http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/filmbib.html

Handbooks, Guides and Dictionaries Periodical Article Indexes Film Review Indexes Biographical Sources Specialized Bibliographies and Guides Web Sites Finding Videos in the Library

This bibliography is selective and includes titles held by the Reference collections of Olin and Uris Libraries, as well as reference materials accessible online. Some titles listed may also be available in the general stacks.

HANDBOOKS, GUIDES AND DICTIONARIES

Armour, Robert. Film: A Reference Guide. Westport: Greenwood, 1980. (Olin Ref PN 1993.45 A73)

Presents bibliographic essays on some aspect of film--its history, film production, film criticism, film and society, major actors, actresses, and directors, reference works on films, and film periodicals.

Bawden, Liz-Anne, ed. Oxford Companion to Film. New York: Oxford UP, 1976. (Uris Ref PN 1993.45 O98; also Olin Ref)

"Aims to answer any query which may occur to the amateur of film in the course of reading or filmgoing, and to lead him on to topics of related interest." (Preface) Arranged in alphabetical order, with entries for individual films, actors and actresses, directors, film genres, and brief surveys of the history of cinema art in individual countries.

Cawkwell, Tim and John M. Smith, ed. The World Encyclopedia of the Film. London: A&W Visual Library, 1972. (Uris Ref PN 1993.45 C38+ 1972)

A comprehensive encyclopedia of film that encompasses all aspects of the art: history from the silent era to the 1970s, the technical aspects of the industry, and biographies of leading personalities in the field.

Critical Dictionary of Film and Television Theory, edited by Roberta E. Pearson and Philip Simpson. London; New York: Routledge, 2001. (Olin Ref PN1993.45 C75x 2001 +)

"Explains the major theoretical approaches and definitions now deployed in the study of screen media. Entries range from longer overview essays which summarise the central paradigms of film and television theory, to shorter definitions of key concepts and introductions to major influential figures." (jacket copy) Includes cross-references, bibliographies, and index.

Encyclopedia of the documentary film. Edited by Ian Aitken. New York : Routledge, c2006. 3 v. Olin Ref PN1995.9 D6 E53 2005+

"With over 800 articles from scholars around the world, the Encyclopedia of the Documentary Film is a fully international reference work on the history of the documentary film from the Lumière brothers' Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory (1885) to Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 911 (2004)....Not only does this Encyclopedia examine individual films and the careers of individual film makers, it also provides overview articles of national and regional documentary film history. It explains concepts and themes in the study of documentary film, the techniques used in making films, and the institutions that support their production, appreciation, and preservation. With over 200 film stills, this resource provides the decisive entry point into the history of an art form." - publisher.

Geduld, Harry M. An Illustrated Glossary of Film Terms. New York: Holt, 1973. (Olin Ref PN 1993.45 G29)

Using line drawings and photographs for illustration, this source defines film terms in non-technical jargon for the film student.

Halliwell, Leslie. Halliwell's Film and Video Guide.New York: Harper Perennial, 2000. (Uris Ref + PN 1993.45 H19 H2 2000; older volumes in Olin stacks)

Annual. This work contains over twenty thousand entries for English language, foreign language, silent, and television films. Entries give the compiler's rating for films of merit, country of origin, year of release, running time, credits, cast, and for one quarter of the items, a brief comment from a well known film critic.

Halliwell's Who's Who in the Movies . 14th ed. New York: Harper Resource, c2001. (Olin Ref PN 1993.45 H3x 2001 +)

Formerly The Filmgoer's Companion. This source is aimed at the general filmgoer and is an alphabetical listing of film titles, personalities, directors, and film series. Entries are concise and contain cross references..

International Motion Picture Almanac. New York: Quigley, 1929- . (Uris Ref PN 1993.3 I55 -- latest volume only; also Olin)

An annual publication that covers who's who in the film industry, lists corporations, theater circuits, pictures, services, equipment and supplies, talent and literary agencies, organizations in film society, advertising codes, statistics, world market, the press, and non-theatrical motion pictures.

The International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers.4th ed., 4 vols. Chicago: St. James, 2000. (Online; also Olin Ref PN 1993.45 I61 2000 and Uris Ref )

Vol. I of this four-volume set lists and describes approximately 650 international and historical films. Descriptions include production information, a cast list, a plot summary, an essay of the film's place in film history, and a lengthy bibliography. Vols. II-IV focus on Directors/Filmmakers, Actors and Actresses, and Writers and Production Assistants.

Katz, Ephraim. The Film Encyclopedia. New York: Crowell, 1979. (Olin Ref PN 1993.45 K19)

This comprehensive work covers world cinema, including American, United Kingdom, and international films. Also contains biographies of directors, composers, film editors, actors and actresses, with filmographies for directors and major stars.

