Useful apps for Cinema & Media Studies
Not available to stream? It happens.
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!
Are DVDs obsolete?
No. You can stream films through the Penn Libraries, but DVDs and Blu-rays have superior image and sound quality. DVDs provide access in the long term, unlike a rented or purchased digital file, and streaming platforms with rotating catalogs. Many retailers no longer sell physical media, and some electronics manufacturers have stopped production of disc players, but physical media is still important.
Many films in the collections at the Penn Libraries are not available anywhere online.
DVDs may include special features like commentaries, interviews, documentaries about the making of a film, and more. Versions of films and TV shows on DVD may vary from edited/censored versions on streaming services.
I don't have a player. Where can I play DVDs or older video?
The libraries offer computers with DVD drives and portable, all-region DVD players that Penn students, faculty, and staff can check out. The Ormandy Center on the 4th Floor of Van Pelt Library has both DVD players and a VCR.
Why do we still collect DVDs?
In many parts of the world, including some locations in the U.S., Internet access is not a given. DVDs and DVD players continue to be important for media storage and distribution and for film research. To play international DVD formats from other regions, you must use an all-region player. DVDs from other regions allow us to access world cinema and media that may be otherwise unavailable in the U.S.
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
New York Times and other major newspapers
French-language scholarship
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.
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).
