Research Guides

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Films/Movies

This Web page has information about locating films owned by the CSU Libraries and information on finding film/movie reviews and criticism of films/movies. The emphasis here is upon "motion picture" feature films, not documentaries, although the strategies for finding information about fictional or fictionalized events or people should apply, in general, to researchers seeking information about documentaries.

Videos/DVDs

Identify films in the library catalog Discovery, by searching for an exact title by its title, narrowing to format: videos, if necessary. (DVDs are listed as having a video format. In Sage you can narrow a search to material type: DVDs/Videos.)

If you are interested in finding out which films CSU owns, do a search for *.* and select video as the format. This search will pick up a number of veterinary-type films as well as other non-fiction films. Narrowing your search to "P" call numbers will eliminate many of the non-fiction titles. Narrow to PR to find Shakespeare plays and other British films (all but about 9 or 10 of the titles are various versions of Shakespeare plays). Narrowing to PS finds a lot of films about American poets and poetry--but also includes a few mainstream feature films--about a quarter of them. Narrow to PN to find the majority of mainstream films (with a few journalism and other types of titles thrown in). The call number PN1997 has the biggest selection of feature films.

To see a list of the PN1997 films quickly, go to the Advanced Search in Discovery and do an all fields search for *.* and call number search for PN1997 and format: videos

Non-Shakespeare motion picture titles owned by CSU were selected by Communication Studies faculty as being significant, (recent years or historically), and/or essential to any serious cinema studies collection (more to be ordered, budget permitting). CSU's video/DVD movie collection includes:

Nearly all of the American Film Institute's (AFI) top 100 films for 2005 (not every title was available for purchase)
The first 50 Janus Films collection (PDF lists titles owned by CSU--check library catalog record to see if a title is available)
- In Sage, to find the 50 titles of Janus Films purchased by the library, do a title search for "Essential Art House"
- In Discovery, to find the 50 titles of Janus Films purchased by the library, do a title search for: "50 years of Janus Films" [also works in Sage]
See nearly all of CSU's films in the Video collection, Morgan Library 3rd floor South. Select titles are available on Reserve for shorter time periods. Check out all titles at the Loan/Reserve Desk.

Shakespeare titles were selected by faculty in the English Department. In order to do a speedy search for Shakespeare plays, go to the advanced search in Discovery and search for author: Shakespeare and format: videos.

and

This can also be done in Sage, with author: Shakespeare and material type: DVDs/Videos:

and

Film scripts/Shooting Scripts (Print & Electronic)

Search Sage/Discovery for:

shooting scripts
motion picture plays

and the title of the film. There are over 280 shooting scripts in the CSU Library collection, most (230 as of October 2009) of them found in the American Film Scripts Online collection (and accessed via Sage/Discovery). 56 of the titles are in printed book format. There are 348 motion picture plays (all in print) when you do a subject search (as of October 2009).

From E-Resource & Databases search:

American Film Scripts Online 1,009 scripts 1903-2006 and never released films (some in PDF)

Books/Reference on Films

The subject headings listed in this section can be used to find books about or related to films and movies in any library catalog which uses Library of Congress Subject Headings, including CSU's Sage/Discovery. Do a subject search using the terms below to identify books in Sage/Discovery and Prospector (the Colorado Union Catalog). Books (and many videos) may be requested from Prospector by CSU affiliates. Search the library catalog Sage/Discovery for:

Animated Films United States History and Criticism
Animated Films United States
Animated Films
Animation Cinematography
Children in motion pictures
Children’s films
Cold War in Motion Pictures
Comedy Films
Erotic films
Fantasy films
Feature films
Feminist films
Film noir
Foreign films
Historical films
Horror films
James Bond Films
Love in Motion Pictures

Marriage In Motion Pictures
Men in motion pictures
Motion picture plays history & criticism
Motion pictures (see related subjects)
Musical films
Romantic Comedy Films United States History and Criticism
Samurai Films
Science Fiction Films Plots Themes Etc.
Science fiction films
Short films
Silent films
Spy Films History and Criticism
Teen films (2 related titles)
Walt Disney Productions
War films
Western Films History and Criticism
Western films
Women in Motion Pictures

Look in Contemporary Authors for biographical information about major directors and film writers. (Available online to CSU affiliates only.)

