Film
Criticism and Film Reviews:
A Selective Guide to Sources
GENERAL GUIDES
Samples, Gordon. How to Locate Reviews of Plays and Films:
A Bibliography of Criticism From the Beginnings to the Present
(Ref. PN 1995 .A1 S19)
A primer for film and drama researchers. Indexes key sources,
such as film guides, theatre periodicals and collected reviews.
Covers theatrical arts from medieval times to 1976.
FINDING ARTICLES VIA ONLINE DATABASES
LexisNexis – Many full-text journal and newspaper articles from
sources worldwide. (To search, select “news.”
Choose “arts & sports news” from the “select
a category” menu. Then, select “book, movie, music
& play reviews” from the source list).
Art Full Text
– An excellent source for scholarly film criticism.
Includes abstracts and some full text articles. Film journals
indexed include: Film Criticism, Film Comment, Film Quarterly,
Cineaste, Cinema Journal, American Cinematographer, Film and
History, Quarterly Review of Film and Video, Journal of Popular
Film and Television, Screen Cahier du Cinema, Millenium Film
Journal.
HumanitiesAbs
– Covers more than 465 humanities journals dating from
1984 to the present; abstracts since 1994. (To locate articles
prior to 1984, use the print source Humanities Index –
Ref. A13 .R49 and A13 .R492.)
Readers' Guide Full Text
– Indexes more than 300 general interest periodicals;
also Film Quarterly, Film Commentary and American Film. Covers
1983 to the present. (To locate articles prior to 1984, use
the print source Readers Guide to Periodical Literature –
Ref. AI 3 .R4.)
Wilson OmniFile
– Full-text articles from more than 1,400 sources dating
from 1994 to the present. Includes a variety of popular and
scholarly publications, which may have film reviews. Specific
film journals include: Film Criticism, Journal of Popular
Film and Television, Literature/Film Quarterly, Variety, Sight
& Sound, Cineaste.
ArticleFirst
– All-subject index of articles from around 15,000 sources
dating from 1990 to the present. Includes Film Review, Quarterly
Review of Film and Video.
Project
Muse – Provides full text articles from humanities
journals from 36 scholarly publishers. Covers film, theater
and performing arts, among other topics.
InfoTrac
OneFile – Many full-text articles from a range
of scholarly and general interest periodicals. Among the film
journals covered are American Film, Film Comment, Film Criticism,
Film Journal International and others. Entries updated daily.
InfoTrac
General Reference Center Gold – A general interest
database covering newspapers, reference books and periodicals.
Includes many journals covered in OneFile, plus a handful
of other film periodicals. A good source for popular film
reviews.
New York Times Historical (1851-2003) - Enjoy searching the electronic counterpart to New York Times Film Reviews in print (Ref. PN 1995 .N4). To locate reviews, you'll need the year the film was released. Reviews aren't always easy to find here, so it's helpful to know when the original NYT review appeared (see Film Literature Index - Ref. PN 1993 .F647 for dates). To search, enter the film's title in quotation marks (example: "Good Morning Vietnam"), then enter the year the film was released (example: 01/01/1987 to 12/31/1987) or the day the review ran. To browse sections of the NYT, select "more search options."
FINDING ARTICLES VIA PRINT INDEXES
Note: Print indexes provide access to contemporary reviews
and criticism of films issued before the advent of online
indexes, generally prior to 1985.
Film Criticism: An Index to Critics Anthologies.
(Ref. PN 1995 .H4)
Indexes some 40 anthologies of criticism. Covers the works
of 27 critics whose critiques appeared from 1946 to 1972.
Includes entries for films, actors, directors and book reviews.
A helpful “Guidelines for Use” page precedes entries.
Film Literature Index. (Ref. PN 1993 .F647)
Indexes 150 film and television periodicals published in 30
countries. Covers scholarly, critical, technical and popular
periodicals published from 1974 to the present. Offers more
than 2,000 subject headings and helpful cross-references.
Retrospective Index to Film Periodicals, 1930-1971.
(Ref. PN 1993 .B39)
Comprehensive index to reviews published in 14 English language
journals. Covers periodicals devoted to the serious study
of film.