LoBrutto, Vincent, The Encyclopedia of American Independent Filmmaking. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 2002. (Olin Ref PN1993.45 L63 2002)

Surveys independent film "from cinema's inception through the 21st century, with alphabetical entries discussing filmmakers, significant films, genres, critical views, industry information, working methods, etc. (jacket copy) Appendices include lists of important films, independent film award winners and distributors. Bibliography, indexed.

Magill, Frank N. Magill's Survey of Cinema: English Language Films. First Series. 4 vols. Englewood Cliffs: Salem, 1980. Second Series. 6 vols. 1981. (Uris Ref PN 1993.45 M19)

The two series in this publication examine about 1000 English Language motion pictures released since 1927. Each volume contains, listed alphabetically by title, a plot summary and general description of about 120 movies. Also included is information about the release date, the cast, director, producer, costume designer, running time, etc. Any honors or awards won by the film or its cast are mentioned in the text. In addition to American films, works from Canada, Britain, Australia, and Jamaica are included. Indexes at the end of each series provide access by performer, cinematographer, editor, screenwriter, director and by the year of release.

Magill, Frank N., ed. Magill's Survey of Cinema: Foreign Language Films. 8 vols. Englewood Cliffs: Salem Press, 1985. (Olin Ref PN 1993.45 M19)

This work is similar to the English Language series (described above) but covers films produced abroad.

Manchel, Frank. Film Study: an Analytical Bibliography. 4 vols. Rutherford: Farleigh Dickenson UP, 1990. (Olin Ref Z 5784 M9 M26 1990)

An updated, greatly expanded, retitled edition of Film Study: A Resource Guide (1973), Manchel's four-volume combination handbook/bibliography deals with: general topics in film study, film genres, stereotyping in film, thematic approaches, literature and film, representative period of American film, history of film and national cinemas, and film study. Each lengthy, discursive chapter opens with an overview essay describing the background and other relevant aspects of that chapter's topic. More than 2,000 books on film are treated with unusual depth. Essays are then followed by annotated citations to films, articles, and books about film. Indexes provide access by article title, author, film title and subject. Volume 4's appendices reproduce a variety of documents, such as "The Production Code of the Motion Pictures Producers and Directors of America, Inc. --1930-1934," as well as lists of sources for further study. Though somewhat cumbersome in arrangement, few if any film reference books match its scope.

Microsoft Cinemania'97. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Home, 1997. (Olin Ref Electronic Text Center Disk PN 1993 M53)

Presents graphic, audio, and textual information drawn from: Monaco, James. Encyclopedia of Film; Leonard Maltin's Movie and Video Guide; The Motion Picture Guide; and other reference sources. Includes film reviews, biographies, award list, and topical list maker; excerpts of films, theme music and songs, dialogue; and stills.

Multicultural Films: A Reference Guide. Janice R. Welsch and J.Q. Adams. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2005. Olin Ref PN1995.9 M56 W45 2005+

"Arranged by race/ethnic group, Multicultural Films identifies and analyzes films relating the experiences of the following groups: African Americans, Arab Americans, Asian Americans, European Americans, Latino/a Americans, Native Americans, and includes Intercultural films, those depicting the experiences of more than one group. After providing a plot summary of each film, the authors critique it, proposing points of focus and discussion for the viewer. Films that will appeal to a variety of different ages are included, with ratings given when possible, and all are currently available for purchase. A thematic guide will help identify films for students and educators on specific topics and issues for each minority group." -- from the publisher's website

Sheehan, Eileen. Moving Pictures: an Annotated Guide to Selected Film Literature. South Brunswick: Barnes, 1979. (Olin Ref Z 5784 M9 S53 1979)

A selective, carefully annotated guide to resources for film research. Emphasis is on English language sources, and works are grouped by type with subject, author, and title indexes.

Slide, Anthony. The New Historical Dictionary of the American Film Industry. Lanham, Md. : Scarecrow Press, 1998. (+ PN 1993 .5 .U6 S539x 1998)

Updated edition of The American film industry.(1986). Provides information on American producing and releasing companies, technical innovations, industry terms, studios, genres, and organizations. Many entries contain short bibliographies and note where archival materials on the subject are held. Indexes.