Reference & Circulating Books of Interest--Useful for an Overview and/or Context

Film Terminology

The Complete Film Dictionary. PN 1993.45 .K66 1997 Reference
Critical Dictionary of Film and Television Theory. PN 1993.45 .C75 2001 Reference
Dictionary of Film Terms: The Aesthetic Companion to Film Art. PN 1993.45 .B33 2006 Reference

Encyclopedias & Guides

American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States. PN 1998 .A57 Reference
The Animated Film Encyclopedia: A Complete Guide to American Shorts, Features, and Sequences 1900-1979. NC 1765 .W42 2000 Morgan
The Anime Encyclopedia: A Guide to Japanese Animation since 1917. NC 1766. J3 C53 2006 Morgan
American Silent Film Comedies: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Persons, Studios, and Terminology. PN 1995.9 .C55 M53 1995 Morgan
British Film Institute Film Classics. 2 vols. PN 1995 .B75 2003 Reference
Contemporary Theatre, Film & Television. 35 vols. PN 2012 .W52 Reference
Encyclopedia of Film Directors. 2 vols. PN 1998 .A2 .E52 1993 Reference
Encyclopedia of Film Noir. PN 1995.9 .F54 M39 2007 Morgan
Encyclopedia of Hollywood: An A-to-Z Guide to the Stars, Stories, and Secrets of Hollywood. 2nd ed. PN 1993.5 .U6 S494 2004 Reference
The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction Movies. PN 1995.9 .S26 H38 2001 Reference
The Encyclopedia of Stage Plays into Film. PN 1997.85 .T544 2001 Reference
The Encyclopedia of War Movies: The Authoritative Guide to Movies about Wars of the Twentieth Century. PN 1995.9 .W3 D38 2004 Reference
The Film Encyclopedia: The Complete Guide to Film and the Film Industry. PN 1993.45 .K34 2008 Reference
Film It with Music: An Encyclopedic Guide to the American Movie Musical. PN 1995.9 .M86 H57 2001 Morgan
History of the American Cinema. 10 vols. Online to CSU affiliates (won't link to entire set-link is to Vol. 10)
Search all volumes at once via search box on left hand side. First select the radio button for: and then deselect the default check box so the box is not checked ; the radios gray out: and you can then search all ten volumes of History of the American Cinema at once.
International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers. Online to CSU affiliates
The Motion Picture Guide. 12 vols. PN 1995 .N346 1985 Reference
The Overlook Film Encyclopedia. The Gangster Film. PN1995.9.G3 O83 1998 Reference
The Overlook Film Encyclopedia. Horror. PN 1995.9 .H6 M5 1994 Reference
The Overlook Film Encyclopedia. Science Fiction. PN1995.9.S26 H3 1994 Reference
The Overlook Film Encyclopedia. The Western. PN 1995.9 W4 H37 1994 Reference
The Rock & Roll Film Encyclopedia. PN 1995.9 .M86 M84 2007 Morgan
VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever. 2009 ed. Online to CSU affiliates; 2006, 2007, and 2008 editions also available online
Women Filmmakers and Their Films. PN 1998.2 .W66 1998 Reference

Surveys

Magill's Survey of Cinema: Foreign Language Films. 8 vols. PN 1993.45 .M34 1985 Reference
Magill's Survey of Cinema: English Language Films. First Series 4 vols. Second Series 6 vols. PN 1995 .M25 & PN 1995 .M252 Reference
Magill's Survey of Cinema: Silent Films. 3 vols. PN 19997.8 .M3 Reference

Indexes--Identify Movie/Film Reviews & Criticism

Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature AI3 .R48 Reference South

This will be an essential place to look up reviews of films. Readers' Guide has more extensive coverage of movie reviews than any other source, so it is very important that it is consulted. In addition to looking for a movie the year it came out, researchers should check the next two years. If it is an older film, looking at 10th, 25th, 50th, or other major anniversaries may result in valuable retrospective criticism. Look up moving pictures in Vols. 1-36 [Feb 1977]; motion picture in Vols. 37 [March 1977]-60 [2000]; by “film title” (motion picture) in Vols. 61- [2001- ] onward (there are cross-referenced under "motion picture").

