Internet Resources for Film Studies
This web page is a compilation of online resources for film studies, primarily in the United States. It is intended for students, faculty, and other film enthusiasts. The focus is on educational and scholarly resources, as opposed to commercial or personal web sites.
Table of Contents
Film Databases
- The Internet Movie Database
- Known as the mother of all movie databases, the IMDb has a huge database of every kind of information on more than 250,000 movies going back to 1890. Roger Ebert called it the "best movie site on the web." In addition to Hollywood films, the database contains information on independent films, documentaries, short films, animations, and more. Nothing else online compares.
- The Academy Awards Database
- This database can be searched for Academy Awards and for Scientific and Technical Awards. A Motion Pictures Credits database is being constructed.
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Electronic Journals
- Bright Lights Film Journal
- Described as "a popular-academic hybrid of movie analysis, history, and commentary, looking at classic and commercial, independent, exploitation, and international film from a wide range of vantage points from the aesthetic to the political." This journal is somewhat risque, sardonic and a lot of fun to read.
- Cinema Journal
- Cinema Journal is only online for Project Muse subscribers, usually at larger academic universities. It presents scholarly articles by members of the Society for Cinema Studies, a professional organization of film and television scholars [see Specialty Sites below].
- Film Journal International
- Geared to the industry rather than to scholars, this journal contains useful information on films, film companies, and theater companies. A searchable database of movie reviews also is available.
- Film Comment Magazine
- Published by the Film Society of Lincoln Center, Film Comment Magazine is a subscription publication, but a lot of material is presented online and many of its articles are archived online. It covers "all aspects of the art, entertainment and industry of filmmaking."
- KINEMA
- KINEMA is a subscription publication from the
University of Waterloo Film Studies (Canada), but many of its scholarly articles are online.
- SCOPE
- An online journal of film studies from the University of Nottingham's Institute of Film Studies (UK) that is scholarly in nature, covering film history, theory and criticism. Includes articles, book reviews and film reviews.
- Senses of Cinema
- An online film journal "devoted to the serious and eclectic discussion of cinema." Based in Australia, but addresses world-wide cinema.
- Sight and Sound
- Published by the The British Film Institute, this magazine requests a paid subscription but offers a lot of material online for free. Offers world cinema coverage, in-depth reviews, feature articles and more.
- The Silents Majority
- An online journal specialising in silent films and memorabilia. A paid subscription entitles you to their "extensive library and friendly librarian and research services." However, there is a lot of material online for free.
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Film Institutes
- The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
- The Academy presents the annual Academy Awards or Oscars, as well as other events and services. They also have a motion picture archive [see Film Archives/Archivists section] , searchable databases, the renowned Margaret Herrick Library and research center, programs in education, preservation and other subjects for researchers, scholars and others interested in films.
- The American Film Institute
- The AFI's mission is "advancing and preserving the art of the moving image." The AFI has a national theater in Washington, DC, and presides over an international film festival in Los Angeles each year, has a National Center for Film and Video Preservation
[see Film Archives/Archivists section]
and a digital archive, a Center for Advanced Film and Television Studies which is facilitated by the Louis B. Mayer Library and includes teaching programs such as the Directing Workshop for Women.
- The British Film Institute
- The BFI's many offerings include Sight and Sound magazine, the Museum of the Moving Image, BFI publications (books and videos), the BFI National Library which has a searchable online catalog of books on film, a film collection and archive, and much more.
- The Sundance Institute
- Sundance is a non-profit organization "dedicated to the support and development of independent filmmakers, screenwriters, playwrites, composers, and other film and theater artists." In addition to the annual Sundance Film Festival, the institute has programs for feature filmmakers, documentarists, native American and international filmmakers, writers, composers, and more.
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History of Film
- The Complete History of the Discovery of Cinematography
- "An illustrated chronological history of the development of motion pictures covering 2,500 years leading to cinematography in the 1800's. . . a retrospective history of the dawn of film, and a pre-history of cinema itself. "
- Film History Index
- The World Wide Web Virtual Library film history index provides extensive Internet resources for the international history of cinema.
- Film History Research Guide
- An excellent guide created by a library student from Simmons College on archival collections of film-related materials (as opposed to film itself). These materials include scripts, personal papers, economic records, movie stills, movie posters, and more.
- Film History by Decade
- Essays on film history by decade, as well as a list of important films by year and by decade, with extensive essays on some individuals films. From Tim Dirk's comprehensive film website The Greatest Films, specializing in Classic Hollywood/American Films.
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Film Archives/Archivists
- Academy Film Archive
- The Academy Film Archive of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences contains more than 15,000 film and video items. The Archive's activities include collection, preservation, documentation, exhibition and research access to films.
- American Film Institute
- The AFI has a National Center for Film and Video Preservation and a digital archive. From the home page, click on "About AFI" and "Preservation", or click on "Preservation" in the "Features" search window in the top right corner. [Of interest to librarians, the Center also is creating the National Moving Image Database (NAMID) to facilitate shared cataloging for moving image resources. Working with OCLC and RLIN, the NAMID database has more than 160,000 records in USMARC format.]
- American Memory Collection
- The Library of Congress online catalog of historical motion picture collections.
- Association of Moving Image Archivists (AMIA)
- AMIA is "a non-profit professional association established to advance the field of moving image archiving by fostering cooperation among individuals and organizations concerned with the collection, preservation, exhibition and use of moving image materials." AMIA has an annual conference, education programs and scholarships, publications, a list-serve, and more.
- Black Film Center/Archive
- A black film archive at Indiana University. "Included are films which have substantial participation by African Americans as writers, actors, producers, directors, musicians, and consultants, as well as those which depict some aspect of black experience." The archive also contains a large collection of film-related materials.