Women Filmmakers & their Films, with introductory essays by Gwendolyn Audrey Foster, Katrien Jacobs ; editor, Amy L. Unterburger. Detroit: St. James Press, c1998. (Olin Ref PN 1998.2 W66x 1998+)

Includes entries on nearly 200 women behind the camera: producers, directors, editors, writers, animators, art directors, and costume designers. Each entry consists of a biography, complete filmography, selected bibliography, and expository essay on the subject's work. Other entries discuss specific films in which women played a major role in creating. Provides a chronology as well as indexes by nationality, occupation, awards, and film title.

Web of Science: Citation Databases. (Arts & Humanities Citation Index)

ISI citation databases are multidisciplinary databases of bibliographic information indexed to be searched by subject, author, journal, and/or author address. They can also be searched for articles that cite a known author or work. Cited reference searching allows use of a given work as if it were a subject term, to identify more recent articles on the same topic. The Arts & Humanities component covers back to 1975.

Batty, Linda. Retrospective Index to Film Periodicals, 1930-1971. New York: Bowker, 1975. (Olin Ref PN 1993 B33+)

Indexes 14 journals plus articles on film that have appeared in The Village Voice, a weekly newspaper covering art, film, music, and theater. The index is divided into three sections: films, titles, subjects and reviews. Indexing for most of the journals included -- the Village Voice excepted -- is continued in the International Index to Film Periodicals (see description below).

FIAF International Filmarchive Database [electronic resource].

Contains: International index to film periodicals, 1972- (see description below); International index to television periodicals, 1979- ; List of periodicals indexed; Treasures from the film archives; International directory of film and TV documentation collections; and Bibliography of FIAF members' publications.

Film Literature Index. 1976 - 2001 online; 1976 - current in Olin Reference

The Film Literature Index (FLI) annually indexes 150 film and television periodicals from 30 countries cover-to-cover and 200 other periodicals selectively for articles on film and television. The periodicals range from the scholarly to the popular. More than 2,000 subject headings provide detailed analysis of the articles. The FLI Online contains approximately 700,000 citations to articles, film reviews and book reviews published between 1976-2001. You can search the citations or browse by subject headings, browse by person names, browse by production titles, or browse by corporate names. 2002 - current volumes in paper in Olin Reference Ref PN 1993 F479

International Index to Film Periodicals. New York: Bowker, 1972- . (Olin Ref PN 1993 I61+)

An annual publication compiled by the International Federation of Film Archives. It indexes about 60 to 85 periodicals that are exclusively devoted to film. Included online in the FIAF International Filmarchive Database.

International Index to the Performing Arts: IIPA Full Text

IIPA Full Text covers a broad spectrum of the arts and entertainment industry--including dance, film, television, drama, theater, stagecraft, musical theater, broadcast arts, circus performance, comedy, storytelling, opera, pantomime, puppetry, magic and more. Each full text in the file contains an abstract.

MLA Bibliography. 1963 - .

The largest and most comprehensive online database covering scholarship in the modern languages, linguistics, literatures, folklore, theater, and film. Indexes approximately 4,000 journals and series as well as some books; entries appear both for collections of essays and for their contents. Updated ten times per year. Online access is restricted to the Cornell community. Also available in print as the MLA International Bibliography of Books and Articles on the Modern Languages and Literatures, from 1921 to 1962, in Olin Library Reference (Olin Ref +Z 7006 M68).

Periodicals Contents Index (PCI). 1770 - 1993.

Electronic index to thousands of periodicals in the humanities and social sciences, covering each periodical from its first issue. Every article is indexed. The scope is international, including journals in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and other languages. Not only a good source for academic articles on film, but for film reviews as well (e.g., a title keyword search, STRANGERS AND TRAIN, will retrieve several original reviews of Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train.)

ProQuest Research Library. Ann Arbor: UMI, 1986- .

Indexes and abstracts over 1600 general interest magazines and scholarly journals. It also includes citations and abstracts to selected television and radio programs. Many of the articles found by searching in this database are available in full text electronic formats. The database can be divided by subject (general or business), format (newspaper or magazine and journal articles), or by date (current covers articles published from 1997 to the present, backfile covers pre-1985 through 1996). Good source for film reviews published in general interest magazines during the last 20 years. Many full-text articles available.

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Film Review Annual. Englewood: J.S. Ozer, 1981/1982- . (Olin Ref PN 1995 F48)

Issued annually, this source reprints reviews from a wide range of newspapers and magazines of full length films released in major markets in the U.S. Arranged by title of the film, entries include credits and playing time. Indexed by critics, cast, producers, and directors.

Film Review Index. Phoenix: Oryx, 1986. (Olin Ref PN 1995 F483)

This index lists articles about specific films which have established themselves over the years as being of continuing interest to researchers and students. Coverage begins in 1882; however, the primary focus of this two-volume set begins in 1903. Vol. 1 covers the years from 1882-1949; Vol. 2, from 1950-1985.

