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Finding Reviews

Finding film Reviews and Criticism
This is not an exhaustive list, but rather a representation of the print and non-print sources helpful in looking for reviews, evaluations, and criticism of a particular film. Books listed are located in the Social Sciences and Humanities Library, Geisel Library, 2nd floor, in the SSH Reference stacks.

Indexes to Reviews

Full Length Reviews

Capsule Reviews

CD-ROM

CDL & Internet

Before you start to search for criticism, it is a good idea to establish the date the film was released. It will make a difference if the film was released in 1930 or 1999 as to where you will find the information you need. A quick way to establish date and get some general information on the film is Internet Movie Database. < http://us.imdb.com/search.html >

Full length Reviews and Criticism
Sources listed here have full text reviews. Some are reproductions of reviews that originally appeared elsewhere, such as Variety and New York Times sets, while others, such as Magill's Surveys are new material. Books located in the SSH Ref Stacks, 2nd floor, Geisel Library

Variety Film Reviews. New York: Garland, 1983 - present. 24 vols.(1907-1996)
Call no: SSHL Ref. PN 1993. V36
Chronologically arranged reproductions of reviews from the trade journal Variety. Material tends to be more box office and trade information rather then on artistic merit.

Film Review Annual. Englewood NJ: J.S. Ozer, 1981 - present.
Call no: SSHL Ref. PN 1995. F55
For films of the 1980s and early 90's. Full reviews from selected newspapers (e.g., Los Angeles Times), general magazines (e.g., Time), and film journals (e.g., Sight & Sound). Because of the number of reviews for each film and the variety of sources, this is a good first stop.

Magill's Cinema Annual. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Salem Press, 1982 - present.
Call no: SSHL Ref. PN 1995 .M24
Plot summeries and evaluations of selected films. The reviews include major production credits, cast lists, and citations to reviews in the general press. Note; each annual volume is for films of the previous year.

Magill's Survey of Cinema: English Language Films: First Series, ed. by Frank N. Magill. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Salem Press, 1980. 4 vols.
Call no: SSHL Ref PN 1993.45 .M3

Magill's Survey of Cinema: English Language Films: Second Series, ed. Frank N. Magill. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Salem Press, 1981. 6 vols.
Call no: SSHL Ref. PN1993.45 .M32

Magill's Survey of Cinema: Foreign Language Films, ed. by Frank N. Magill, 1985. 8 vols.
Call no: SSHL Ref. PN 1993.45 .M34 1985

Magill's Survey of Cinema: Silent Films, ed. by Frank N. Magill. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: 1982 3 vols.
Call no: SSHL Ref. PN 1995.75 .M3 1982

New York Times Film Reviews, 1913 - 1984, 1987 - 1988, 1991 - 1994. New York: The New York Times.
Call no: SSHL Ref. PN 1995 .N4
A compliation of reprinted reviews.

International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers: Volume I: Films. 2nd ed. Chicago: St. James Press, 1990. 4 vols.
Call no: SSHL Ref. PN 1997.8 .I58 1990
Original reviews of more the 750 important films, both domestic and foreign. Also of value is its extensive lists of books and articles for further information.

Indexes of Reviews and Criticism
The various indexes below do not include actual reviews, but they show where reviews and criticsm can be found in various periodicals and books.

Film Review Index Vol 1: 1882 - 1949; Vol 2: 1950 - 1985, ed. by Patricia King Hanson and Stephen L. Hanson. Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press, 1986-1987. 2 vols
Call no: SSHL Ref. PN 1995z .F513 1986
A good place to begin for English language reviews in both periodicals and books. Most films have multiple reviews cited, with a mix of popular and scholarly sources noted.

Guide to Critical Reviews: Part IV: The Screenplay From the Jazz Singer to Dr. Strangelove. Metuchen, NJ: Scrawcrow Press, 1971. 2 vols. Supplement One: 1963 - 1980. Metuchen, NJ: Scrawcrow Press, 1982.
Call no: SSHL Ref. PN 2266z .S34 v.4
Mainly cites reviews from general American magazines, such as Time and Newsweek.