- British Film Institute
- The BFI collection includes the National Film and Television Archive and is the largest collection of films and television titles in Europe.
- The Film Foundation
- Subtitled as "Filmmakers for Film Preservation" and led by Martin Scorsese and nine other eminent directors, The Film Foundation fosters awareness of the need to preserve motion picture history. The Foundation collaborates with other major film archive/preservation associations.
- George Eastman House
- The motion picture collection at George Eastman House contains film titles encompassing features, shorts, documentaries, newsreels, and related amateur and video productions produced between 1894 and the present. It also contains historic film-related materials. Founded in 1947, it is one of the oldest film archives in the United States and has more than 17,000 titles in the collection. A study center library is available for researchers.
International Federation of Film Archives
The FIAF "brings together institutions
dedicated to rescuing films both as cultural heritage and as historical
documents. Founded in Paris in 1938, FIAF is a collaborative association of the
world's leading film archives whose purpose has always been to ensure the
proper preservation and showing of motion pictures. Today, more than 100
archives in over 60 countries collect, restore, and exhibit films and cinema
documentation spanning the entire history of film."
Internet Moving Images Archive: Movie Collection
As part of the Internet Archive, a public non-profit organization, almost 1,000 movies have been digitized and are viewable over the Internet for free, but high-tech hardware and software are required.
JewishFilm.com
An online Jewish film archive, their mission is "to highlight notable films
and videos of Jewish interest and . . . to aid in Jewish film festival programming."
Motion Picture and Television Reading Room
The Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division (MBRS) of the Library of Congress is responsible for the acquisition, cataloging and preservation of the motion picture and television collections. Online reference services are available.
National Film Preservation Foundation
The NFPF is the "nonprofit organization created by the U.S. Congress to save America's film heritage." Supported by private contributions and grants, the NFPF distributes federally matched preservation grants to public and non-profit film archives. The site includes an online map of film archives throughout the United States.
National Center for Jewish Film
Housed at Brandeis University, this is a "unique film library created to preserve the pictorial records of the Jewish experience."
UCLA Film and Television Archive
The largest university-held moving-image archive in the world, with over 220,000 film and TV programs.
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Film Schools/Film Studies Programs
Note: This list should not be considered exhaustive. Many schools now have film production/film studies programs. For a more complete list, see the University Film and Video Association below for a description of the UFVA and links to a list of member schools and to a list of online schools. To find out what film school might actually be like, see LOAFS in the Specialty Sites section below.
- Columbia College of Chicago Film and Video School
- BFA and MFA programs available.
- Florida State University School of Motion Picture, Television and Recording Arts
- BFA and MFA programs available.
- UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television
- Professional certification programs in screenwriting and producing, as well as bachelor, master and doctoral degrees.
- Johns Hopkins University
- For undergraduates only, this film and media studies major offers courses in history, criticism, theory, and screenwriting, along with courses in film, television, and multimedia production.
- Los Angeles Film School
- A very high-tech and somewhat annoying web site describes this film school program. "We treat film not as the product of lone genius, but as the well-orchestrated gift of disciplined, collaborative, creative professionals."
- New York Film Academy
- "The New York Film Academy believes that the correct path
for filmmakers is to immediately start making their own films
in a hands-on intensive working environment. Towards this
end, all students begin making their own films in the first
week of all our workshops." 4 and 8 week workshops, as well as a one-year program, are offered.
- New York University Department of Film and Television
- Prestigious film school offering both BFA and MFA programs.
- Temple University Department of Film and Media Arts
- BA and MFA programs, but their web site is almost impossible to read.
- University of California at Berkeley Film Studies Program
- UC Berkeley offers an undergraduate degree in film studies.
- UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television
- Professional programs in screenwriting and producing, as well as bachelor, master and doctoral degrees.
- University of Central Florida Film Program
- Offers majors in film production, screenwriting, and cinema studies.
- University of Southern California School of Cinema - Television
- Within the school are five main areas of study:
Division of Critical Studies;
Division of Film and Television Production;
Division of Screen and Television Writing;
Division of Animation and Digital Arts;
The Peter Stark Producing Program.
- University of Utah Film Studies Program
- BFA and MFA programs available.
- University of Waterloo (Canada) Film Studies
- Offers three and four year programs, as well as a minor program.
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University Film and Video Association
- The UFVA has an extensive list of online film schools and programs world-wide, as well as a list of UFVA member schools. "UFVA is an organization of professionals involved in the production and analysis of film, video and newer media arts. Members include university faculty and students, archivists and librarians, educational institutions, businesses and corporations, and creators of film and video, who make work ranging from the avant-garde to commercial, industrial and feature productions."
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Specialty Sites
- FilmFestivals.com
- This website covers more than 1,400 film festivals around the world and has a searchable database of award-winning films. A free online newsletter also is available. News articles and other features make this an interesting site "aimed at both movie buffs and professionals."
- Librarians in the Movies
- An annotated filmography maintained by Martin Raish of the Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University. This site has the dubious distinction of being listed among the "Useless Pages" on the web in "The Uselessness of Movies" section, according to Mr. Raish. This library also contains significant personal collections of directors Cecil B. DeMille and Howard Hawks.
- LOAFS
- The Library of Annotated Film Schools (LOAFS) provides "an insider's opinion on what going to film school is actually like: honest, telling reviews and shared experiences from the film students themselves."
- Society for Cinema Studies
- A professional organization composed of college and university educators, filmmakers, historians, critics, scholars, and others concerned with the study of the moving image. The Society's goals are to promote all areas of media studies within universities and two-and
four-year colleges . . . and to promote the preservation of our film, television, and video heritage."
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Created by Karen Brown
for the University of South Florida Library and Information Science Class LIS 6463
July 2001