This guide suggests resources and strategies for research on film reviews and criticism.

Background Information  |  Facts & Figures  |  Find Articles  |  Find Books  |  Criticism & Reviews  |  People  |  Organizations  |  Web Resources

Background Information (Overview Sources)

Encyclopedias and other reference works are an excellent place to start a research project or simply learn more about a particular topic.  They provide topic summaries, context, and bibliographies for further reading.

General Sources

Cinema, The Magic Vehicle    (R 791.4309 G163c)
The Encyclopedia of Novels into Film    (R 791.436 T432e)
The Film Encyclopedia    (R 791.4303 K159f3)
Halliwell's Film Guide    (R 791.430321 H157fi4)
Magill's Survey of Cinema  1st Series    (R 791.4375 M272m)
Magill's Survey of Cinema 2nd Series    (R 791.4375 M272)

Specialized Sources

Use specialized sources to find information about a particular category or type of film.

African American Films Through 1959    (R 791.4365203 R392a)
Black American Cinema    (R 791.4365203 B561)
The Blue and the Gray on the Silver Screen    (R 973.7 K622b)
Film It with Music    (R 791.436 H622f)
Missing Reels:  Lost Films of American and European Cinema
    (R 791.4375016 W146m)
Silent Films, 1877-1996    (R 791.4375 K678s)
Women Filmmakers:  A Critical Reception    (R 791.43023092 H355w)

Use dictionaries, statistical works, atlases, handbooks and similar works to find and check facts about topics, people, or events.

The Award Movies    (R 791.4303 P585a)
Chronicles of the Cinema    (R 791.43 C468)
The Film Studies Dictionary    (R 791.4303 B61f)

Search indexes, abstracts, and databases to find journal, magazine, and newspaper articles.  For a complete list of Kent Library's online indexes and databases, see the Find: articles page (http://library.semo.edu/find/articles.asp).

To find historical/source materials, such as newspaper and magazine articles written at the time of the film's release, use the following print sources:

Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature, 1900+
   (located in the Indexes/Abstracts area, main floor)
Art Index,1959-
   (located in the Indexes/Abstracts area, main floor)
Humanities Index, 1974 -
   (located in the Indexes/Abstracts area, main floor)
Social Science and Humanities Index, 1966-1974
   (located in the Indexes/Abstracts area, main floor)
International Index to Periodicals, 1907 - 1966
   (located in the Indexes/Abstracts area, main floor)
New York Times Index, 1851+
   (located in the Indexes/Abstracts area, main floor)

To find recent articles and scholarly/peer-reviewed articles use the following online databases:

Academic Search Elite
MLA Bibliography (FirstSearch) 
PA Research II
Wilson Web Omni File

Use the Kent Library Catalog (http://library.semo.edu/find/books.html) to find books, periodicals (journals, magazines, & newspapers), videos, government documents and other materials.

Keyword searches allow you to use your own words as search terms.
Subject heading searches use Library of Congress subject headings. Printed volumes of these headings are located near the Reference Desk on the main floor.

Film related subject headings include:

film adaptations--encyclopedias
film criticism
motion pictures
motion pictures--reviews
motion picture plays--history and criticism

Browse the shelves by call number.  Use the Dewey Decimal chart (http://www.oclc.org/dewey/about/hundreds.htm) to get you in the right subject areas or try the following:

791.43--

Film Review Annual    (R 791.4375 F487)  (Library has 1981 +)
5001 Nights at the Movies    (R 791.4375 K117f)
Index to Motion Pictures Reviewed by Variety, 1907-1980
    (R 791.4375 V4271)
Variety Film Reviews, 1907-1980    (R 791.4375 V427)
Selected Film Criticism    (R 791.4375 Se48)

Learn about important people, such as performers, screenwriters, producers & directors.

American Actors and Actresses    (R 016.79143028 Ar24a)
Dictionary of Film Makers    (R 791.4303 Sa15d)
Great Film Directors    (R 791.430233 G798)
A Guide to American Screenwriters    (R 791.43016 L266g)
Motion Picture Directors    (R 016.79143023 Sch88m)
The Oscar Stars From A to Z    (R 791.43 P58o)

Professional organizations and/or societies often provide very useful topic related information.

American Film Institute
    http://www.afi.com/
Broadcast Film Critics Association
    http://www.bfca.org/
Chicago Film Critics Association
    http://www.chicagofilmcritics.org/
 

Cinema Sites Reviews
    http://www.cinema-sites.com/Cinema_Sites_REV.html
Film Resources on the Web    http://www.duke.edu/~kennethl/filmsite.html
Internet Movie Database http://us.imdb.com
Internet Resources for Film Studies
    http://iits.concordia.ca/services/vmr/cinema_links.html
Movie Review Query Engine  http://www.mrqe.com
Yahoo! Film Awards Site
http://dir.yahoo.com/Entertainment/Movies_and_Film/Awards 

For a list of Web searching tools, see the Find: web resources page (http://library.semo.edu/find/webpages.html).