Research Guides: Film: Film Studies

Film Studies

Reference eBooks

The Routledge Encyclopedia of Films by Sabine Haenni (Editor); Sarah Barrow (Editor); John White (Editor) The Routledge Encyclopedia of Films comprises 200 essays by leading film scholars analysing the most important, influential, innovative and interesting films of all time. Arranged alphabetically, each entry explores why each film is significant for those who study film and explores the social, historical and political contexts in which the film was produced. Ranging from Hollywood classics to international bestsellers to lesser-known representations of national cinema, this collection is deliberately broad in scope crossing decades, boundaries and genres.
ISBN: 9780415688932
Publication Date: 2014-09-25
A Pocket Guide to Analyzing Films by Robert Spadoni The perfect concise guide to the formal analysis of film. Designed to be used by readers at many levels of knowledge, this book moves systematically through the elements that make up most films, focusing on aspects of the art of cinema that are common across history and national cinemas. From form and narrative to mise-en-scène and cinematography to editing and sound, Robert Spadoni introduces and explains the principles and conventions of film in engaging, straightforward language.
ISBN: 9780520280700
Publication Date: 2014-08-28
The New Biographical Dictionary of Film by David Thomson
ISBN: 9780375711848
Publication Date: 2014-05-06
The Routledge Encyclopedia of Film Theory by Edward Branigan (Editor); Warren Buckland (Editor) The Routledge Encyclopedia of Film Theory is an international reference work representing the essential ideas and concepts at the centre of film theory from the beginning of the twentieth century, to the beginning of the twenty-first.
ISBN: 9780415781800
Publication Date: 2013-11-23

Browse more reference ebooks on film and cinema

Film Resources

FIAF International Index to Film Periodicals This link opens in a new window
FIAF Index to Film Periodicals Plus is a bibliographical resource offering coverage of hundreds of academic and popular film journals. Collections include the Index to Film Periodicals Plus, Treasures from Film Archives, Documentation Collections, FIAF Affiliates' Publications, and Reference Works. Many of the key titles include full text articles.
Film & Television Literature Index with Full Text This link opens in a new window
A comprehensive bibliographic database covering the entire spectrum of television and film writing. It has been designed for use by a diverse audience that includes film scholars, college students, and general viewers.
Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive This link opens in a new window
An archival research resource containing the essential primary sources for studying the history of the film and entertainment industries, from the era of vaudeville and silent movies through to 2000. The core US and UK trade magazines covering film, music, broadcasting and theater are all included, together with film fan magazines and music press titles. Magazines have been scanned cover-to-cover in high-resolution color, with granular indexing of all articles, covers, ads and reviews.
International Index to Performing Arts [Selected Full Text] This link opens in a new window
IIPA indexes more than 200 scholarly and popular performing arts periodicals, and a variety of documents such as biographical profiles, conference papers, obituaries, interviews, discographies, reviews and events. Full text of articles is available for selected citations from 1998 forward. IIPA covers a broad spectrum of the arts and entertainment industry-including dance, film, television, drama, theater, stagecraft, musical theater, broadcast arts, circus performance, comedy, storytelling, opera, pantomime, puppetry, magic and more.

Films from most of our streaming collections can be found by title in our catalog. You can also browse the collections below.

Criterion Collection This link opens in a new window
The Criterion Collection is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing important classic and contemporary films. Criterion has helped to standardize certain aspects of home-video releases such as film restoration, the letterboxing format for widescreen films and the inclusion of bonus features such as scholarly essays and commentary tracks. This record links to the Criterion films available via Ohio State University's Kanopy subscription.
Kanopy Streaming Service This link opens in a new window
Kanopy is a streaming video service for educational institutions that provides 12 million students and faculty with access to more than 26,000 films each year. Kanopy works directly with filmmakers and film distribution companies to offer award-winning collections including titles from PBS, BBC, Criterion Collection, Media Education Foundation and more.

