Movie Review Query Engine
Reviews from a wide range of sources, along with lists of new releases,
most recently popular titles, etc.
New York Times Film Reviews
"Browse or search 15,000 New York Times movie reviews. Included are all
films reviewed since 1960."
Roger Ebert's Reviews
"Advanced search" allows you to search by genre, actor, rating, release
date and more.
Sight & Sound Magazine reviews
"Reviews, synopses and credits and features
published in Sight & Sound since 1999."
Note: not all are freely online
Metacritic
"Compiles reviews from respected critics and publications for film,
video/dvd, books, music, television and games."
Feminist Film Reviews
Part of the University of Maryland's Women's Studies Database:
1992-2002
FilmThreat
Focuses on recent reviews, independent film.
Rotten Tomatoes
Focuses on recent reviews; site is a little ad-heavy but still useful.
Variety The industry source for entertainment news. For more
full-text access also see our online databases.
DVD Beaver
DVD release reviews, comparisons and other information. DVD Beaver also
posts side-by-side comparisons of DVD transfers, including frame grabs and
bitrate charts.
Our online catalog and online databases use hot-linked subject headings
that you can search by, then follow to find more on the same subject. A
general subject term is often followed by terms that make your search
more specific. Here are some examples:
Media History Project
The history of film, television and other media: check out the timeline,
extensive links, key words/concepts and more.
Pacific Film Archive Cinefiles
"Database of reviews, press kits, festival and showcase program
notes, newspaper articles, and other documents. The collection contains
documents from a broad range of sources covering world cinema, past and
present."
Performing Arts Databases of AHDS
Digital arts resources of the British Arts and Humanities Data Service:
includes both film archives and writings on film.
To
request items in the online catalog from Roanoke College
or from the library Annex, click "Request this Item" and fill out your
name/ID bar code number (last 5 digits only). Requests made
before 10:30 a.m. are available the same weekday after 1:00 p.m.;
requests made after 10:30 a.m. are available next weekday after 1:00
p.m.
SEARCH TIP: the subject headings in each record can help you find similar
titles. Once you have found a book on your topic, scroll down to the subject
headings and click to search for more books under each subject heading.
BROWSE
You can also browse the shelves. The following call numbers contain
the majority of film-related materials:
If you need materials from outside of the Hollins/Roanoke College
system, we can help!
WorldCat
is one of our e-resources databases. This site allows you to search
libraries worldwide. (Note: books with an "HU" symbol are held in our
library.)
Our
Interlibrary Loan department will help you order books and articles
you need from other libraries; use their online
form, or fill out a paper copy at the reference desk. Remember to
start early! Interlibrary loan procedures can take 1-3 weeks before you
get your book.
Use our online catalog
to search for screenplays by title, author,
or key word. You can also
browse the shelf; most screenplays are shelved at call number PN
1997 on the library's second floor.
American Film Scripts Online This database contains more than 1000 full-length
scripts, starting with "The Great Train Robbery (1903) and ending with
The Departed (2006); it also contains unproduced scripts by a variety of
authors including James Agee, Norman Krasna, Paul Schrader, James
Dickey, Dorothy Parker and others. Search by author, title, subject,
character and more.
Scriptcrawler Find screenplays free online, from a variety of
sources.
SCREENPLAYS FROM OTHER LIBRARIES
If you need materials from outside of the Hollins/Roanoke College
system, we can help!
WorldCat
is one of our e-resources databases. This site allows you to search
libraries worldwide. (Note: books with an "HU" symbol are held in our
library.)
Our
Interlibrary Loan department will help you order books and articles
you need from other libraries; use their online
form, or fill out a paper copy at the reference desk. Remember to
start early! Interlibrary loan procedures can take 1-3 weeks before you
get your book.
Reference books are great for quick fact-finding or for beginning a
larger research project.
CALL NUMBERS:
PN 1993 - PN 1999 (film and television)
Z 5782 - Z 5784 M9 (film research guides: indexes,
bibliographies etc.)
Bibliographies provide references to useful books, journal and
newspaper articles; they are often organized by subject and can make
your research a lot easier. BUT you may find a book or article that is
not held within our library, so start your research early.
Our
Interlibrary Loan department will help you order books and articles
you need from other libraries, but it can take
1-3 weeks before you get your
materials.