These databases are found on the "E-Resources & Databases" page alphabetically.

Academic Search Premier (ASP).
Title of film with (Film) next to it is the subject search. Do a keyword search to find the exact title before doing a subject search (click on title (film)). See a list of ASP film titles in PDF.
MLA Bibliography.
Subject search lists title of film with no embellishment. Film journals indexed: Anuario de Cine y Literatura en Espanol: An International Journal on Film and Literature; Asian Cinema; Cineaste; Cinema and Society; Film/Literature Quarterly; Frauen und Film; Film and Culture; Film Quarterly; Film Criticism ; Griffithiana; The Independent Film and Video Monthly; Journal of Popular Film and Television; PostScript ; Quarterly Review of Film and Television; Senses of Cinema: An Online Film Journal Devoted to the Serious and Eclectic Discussion of Cinema; Wasafiri: Journal of Caribbean; African; and Asian and Associated Literatures and Film. Other journals may, of course, include articles about films.
America: History & Life.
Emphasis will be on films with a historical bent. Film journals indexed: Film & History (1972); Film Heritage (1967-74); Film-Historia; Film History: An International Journal (1987-present); Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television (1981-present); and Journal of Popular Film and Television (1973-present).
Art Abstracts.
Title of film with (Motion Picture) next to it is the subject search. Do a keyword search to find the exact title before doing a subject search (click on title (Motion picture)).
Art Index Retrospective.
Search for title of film with "Motion Picture reviews--Single works" as a subject. (There are over 3500 motion picture reviews, starting in 1963.)
JSTOR.
Scholarly journals. Put title of film in quotation marks. Entries with "Review" will be film (or book) review. Sometimes only the first page or two (if that) will have entries about the film if the title is a word or phrase that might appear in the text or titles of articles on other topics. Narrow to journals only to be assured that the topic of the article has to do with the movies. Other journals may, of course, include articles about films, so do this only if the result list is overly long and/or seemingly irrelevant.
LexisNexis Academic News.
Make sure tab selected is News (turns red) . Change the drop-down menu for Sources to "Book, Movie, Music, Play, and Video Reviews" and change Specify date to an appropriate time frame (or All available dates). Find reviews in newspapers, magazines, news wires, and other sources here.
New York Times Historical 1851- . (Most recent 3-4 years not directly available. Find recent articles in LexisNexis Academic News.)
National Newspaper. Sometimes has extensive film reviews (feature and documentary).
Web of Science.
Indexes these film journals: American Film; Camera Obscura; Cahiers du Cinema; Cineaste; Cineforum; Cinema Journal; Etudes Cinematographiques; Film; Film Comment; Film Criticism; Film Culture; Film Psychology Review; Film Reader; Historical Journal of Film; Radio; and Television; Journal of Popular Film and Television; Literature/Film Quarterly; Postif; Quarterly Review of Film and Video; Revue du Cinema; Sight and Sound; Soviet Film; and Wide Angle.

Journals

Here are just a very few journals of interest to film research owned by CSU (with years owned) (online is to CSU affiliates only):

Cinemas 1997- online (most recent 2 years not available)
New Cinemas 2002- online
Quarterly Review of Film and Video 1989-99 PN1993 .Q3 Movable Shelves
Quarterly Review of Film Studies 1976-1978,1980-1981,1985/1989 PN1993 .Q3 Storage

Do a subject search in the library catalog for: "Motion pictures Periodicals" to see a more complete list of journals/magazines/annuals that CSU owns. Check the full records to learn which volumes and years are owned. Current issues of print journals are frequently found in the Journal Room (2nd floor Morgan Library).

Web

Check the library catalog Sage/Discovery for CSU ownership of books, journals that mentioned articles appear in, and/or databases.

