Finding General Reference Resources

Research on films begins in the Reference Room with background sources and scholarly film reviews.

The Film Encyclopedia   [RR PN 1993.45 K34 2001]

Magill's Survey of Cinema: English Language Films  6v. [RR PN1993.45 .M32]

Magill's Cinema Annual 1982-current.   [RR PN1993.45 .M33]

Magill's Survey of Cinema: Foreign Language Films  8v. [RR PN1993.45 .M34]

A History of Early Film  3v.  [RR PN1993.5 .A1 H547 2000]

The BFI Companion to Eastern European and Russian Cinema  [RR PN1993.5.E82 B44 2000]

History of the American Cinema  [RR PN1993.5.U6 H55 1990]
    Vol. 1 Emergence of Cinema: The American Screen to 1907.
    Vol. 2 Transformation of Cinema: 1907-1915.
    Vol. 3 An Evening's Entertainment: Silent Feature, 1915-1928.
    Vol. 4 Talkies, 1926-1931.
    Vol. 5 Hollywood as a Modern Business Enterprise, 1930-1939.
    Vol.. 6 Boom & Bust: Cinema in the 40s.
    Vol. 8 The Sixties, 1960-1969.
    Vol. 9 Lost illusions : American cinema in the shadow of Watergate and Vietnam, 1970-1979.
    Vol. 10 A new pot of gold : Hollywood under the electronic rainbow, 1980-1989.

The American Film Industry: A Historical Dictionary  [RR PN1993.5.U6 S539 1986]

The New York Times Guide to the Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made  [RR PN1995 .C343 1999]

The Motion Picture Guide   10v. [RR PN1995 .N346 1985]

Guide to the Silent Years of American Cinema  [RR PN1995.75 .M23 1999]

Magill's Survey of Cinema: Silent Films  3v. [RR PN1995.75 .M33]

American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States   [RR PN1995.75 .M33]

The BFI Companion to Crime  [RR PN1995.9.D4 B23 1997]

International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers  4v. [RR PN1997.8 .I58 2000]

Dictionary of Film Terms  [RR TR847 .B43 1994]

Finding Articles, Essays, and Reviews

Art Index
    Indexes English-language art periodicals, plus museum bulletins, bibliographies, film reviews, and conference reports.  Covers 1984 to the present.

Art Index Retrospective
    Indexes English-language art periodicals, plus museum bulletins, bibliographies, film reviews, and conference reports. Covers 1929-1984. Available only from campus. USER: stolaf, PASSWORD: unmn53767

Arts & Humanities Citation Index (AHSearch)
    A large index to arts and humanities journal that permits you to search for works that cite another work or author.  Covers 1980 to the present.  Note: Must contact a reference librarian for Web access!
Print index also available in Rolvaag Reference Library [RR A13 .A63; 1981-present]

Expanded Academic ASAP [Online through St. Olaf]
     Indexes both academic journals and popular magazines. Includes some full-text articles. Updated daily.

Film Literature Index
    A subject and name index to film and television/video literature appearing in periodicals.
 Print index in Rolvaag Reference Room [RR PN1993.F5; 1984-1997]

Film Review Annual
    A yearly collection of reviews of films released in the United States.
Print index in Rolvaag Reference Room [RR P.N1995.F463; 1981-1996]

International Index to the Performing Arts [Online through both St. Olaf and Carleton]
     Indexes approximately 140 periodicals as well as articles The New York Times and The Washington Post.

Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe
    Provides access to a wide range of news, business, legal, and reference information. Excellent source for full-text articles in national and international newspapers.

MLA International Bibliography  [Available online. Covers 1963-present]
     Produced by the Modern Language Association, provides access to scholarly research in over 3000 journals and series.
Bibliographic records pertaining to literature, language, linguistics and folklore. Covers monographs, essays, working papers,
proceedings and other formats.

Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature
    An index to popular magazines published in the United States.
Print index in Rolvaag Reference Room [RR AI3 .R48; 1890-present]

Film Journals
Film reviews can also be found in popular magazines and interdisciplinary journals.

American Film
Film Culture
Film Comment
Film
Film Heritage
Film News
Film Quarterly
Film and Filming
Literature Film Quarterly
19th Century Theatre and Film
Sight and Sound
Variety

Finding Books and Films

Use Bridge - The St. Olaf Libraries catalog to search for books, and titles and holdings of periodicals. *

For general information about film and film criticism, begin with a subject search:

     SUBJECT: Motion pictures -- United States
                       Silent films -- Reviews
                       Film criticism

For reviews and criticism on films by a particular director:

     AUTHOR: Eisenstein Sergei
                       Griffith D. W.

