Guide to Film Research

Contents:

Selected Reference Resources
Books in the McCain Collection
Film Reviews and Criticism (Periodical Databases)
Selected Websites

Selected Reference Resources

Katz, Ephraim
The film encyclopedia New York : Crowell, 1979 1st ed
Ref. PN1993.45 .K34 1979

Konigsberg, Ira
The complete film dictionary New York : Penguin Reference, 1997 2nd ed
Ref. PN1993.45 .K66 1997

The Oxford companion to film, edited by Liz-Anne Bawden. New York : Oxford University Press, 1976
Ref. PN1993.45 .O9

The New York Times directory of the film. [New York] Arno Press/Random House, 1971
Ref. PN1995 .N39

Keaney, Michael F.
Film noir guide : 745 films of the classic era, 1940-1959. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, c2003
PN1995.9.F54 K43 2003

Welsch, Janice R.
Multicultural films : a reference guide. Westport, CT Greenwood Press, 2005
Ref. PN1995.9. M56 W45 2005

International dictionary of films and filmmakers Chicago : St. James Press, c1990-1994 2nd ed
Ref. PN1997.8 .I58 1990 v.1 Films
Ref. PN1997.8 .I58 1990 v.2 Directors
Ref. PN1997.8 .I58 1990 v.3 Actors and Actresses

For biographies see also Biography Resource Center (full-text database) or Biography Reference Bank (full-text database)

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Books in the McCain Collection

To find books in the McCain Library collection, do a keyword search in SOPHIA. See the Search Tips tutorial for help on combining keyword terms, truncation and phrase searching.

Browsing for books

The Library of Congress classification for Motion Pictures is

PN 1993 - PN 1999

To browse for books related to film, look in this call number area on Stack 2, or in the reference collection on the first floor for film-related reference materials.

Subject heading search

Possible subject headings for searching (do a Library of Congress Subject Search instead of keyword) include:

Cinematography
Documentary Films
Feminism And Motion Pictures
Film Criticism
Motion Picture Actors and Actresses
Motion Picture Plays
Motion Pictures
Motion Pictures And History
Motion Pictures History
Motion Pictures And Literature
Motion Pictures Moral And Ethical Aspects
Motion Pictures Philosophy
Motion Pictures Political Aspects

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Film Reviews and Criticism

Reviews of films, with plot summary, commentary on performances, entertainment value, etc., are written around the time a film is released. Reviews appear in both film-related journals and popular interest periodicals (magazines and newspapers).

Scholarly criticism and analysis of films can be written at the time a film is released or any time thereafter. Criticism can be found in film-related journals or in journals related to many other disciplines - history, sociology, women's studies, ethnic studies, etc. Critical articles may discuss films in historical, social or political context, and often focus on narrow aspects of a film or genre.

Databases for Popular Interest Periodicals

Academic Search Complete
Multidisciplinary database that includes indexing and some full-text for nearly 4000 journals and magazines. Also includes full-text of several film periodicals, including Camera Obscura, Cineaste, Cinema Journal, Film Comment, Film History, Films in Review, Historical Journal of Film, Journal of Popular Film and Television, and Journal of Film and Video.

LexisNexis Academic | Off-campus access link
Full-text of more than 5,000 newspapers, magazines, and other publications. Excellent resource for newspaper articles. For Film Reviews, Use the Guided Search Tab, then select Arts & Sports News and Book, movie, music & play reviews

ProQuest Databases
This link allows for searching of multiple ProQuest databases at once. Includes full-text of some film periodicals, including Film Comment.

Databases for Scholarly Articles

Art Abstracts and Art Index Retrospective
Indexes articles in over 400 international art publications. Covers various related subjects, including film. Coverage is 1929 - present. For the years 1929 - 1984, the print version is also available (Reference Z5937 .A78)

Current Contents
Multidisciplinary database that covers approximately 7,000 scholarly journals as well as 2,000 books and proceedings in various areas including the humanities. Coverage is 1997 - present.

Film & Television Literature Index with Full Text
Comprehensive bibliographic and full text database covering the entire spectrum of television and film. Subject coverage includes film & television theory, preservation & restoration, writing, production, cinematography, technical aspects, and reviews.

JSTOR
Full-text, can limit by language under Advanced Search. Articles published "a few" years ago based on the JSTOR Moving Wall for each journal.

Humanities Abstracts
Includes citations to articles in approximately 500 well-known scholarly journals and specialized magazines in the humanities, including film.

MLA International Bibliography
Indexes critical literary and language scholarship in more than 4,000 periodicals. Coverage is from 1963 - present.

ProjectMuse
Provides full-text access to recent issues of more than 40 key journals in the humanities and social sciences. Includes Camera Obscura, Cinema Journal and Wide Angle. Coverage in most cases is from 1996.

Does McCain Library have this journal? Is it full-text?

If the database you are searching does not include your journal or article, search the Journal/Article Locator.

This searching tool will tell you if we have your journal through any database. The journal/article locator will also tell you if we have a publication in our print or microfilm collections. Double-check by searching in SOPHIA for the journal title (not the article title). If we don't own or have access to the publication, you can request the article through Interlibrary Loan, or, check to see if another local library that you can visit owns it.

Other local libraries may have books in their collections on your topic. Try searching their catalogs for relevant materials.

Emory University Libraries

Georgia State University Libraries

University of Georgia Libraries

DeKalb County Public Library System

Georgia Library Catalogs

Print Indexes

If you're searching for articles written in years not covered in the online databases, you can use a print index to find citations on your topic. Note: in older indexes try the subject heading Moving Pictures. Indexes covering film reviews include:

Readers Guide to Periodical Literature
dates covered: 1900 - 1983
Location: Reference AI3 .R48

Humanities Index
dates covered: 1974 - 1984
Location: Reference AI3 .H8

New York Times Index
dates covered: 1930 - 1995
Location: Reference AI21 .N44

Art Index
dates covered: 1929 - 1983
Location: Reference Z5937 .A78

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Selected Websites

All Movie Guide
http://www.allmovie.com/
Information on nearly 250,000 films. Some reviews, biograpjies, etc.

American Film Institute
http://www.afi.com/

British Film Institute
http://www.bfi.org.uk/

Broadcast Film Critics Association
http://www.bfca.org/

Docuseek Film and Video Finder
http://www.docuseek.com
Search for independent documentaries, social issues, educational videos, and more.

Internet Movie Database (IMDB)
http://us.imdb.com/
Information on hundreds of thousands of films. Information on directors, producers, actors, plot summaries, character names, running times, soundtracks, release dates, box office grosses, awards information, and more. Includes some reviews from various online periodicals.

Movie Review Query Engine
http://www.mrqe.com/
Currently contains more than 350,000 reviews of more than 35,000 films. Reviews are from online commercial (and college) periodicals.

Rotten Tomatoes
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/
Movie reviews from "professional critics" in online periodicals. Also includes information on cast and crew, plot, grosses, etc.

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