles, film & book reviews published between 1976-2001. The periodicals range from scholarly to popular.

(The print version of this index covers 1973 - 2004.  BMC Reference Z5784.M9 F45 1973  Swat Reference PN1993 .F45)

SEARCH TIPS:

Choose "advanced search" to limit to peer-reviewed, article or film review, language and more.

International Index to the Performing Arts  (IIPA) 

Some full text and abstracts for around 230 international performing arts periodicals.

 

Film Indexes Online

BFI's Film Index International and the AFI Catalog together in one site. An authoritative alternative to searching the IMDB. Search by keyword; film title, crew, character names; genre; release year and more. Many extensive plot summaries included.

 

SEARCH TIPS:

For articles and film review citations, search for a film and see the references at the bottom.

 

  • NOTE: The citations in this database will be listed in the following style:

MPW 26 Mar 10, p377  (This citation means that a review appears in Moving Picture World, MARCH 26, 1910, p377.)

Proquest Research Library

Full-text and citations for journals across a wide range of subject areas, 1971-present.

SEARCH TIPS: Can limit by "document type" to movie, television or video review.  Select "set up alert" to have updated results sent via email!

Historical New York Times

Full-page-images and article images from the New York Times from its first issue in 1851 to three years before the current date. (Use Lexis-Nexis for the most current three years.)

SEARCH TIPS:  Can limit by "document type" to "review", or "display ad" to find movie advertising.

Readers Guide Retrospective

Provides indexing of general-interest periodicals published in the United States between 1890-1982.

Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe

Newspaper reviews and articles. Offers full text of the New York Times from 1980 to date. Coverage of other newspapers and journals varies. Updated daily.

SEARCH TIPS: Select "Guided News Search" tab. Under "Select a News Category", choose "Arts & Sports News." Under "Select a News Source", choose "Book, movie, music & play reviews" for reviews or "Entertainment News" for feature articles.

Art Index

Search by film title. If searching for reviews only, limit by "Document Type" to Film Reviews. Covers abstracts from 1929-present, full-text articles 1997-present.

Arts & Humanities Search

Indexes many of the world's leading arts and humanities journals. 1980- current.

MLA Bibliography

Internationally comprehensive index to literary and related studies, MLA indexes articles in over 3000 journals.1963- current. Updated quarterly.

ARTbibliographies Modern 

Abstracts of the Current Literature of Modern Art, photography and design. Includes citations to articles on film from art journals. 1977-current.

 

 

Finding older film reviews

Try consulting these print indexes.

Readers Guide to Periodical Literature 1900-1993
Search under "Moving Picture Plays" (through February 1977) or

"Motion Picture Reviews "(after February 1977).
(B Canaday Index AI3 .R48)

Art Index 1929-1994
Search under "Motion Picture Reviews"
(B Carpenter Reference Z5937 .A78)

Arts & Humanities Citation Index 1976-1995
(B Canaday Index f AI3 .A63 1976 )

The Critical Index : a Bibliography of Articles on Film in English, 1946-1973

(B Canaday Z5784.M9 G47 1974,

S McCabe Ref PN1995 .G44 1974)

The Film Index

Covers the early years of film up to 1936.

(B Canaday Z 5784 M9 W75  V. 1 & 2

S McCabe Ref PN1993.5 .A1 W74 1941 v. 1)

Film Review Index

Volume 1: 1882-1949, Volume 2:1950-1985. Alphabetical by film title.

(B Canaday Ref PN1995 .F54 1986 

S McCabe Ref PN1995 .F54 1986 Vol. 1 & 2)

Humanities Index 1974/5-
Search under "Motion Picture Reviews"
( B Canaday Index AI3 .H9)

Index to critical film reviews in British and American film periodicals : together with: Index to critical reviews of books about film

Film Periodicals from their beginning to 1971

(S McCabe PN1995 .B68 1974 1&2) 

An Index to Short and Feature Film Reviews

in the Moving Picture World: The Early Years, 1907-1915

(B Canaday Reference Z 5784 M9 D33 1995)

International Dictionary of Films and Filmakers
(B Canaday Reference f PN1997.8 .I58 1997)