To find individual films, search by title of film:

     TITLE: Metropolis

To find videos, search by SUBJECT, AUTHOR or TITLE and LIMIT by Material Type=>Video.

Use the KEYWORD search to combine terms.

     WORD: Motion picture music*
     Or WORD: Western film
     Or WORD: Silent film Chaplin

Finding Internet Resources

Internet Movie Database
    Great resource for finding plot summaries, photos, credits, and comments on films.

Motion Picture Database
    Provides great reviews and indepth cast and credit information.

Public Moving Image Archives and Research Centers
    This site gives fast access to major film archives around the world.

The British Council's Site for British Films
    Visitors will find features, shorts, and documentaries, each listing provides a brief plot summary, basic cast and crew credits, and access information for the production and sales companies.

Movie Review Query Engine
    More that 25,000 movies are covered in over 185,000 reviews culled from newspapers, entertainment publications, and newsgroups.

A TRIP TO THE MOON. 1902. Georges Melies IN Pioneer Cinema. [PN1997 .P56]
THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY. 1903. Edwin S. Porter IN Pioneer Cinema.  [PN1997.P56]
RESCUED BY ROVER.  1905. Cecil Hepworth  IN The Origins of Cinema. [PN 1997.075 v. 6]
BIRTH OF A NATION. 1915.  D. W. Griffith [PN1997.85 .B52]
INTOLERANCE.  1916.  D. W. Griffith [PN1997 .I58 v.1 and v.2]
DER LETZTE MANN.  1924 F.W. Murnau [PN1997 .l32]
METROPOLIS.  1927.  Fritz Lang [PN1997 .M48]
BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN.  1925.  Sergei Eisenstein [PN1997 .B77 1998]
FOOLISH WIVES. 1922.  Erich von Stroheim [PN1997 .F66]
GREED. 1924. Erich von Stroheim
MODERN TIMES.  1936. Charlie Chaplin [PN1997 .C435 1992]
STAGECOACH. 1939. John Ford  [PN1997.85 .S82]
DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE.  1932. Rouben Mamoulian  [PN1997.85 .D69]
ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT.   1930. Lewis Milestone [PN1997.85 .A44]
CITIZEN KANE.  1941. Orson Welles [PN1997 .C57]
GRAND ILLUSION. 1937.  Jean Renoir [PN1997 .G73]
BICYCLE THIEF. 1948. Vittorio de Sica [PN1997.85 .L21]
SUNSET BOULEVARD. 1950. Billy Wilder [on order]
WHEN THE CRANES FLY (aka CRANES ARE FLYING) 1957. Mikhail Kalatosov [PN1997 .L46]
ASHES & DIAMONDS.  1958.  Andrzej Wajda [PN1997.85 .A75];
THE SHOP ON MAIN STREET.  1965.  Jan Kadár, Elmar Klos [PN1997.85 .02]
CHINATOWN.  1974.  Roman Polanski [PN19987 .C465 1997]
TESS.  1979. Roman Polanski [PN1997.85 .T43]
BREATHLESS.  1959.  Jean Luc Godard [PN 1997. B69]
RED DESERT. 1964. Michelangelo Antonioni [PN1997 .I44]
FANNY AND ALEXANDER  1982. Ingmar Bergman [PN1997 .F36].
8-1/2.  1963. Federico Fellini [PN1997 .088]
BABETTE’S FEAST. 1987.  Gabriel Axel [PN1997.85.B23]
MALTESE FALCON. 1941. John Huston [PN1997.85 .M33]
ON THE WATERFRONT. 1954. Elia Kazan [PN1997.85 .O6]
REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE. 1955. Nicholas Ray [PN1997.85 .R425]
BONNIE AND CLYDE. 1967. Arthur Penn [PN1997 .B673]
DOWN BY LAW. 1986. Jim Jarmusch [PN1997 .D67]
THE GODFATHER. 1972. Francis Ford Coppola [PN1997.85 .G5982]
THE GODFATHER: PART II. 1974. Francis Ford Coppola [PN1997.85 .G5983]
 

* Additional sources can be found by searching the Carleton Library catalog Muse

Prepared by Sarah Varner '03 for Mary Sue Lovett, Reference Librarian
05/22/03