Subject Librarian
Lucinda M. Hall
Contact:
Evans Map Room, Baker-Berry Library
Dartmouth College
25 N Main ST
Hanover, NH 03755
Dartmouth College
25 N Main ST
Hanover, NH 03755
(603) 646-0962
Website Skype Contact: d1128r8@kiewit.dartmouth.edu
Film catalogs
AFI CatalogCall Number: Electronic resourceThe Catalog covers the history of American cinema from 1893 to the present with full or short records. Every feature-length film produced in America or financed by American production companies is indexed here.
Getting your research started
From the Encyclopedia of International Media and Communications, see the following sections.
- FilmFilm was one of the most influential cultural and technological discoveries of the modern era. Motion pictures can be used as both a societal mirror and provocateur. As such, films reflect the cultural norms of a society, but like many trick mirrors, they can distort those norms as well. In addition, film has the power to invoke societal change and open audiences' eyes to new perspectives of the human experience. ...
- Documentary filmsThe origins of the film and video documentary can be traced back to the period of the European Enlightenment when artists, followed later by photographers, began using visual documentation to support scientific projects, notably land and seaborne expeditions of exploration and discovery. ...
- Historic development of filmThe first 100 years of moviemaking saw film move from a shadowy sideshow to the center of civic culture. Early audiences were amazed and sometimes terrified at peep show images that seemed as real as their own reality. These, however, were not simply amusements. ...
- Theatrical filmsThe history of the 20th century is replete with the achievements of humankind. One of those unique endeavors is the creation and nurturing of the cinema. This article situates the birth, growth, and maturation of the cinema snuggly in the embrace of the 1900s. ...
- Propaganda filmsPropaganda, in its broadest meaning, defines the attempt to propagate ideas or opinions. This article provides information about the evolution of sources of political persuasion. The development of propaganda films is told through the story of the history of the filmmaking industry in the United States, Germany, England, the USSR, and Japan. ...
- Cartoons & animated filmsCartoons, usually with a political or humorous content reproduced in periodicals on some topical subject, are associated primarily with the United States, where their presence has been most pronounced. The earliest, the political cartoon, became an integral part of general circulation newspapers. ...
- Violence in films & televisionViolence is a staple of mass media content. Stories in which fictional or real characters physically injure one another or threaten to inflict harm are prominent in television and films, just as they have always been prevalent in literature. The potential for violence in the media to produce harmful consequences has been of special concern to psychologists, psychiatrists, social scientists, teachers, and parents. ...
- Sexual content in films & televisionSex is a fact of life. As such, it has been a fact of media content since its inception. From the beginnings of American media, sexual content has always been both a reaction to and a reflection of the traditional moral attitudes of the establishment (those people holding most of the power and influence in a government or society). ...
Introductory reading(s)
This is just a short list of Reference books for Film Studies in Baker/Berry Library. To see more, go the PN 1993 section in Reference on the first level of Berry. Otherwise, the rest are on Baker Stacks 4.
- Film, TV, and media in Oxford research encyclopedia of literature byCall Number: Electronic resourceSubstantive, peer-reviewed, and regularly updated, the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Literature combines the speed and flexibility of digital with the rigorous standards of academic publishing. This link highlights film, television and media.
Film history: an introduction by Call Number: Baker-Berry PN 1993.5 .A1 T45 2010ISBN: 9780071267946Film History is a comprehensive, global survey of the medium that covers the development of every genre in film, from drama and comedy to documentary and experimental.
History of the American cinema by Call Number: Baker-Berry PN 1993.5 .U6 H55 v. 1-10ISBN: 9780684184135This set is a multi-volume history of American film, beginning from 1895 to the present.