Swank Digital Campus
Digital Campus by Swank Motion Pictures, Inc.® allows students the flexibility to legally view course-assigned films outside the classroom. Providing digital access to course-related films allows educators to enhance the learning experience without taking up valuable class time.

New World Cinema: Major Independent Features and Shorts, 1990-Present This link opens in a new window
Includes over 200 full-length feature films from leading independent distributors such as Kino Lorber, First Run Features, Film Movement, and Global Lens. There are also some 50 award winning short films.
Silent Film Online This link opens in a new window
Silent Film Online brings together films which represent the basis of modern cinematic technique and film theory. Carefully curated with ASP's Video Advisory Board, the database covers silent features, serials, and shorts from the 1890s to the 1930s.
Asian Film Online This link opens in a new window
Asian Film Online offers a view of Asian culture as seen through the lens of the independent Asian filmmaker. Through a selection of over 1,000 narrative feature films, documentaries and shorts curated by film scholars and critics, the collection offers highly relevant perspectives and insights onto themes relevant across Asia.

Early Edison Films from the Library of Congress
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.

Educational Films & Documentaries

Films on Demand This link opens in a new window
The Films on Demand collections provide streaming video access to more than 8,000 videos and 90,000 segments for topics including Humanities & Social Sciences, Business & Economics, Science & Mathematics and Health & Medicine.
60 Minutes: 1997-2014 This link opens in a new window
The 60 MINUTES: 1997-2014 online collection provides 350 hours of high-definition video from television's most preeminent news program, including hundreds of segments not available anywhere else in the world. This resource also includes 175 hours of bonus segments from the popular CBS News program Sunday Morning.
American History in Video This link opens in a new window
The early newsreels, including the complete series of United Newsreel and Universal Newsreel capture history as it was made and reported to viewers of the time. The collection also contains award-winning documentaries, featuring dramatic reenactments and engaging analysis from prominent scholars and experts that bring history alive for students and give library patrons hundreds of educational video titles they can view at home or in the classroom.
Art and Architecture in Video This link opens in a new window
Art and Architecture in Video delivers over 500 hours of documentaries and interviews illustrating the theory and practice of a variety of art forms and providing the context necessary for critical analysis. Ideal for both undergraduate and graduate courses, the works within this collection offer a dynamic tool to enhance understanding of visual media.
Black Studies in Video This link opens in a new window
Black Studies in Video is an Alexander Street Press collection featuring award-winning documentaries, newsreels, interviews and archival footage surveying the evolution of black culture in the United States. In partnership with California Newsreel, the database provides unique access to their African American Perspectives collection, and includes films covering history, politics, art and culture, family structure, social and economic pressures, and gender relations.
Classical Music in Video This link opens in a new window
Classical Music in Video will contain 1,000 hours of classical music performances and masterclasses captured on video—approximately 1,500 performances in all. The collection will contain performances of all forms of classical music, including major orchestral performances by leading orchestras, plus chamber music, oratorio, and solo performances, along with masterclasses and interviews with master teachers from around the world.
Counseling and Therapy In Video This link opens in a new window
Counseling and Therapy in Video provides a first-hand look at the realities of working with clients and the challenges associated with putting theoretical concepts into practice. These collection provide a thorough grounding in dozens of therapeutic methods and diagnoses, insight into the human condition, and training in skills such as reflection and empathy while working with specific populations such as veterans and teens.
Dance Online: Dance in Video Vol 1 & II This link opens in a new window
Searchable database containing streaming video files of dance productions and documentaries by influential performers and companies of the 20th century. Selections cover ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, experimental, and improvisational dance, as well as forerunners of the forms and the pioneers of modern concert dance. Videos can be browsed by people, role, ensemble, genre, and venue. Material types include documentaries, editorials, instructional, interviews, and performances. Database users may create their own custom playlists and video clips.
DocuSeek2 This link opens in a new window
