Owens Library Movie Reviews

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Movie Reviews & Film Criticism

Select A Movie	Movie Information	Books	Periodical Articles	Internet Reviews
			before 1980 after 1980 Scholarly Articles

Step 1: Select a movie

Use the resources below to view the top choices of movie critics and institutions devoted to movie making and film preservation such as the American Film Institute. Movies chosen by these critics and organizations often have more information written about them and the directors who made them. Some of these movies are considered "classics", some are more contemporary.

	AFI 100 Years ... 100 Lists
	The American Film Institute's (AFI) list of the 100 greatest American movies of all time, as selected by a blue-ribbon panel of leaders from across the film community. It also includes the top 100 heroes & villains, top 100 passions, top 100 thrills, and top 100 stars. The only information available is the title of the movie and the year it was made.
	BFI 100
	The British Film Institute's list of the 100 best British films derived from a survey of 1000 people closely associated with the British film and television industry. Includes a brief description of each film, release date, director, and cast information.
	International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers: Films vol 1 1st Floor, Reference 791.4303 I61i
	Films included in this volume are chosen by a distinguished board of advisors intended to represent the current concerns of North American, British, and Western European film scholarship and criticism. Each entry contains a short but insightful analysis of the film, cast and production information, and bibliography of publications about the film and the film director.
	New York Times Guide to the best 1,000 Movies Ever Made 1st Floor, Reference 791.4375 C21n
	Includes entries for the best 1,000 movies ever made according to New York Times film critics. Entries contain the original New York Times reviews of the movies with full cast and production credits.
	Roger Ebert's Great Movies
	Well known and respected movie reviewer for the Chicago Sun Times has compiled a list of classic movies from the past. Each title is linked to a discussion of the film by Roger Ebert which includes pertinent production credits (director, cast, release date, and more).
	Top 100 Movie Lists
	The Caldwells have done a commendable job of compiling the "best of" lists from a number of reputable sources.

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Step 2: Find more information about your movie

For basic information about your movie (awards, directors, cast, production credits, release date, ratings), check the sources below (* Includes Reviews ):

Print Information Sources

Classic Movie Companion	Ref 016.79143 C61c (1st Floor Owens Library)
Directors & Their Films: A Comprehensive Reference, 1895-1990	Ref 791.42303 B97d (1st Floor Owens Library)
Motion Picture Guide*	Ref 791.437 N25m (1st Floor Owens Library)
Roger Ebert's Video Companion*	Ref 791.4375 E16m (1st Floor Owens Library)
VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever	Ref 791.4375 V65v (1st Floor Owens Library)

Internet Information Sources

All-Movie Guide
Internet Movie Database
Rotten Tomatoes

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Step 3: Find books about movies, directors, actors, or filmmaking

If you find a book about a movie, a director, a film genre, or time period, it is often a substantial source of critical and factual information that goes beyond the scope of a movie review or plot synopsis. However, books most often focus on "classic", award winning films and directors who are well established and have a considerable reputation. Very contemporary movies and upcoming directors are not usually considered. Use these keyword strategies in the Library Catalog:

What You are Trying to Find	What Search to Enter	Search Examples
Director and Actor Biographies	director or actor name and biograph*	orson welles and biograph*
Books that Contain Criticism	director or movie name and critic*	Alfred hitchcock and critic* citizen cane and critic*
Books about Movie Genres, National Cinema, or Time Periods	country name or name of a time period and motion pictures movie genre name *and (histor or critic)*	(French or France) and motion pictures sixties and motion pictures *film noir and (histor or critic)*

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Step 4: Search for periodical reviews and film criticism articles

If your movie was made before 1980 - search the print indexes:

Humanities Index - First Floor - North Wall 016.0013 H91m (map)

Search under:

Moving Picture Reviews - single works - name of movie
Motion Picture Reviews - single works - name of movie

Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature - First Floor - North Wall 016.05 R28r (map)

Search under:

Motion Picture Plays - criticisms - name of movie
Motion Picture Reviews - single works - name of movie

If your movie was made after 1980 - search an online index:

Go to Search for Articles, select Expanded Academic

Type: name of movie and movie review
For example: Hannibal and movie review

If you want to find scholarly, critical articles about films, filmmakers, and filmmaking:

Use these journals in the library or online full-text

Journal Name	Database Indexing	Online Full-text Availability	Library Holdings
Film Criticism	Academic Search Premier(EBSCOhost) Expanded Academic (Gale) MLA International Bibliography	Expanded Academic
Film Comment	Academic Search Premier(EBSCOhost) Expanded Academic (Gale) MLA International Bibliography	Expanded Academic	1991- PN 1993 .F438 FICHE
Film Quarterly	Academic Search Premier(EBSCOhost) Expanded Academic (Gale) MLA International Bibliography	Expanded Academic Academic Search Premier	1963- PN 1993.H457 MICROFORM
Sight & Sound	Academic Search Premier(EBSCOhost) Expanded Academic (Gale) MLA International Bibliography		1991- PN 1993 .S56 BOUND
Wide Angle	MLA International Bibliography		1991- PN 1993 .W48 BOUND

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Step 5: Search for Internet reviews

	Rotten Tomatoes
	Offers links to movie reviews from many well established American newspapers such as Chicago Sun-Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Village Voice, New York Times, and Washington Post. Search for information by movie title, actor, or director name. This is one of the most comprehensive links to reviews published in the United States.
	Internet Movie Database
	Search for movies by title, character, actor, or director name. Plot summaries, cast information, full production information, actor and director biographies as well as movie review are available at this site.
	Roger Ebert and the Movies
	Notable film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times maintains a site with an archive of reviews from 1985 to the present. Search the archive by movie title, name (actor, director, producer, writer), date released, and rating. The site also contains unusual features like the Great Movies series, Interviews/Essays, Movie Answer Man, and One Minute Reviews.
	Boxoffice Magazine
	This site includes some classics, current releases, buyers directory, industry links, and the 1995-2002 archives of Box Office Magazine reviews.
	Movie Review Query Engine
	This site provides links to a number of online reviews, as well as the Internet Movie Database. Many are by the leading newspapers in North America.
	Mr. Showbiz
	Click on movies then search the database of more than 20,000 movie reviews.
	ReelViews
	A searchable reviews database, mostly from 1993 - present, is furnished.
	TV Guide's Movie Guide
	Brief reviews are provided.

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