International encyclopedia of social & behaviorial sciences by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9780080970875Publication Date: 2nd ed.The second edition of the International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences offers a source of social and behavioral sciences reference material that is broader and deeper than any other. It provides authoritative, foundational, interdisciplinary knowledge across the wide range of behavioral and social sciences fields. It discusses history, current trends and future directions. ...- Magill's cinema annualCall Number: Baker-Berry Ref. PN 1993.45 .M35 1982-Each yearbook includes an entry for every film released that year. The entry includes an in-depth synopsis and review, major credits and a list of reviews. The annual also has lists of awards, obituaries and lists of selected film books. They also includes cumulative indexes for directors, performers, editors, cinematographers, screenwriters, art directors, music directors, titles and subjects.
The Oxford handbook of film and media studies by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9780195175967This handbook examines film and new media in the light of their convergence. It draws on leading scholars in the field to discuss traditional areas of history and theory of film and digital media. Its focus, however, is on the cycle of technologically driven arts. Film was born of a number of experiments in reproducing motion, all of which culminated in the nineteenth-century projection of short films. The creation of digital media resulted from experiments in alternative forms of representation in the early 1960s. ...
Quick takes by Call Number: eBooksQuick Takes: Movies and Popular Culture offers succinct overviews and high-quality writing on cutting-edge themes and issues in film and media studies. The authors offer both fresh perspectives on new areas of inquiry and original takes on established topics.
The Routledge companion to film history by Call Number: Baker-Berry PN 1994 .R5735 2011ISBN: 9780415776578The Routledge Companion to Film History is an indispensable guide for anyone studying film history for the first time. The approach taken presents a substantial and readable overview of the field and provides students with a tool of reference that will be valuable throughout their studies. ...
The SAGE handbook of film studies by Call Number: Baker-Berry PN 1994 .S325 2008ISBN: 9780761943266Film Studies has emerged as one of the most distinctive and exciting areas of study and research to be established in the second half of the twentieth century. Written by a team of veteran scholars and emerging talents, The SAGE Handbook of Film Studies maps the international traditions of the field, drawing out regional differences in the way that intellectual reflection on cinema and film has been transformed into a field of systematic inquiry. It reflects on the field's conceptual infrastructure, the dominant paradigms and debates, and evaluates their continuing salience. ...
The social science of cinema by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9780199797813This book compiles research from such varied disciplines as psychology, economics, sociology, business, and communications to find the best empirical research being done on the movies, based on perspectives that many filmgoers have never considered. ...
Encyclopedias on Film
Encyclopedia of film themes, settings and series by Call Number: Baker-Berry PN 1997.8 .A75 2001ISBN: 9780786408931This work includes over 670 entires on a variety of film themes, settings, and series. Each entry contains a mini-essay that defines the topic, followed by a chronological list of representative films. Example entries are alcoholism, the RBI, oil wells and twins.
The film encyclopedia by Call Number: Baker-Berry PN 1993.45 .K34 2008ISBN: 9780061432859Publication Date: 6th ed. rev.Ephraim Katz's The Film Encyclopedia is the most comprehensive one-volume encyclopedia on film and is considered the undisputed Bible of the movie industry. This sixth edition features more than 7,500 A-Z entries on the artistic, technical, and commercial aspects of movie-making, including: - Directors, producers, stars, screenwriters, and cinematographers - Styles, genres, and schools of filmmaking - Motion picture studios and film centers - ...
Schirmer encyclopedia of film by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9780028657912This reference provides a comprehensive and accessible introduction to film and film studies, covering such aspects as production, national traditions, studios, genres, critical theory and film history. ...
The Wiley-Blackwell history of American film by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9781405179843The Wiley-Blackwell History of American Film provides a chronological portrait of American film history from its origins to the present day. Taken as a whole, the essays in this collection represent a comprehensive and nuanced overview of American film history from the intersecting perspectives of industry, audiences, aesthetics, culture, politics, issues, and ideology. ...
Quick information on films
- FilmsiteFilmsite also known as Greatest Films is a unique website containing interpretive, descriptive review commentary and background history on many of the best Hollywood and American classic films in the last century.
