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Film Criticism Research Guide
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What
is Film Criticism?
The term "film
criticism" refers to studies devoted to the comparison, analysis,
interpretation and evaluation of motion pictures, including silent
movies, animation, short films, feature-length movies and documentaries.
Film criticism may be positive or negative, or a mixture of both.
“Criticism” in this context does not mean “to find fault with”
but to “investigate, analyze and evaluate” films.
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Getting Started
Before beginning
research, spend some time thinking about a topic and how to develop a
search strategy for finding information. For example, some things you
might consider when doing film research are:
- Full title of a film
- Title of a foreign
film in its original language
- Release date,
especially if a film has been remade and appears in different
versions
- Genre of a film,
such as drama, science fiction, animation, comedy, documentary
- Themes or motifs of
a film or director
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Finding General or Background Information on Film
and Film Criticism
Use both general and
subject encyclopedias to find background and overview information on
film. Search Bowman Library’s online Encyclopedia
Britannica for information on film history and specific film genres.
Searching ROSIE for “film
encyclopedias” or “motion pictures encyclopedias” will provide you with
titles and call numbers of reference works about film. Two examples
are:
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Finding Film Criticism in Books
Searching ROSIE Using Keywords:
It’s often best
to begin searching ROSIE
with a word search. As with any search strategy, brainstorm for
synonyms and ideas related to your topic and begin by searching
with those. For example, "film," "movie" and
"motion picture" are all terms you might use. Remember
that you’ll also probably gather some results that aren’t appropriate
for your topic. When you find appropriate books, you can link
to their subject headings for a more focused search.
Searching ROSIE by Subject:
Searching by
Library of Congress Subject Headings allows you to do a more precise
focused search for your topic. Some subject headings that may
be useful in doing film criticism research include:
You may also search
in either the word search or LC subject search for a film’s
title.
Browsing Call Numbers:
Because books are
arranged on the Library’s shelves by subject, browsing the library
stacks in the call number areas suggested below can also be useful. You
may also browse the shelves virtually by using the Call Number search in
ROSIE.
PN1993-PN1999
Keep in mind that
books on film may also appear in other subject areas; for instance, a
book on Civil War films might be in the American history section, not
the film section. Books about films that have been adapted from literary
works might be in the literature section.
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Finding Articles about Films and Film Criticism in
Research Databases
Bowman Library subscribes
to many Web-based databases where you will find newspaper, magazine
and scholarly journal articles. Ones that are particularly useful
for researching film are listed below. See Searching
Electronic Resources Effectively for guidelines on making
the most of your search.
ProQuest – journal,
magazine and newspaper articles on a broad range of subjects.
Use “Advanced Search” and restrict your search to movie reviews
by searching for Document Type in the pull-down box and then choosing
Film Review.
Historical
New York Times - contains the full text, including movie reviews,
of the New York Times from 1851-2002. Use "Advanced
Search" and search for the name of a film, actor, director,
studio, etc. Very useful for older films.
Biography
Resource Center – biographical information on people throughout
history, including directors and performers. Also includes full-text
articles from hundreds of magazines.
LexisNexis
Academic – magazine and newspaper articles, including film
reviews. Use “News” tab; select source “Book, movie, music, play
and video reviews.”
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Selected Free Web Sites
The following
Web sites have been selected by Bowman Librarians as examples
of sites appropriate for college research. Keep in mind, however,
that free web resources are rarely filtered, often making it difficult
to determine the content's accuracy. Use our guide Evaluating
Web Resources to help you review the authority, currency and
objectivity or bias of every site you use.
- The
Internet Public Library Movies Page
http://www.ipl.org/div/subject/browse/ent50.00.00/
This site, from the Internet Public Library at the University
of Michigan, contains critical Web sites about motion pictures,
their makers, and performers.
- Films in Review
http://www.filmsinreview.com/
Published by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures,
Films in Review, is the oldest film publication in the United
States. Its Web site contains hundreds of film reviews as well
as editorials, interviews, and columns.
- MRQE – Movie Review Query Engine
http://www.mrqe.com/lookup
More than 48,000 films are reviewed here; includes reviews from
major newspapers.
- The Official Academy Awards
Database
http://www.oscars.org/awardsdatabase/
The Academy Awards Database contains the record of past Academy
Award winners and nominees. The data are updated immediately after
each year’s Academy Awards ceremony.
- British Film Institute
http://www.bfi.org.uk/features/bfi100/
The United Kingdom’s national agency for British films has a selection
of the favorite British films of the 20th Century. Also includes
a Film Links Gateway of Web sites about film and media.
- British
Broadcasting Company
http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/archive.shtml?film_reviews
The BBC has many reviews of both classic and recent movies.
- DocumentaryFilms.net
http://www.documentaryfilms.net
This site aspires to be "the source" on documentary
films and filmmaking. It includes reviews of a wide array of documentaries.
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Citing
Your Sources
Be sure to check
with your professor on which citation style is required.
Bowman Library provides the
following resources to assist with citation format:
For online
resources, see How to Cite
Your Research for links to MLA, APA, and Chicago citation styles.
MLA
Handbook for Writers of Research Papers - LB2369
.G53 2003 (Located in Library Permanent Reserves).
Publication
Manual of the American Psychological Association - BF76.7
.P83 2001 (Located in Library Permanent Reserves).
The
Chicago Manual of Style - Z253
.U69 2003 (Located in Library Permanent Reserves).
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Have
Questions?
- Explore WOODIE for
help with Research.
- Take a look
at other related Research
Guides.
- Ask a Librarian. We
are here to help!
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