Research Guide to Cinema Studies

Contact librarian: Elizabeth Peterson, emp@uoregon.edu, 541-346-3047

Background Sources

Use these sources to find terms, concepts, and overviews.

• Cinema Studies: The Key Concepts | KNIGHT REFERENCE PN1993.45 .H36 2000
• Critical Dictionary Of Film And Television Theory | KNIGHT REFERENCE PN1993.45 .C75 2001
• The Film Encyclopedia: The Complete Guide to Film and the Film Industry | KNIGHT REFERENCE PN1993.45 .K34 2008
• Browse for more background sources in the Knight Library Reference Area beginning with call # PN1993.

Production Information

These sources will help you find information about how films were made, including studios, producers, directors, writers, distribution, and budgets.

• The American Film Institute Catalog
  A source for information about all American feature films produced between 1893-1970. Includes production credits, plot summaries, and cross-indexing of themes and genres. 
• Cinema Pressbooks, 1920-1940 | MICROFICHE PN1993.5.U6 C46 2011
  This collection reproduces 774 pressbooks promoting the American movie industry. The books cover the work of eight major studios and a number of smaller independent studios.
• Communication & Mass Media Complete (dates vary by title)
  Search for articles on the film and media industry.
• Film Index International
  Similar to the AFI Catalog, but with an international scope and coverage of films up to the present day.
• The [International] Motion Picture Almanac (1929-current) | PN 1993.3 .I55
  An annual compilation of data and information related to the movie industry, including releases for the year, box office receipts, numbers of theaters and screens throughout the United States, studio output, salaries, plot summaries, and much more. 
• Los Angeles Times (1881-1986)
• Media History Digital Library Full-text digital reproductions of early film industry and fan magazines, including Film Daily, Hollywood Reporter, and much more.
• New York Times (1851-2007)
• Variety -- online index | UO Library holdings

Stars, Cast Information

These sources will help you find information about actors, especially stars. Look for interviews, profiles, photographs (both studio-sanctioned publicity photos and candid paparazzi photos), gossip columns, news, biographies, and memoirs.

• The American Film Institute Catalog
  A source for information about all American feature films produced between 1893-1970. Includes production credits, plot summaries, and cross-indexing of themes and genres.
• Film Index International
  Similar to the AFI Catalog, but with an international scope and coverage of films up to the present day.
• Internet Movie Database
  Provides plot summaries, cast & crew information, some production data, and fan reviews of thousands of films and television programs.
• Los Angeles Times (1881-1986)
  An excellent source for news, interviews, gossip, publicity stories, and photographs.
   
• New York Times (1851-2007)
  An excellent source for news, interviews, gossip, publicity stories, and photographs.
• Photoplay magazine (1929-1940) | KNIGHT MICROFILM PN 1993 .P56
  A movie fan magazine, excellent for glossy photos and stories of movie stars.
• Readers' Guide Retrospective (1890-1982)
  An index to articles in U.S. general-interest, news, and opinion magazines.
• Variety -- online index | UO Library holdings
  The movie industry's primary trade publication. Search the online index to find citations, then locate the full articles in the UO Library.
• UO WorldCat
  Search for books in the UO Library, Summit (Northwest libraries), and worldwide. [sample entry: Being Rita Hayworth: Labor Identity and Hollywood Stardom]

Reception Information

These sources will help you find information about how films were received by both film critics and general audiences. You'll find reviews, box office receipts, video and DVD sales, awards, news items about films' popularity, and scholarly criticism.

• Communication & Mass Media Complete (dates vary by title)
  Search for articles on the film and media industry. Especially good for DVD releases and sales information.
• FIAF (1972-present)
  Reviews and criticism from U.S. and international film journals.
• Film and Television Literature Index (dates vary by title)
  Search for scholarly criticism, reviews, profiles, box office information, and DVD sales.
• Gender Studies Database
  Search for articles on all aspects of gender studies, including film criticism.
• Index to Motion Picture Credits
  A comprehensive database of cast and crew in all Academy Award categories back to 1934.
• Los Angeles Times (1881-1986)
• Media History Digital Library
  Full-text digital reproductions of early film industry and fan magazines, including Photoplay, Hollywood Reporter, and much more.
• MLA International Bibliography (1926-present) An excellent source for scholarly criticism and analysis of film, new media, cultural studies, and literature.
• New York Times (1851-2007)
• The Numbers
  Provides current and historical business information about the film industry. The database includes 10,000 movies and about 500,000 separate pieces of information.
• UO WorldCat
  Search for books in the UO Library, Summit (Northwest libraries), and worldwide.
• Variety Film Reviews (1907-1990) | KNIGHT PN 1993 .V36
• WorldWide Box Office, 1899-2001
  Provides information about worldwide movie ticket sales. Be sure to check out their sources page for additional data.

Social/Cultural/Historical/Political Context

These sources will help you find our what else was going on that might affect how a film was watched and received at a given time.

• American Popular Culture Through History series | Knight REF E169 .1
  Eight volumes covering the different decades of the 20th century.
• The Columbia Chronicles of American Life, 1910-1992 | KNIGHT REF E169 .1 .G664 1995 Overviews of different aspects of American life through the 20th century.
• Encyclopedia of Exhibition (1996/97-current) | KNIGHT REF PN1993 .E539 Especially useful for its statistics section, which includes historical data about movie theaters, film revenues, and movie audiences. Older editions are in the circulating collection on the 4th floor of Knight Library.
• The [International] Motion Picture Almanac (1929-current) | PN 1993.3 .I55
  An annual compilation of data and information related to the movie industry, including releases for the year, box office receipts, numbers of theaters and screens throughout the United States, studio output, salaries, plot summaries, and much more.
• Los Angeles Times (1881-1986)
• New York Times (1851-2007)
• Readers' Guide Retrospective (1890-1982)
  An index to articles in general-interest, news, and opinion magazines.
• Timetables of History: A Horizontal Linkage of People and Events | KNIGHT REF D11 .G78 1991
  Use this source to find out what was happening concurrently in the arts, politics, science, literature, etc. throughout history.
• UO WorldCat
  Search for books in the UO Library, Summit (Northwest libraries), and worldwide.

Finding Films, Videos, or DVDs

The UO Library has about 10,000 videos and DVDs. Most of these materials are located in the Audio and Video Room of Knight Library. The 16mm film collection is housed in the Center for Media and Educational Studies.

• Use UO WorldCat to search for films in all formats in the UO Library, Summit (Northwest libraries), and worldwide.

Information about Film Schools

• FilmSchools.com
  Offers listings of film schools in the US and abroad, a glossary of film terms, and a limited list of scholarships for film studies.
• Filmmaking.net
  A brief response to the question "what are the best film schools"? International scope. Includes links to programs, and discusses their relative merits. Also maintains an online international database of film schools.
• Filmmaker.com
  Maintains an online "library of annotated film schools."