- Movie themes from The Criterion Collection
The Criterion Collection has listed movies under more than 30 categories. You can filter your searches by genre. - MRQE: Movie Review Query EngineMRQE aggregates reviews, news, interviews and other material associated to specific movies. MRQE also partners with leading movie blogs so that their content is collected in the MRQE database and searchable by any user.
- Museum of the Moving ImageMuseum of the Moving Image advances the public understanding and appreciation of the art, history, technique, and technology of film, television, and digital media.
The site includes the Pinewood Dialogues and a short Research Guide. - Rotten TomatoesOver 7 million readers each month use RT globally as a dependable, objective resource for coverage of movies and DVD. With more than 250,000 titles and 850,000 review links in its ever-growing database, RT offers a fun and informative way to discover the critical reaction on movies neatly summarized via the Tomatometer.
Film scripts
Between the collections in Rauner Special Collections and Baker/Berry Libraries, Dartmouth has a large collection of scripts. Do a title search for the movie you want and see what you find.
American film scripts online by Call Number: Electronic resourceAmerican Film Scripts Online is an ongoing collection of feature films, when completed, will hold 1,000 scripts and over 100,000 scenes. Many of the scripts have never been published. The database is full-text searchable and includes detailed indexing on scenes, characters, and people. Supplemental information includes short biographies on the writers and awards given to individual films have been noted.- Newmarket shooting script series byCall Number: Baker-Berry PN 1997 [Check the online catalog for specific titles and call numbers]Newmarket specialized in publishing shooting scripts of movies.
Movie reviews
In addition to the links below, check major newspapers and general interest magazines for movie reviews.
- Catholic News ServiceThe Media Review Office of Catholic News Service is responsible for assessing motion pictures, television programs, home entertainment, video games and comic books.
- Christian Spotlight on EntertainmentThis site is from Christian Answers. Their primary goal is to provide accurate, biblical answers on a wide variety of questions asked by Christians and non-Christians.
- Ebert Presents At The MoviesChristy Lemire of The Associated Press and Ignatiy Vishnevetsky of Mubi.com are co-hosts of "Ebert Presents at the Movies." The two critics discuss and review movies every week and also introduce special segments featuring other contributors, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Roger Ebert.
- Entertainment Weekly - Film ReviewsThe reviewers from EW can be harsh, but they are always entertaining.
- filmcritic.comFilmsite.org is an award-winning website for classic film buffs, students, moviegoers and anyone else interested in the great movies of the last century.
- MRQE: Movie Review Query EngineMRQE aggregates reviews, news, interviews and other material associated to specific movies. MRQE also partners with leading movie blogs so that their content is collected in the MRQE database and searchable by any user.
- National Board of ReviewThe Board's core activities include fostering commentary on all aspects of film production, as well as underwriting educational film programs and seminars for film students.
- Rotten TomatoesOver 7 million readers each month use RT globally as a dependable, objective resource for coverage of movies and DVD. With more than 250,000 titles and 850,000 review links in its ever-growing database, RT offers a fun and informative way to discover the critical reaction on movies neatly summarized via the Tomatometer.
- Screen Studies CollectionA comprehensive survey of current publications related to film scholarship alongside detailed filmographies. This collection includes the FIAF International Index to Film Periodicals Database and the detailed and complementary filmographies created by the American Film Institute (AFI) and the British Film Institute.
Keeping up with Film Studies journal literature
Want an easy way to keep up with the journal literature for all facets of Film Studies? And you use a mobile device? You can install the BrowZine app and create a custom Bookshelf of your favorite journal titles. Then you will get the Table of Contents (ToCs) of your favorite journals automatically delivered to you when they become available. Once you have the ToC's, you can download and read the articles you want from the journals for which we have subscriptions.
You can get the app from the App Store or Google Play.
Don't own or use a mobile device? You can still use BrowZine! It's also available in a web version. You can get to it here. The web version works the same way as the app version. Find the journals you like, create a custom Bookshelf, get ToCs and read the articles you want.