The New Film Index; a bibliography of magazine articles in English, 1930-1970

(B Canaday Reference Z5784.M9 M29 1975,

S McCabe Reference PN1994 .M29 1975)

The New York Times Film Reviews 1913-1984
(B Canaday Reference f PN1995 .N4)
See also: Historical New York Times online

Selected Film Criticism 1896-1960
(B Canaday Reference PN1995 .S426 1982

S McCabe Reference PN1995.S426 1982)

 

Retrospective Index to Film Periodicals 1930-1971
(B Canaday Ref Z5784.M9 B39 1975,At Swarthmore, McCabe Reference PN1993.F45 )

Social Sciences & Humanities Index 1965-1974
(B Canaday Index AI3 .S6 )

Variety Film Reviews 1907-1996
( S McCabe Reference PN1995.V34)

 

 

Books

Use Tripod to locate film books and journals owned by the tri-colleges.

Some possible subject headings for books:

Motion Pictures

Motion Picture Producers and Directors

Motion Picture Actors and Actresses

African Americans in Motion Pictures

Cinematography

Film Genres

Motion Pictures History

Women in Motion Pictures

Motion Pictures -- Psychological Aspects

Homosexuality in Motion Pictures

Motion Pictures China

Motion Pictures Censorship

Violence in Motion Pictures

Experimental Films

Feminism and Motion Pictures

Cities and Towns in Motion Pictures

Journals

 

Motion Pictures Periodicals This subject search in Tripod will produce a list of all film journals for the three colleges. This will also display ejournals.

To locate articles and reviews in these periodicals, use the databases and print indexes listed above.

More ejournals

Tri-Co Film Studies E-journals
Bright Lights Film Journal
Images: A Journal of Film and Popular Culture
Film-Philosophy

Framework: The Journal of Cinema and Media

Senses of Cinema e-journal links
Scope

 

 

 

Videos:

All Tri-College videos/DVDs are listed in Tripod.


To find videos by a director, try an "author/creator" search for the director's name.
To find DVDs only, do a "genre" search for "dvd."

Videos may be borrowed from other tri-college libraries by using the REQUEST button in Tripod . Requested videos may be picked up at your Circulation desk, usually within 24 hours.

Students and staff may borrow videos for four days.
Faculty may borrow videos for seven days.
Students and staff are limited to borrowing three videos at a time.

 

  • Tri-College Newest Videos are included in the weekly New Books list. You can customize the page to alert you about new videos, via email or RSS.

Looking for a video for class use or programming? For purchase requests, contact Media Studies Librarian Arleen Zimmerle. Here are some suggested video distributors.

 

Evaluating Your Sources: Scholarly, Popular and Web

 

Scholarly journals are written by and for experts in a field.  The articles tend to be long and contain many citations and footnotes.  Popular magazines are written for a more general audience, and authors tend to be journalists or staff writers.  The articles usually don't provide footnotes or detailed citations.  Webpages can be authored by anyone and may not be screened for accuracy.

Scholarly Journals vs. Popular Magazine Articles (USTA Library)
This page compares the two types of publications on several levels, including language, structure of articles, editorial procedures, and credits.

Evaluating Information Found on the Internet (Johns Hopkins University Library)  Discusses the criteria by which scholars in most fields evaluate print information, and shows how the same criteria can be used to assess information found on the Internet.

 

Other useful links:

Online Archives | Women in Film |

Suggested Distributors| Local Film Festivals/Groups

Research and Reference:

Internet Movie Database Very comprehensive database with info on 250,000 films and over 900,000 cast and crew. Also includes info on television movies and series. See the Search Tips page for help. Select "external reviews" for reviews of current films.

Movie Review Query Engine Current reviews for over 25,000 films. Updated regularly.

Variety Current film reviews, including documentary and television reviews. Current film industry info. For older reviews, see Lexis-Nexis (Full text, Jul. 1993-)or Proquest Research Library ( Full text 2000-)

MetaCritic.com

Rotten Tomatoes Numerous links to reviews. Look for reviews from established publications.

Screensite Multiple resources for film and TV scholarship

The Society for Cinema Studies professional organization composed of college and university educators, filmmakers, historians, critics, scholars, and others concerned with the study of the moving image.

