Guides: Cinema & Media Studies: Overview

Useful apps for Cinema & Media Studies

IMDb, the Internet Movie Database, for filmographies, casts, credits, showtimes, reviews, and watchlists for film and TV.
Letterboxd, a social network for film people with watchlists and reviews.
JustWatch or ReelGood, streaming search and watchlists.

Not available to stream? It happens.
Search for the DVD

Search Franklin for films and TV, streaming or as a DVD. The physical DVD copy is sometimes the only option for access.

DVDs can offer bonus essays, booklets, interviews, and extra content.

Check out up to 10 DVDs at once!

Background Information

Oxford Bibliographies Online
Under Browse by Subject, select Cinema & Media Studies. There are overviews here on such topics as Censorship, Film Theory Before 1945, and Women in Film.

Schirmer Encyclopedia of Film
Encyclopedia covers topics like production, national cinemas, studios, genres, theory and film history. A-Z index, short bios, and further recommended sources.

Oxford Dictionary of Film Studies
Defines terms and concepts in film theory and criticism, film movements and genres, film industry organizations, practices and technical terms.

About this Guide

Cinema & Media Studies resources include databases and indexes; reference works with background information, overview essays, and bibliographies; primary sources; and films or TV shows, either on DVD or streaming.

Quick links: Borrowing Books | Interlibrary Loan | Suggest a Purchase

Cinema Studies Databases

Film & Television Literature Index
Covers film and television literature in all areas of film and television research: scholarly journals and industry publications, with selective coverage of other publications. Subjects covered include film and television theory, preservation and restoration, screenwriting, production, cinematography, technical aspects of film and television, entertainment law, and film and television reviews. Index only.
Includes the sources: Animation (2005-); Cahiers du Cinéma (1987-); Film Comment (1984-); Screen (1971-); Sight & Sound (1987-)
FIAF International Index to Film Periodicals
FIAF International Index to Film Periodicals is published by the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF) and contains several databases: the International Index to Film Periodicals, the International Index to Television Periodicals, the List of Periodicals Indexed, the Treasures from the Film Archives, the FIAF Affiliates Publications and the Film and TV Documentation Collections.
Film Index International
A reference work for films and biographical information about directors, producers, actors and more, from the British Film Institute (BFI). Unlike freely available resources such as the Internet Movie Database (IMDb), includes scholarly and academic work. Entries include credits, plot synopses, filmographies, important dates, citations of original reviews from the time of a film's release, interviews, and obituaries. More comprehensive coverage of international films than other indexes.
American Film Institute Catalog
American film information for the years 1893-1972 produced by the American Film Institute (AFI). The film experts at AFI update and add new records twice yearly and are working on completing their coverage of the 1970s.
VIP+
Variety Intelligence Platform (VIP+) is a subscription service from the media company Variety which offers Daily Commentary, Special Reports, and Video on the media & entertainment industry. Coverage of new and emerging topics of interest like streaming, generative AI, gaming, social media, data licensing, and more.
JSTOR
Tip: Use Advanced Search, scroll down, and check "Film Studies" only
Google Scholar
Web of Science
Communication Source
MLA International Bibliography
Proquest Historical Newspapers
Nexis Uni
New York Times and other major newspapers
Readers' Guide Retrospective
Periodicals Index Online
CAIRN Bouquet Général
French-language scholarship

Primary Sources

Media History Digital Library - Archive of classic media publications covering the histories of film, broadcasting and sound. Features both film industry papers and fan magazines.
Moving Picture World - An influential early trade journal for the American film industry
Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive - Covers Variety (1905-2000) and consumer and fan magazines such as Picturegoer (1911-1960) and American Film (1975-1992).
Victorians on Film: Entertainment, Innovation & Everyday Life - Showcasing the British Film Institute’s Victorian Film Collection and the Mitchell and Kenyon Collection, this material provides a glimpse into the lives of the late Victorians and Edwardians captured between 1895 and 1913 by some of Britain’s earliest film pioneers and innovators.
MPAA Production Code Administration Files: Hollywood, Moral Censorship, and the Motion Picture Production Code, 1927-1968 - Archives Unbound digital archive of MPAA Production Code Administration Files covering self-regulation and censorship in the motion picture industry.

Subject Guide

Charles Cobine

he/him

Contact:

Van Pelt Library 205

215-746-5830

Subjects: Cinema & Media Studies, German Studies

Sight & Sound - 1932-present

Sight & Sound Digital Archive
Sight & Sound is the international film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI) since 1932, film commentary and criticism. Archive includes annual volumes of Monthly Film Bulletin (MFB) (1934-1991).

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