Extensive information, statistics, biographies, reviews about domestic and international films. Can search for individual films, cast, decade, or genres. Over 220,000 titles. Signed essays on various genres found under "Essays" (see upper right hand corner). Glossary of terms. Click on horizontal menu bar for definition of genre and list of major titles ("works") in that category. Click on title for plot synopsis, themes, run time, and other information as well as a list of similar titles. Highly recommended.

American Film Institute. (AFI).

Programs, catalogs, lists. YouTube video(s) play upon entry to the site. "AFI is a national institute providing leadership in screen education and the recognition and celebration of excellence in the art of film, television and digital media. . . . AFI trains the next generation of filmmakers at its world-renowned Conservatory, maintains America's film heritage through the AFI Catalog of Feature Films and explores new digital technologies in entertainment and education through the AFI Digital Content Lab and K-12 Screen Education Center."

The British Film Institute (BFI).

Gateway to hundreds of Web resources about British and American films and TV. "The BFI (British Film Institute) promotes understanding and appreciation of Britain's rich film and television heritage and culture. Established in 1933, the BFI runs a range of activities and services." Researchers' guides and more. The BFI's National Library 16+ guides give overviews of film topics and include extensive bibliographies. For example, Shakespeare and TV Sci-Fi (both in PDF).

The British Films Catalogue. Arts Group of the British Council.

This online resources is "a continuously expanding record of British features, shorts, documentaries and animations. Its extensive archive of British films extends back to 1998. . . . Each entry contains a brief synopsis, along with information on sales agent(s), production company, cast and crew." Search by "features, shorts, documentaries or animation. Alternatively, you can search the catalogue by title, director, genre, year, plot synopsis, cast, production company and crew."

Drew's Script-O-Rama. Drew.

Link goes to interior page on the site. Film scripts, TV Scripts, Film Transcripts, Writers, Anime, Links, and more. Multiple pop-ups, pop-back ("today's" news was months old, at a minimum), and in-line advertisements. Note that a "third-party advertiser may place or recognize a unique cookie on your browser." Size of scripts indicated. Some files zipped, Adobe, or Word, so use appropriate caution when opening files.

An online encyclopedia covering many aspects of films and filmmaking. Many of the articles are written by recognized film scholars. Movie Reviews--type movie name into the search engine and/or find multiple categories by genre. Menu down to find online review. Encyclopedia entries provide overview of topics (entry length varies and sometimes includes bibliography). Look up actors & actresses, directors, and writers & producers by last name. Films listed alphabetically. Site has advertisements.

Film Reviews and Film Criticism: An Introduction. Film Studies: UC Berkeley Library. Gary Handman.

Research guide which gives an overview of what film reviews and criticism & analysis are. CSU does not own or have access to every source mentioned on the site, so check this Web page for access to databases (e.g. we have Academic Search Premier, but not Academic Search Complete).

Plot synopses, reviews, awards, and links. Search by director, movie, or actor. Popular sections include: 100 Greatest Films; Greatest Film Quotes; Sex in Cinema; Most Controversial Films; Sexual or Erotic Films; Great Chick Flicks; Best Film Speeches; Scariest Scenes; Best Film Kisses; Best Tearjerkers; Visual/Special Effects; Best Film Editing Sequences; The Oscars; Greatest Film Scenes; Film Genres; Horror Films; Cult Films; Best Film Deaths; Great Plot Twists & Spoilers; Movie Posters; Milestones in Film; Film History by Decade; and Film Noir
Pop-back ads, pop-up materials.

Free and enormous online database with information about many films and TV shows (focus on American and British, but lots of international titles). Search names, characters, titles, TV episodes, companies, bios, plots, and more. Find out directors names, writers names, release date, genre, plot, cast, any awards, and much more. Advertisements.

Movie Review Query Engine. Stewart M. Clamen.

Many links to newspaper and other movie reviews.

Roger Ebert.com. Ebert Chicago Sun Times.

Recent movie reviews with thumbs-up and thumbs-down ratings. Intelligent reviews, including brief analyses of many great films.

Extensive film reviews on current and historical films. Features the famous rotten tomato symbol for movies you should avoid. Symbol is based on Tomatometer--must be liked by 60% or more reviewers to be fresh (good).