Film and Digital Media 134
American Film
Research Suggestions

(All locations and call numbers are in McHenry Library)

This webpage suggests sources for two American film assignments in Film 134A (films 1930-1960) and Film 134B (films 1960-present). The first assignment requires the student to find information regarding how a particular film was marketed and reviewed at the time of its original release. The second assignment requires the student to find secondary sources regarding a particular film and its context in history.

Almost all of the online sources below limit access to UC users. If you attempt to access them from off campus using anything other than your ITS account, you will need to have an activated UCSC Library card. Online sources that are available to the general public have an asterisk after the name (*).

Finding core information about a film.

 
The American Film Institute Catalog provides information on over 45,000 films released between 1893 and 1970 (thus relevent to only some films for Film 134B), including specific premier and release dates, full cast and crew information, and, in many cases very extensive historical information and lists of articles, reviews, and secondary sources (from before the release date to the present). Use CRUZCAT to locate journals containing those articles and reviews.
Film Index International provides information on over 100,000 films from 1900 to the present, including brief plot summaries, full cast and credit lists, award and prize information, and references to critical articles and reviews (from release date to the present). Use CRUZCAT to locate journals containing those articles and reviews. For films released after 1970, this should be your first stop.
The Internet Movie Database* (IMDB) provides information on over 400,000 films; in the left-hand menu, under the category "Other Info" is "Box Office and Business" information that is not provided in the other sources; similarly, under "Promotional" one can view posters and trailers (requiring Windows Media) online.
CRUZCAT * will list books that are about your film, or about its director, other personnel, or genre. Director bibliographies will frequently list reviews and articles for each film by that director. If the library has a DVD of the film, the DVD may include trailers, interviews, and other valuable information. Use the KEYWORD search to find both DVDs and books. Note subject headings of books relevant to your search and click on them to retrieve additional materials.
The following volumes in the McHenry Reference stacks may include additional useful information:

-- Magill's Cinema Annual, Ref PN1993.3 M34 (includes discussion and list of reviews) for films 1982-
-- Magill's Survey of Cinema, English language films, Ref PN1993.45.M3 and M32 (total 10 volumes, discusses individual titles)
-- International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, Ref PN1997.8 I58 (discussion and list of articles and reviews.
 

Finding film reviews

 
You may have a list of reviews of your film from the sources above. Use CRUZCAT to find the journal issues that contain your reviews.
The library has reprints of two major sources of film reviews. If you take volumes to the photocopy room, please return them as a service to your fellow students.
--New York Times Film Reviews (Ref PN1995.N4) includes reviews from 1913 to 2000. For volumes covering 1913-1968 there is a one-volume index that will provide you with the date of reviews of your film (sometimes more than one); go to the appropriate volume and find your reviews (they are arranged by date). For reviews published from 1969 to 2000, use the indexes in the back of each volume to find the date in that volume for your review. There are no volumes after 2000. Alternatively, and as the only source for New York Times reviews after 2000, use the online New York Times (1851-) and search for your film. Note that there are separate online files for recent issues and historical issues.
--Variety Film Reviews (Ref PN1995.V34) includes reviews from this trade journal for 1907-1986. There are no volumes after 1986. For volumes covering 1907 to 1980, there is a single-volume index that will give the dates of reviews. The index in the 1983-1984 volume covers 1981-1984; thereafter, each volume has its own index. For Variety film reviews after 1986, search LexisNexis, which contains Variety full-text from 7/19/93 to the present. The library has microfilm of Variety from 1905 to 1972 but has nothing between 1972 and 1993.
Additional online reviews may be listed or provided in full text in:
Academic Search Complete -- searchable database with citations abstracts for journal articles in all academic disciplines. The full-text of over half of the articles is included. Many of the journals are peer-reviewed.
LexisNexis -- dates will vary depending on publication, much is full-text.
ProQuest Newspapers — In addition to full-text access to The New York Times (1851-), this service provides access to the Los Angeles Times (1881-present) and The Wall Street Journal (1889-present).
Reader's Guide Retrospective (online source for 1890-1982) and Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature (Reference Table #1, print for 1890-present) -- reviews in major periodicals
Movie Review Query Engine* (http://www.mrqe.com), but many will have been written at the time of re-release or video/dvd release.
Film Literature Index, 1973 to the present, lists reviews as well as other articles. The online version currently covers only 1976-2001 while the print volumes (Ref PN1993 .F563 ) cover 1973 to the present.
FIAF International FilmArchive Database indexes film periodicals from 1972 on and includes reviews.
The online link leads to a menu: choose the fifth item "Index to Film Periodicals" and click on "start searching" -- you will then see the expected search box for your search.
The McHenry Reference Stacks also include these print sources of reviews:

Film Review Annual, 1982-present (Ref PN1995.F463) includes the text of reviews.
Film Review Index (Ref PN1995 .F513) -- lists reviews published 1882-1985.
Index to Critical Film Reviews (Ref PN1995.B64) lists 20,000 reviews published through 1971.
Retrospective Index to Film Periodicals 1930-1971 (Ref PN1993 .B39 1975), lists reviews and other articles in fifteen core journals.
Selected Film Criticism, Ref PN1995.S426 1982, 1912-1950.
New Film Index, Ref PN1995.M29 1975, indexes articles published 1930-1970.
Lastly, books that you may have found related to your film, director, or genre may include valuable information about the the film's reception at the time of release.
 