Essential documentary films for higher education. Exclusive academic streaming for films from renowned leaders in documentary film distribution.
Environmental Studies in Video This link opens in a new window
Environmental Studies in Video contains over 500 hours of film covering all realms of environmental studies, particularly ethics, policy, economics, law, sociology, planning, and environmental science. The collection addresses specific topics including alternative energy, pollution control, eco-design, sustainability, farming and agriculture, the food industry, LEED certification, waste issues, and climate change.
Ethnographic Video Online This link opens in a new window
Ethnographic Video Online: is a comprehensive online resource for the study of human culture and behavior. The collection is made up of hundreds of hours of classic and contemporary documentaries previously unpublished footage from working anthropologists and ethnographers in the field and select feature films. Wherever possible, videos include accompanying field notes, liner notes, filmmaker biographies, related articles, study guides, and other context-enhancing, full-text materials.
Foreign Language Videos (OhioLINK) This link opens in a new window
Foreign Language Video Instruction is a collection of video clips in which native speakers elaborate on a wide variety of topics about their culture, family, daily life, and more. Each video clip is accompanied by a description of its contents, the country of the speaker, and additional grammar and vocabulary notes. These videos are produced by the ViewPoints Project of the Five Colleges of Ohio consortium. Videos are available in QuickTime format.
LGBT Studies in Video This link opens in a new window
LGBT Studies in Video is a cinematic survey of the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people as well as the cultural and political evolution of the LGBT community. This first-of-its-kind collection features award-winning documentaries, interviews, archival footage, and select feature films exploring LGBT history, gay culture and subcultures, civil rights, marriage equality, LGBT families, AIDS, transgender issues, religious perspectives on homosexuality, global comparative experiences, and other topics. LGBT Studies in Video provides students and researchers across disciplines a multi-content perspective on the LGBT political, cultural and social movements throughout the twentieth century and into the present day. It also provides key resources of interest to students and researchers in sociology, anthropology, psychology, counseling, history, political science, gender studies, cultural studies, and religious studies.
OhioLINK Digital Resource Commons: Educational Films and Documentaries This link opens in a new window
Educational Films & Documentaries contain full-length educational videos covering a wide variety of subjects. The collection currently includes videos from two distributors, Ambrose Video and Films for the Humanities & Sciences. Videos may be streamed or downloaded for classroom use.
Faculty can search the OIT Media Library to identify videos for classroom use. Videos/DVDs purchased by OSU Libraries can be found by searching the Libraries' Visual Materials catalog.
Opera in Video This link opens in a new window
Opera in Video contains recordings of the most important opera performances, captured on video through staged productions, interviews, and documentaries. Selections represent the world's best performers, conductors, and opera houses and are based on a work's importance to the operatic canon.
Theatre in Video This link opens in a new window
Theatre In Video contains performances of the world's leading plays, together with more than 100 film documentaries, online in streaming video.
World History in Video This link opens in a new window
World History in Video is a wide-ranging collection of critically acclaimed documentaries that allow students and researchers to explore human history from the earliest civilizations to the late twentieth century. The video content offered here is truly global in scope, covering Africa and the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Oceania. Its unparalleled geographical and chronological coverage captures longer-term and multiple perspectives, so students can make connections across cultures and over time, incorporating people, places, events, and artifacts from around the world and across the centuries.

Search for films in the OSU Library Catalog by title
Searches the "visual media" subset of the library catalog by title to find DVDs, VHS tapes, etc.

There is a region-free DVD player available on reserve at the circulation desk in Thompson Library. This can be checked out for four hours with a cable to attach to monitors in the group study rooms in Thompson. Overnight checkout is also available two hours before the library closes to one hour after opening.

16mm films available for borrowing
The CIC has made available 16mm films to members. These films are located at the University of Iowa Main Library. 85 films are available to users at CIC institutions for use in classrooms, independent studies, and research. Ohio State users should contact Interlibrary Services to request the films.

