Some Strategies for Finding Film Reviews

Gary Handman Director Media Resources Center Moffitt Library

Writing About Film… 100+ Years of Movies & Movie Writing

Scholarly Pop Fan

Journals, Magazines, NewspapersJournals, Magazines, Newspapers ReviewsReviews Critical/ScholarlyArticlesCritical/ScholarlyArticles BooksBooks Web SitesWeb Sites Other online databasesOther online databases Sources for Film & TV Scholarship and Research

Scholarly Books ( Some generalizations ) Older Films Films w/in Last 5 years Books about directors and genres Books about individual films Use Pathfinder: Director Name as Subject LOTS LESS

Current films (reviews) Older films (critical analysis) Current films Older films Journals/Newspapers CurrentArticles Retro Articles

Gone with the Wind film premiere Gone with the Wind – DVD release Selcer, Richard F. "Home Sweet Movies: From Tara to Oz and Home Again." Journal of Popular Film and Television (2): “Giving new life to a beloved but faded panorama of the Civil War.” Bernard Weinraub. The New York Times June 25, 1998 v147 pB1(N) pE1(L) col 1 (27 col in) “Gone with the Wind” (review) New Masses, v34, Jan. 23, 1940, pp 28-30

Found in: Film studies & scholarly journals (print & online)Film studies & scholarly journals (print & online) Web sites (occasionally… academic and commercial databases)Web sites (occasionally… academic and commercial databases) Critical/Scholarly Articles Current Films Current Films Older Films Older Films

Found in: Popular & fan journals and newspapers (print & online)Popular & fan journals and newspapers (print & online) Film studies & scholarly journals (print & online)Film studies & scholarly journals (print & online) Web sitesWeb sites Fan and enthusiast sitesFan and enthusiast sites Commercial sites (e.g., studio sites, video distributors)Commercial sites (e.g., studio sites, video distributors) Academic sitesAcademic sites REVIEWS Current Articles Current Articles Retro Articles Retro Articles

How do you locate this stuff? Film-related (not many) Film-related (not many) General news General news Literary Literary Other disciplines: e.g. Women’s Studies, American Studies, Ethnic Studies Other disciplines: e.g. Women’s Studies, American Studies, Ethnic Studies Jumping Off point for Finding Online Indexes: Online & Print Indexes and Abstracts

How to Look em’ Up Search Using title of work (as a phrase)Search Using title of work (as a phrase) You can also include directorYou can also include director Try using and reviewTry using and review e.g. Moulin Rouge and review or Moulin Rouge and Luhrmann and reviewe.g. Moulin Rouge and review or Moulin Rouge and Luhrmann and review

Once You Find a Citation, How Do You Find the Article? Some indexes provide holdings infoSome indexes provide holdings info Some indexes link to full-textSome indexes link to full-text The First Hollywood Musicals: A Critical Filmography of 171 Features, 1927 through (Review) Stephen Banfield. Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television June 1999 v19 i2 p267(2) View text and retrieval choices (858 words) Use Pathfinder Use Pathfinder

edu/MRC/FilmBibMenu.html Bibliographies on various film topics and individual films compiled by MRC (includes bibs for genres, filmmakers, national cinemas, and individual film). Film Reviews and Criticism

The databases I just talked about?

…being driven over the edge by your research? Call me: Gary Handman