Guide to Critical Reviews. (Ref. PN 2266 .A1 S16
1982, part IV)
Indexes some 6,500 film and video reviews that appeared in
the American and Canadian popular press from 1963 to 1980.
Covers mostly feature films, but documentaries and rock films
are included.
Index to Motion Pictures Reviewed by Variety, 1907-1980.
(Ref. PN 1995 .V36 A385 1982)
Indexes more than seven decades of film reviews that ran in
Variety. See also Variety Film Reviews (Ref.
PN 1993 .V36)
New York Times Index. (Ref. AI 21 .N45)
Indispensable source for popular movie reviews. Find reviews
under “Motion pictures—Reviews and other data
on specific productions.” (For reviews appearing prior
to 1984, see New York Times Film Reviews –
Ref. PN 1995 .N4.)
Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature. (Ref.
AI3 .R4)
Another prime source for popular film reviews. Find reviews
under “Motion picture reviews—Single works”
from 1977 to the present. Earlier volumes list reviews under
“Moving picture plays—Criticism, plots, etc.”
International Index to Film Periodicals. (Ref. PN
1993 .I58)
Indexes reviews and general articles on film; an especially
good source for foreign film coverage.
Art Index. (Ref. N1 .A1 A78)
Useful source for locating movie reviews in film journals.
Reviews are listed under “Motion picture reviews—single
works.” (Available on FirstSearch database as Art Full Text,
1984 to present; abstracts since 1994.)
Humanities Index. (Ref. AI3 .R492 and AI3 .R49)
Film reviews are listed under “Motion picture reviews—single
works.” (Available on FirstSearch database as HumanitiesAbs,
1984 to present; abstracts since 1994.)
Essay and General Literature Index. (Ref. AI 3.E752)
Indexes reviews that appeared in books and anthologies. Entries
are listed by movie title. (Available on FirstSearch database
as EssayGenLit,
1985 to present.)
Detroit News Index. (Ref. AI 21 .D4 D45)
Indexes popular movie reviews that appeared in the Detroit
News. Reviews are listed under the heading: Motion Pictures.
KL owns 1976 to present.
Washington Post Index. (Ref. AI 21 .W33 W361)
Indexes film reviews that appeared in the Washington Post.
Reviews are listed under the heading: Motion Pictures. KL
owns from 1971-1998.
COLLECTIONS BY MULTIPLE CRITICS
New York Times Film Reviews. (Ref. PN 1995 .N4)
Includes film reviews that appeared in the New York Times.
Main set covers reviews that ran from 1913 to 1984 and 1993-2000.
(For other reviews, see New York Times Index –
Ref. AI 21. N45).
Variety Film Reviews, 1907-1980. (Ref. PN 1993 .V36)
Reproductions of the original film reviews that were published
in Variety.
Magill’s Survey of Cinema: English Language Films.
(Ref. PN 1993.45 .M3 (1st ser.) – Ref. PN 1993.45 .M32
(2nd ser.))
Includes one- to three-page essay-style reviews of more than
1,500 films. Includes plot summaries, analysis and details
on production, direction and editing.
Magill’s Survey of Cinema: Foreign Language Films.
(Ref. PN 1993.45 .M34 1985)
Includes essay-style reviews of foreign language films. Covers
700 films.
Magill’s Survey of Cinema—Silent Films.
(Ref. PN 1995.75 .M33 1982)
Similar to preceding Magill titles, but this source covers
silent films.
Magill’s Cinema Annual (1982 - present). (Ref.
PN 1993.3 .M34)
This annual update to Magill’s Survey of Cinema
includes essay reviews of the year’s most important
films. Entries include a short list of additional reviews
for each film.
Film Review Annual (1982 - present). (Ref. PN 1995
.F465)
This single-volume source includes important reviews of American
films. Reviews originally appeared in Film Quarterly,
LA Times, Village Voice, Time,
Newsweek and other publications.
Selected Film Criticism. (Ref. PN 1995 .S426)
Entries include American feature film reviews that appeared
from 1896 to 1950.
American Film Criticism From the Beginnings to Citizen
Kane. (Ref. PN 1995 .K293)
Includes the original reviews of significant films.