American Film Institute Catalog This link opens in a new window
The AFI Catalog, the premier, authoritative resource of American film information, covers the history of American cinema comprehensively from 1893 to 1975, with full or short records for films from 1976-2014.
American Film Scripts Online [Selected Articles in Full Text] This link opens in a new window
American Film Scripts contains 1,009 scripts by 1,062 writers together with detailed, fielded information on the scenes, characters and people related to the scripts. Each script is extensively and deeply indexed, allowing both keyword and multi-fielded searching.
Mexican Cinema Online This link opens in a new window Mexican Cinema, from its beginnings in the late 1890s to its "Golden Age" (1930s to 1960), was consistently the largest and most important of all the Spanish-speaking countries. During its heyday, the Mexican film industry produced an average of one hundred films annually and supplied screen entertainment to both domestic audiences and international markets in Latin America, the United States, and Europe. The Golden Age of Mexican Cinema is illuminated in this collection of popular movie periodicals. Not only does it include chief magazines such as Cinema Reporter (1943-1965) and Cine Mundial (1954-1955), it also features extremely rare copies of El Cine GrÃ¡fico from 1935 and of the weekly El Mundo Ilustrado (1902-1910). The true extent of the popularity of Mexican film is illustrated by Cinelandia (1931-1947), which was published in Hollywood both in Spanish and in English. This collection also includes dozens of film flyers, which were distributed on the streets to lure people into the cinema. Finally, for the first time this collection gives access to the personal scrap books of Fernando de Fuentes (1894-1958), one of the leading Latin-American filmmakers to this day. These volumes contain reviews, movie stills, programs, and advertisements, shedding a unique light on the career of this pioneering director. The sources in this collection, heretofore only accessible in the archives of the Filmoteca de la UNAM in Mexico City, will be invaluable to scholars and researchers working on film and media studies, Latin American studies, and many other aspects of the historical, social, and political impact of cinema.

OSU Library Catalog
Search for books and other items available at OSU - includes ebooks

Movie Review Query Engine
the Internet’s largest database of movie reviews for over 100,000 titles
RogerEbert.com
Reviews, blogs, etc.
Metacritic
Critics' reviews compiled and scored
Box Office Mojo
Box-office reporting service owned and operated by IMDb.
Screening the Past
Peer-reviewed open access journal that publishes material of interest to historians of film and media, to film and media scholars, to social historians interested in the place of film and media within general history, to film makers interested in the history of their craft or in representing history through their productions, to film and media librarians and archivists. Undergraduate work included.
Senses of Cinema
Founded in 1999, Senses of Cinema is one of the first online film journals of its kind and has set the standard for professional, high quality film-related content on the Internet.
Observations on Film Art
American film theorist and film historian David Bordwell's website on cinema.

Guide to Finding Resources

The library website at library.osu.edu is the portal for our resources. Be sure to login via the off-campus sign-in if you are not on campus to be able to get to material that is restricted to OSU registered students, faculty, and staff.

books

Our catalog will tell you the location and status of books and other materials that we own. Many of our books are in our off-site storage book depository and must be requested through the catalog for delivery to Thompson Library or some other location. You can also click on OhioLINK catalog from within our catalog to borrow books and other materials from other colleges in Ohio.

journals

Journals and other periodicals that we own either in paper or digitally are listed in the catalog . Since we get digital materials from a wide variety of sources, you should also check the journal name in the online journals list available from the top page of the library website. Many articles can be accessed from within our research databases.

films

The library has a collection of dvds that can be found in the catalog . We also have collections of streaming video in the Criterion Collection, Ethnographic Video Online, Films on Demand, and other multimedia databases . Subject guides will often recommend specific video collections.

databases

To find articles (and sometimes other materials) you need a research database. These can be found by name or subject area by clicking on research databases list from the library webpage or from this guide.

special collections

The library has collections of primary source material and other unique items in Special Collections.

if we don't have it

Interlibrary Loan can help.

Requests for New Streaming Films

The Libraries can license some films for streaming through Swank Motion Pictures.

First search the list of titles available through Swank here:

Search

For questions about this service, contact olivera.3@osu.edu .

English Librarian

Jennifer Schnabel

Email Me

Subjects: Film, Linguistics, Literature