Film Literature Index. Albany, NY: Filmdex Inc, 1973 - .
Call no: SSHL Ref. PN 1993z .F45
Indexes reviews from a broad range of film periodicals, general magazines, and scholarly journals.

International Index to Film Periodicals. R. R. Bowker Co, New York, 1972 - .
Call no: SSHL Ref PN1993z .I49
Indexes reviews from world wide film journals. Also available as International Filmarchive CD-ROM. see SSHL reference desk.

Index to Critical Film Reviews in British and American Periodicals, by Stephen E. Bowles. New York: Burt Franklin, 1974 -1975. 3 vols.
Call no: SSHL Ref PN. 1995z .B64
Reviews from various magazines and newspapers. 1950's to 1973.

Retrospective Index to Film Periodicals, 1930 -1971, by Linda Batty. New York: R. R. Bowker Co. 1975
Call no: SSHL Ref. PN 1993z .B39

Film Criticism: An Index to Critics' Anthologies. Richard Heinzkill. Metuchen, NJ: Scarewcrow Press, 1975
Call no: SSHL REF PN 1995 .H4
Shows where particular films are discussed in collections of essays by major film critics.

CD-ROM Resources

Film Index International. Paris: Chadwyck-Healey France, ( latest received 1998 )
Information on approximately 90,000 films.
WORK STATION # 4 ( 2nd floor. Reference area )

International Filmarchive. London: International Federation of Film Archives, 1994
Information and review citations from 1972 - date ( latest received 1999 )
ON INFOSTATIONS

On-Line Resources
For the most current reviews, citations and articles you will have to go to the most current sources. The databases below, hosted by the California Digital Library ( CDL) ,are good places to look. Many citations have electronic abstracts, and or, full text available to download. Also try various sources on Academic Universe. (see below). All database are available on library INFOSTATIONS.

Art RetrospectiveCDL/Melvyl (UC licensed database)
Citations to Art Index, volumes 1-32, published between 1929-1984.
Arts & Humanities Citation Index CDL/Melvyl (UC licensed database) (ISI)
A Web of Science database. Indexes 6,100 journals including; Cineaste, Sight & Sound, Film Comment, Film Quarterly,Wide Angle.
ArtAbstarcts CDL/Melvyl (UC licensed database)
Covers 1984 - present. Try subject search using film title.
Expanded Academic ASAP CDL/Melvyl (UC licensed database)
Lexis/Nexis Academic CDL/Melvyl (UC licensed database) Full text to many of the dozens of major national and international newspapers.
Covers 1988 - present. Try subject search using film title or director. To find reviews only, use - Find Fewer, then Limit by Publication Type - Review.
National Newspaper Index CDL/Melvyl (UC licensed database) Covers 1982 - present. Try subject search using the film title or director
Alt-Press Watch CDL/Melvyl (UC licensed database) 1995-present : full text articles from the alternative and independent press.
Databases A to Z . (SSHL)

AFI Catalog American films

FIAF Index to international film periodicals

Internet Sources
Examples of some sources for reviews.

Cinefiles(Pacific Film Archives) < http://shanana.berkeley.edu/cinefiles/ >
Reviews and articles on 25,000 films.

Movie Review Query Engine( for current films) < http://www.mrqe.com/ >
Very good site for current film reviews from a wide range of magazines and journals..

Cinema Sites (Meta film site created & maintained by David Augsburger) < http://www.cinema-sites.com/Cinema_Sites_REV.html >
Links to reviews on the web.

Internet Movie Database < http://us.imdb.com/search.html >

In Focus (Baseline) < http:// pkbaseline.com/screen/infocus/ >
Current reviews, boxoffice and other information.

Capsule Reviews
Very brief descriptions with running times, credits & date of release.

Leonard Maltin's Movie and Video Guide. New York: N.Y. Plume 1997 - 1999
Call no: SSHL Ref. PN 1998 .M277

Halliwell's Film Guide. 9th ed. New York: Scribner's 1980 -1995.
Call no: SSHL Ref. PN 1993 .45 .H272 1994

5001 Nights at the Movies. by Pauline Kael. New York: Holt 1991
Call no: SSHL Ref. PN1995 .K19 1991

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