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Resources on Short Stories and Film

Background on the Short Story

Reference Guide to Short Fiction. (Ref PN 3373 .R36 1994)
Worldwide in its coverage, this book contains good introductory articles on the most significant writers of short fiction from the 19th and 20th centuries, and some of their best-known stories.
Critical Survey of Short Fiction.  (Ref PN 3321 .C7 2001)
Longer articles provide background on the lives and work of authors of short fiction from the ancient Greeks and Romans to the present.
Masterplots II: Short Story Series.  (Ref PN 3326 .M27 1986)
Articles on over a thousand individual stories from world literature provide preliminary analysis of their themes, style, and technique.
A Reader's Companion to the Short Story in English.  (Ref PS 374 .S5 R43 2001)
Lengthy articles provide biographical information on, and criticism and analysis of the works of, writers of short stories in English during the latter half of the 20th century. Ethnic Americans and authors from outside the U.S. are well represented.
The Facts on File Companion to the American Short Story. (Ref PS 374 .S5 F33 2000)
Focusing on American short story authors from both the 19th and 20th centuries, this book contains entries on the authors themselves and some of their most-studied stories, as well as on terms and events important to the study of American short stories.
The Columbia Companion to the Twentieth-Century American Short Story. (Ref PS 374 .S5 C57 2000)
Devoted to American short stories of the twentieth century, this book contains mostly articles on individual writers and their work. In addition, several thematic essays discuss groups of stories with something in common (such as "The Native American Short Story").

Background on the Films

Magill's Survey of Cinema: English Language Films. First Series. (Ref PN 1993.45 .M29)
Magill's Survey of Cinema: English Language Films. Second Series. (Ref PN 1993.45 .M32)
Magill's Survey of Cinema: Foreign Language Films. (Ref PN 1993.45 .M34 1985)
Magill's Cinema Annual, 1982- . (Ref PN 1993.3 .M34)
The first three titles listed cover outstanding motion pictures up to 1981. The last title covers the significant films of the year for each year thereafter. The articles in all of them offer an analysis of individual films and cite where to find reviews of them in various periodicals and newspapers.

Locating Film Reviews

Which source you use to find reviews of films depends greatly on the year in which the film was released. The following indexes cover the years indicated:

  • Film Review Index. (Ref Z 5784 .M9 F513 1986) Covers the years 1882-1985.

  • Retrospective Index to Film Periodicals, 1930-1971. (Ref Z 5784 .M9 B39)

  • International Index to Film Periodicals. (Reference Bookshelf X) Covers the years 1972-73, 1975-1983, 1985-1991, though articles on earlier films can be found here, too.

  • Film Literature Index. (Reference Table W) Covers the years 1985 on, though articles on earlier films can be found here, too.

  • Humanities Index. (Reference Table W) Covers the years 1974 onwards. Look under the heading "Motion picture reviews" to find reviews of individual films. This can be accessed electronically on First Search for the years 1984 to the present.

  • Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature. (Reference Table D) Covers the years 1900 to the present. Look under the heading "Motion picture reviews" to find reviews of individual films. Under the title Readers' Guide Abstracts, this can be accessed electronically on First Search for the years 1983 onwards.

Electronic Resources

Film reviews for recent years can be located using the following this database. It often also contains the full text of reviews and articles.

The following two indexes will tell you where to find scholarly articles on the stories (and perhaps the films, too) in literary journals. Film reviews are NOT covered.

The following web sites are excellent resources for doing research on films:

  • Internet Movie Database <http://us.imdb.com> A good search engine with links to information on more than 40,000 films.

  • Movie Review Query Engine <http://www.mrqe.com> A handy site for film reviews.

This page created by Leanna Goodwater, University Library, Santa Clara University.
Last updated, April 4, 2003.