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Film Studies - Selected Library and Web Resources

Reference Sources

Film reel

  • The Motion Picture Guide, 1985 - present. Ref PN1993 .M4334

  • Magill’s Survey of Cinema. 1980. Ref PN1993.45 .M29

    • (There is a series on English language film and another one on foreign language films. From 1982 to the present, there is also a "Magill’s Cinema Annual" , Ref PN1993.3.M34, presenting the films released every year).

  • The International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, 5 vols, 1990. Ref PN1997.8. I582

  • Chronicle of the Cinema, 1995. Ref PN1993.5.A1 C5

  • Encyclopedia of European Cinema, 1995. Ref PN1993.5.E8 E53

  • Films by Genre: 775 categories, styles, trends, and movements defined, with a filmography for each, 1993. Ref PN1998 .L63

  • Encyclopedia of Film Themes, Settings, and Series, 2001 Ref PN1997.8.A762

  • The Movie List Book: a reference guide to film themes, settings, and series, 1990. Ref PN1997.8.A76

  • 70 Years of the Oscar: the Official Story of the Academy Awards, 1999. Ref PN1993.92 .082

  • The Encyclopedia of Novels into Films, 1998. Ref PN1997.85 .T54

  • The Encyclopedia of Stage Plays into Films, 2001 Ref PN 1997.85.T544 2001

  • The Encyclopedia of Ethnic Groups in Hollywood, 2003 Ref PN 1995.9 M56M85

  • Ethnic and Racial Images in American Film and Television: Historical Essays and Bibliography, 1987. Ref Z5784 .M9 W65

  • Within our gates: ethnicity in American Feature Films, 1911-1960, 1997. Ref PN1995.9.M56 W58

  • Hispanics in Hollywood: an encyclopedia of film and television, 1994. Ref PN1995.9.H47 R49

  • Contemporary Hollywood Negative Hispanic Image, 1994 Ref PN 1995.9 L37R54

  • Blacks in American Films and Television: an encyclopedia, 1988. Ref PN1995.9.N4 B58

  • Blacks in Black and White: a source book on Black films, 1995. Ref PN1995.9.N4 S2

  • Frame by Frame II: a filmography of the African American Image (1978-1994), 1997. Ref PN1995.9.N4 K58

  • From Savage to Nobleman: images of Native Americans in film, 1995. Ref PN1995.9.I48 H55

  • Women Filmmakers and their Films, 1998 Ref PN1998.2 .W66

  • Reel Women: pioneers of the cinema, 1896 to the present, 1991. Ref PN1998.2 A24

Subject Headings and Keywords

Here is a list of keywords or subject headings related to movies and films. You can try them in OSCAR and other databases.

  • motion pictures
  • motion picture industry
  • experimental films
  • motion pictures criticism
  • disaster films
  • film criticism
  • women in motion pictures
  • feminist film criticism
  • film noir
  • homosexuality in motion pictures
  • racism in motion pictures
  • minorities in motion pictures
  • afro-americans in motion pictures
  • asians in motion pictures
  • hispanic americans in motion pictures
  • stereotypes and films
  • women-portrayal-motion pictures

Remember that in most databases, you can combine your search words and you can use complex search statements to retrieve the maximum number of results:

  • Ex: (images or stereotypes or portrayals) and (motion pictures or films or movies) and women

Databases and Printed Indexes

To find books, use OSCAR, the library online catalog.

To find journal and magazine articles, including movie reviews, you can try the following databases: (to access these databases, go to the library home page at http://www.scu.edu/library/ and click on "Electronic Databases A-Z")

Or you can use the following print indexes:

  • Film Literature Index, 1996-present (Located on Index Table W in the reference room)

  • International Index to Film Periodicals, 1972-1991 (index to film reviews, essays, analyses) (Located on Index Table X in the reference room)

  • Film Review Index. 1882-1985, 2 vols. (To find reviews for older movies) Ref Z 5784.M9.F513

World Wide Web Resources on Films

Internet Movie Database
http://us.imdb.com
This site has a great search engine and lots of links to useful information. The main database includes information on more than 40,000 movies. You can also create list of movies matching the criteria of your choice.
Movie Review Query Engine
http://www.mrqe.com
Another great site for movie reviews
Rotten Tomatoes
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/
This site provides wonderful reviews, but only for very recent movies. General information is given for older movies.
Box Office Guru
http://www.boxofficeguru.com
A plethora of data on movies. The Film Database contains box office data on more than 1,600 films released since 1989, updated weekly using data from Variety. Other data includes upcoming releases, recent international grosses, and top-grossing films by seasons back to 1989.
Movie-page.com
http://www.movie-page.com/
If you are looking for movie scripts, try this site! It includes numerous scripts as well as box office data for hundreds of movies.
Greatest Films
http://www.filmsite.org
The author's choice for the 100 greatest English language films of all time, each reviewed in depth. A second list of the 100 runner-ups, with shorter reviews, is also provided, as well as sections on greatest film quotes, film history by decade, memorable scenes, recommendations by genres, greatest star roles, a collection of hundreds of film posters.
Academic Info: Film and TV Studies Gateway
http://www.academicinfo.net/film.html
Directory of Online Resources on Film, Cinema & TV

Updated January 26, 2004
Maintained by Helene Lafrance and Elizabeth Fullerton