Media Review Digest. Ann Arbor: Pierian, 1973-. (Uris Ref AI 3 M961)

Formerly Multi Media Reviews Index (1970-1973), this is "an annual index to and digest of reviews, evaluations and descriptions of all forms of non-book media appearing in a great variety of periodicals and reviewing serves." Films, filmstrips, spoken word records and tapes and miscellaneous non-book items are included. Each entry provides a brief description, citations to reviews and a review rating.

New York Times Film Reviews. New York: Times and Arno, 1913- . (Uris Ref PN 1995 N56++; also Olin Ref)

Originally published in 1970 as a six volume set, duplicating Times reviews for the years 1913-1968 with update volumes through 1982. Each volume is arranged in chronological order and gives full texts of reviews which appeared in the Times on a given date. Title access is available through indexes at the end of the volumes. Reviews are signed, though some with initials only. Numerous photographs.

New York Times Directory of the Film. New York: Arno, 1973- . (Olin Ref PN 1995 N39)

A reprinting of the personal name and corporate name index sections from the index volume of the New York Times Film Reviews. It is useful since the reference in the citation is to the date and the page of the newspaper. The list of awards and reviews of the yearly "Ten Best" films has been updated every year since 1970.

Web of Science/Arts & Humanities Citation Index.(AHCI). 1975 - date.

see annotation above.

ProQuest Research Library. Ann Arbor: UMI, 1986- .

See annotation above.

Periodicals Contents Index (PCI). 1770 - 1993.

See annotation above.

Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature. New York: H. W. Wilson Co., 1900 - date.(Uris Ref AI3 R28; also Olin Ref AI3 R28, through 1996.)

Indexes film reviews in general interest periodicals alphabetically by title under the headings Moving Picture Plays--Criticism (earlier volumes) or Motion Picture Reviews.

Rotten Tomatoes.

"With more than 100,000 titles and 360,000 review links in its ever-growing database, Rotten Tomatoes offers a fun and informative way to discover the critical reaction on movies from the nation's top print and online film critics, neatly summarized via the Tomatometer™."

Bogle, Donald. Blacks in American Films and Television: An Encyclopedia. New York: Garland, 1988. (Uris Ref PN 1998.9 N4 B672; also Olin, Africana)

Contains brief critical analyses of black-oriented films and television programs in America.Divided into three major sections: 1) Movies, 2) Television, and 3) Profiles. Entries are arranged alphabetically within each section. The Movie section emphasizes mainstream American films but does include some race movies and other films not familiar to the mass audience. (Introduction) Does not cover documentary films. An index and selected bibliography are included.

Silver, Alain and Elizabeth Ward, eds. Film Noir. Woodstock: Overlook, 1988. (Uris Ref PN 1993.5 U6 F48 1988)

"An Encyclopedic Reference to the American Style," (Title Page) this source lists and describes American films meeting the criteria of the Film Noir style. Appendices include a chronology; names of writers, producers, actors and actresses; a bibliography; and essays on film styles and Film Noir in the eighties.

Sullivan, Kaye. Films for, by and about Women. 2 vols. Metuchen: Scarecrow, 1980, 1985. (Olin Ref Z 7962 S95)

An annotated bibliography, listing films, film sources and women film makers. Film annotationsinclude date of release, running time, whether it appears in color or black and white, and names of director, screenwriter and producer. Some slides, videotapes, and 8mm films and film strips are included, but the majority of items are 16mm films. Volume II updates and complements volume1. A subject listing at the back of both volumes is very useful.

Welch, Jeffrey Egan. Literature and Film: An Annotated Bibliography, 1909-1977. New York: Garland, 1981. (Olin Ref Z 5784 M9 W43)

______________. Literature and Film: An Annotated Bibliography, 1978-1988. New York: Garland, 1993. (Olin stacks Z 5784 M9 W375x 1993)

Internet Movie Database.

This database provides basic information about films, including director, cast, characters, ratings and reviews. It is probably one of the best film resoures available on the Web.

Voice of the Shuttle/Media Studies

From UC-Santa Barbara, a compilation of Web links from a variety of institutions and organizations dedicated to the study of film, video, and other areas of mass culture, as well as to Web sites that focus on particular genres, directors, actors, theories, national cinemas, and historical periods.

Yahoo's Movies and Film Links

Lists thousands of Web links related to all aspects of film, from actors, awards, history, and genres to organizations, reviews, and critical theory.

http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/filmbib.html Compiled by Fred Muratori, Olin & Uris Libraries Reference Services Revised and updated, 11/21/07 Send changes to Fred Muratori