Library Guides: Film and Cinema Studies: Background Information

Dictionaries & Encyclopedias

Online

International Dictionary of Broadcasting and Film
Addresses the practical language of broadcasting and film media.
Routledge Companion to Film History
In-depth essays discussing film history.
An Encyclopedic Dictionary of Women in Early American Films, 1895-1930
Provides basic biographical information about women filmmakers in early American cinema.
Encyclopedia of French Film Directors
Identifies French directors who have made at least one feature film during the first century of cinema (1895-2005).
The A to Z of Italian Cinema
Includes a chronology, an introductory essay, a bibliography, appendixes, black-&-white photos, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries on actors, actresses, movies, producers, organizations, awards, film credits, and terminology.
Arab Filmmakers of the Middle East: A Dictionary
This dictionary concentrates primarily on the makers of fictional feature films and feature-length documentaries.
Encyclopedia of Film Noir
Includes short essays and encyclopedic entries of films, actors, and directors in the film noir industry.
Historical Dictionary of Film Noir
A comprehensive guide that ranges from 1940 to present day neo-noir

Indexes, Bibliographies, and Film Lists

The following databases do NOT include full-text articles, but rather lists of films, journals, and/or articles on a given topic. Indexes are most useful when you are just starting your research and are looking for exhaustive lists of many potential sources. Use these databases to find the titles of items which may be useful for your research, and then use the resources on the "Books" and/or "Articles" pages to locate full-text versions.

Film Indexes Online This link opens in a new window
Search the AFI Catalog, the International Index to Film Periodicals Plus, and Film Index International via The Arts shared search interface.
Film Index International This link opens in a new window
A major information resource for entertainment films and personalities produced in collaboration with the British Film Institute. Covers all areas of film studies - from the very first silent movies, to art house classics or the latest blockbusters - provides international coverage, indexing films from over 170 countries.
MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new window
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The leading international index of journals, books, dissertations, and more on literature, language and linguistics, folklore, literary theory and criticism, and dramatic arts, as well as the historical aspects of printing and publishing.
FIAF International Index to Film Periodicals This link opens in a new window
This database contains over 400,000 article citations from more than 330 periodicals. It offers in-depth coverage of the world's foremost academic and popular film journals.

National Film Registry (Library of Congress)

The National Film Registry is a list of movies deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" that are earmarked for preservation by the Library of Congress. They are not selected as the "best" American films of all time, but rather as works of enduring importance to American culture. They reflect who we are as a people and as a nation.

Historical Collections

Library of Congress Collections
- National Screening Room

The National Screening Room showcases the riches of the Library's vast moving image collection, designed to make otherwise unavailable movies, both copyrighted and in the public domain, accessible to the viewers worldwide.

Inventing Entertainment: The Early Motion Pictures and Sound Recordings of the Edison Companies

This site features 341 motion pictures, 81 disc sound recordings, and other related materials, such as photographs and original magazine articles. Cylinder sound recordings will be added to this site in the near future. In addition, histories are given of Edison's involvement with motion pictures and sound recordings, as well as a special page focusing on the life of the great inventor.

Media History Digital Library
- This resource provides access to some of the earliest journalism related to cinema studies not available elsewhere.

Classic Mexican Cinema Online This link opens in a new window
Covers Mexican Cinema, from its beginnings in the late 1890s to its “Golden Age” (1930s to 1960). Includes popular movie periodicals, film flyers, and scrapbooks. Access reviews, movie stills, programs, and advertisements.