Finding marketing, business, and financial information

This can be a difficult part of your assignment, partly because access to older industry and trade journals is limited. Here are suggestions:

IMDB* includes promotional and industry information, including posters and trailers (from the main menu, you may choose "photos" to go to their "poster brower."
Other online sources of posters and lobby cards are:
filmsite.org*
filmposters.com*
classicmovieart.com*
movieposter.com*
ebay.com*
You may also find that your film, its director, or its actors, are featured on the covers of magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post, Life, or Time. Online posters are available for Life* and Time*.
Variety (on microfilm PN2000 .V42 ) may contain useful news and ads surrounding the release date of your film.
CRUZCAT*contains many collections of movie posters under the subject heading "film posters."
The Movie Times* provides box-office grosses for films, 1990s to the present.
Newspapers and magazines may include articles other than reviews related to your film. Examples are pre-release news about the financing and production of the film and post-release information about box office statistics and marketing. The major sources to such articles are:

ProQuest Newspapers — In addition to full-text access to The New York Times (1851-), this service provides access to the Los Angeles Times (1881-present) and The Wall Street Journal (1889-present). See below for using this source for display ads.
Academic Search Complete -- searchable database with citations abstracts for journal articles in all academic disciplines. The full-text of over half of the articles is included. Many of the journals are peer-reviewed.
LexisNexis -- dates will vary depending on publication, much is full text.
Reader's Guide Retrospective (online source for 1890-1982) and Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature (Ref AI3.R4 , Index Table #1, print for 1890-present) -- articles in major periodicals
Film Literature Index, lists articles, 1973 to the present. The online version currently covers only 1976-2001 while the print volumes (Ref PN1993 .F563) cover 1973 to the present.
FIAF International FilmArchive Database indexes film periodicals from 1972 on. The online link leads to a menu: choose the fifth item "Index to Film Periodicals" and click on "start searching" -- you will then see the expected search box for your search.
Retrospective Index to Film Periodicals 1930-1971 lists articles in fifteen core journals (Ref PN1993 .B39 1975)

Advertisements are generally not indexed in the various newspaper and magazine indexes, but knowing your release date you may easily browse such titles as Variety, Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, Newsweek, Time, The San Francisco Chronicle or, for foreign films, the major newspapers of other countries (ask a reference librarian). Use CRUZCAT to see UCSC's holdings and shelf locations of such periodicals. Many will be on microfilm. ProQuest Newspapers does index ads for The New York Times (1851-), The Los Angeles Times (1881-present) and The Wall Street Journal (1889-present) and is an excellent for newspaper ads for your film: limit your search to document type "display ads" and dates surrounding your film's release date.
Again, any books you may have found about your film, director, or genre may include valuable information about the business and marketing aspects of your assignment.

 

Finding scholarly and other secondary articles about a film

 

For this part of your assignment, it is not essential that your sources correspond to the film's release date. Critical articles may appear anytime from release date to the present.
Film Literature Index lists articles, 1973 to the present. The online version currently covers only 1976-2001 while the print volumes (Ref PN1993 .F563) cover 1973 to the present.
FIAF International FilmArchive Database indexes film periodicals from 1972 on. The online link leads to a menu: choose the fifth item "Index to Film Periodicals" and click on "start searching" -- you will then see the expected search box for your search.
Retrospective Index to Film Periodicals 1930-1971 (Ref PN1993 .B39 1975) lists articles in fifteen core journals.
Academic Search Complete -- searchable database with citations abstracts for journal articles in all academic disciplines. The full-text of over half of the articles is included. Many of the journals are peer-reviewed.
MLA Bibliography, articles from 1963-
Art Full Text, articles 1984- (full text beginning 1997)
America: History and Life, articles 1964-
International Index to the Performing Arts, articles (some full text) starting mostly in the 1990s but in some cases much earlier.
PCI (Periodicals Contents Index) covers articles 1790-1995.
JSTOR full-text of more than 160 academic journals.
 

Additional resources that may be helpful

 
Librarians Index to the Internet *(http://lii.org) — at bottom, select "movies" under "Sports, Recreaction, and Entertainment." Over a hundred excellent film sites will be listed.

Film: A Library Research Guide — the Library's general guide to researching film