EXAMPLES OF REFERENCE TITLES
The American Film Institute desk reference
- PN1994 .A599 2002
American silent film comedies : an illustrated
encyclopedia - PN1995.9.C55 M53 1995
The British film catalogue - PN1993.5.G7 B75 2000
Encyclopedia of Chinese film - PN1993.5.C4 Z53 1998
Encyclopedia of
Early Cinema - PN1993.45 .E53 2005
Encyclopedia of the documentary film
- PN1995.9.D6 E53 2006
The encyclopedia of fantastic film : Ali Baba to
Zombies - PN1995.9.F36 Y68 2000
Encyclopedia of film themes, settings and series -
PN1997.8 .A76 2001
Encyclopaedia of Indian cinema - PN1993.5.I8 R277 2002
Encyclopaedia of the musical film -
PN1995.9.M86 G7 1981
Film noir guide : 745 films of the classic era,
1940-1959 - PN1995.9.F54 K43 2003
Historical dictionary of African American
cinema
- PN1995.9.N4 B433 2007
Historical Dictionary of German
Cinema - PN 1993.5 G3 R417 2008
Reel Women: an International
Directory of Contemporary Feature Films about Women - PN 1995.9 W6 S62
2007
Schirmer
Encyclopedia of Film - PN1993.45 .G65 2007
Indexes help you search magazines and newspapers for film reviews and
articles. These are the most important print indexes for film research:
Art Index
(includes film, 1929-1984)
Biography Index (1946-2006)
The Critical
Index; a bibliography of articles on film in
English (1946-1973)
(ref. call number: Z5784.M9 G47)
Film Literature Index (1973-1997)
Film Review Annual (1987-2000)
(ref. call number: PN 1995.F 465)
International Index to Film Periodicals
(1972-1986)
Motion Picture
Directors: a bibliography of articles
(1900-1972) (ref. call number:
Z5784.M9 S34 )
New York Times Index (1851-present)
N.Y.T. Obituary Index (1858-1978).
N.Y.T. Film Reviews (1913-1968)
(ref. call number: PN 1995.N 4)
Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature
(1900 - present)
(Note: pre-1977 look under "moving picture plays", 1977 - "motion
pictures")ont>
Note: if no call number is listed, the index is shelved alpha by
title in the Index section, before the reference books.
Our
Interlibrary Loan department will help you order books and articles
you need from other libraries; use their online
form, or fill out a paper copy at the reference desk. Remember to
start early! Interlibrary loan procedures can take 1-3 weeks before you
get your materials.
You'll find the most recent issues in the Lewis Reading Room on the
first floor; the rest are downstairs.
Some titles are kept in microfiche format. All are shelved
alphabetically.
The following databases contain recent reviews and articles on film
topics:
Academic Search
Complete
Large database containing over 40 film journals; recent articles are
full-text, while earlier access may be index only.
America: History & Life
Search for articles on the motion picture history of North America. Some
full text, most articles are abstracts only. For world history, see
"Historical Abstracts."
FirstSearch AH Searchfinds citations
for articleso n Arts and Humanities topics
n the leading scholarly journals from 1980 onward. Select
ArticleFirst for a broader search
of contents pages of journals in all subject areas.
Historical Abstracts
Search for articles on world motion picture history. Some full text,
most articles are abstracts only.
For history of North America, see "America: History & Life."
JSTOR JSTOR offers a wide range of journals,
all in full text; use for
film studies (8 titles included) or general research.
MLA (Modern Language Association) MLA provides access to information from journals on
literature, literary theory and criticism and dramatic theory. Coverage
starts in 1963 with indexing, more recent articles
are full-text.
Project
Muse
Project Muse offers full-text coverage of academic journals in the
humanities and social sciences, including select titles in film and
performing arts.
Lexis-Nexis Newspaper coverage in full text, includingThe New York Times, Variety, AP, and CNN.
Coverage varies: some titles go back to 1980.
SEARCH TIP: Some of these databases give access to full-text articles,
some don't, and some have a mix of both. Make sure you check theJournalFinder; an article indexed in one database may be
available in full text in another.
If you'd like some help in selecting the right database for your search,
just
ask a librarian for help.
SEARCH BY TITLE
To find out whether the library has a journal in paper or electronic
form, use the
JournalFinder.
Your search results will tell you whether we have a title, in which
database it can be found, and which years are covered. For example,
Cineaste is available both in print in the library,
and in several databases:
Cineaste
(New York, N.Y.)
(0009-7004)
from 02/01/1990 to present in Ebsco Masterfile
Premier & Academic Search Complete
from 01/01/1995 to present in Factiva
from 01/01/1997 to present in Wilson Art
Full Text
ARTICLES FROM OTHER LIBRARIES
Our
Interlibrary Loan department will help you order books and articles
you need from other libraries; use their online
form, or fill out a paper copy at the reference desk. Remember to
start early! Interlibrary loan procedures can take 1-3 weeks before you
get your materials.
Box Office Guru
Box office data from 1989 to the present. Find opening and total gross
for over 3400 titles, or browse box office weekends going back to 1997.
