Research Guide to Film Studies

Library Catalogue

Search the library catalogue for books, DVDs and videos.
Many books have individual chapters devoted to a particular work, director or genre. Try a keyword search. Examples:

• Battleship Potemkin
• Egoyan
• film noir

Note: you may also need to use boolean operators to combine your topic with other keywords or subject terms in order to get better results. Examples:

• Motion pictures and Hitchcock
• Guy and Maddin
• Decline and American empire

The library offers a collection of feature films on DVD and in VHS format. Limit your search to videos and DVDs by using the yellow tab at the top of the initial search screen. For a complete list, select the Video/DVD tab and do a keyword search for "feature films".

Subject Headings

The following are examples of headings that may be used in the library catalogue. Note that these terms are also useful in keyword searches.

FEATURE FILM	MOTION PICTURE INDUSTRY
FLIM CRITICISM	MOTION PICTURE PRODUCERS AND DIRECTORS
MOTION PICTURES	MOTION PICTURES -- HISTORY
FOREIGN FILMS	SILENT FILMS
WELLES, ORSON	(You can also use a director's name as a SUBJECT)

Classification

To browse the book and audiovisual collections, try call numbers beginning with the following:
PN 1993
PN 1994
PN 1995
PN 1995.9  - many feature films are classed in this area by subcategory
PN 1997
PN 1998
PN 1998.3 - film criticism by director

Periodical Indexes and Databases

In order to find articles in journals, magazines and newspapers, one must first search in a periodical index or database. Check to see whether the database allows you to limit your search to peer reviewed (scholarly) articles. The same search strategies used on the library catalogue can be used on these databases.

Academic Search Complete
CBCA Complete
Canadian Newsstand
CPI.Q 
IIPA Full Text: International Index to Performing Arts

Internet

The internet offers a vast array of resources for film studies, but much of the information is not substantial or authoritative. Sites such as The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) or Rotten Tomatoes can be useful to search feature films by genre or topic.