Awake in the Dark: An Anthology of American Film Criticism
1915 to the Present. (PN 1995.A86)
Covers selections of film criticism, 1915 to 1973.
National Society of Film Critics on Movie Comedy.
(PN 1995.9 .C55)
International in scope, this essay collection includes reviews
of comic films.
COLLECTIONS OF REVIEWS BY INDIVIDUAL FILM CRITICS
Agee, James. Agee on Film. (PN 1993.5 .A1 A35 1964a)
Includes a selection of legendary film critic James Agee’s
reviews and commentaries. Reviews originally ran in Time
and The Nation, 1941-1948.
Farber, Manny. Negative Space: Manny Farber on the Movies.
(PN 1995 .F28 1971b)
Critic Manny Farber analyzes the use of space as an artistic
device in classic films from 1957 to late 1960s.
Ferguson, Otis. The Film Criticism of Otis Ferguson.
(PN 1995 .F45 1971)
A collection of Otis Ferguson’s reviews from The
New Republic, 1934 to 1942.
Greene, Graham. Graham Greene on Film: Collected Film
Criticism. (PN 1995.G68 1972)
A collection of film criticism, 1935 to 1940.
Kael, Pauline. I Lost It at the Movies. (PN 1994
.K25)
Includes critic Pauline Kael’s film writings, 1954 to
1965.
Kael, Pauline. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. (PN 1995 .K24)
Includes a selection of Kael’s reviews, 1965 to 1967.
Kael, Pauline. Reeling. (PN 1995 .K252)
Kael’s insightful criticism examines important films,
1972 to 1975.
Kael, Pauline. When the Lights Go Down. (PN 1995
.K254)
This collection first appeared in The New Yorker.
Covers films from the mid-to late 1970s. Includes a glowing
tribute to Cary Grant.
Kauffman, Stanley. Figures of Light: Film Criticism &
Comment. (PN 1995 .K296 1971)
1971 – Includes a collection of Kauffman’s reviews
reprinted from The New Republic. Covers films released
between 1966 and 1970.
Kauffman, Stanley. Living Images: Film Comment &
Criticism. (PN 1994 .K32)
Includes reviews reprinted from The New Republic.
Covers films released between 1970 and 1974.
Kauffman, Stanley. Before My Eyes: Film Criticism &
Comment. (PN 1995 .K294 1982)
Includes reviews of films released between 1974 and 1979,
commentary on older films and film essays.
Simon, John Ivan. Movies into Film: Film Criticism, 1967-1970.
(PN 1995 .S494)
Includes criticism of films released between 1967 and 1970.
Commentary is arranged by subject heading—young directors,
sex, the new violence, politics and society and others.
Truffaut, Francois. The Films in My Life. (PN 1995
.T713)
A translation into English of Francois Truffaut’s Les
Films de Ma Vie. The director-critic offers commentary
on many important and minor films, 1955 to 1975.
Winnington, Richard. Film Criticism and Caricatures,
1943-53. (PN 1995 .W59 1976)
Includes a collection of British critic Richard Winningon’s
brightly-written reviews and whimsical drawings.
INTERNET SOURCES
Henry Sheehan Film
Criticism and Commentary
Includes commentary, interviews, film essays and reviews from
mainstream and alternative publications.
The Film Tribune
Includes film reviews from the silent era to the present,
film commentary and other features.
The
Great Movies—Roger Ebert
Critic Roger Ebert’s informative site includes reviews
of current and classic films, interviews, film essays and
more.
The Greatest
Films
This award-winning site offers detailed plot summaries of
great American films. Covers film genres, film history by
decade, terminology and more. An ideal site for researchers
and film aficionados alike.
The Internet Movie Database
This expansive site provides plot summaries, actor biographies
and filmographies. Offers numerous search options.
American Rhetoric
Includes speeches from notable films. (Select “movie
speeches” link).
For additional information, check the following subject
headings in Voyager, the library’s online catalog:
MOTION PICTURES—REVIEWS
MOTION PICTURES—HISTORY AND CRITICISM
MOTION PICTURES—UNITED STATES—REVIEWS
Finally, consider searching under the names of individual
movie titles, directors and actors.