Hollywood Reporter Hyperlinks links to film industry sites

CineMedia Directory of film and media websites

I Saw It On TV Want to purchase something you've seen on broadcast or cable tv? Look here for sources.

Docuseek Search site for independent, documentary, educational and social issue video and films.Search by title or subject for films distributed by Bullfrog Films, First Run/Icarus Films, New Day Films, Fanlight Productions and Frameline.

UC Berkeley Media Library great collection of film studies links

Popcorn Q lesbian and gay film info

Black Film Center / Archive

E-server's Asian American Filmography

Asian Educational Media Service

E-server's Hispanic Experience Filmography

Latin American Video Archive

DVD Regions Map

Widescreen-O-Rama!

How Video Formatting Works!


Internet Moving Images Archive This collection contains movies that the Prelinger Archives has digitized (about 956 now online) and donated to the Internet Archive. The films focus mainly on everyday life, culture, industry, and institutions in North America in the 20th century.

American Memory search the film collections of the Library of Congress

Living Room Candidate: Presidential Campaign commercials, 1952-2004

Archives USA: no clips online, but a searchable directory of repositories and collections of primary source material.

Moving Images Collections : documents moving image collections around the world through a catalog of titles and directory of repositories.

Women in Film

Women Make Movies & their film facts

Women's Audio Visuals in English: UW-Madison Libraries

MadCat:Women's International Film Festival

joanie 4 jackie alternative distribution system for women moviemakers

International Women's Media Foundation

Women's Film & Video Groups

ACRLCore Lists in Women's Studies

Black Lily Film & Music Festival


Local Film Festivals / Screenings

Philadelphia Film Festival

Philadelphia International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival

Film @ International House

Scribe Video Center

Secret Cinema

Bryn Mawr Film Institute

Penn Cinema Studies Events

Ritz Theaters

Villanova Cultural Film and Lecture Series

Black Lily Film & Music Festival

 

Ambrose Video Publishing documentary and broadcast programs; includes BBC Shakespeare, arts and sciences series


Arab Film Distribution their purpose is to make the "Arab point of view" as accessible as possible, offers both feature films and documentaries


ARD: The Anthropology Review Database   is an extensive, searchable database of reviews of anthropological resources, including video materials.


ArtMattan Productions distributes films that focus on the human experience of black people in Africa, the Caribbean, North and South America and Europe.


Asian Educational Media Service  helps educators find and use media materials (including documentary films, feature films, CD-ROMs, and slide units) for teaching about the cultures and peoples of Asia.


Bullfrog Films the leading US publisher of independently-produced, environmental videos. Also distributes world-famous performing arts programs from Rhombus Media.


California Newsreel   celebrating its 36th year of distributing cutting edge social interest documentaries on the study of race and diversity, African American life and history and African feature films and documentaries.

Center for Asian American Media nearly 200 titles constitutes the world's largest collection of Asian Pacific American films and videos for educational distribution.

Cinema Guild distributes over 800 videos from around the world on arts, sciences, social sciences and world cultures.


DocuSeek Film and Video Finder searchable site for independent documentary, social issue, and educational videos available in the U.S. and Canada. Allows you to simultaneously search several leading film distributors' complete collections. Includes Bullfrog, Direct Cinema, Fanlight, FirstRun, Frameline, New Day and Women Make Movies.


Fanlight Productions   focusing on health care, aging, disabilities, mental health


Filmakers Library   psychology, sociology, anthropology, women's studies, multicultural issues.


First Run/Icarus Films


H-Net Multimedia Reviews an online scholarly review journal on print multimedia resources, published online via discussion networks and the H-Net website.


Latin American Video Archives As the leading educational video distributor of Latin American and Latino video, their catalogue includes seminal works by award-winning producers that aptly represent the diversity of Latin American and Latino culture.


Media Rigts.org helps media makers, educators, librarians, nonprofits, and activists use documentaries to encourage action and inspire dialogue on contemporary social issues.


National Film Board of Canada


New Day Films   social issues


Stock Footage & News Footage links from UC Berkeley's Gary Handman


Women Make Movies

Viewing Race.org    comprehensive resource on the topic of race, includes film database

 

 

 

 

 

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