This guide is a starting point for identifying, locating, and evaluating reviews of film in popular magazines, scholarly sources and internet sites. If you need additional assistance, please Ask a Librarian or contact Mrs. Kathleen Lowe, Reference and Instruction Librarian, at lowek@montevallo.edu or 665-6109.

Locating movie reviews and television reviews in newspapers 

Electronic access to film and television reviews in newspapers is available from specific databases on the Library Databases page.  Most databases can be searched using author, title or subject in either basic or advanced search formats. The results of a search will include either a citation, a citation and abstract, or a citation, abstract and full text of the article depending on the database searched.

The Library newspaper databases can efficiently locate current movie reviews in newspapers.  

Specific newspaper databases include:

•  LexisNexis
  Provides comprehensive access to full text information from over 5,600 national and regional newspapers, wire services, broadcast transcripts, international news and non-English language sources.   

• ProQuest Newspapers
  Full-text access to many major United States and international newspapers, regional newspapers, and wire services. Includes the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Los Angeles Times.

Locating movie and television reviews in current journals and magazines

Electronic access to journal articles is

Listed below are databases to locate articles in current journals.

• Academic Search Premier
  Searches for articles from thousands of scholarly journals and general interest magazines. Coverage extend back to the mid-1980s and many articles are available text.  

• Expanded Academic ASAP
  Provides a combination of indexing, abstracts, images, and full text for scholarly and general interest journals embracing all academic disciplines

• Humanities Full Text

More  Databases  

Movie review sites on the Internet

• The Internet Movie Database (IMDb)
  A valuable site on all levels.

• All Movie Guide
  Excellent plot synopsis, glossary and searchable databases.  Reviews are not always signed.

• Movie Review Query Engine (MRQE)
  Reviews are culled from newspapers (local, national, and international), entertainment publications and internet sources.  Limited reviews for most  pre-1990 releases. .
   

Movie reviews on the Internet with values added

• Movie Theology: Movie Reviews  & Resources
  complied by Gordon Matties, Associate Professor of Biblical Studies and Theology at Canadian Mennonite University

• Faith and Film Critics Circle
  The Faith and Film Critics Circle is a fellowship of critics applying Christian perspectives to film through reviews and discussion, seeking to encourage revealing and intelligent dialogue about the human experience. Affiliate d with the Matthew's House Project.

• Pluggedinonline.com
  "Plugged In is a Focus on the Family publication designed to help equip parents, youth leaders, ministers and teens with the essential tools that will enable them to understand, navigate and impact the culture in which they live. Entertainment is a potent influence on our culture for both good and evil. Through our reviews and discussions of that entertainment, we hope to spark intellectual thought, family discussion, spiritual growth and a strong desire to follow the command of Colossians 2:8. "See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ."

• United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Office for Film and Broadcasting
  "The Office for Film and Broadcasting is responsible for reviewing and rating theatrical motion pictures, previewing and evaluating television programming as well as providing the Catholic public with information about the role of the entertainment and news media in influencing societal and personal values."

• Rotten Tomatoes

• Mr. Cranky
  Mr. Cranky savages the movies

• Razzie Awards 

Locating Film Reviews and Articles Written Before 1980

To find information written BEFORE the mid 1980s, your research will have to be done with sources used at that time.

There were no computers to enter keywords, no databases and no search engines to access sources, such as the motion picture reviews of Gone with the Wind in the 1930s.  

Print indexes provide citations to newspaper articles and articles from popular magazines. To locate the full text, you will have to search the Library catalog for the magazine you need.

The following print indexes are available in the Library:

•  Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature (1896 – present)  Main Floor
  Use this print index to access citations (no full text) to articles from popular magazines
  
  Example:  original film reviews to movies such as Casablanca (1942) The Graduate (1967) and King Kong (1933)
   

• The New York Times Index (1856- present) Main Floor
  Use the index as a guide to locate film reviews and critical reactions in the New York Times. The New York Times Indexes are located on the Main floor.

Example:  original reviews to movies such as Birth of a Nation (1915)   

Locating Background information

Encyclopedias and Dictionaries in the Reference Collection (Main Floor)
Once you have identified a movie consider investigating it further in specialized sources.

Armstrong, Richard B., 1956. Encyclopedia of film themes, settings and series. Jefferson,   N.C. : McFarland & Co., c2001.   
Ref. PN 1997.8 .A76 2001.

Buscombe, Edward. Cinema today. London: Phaidon, 2003. 
Ref.  PN 1993.5 .A1 B87 2003.

Erskine, Thomas L. Video versions : film adaptations of plays on video. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 2000.
Ref.  PN 1997.85  .V53 2000.

Muir, John Kenneth, 1969. Horror films of the 1970s. Jefferson, N.C. : McFarland, c2002. Ref. PN 1995.9 .H6 M85 2002.

Nash, Jay Robert. The motion picture guide. Chicago : Cinebooks, 1985.  Ref. PN 1995 .N346

Tibbetts, John C. The encyclopedia of filmmakers. New York: Facts on File, 2002.  Ref. PN 1998.2 .T53 2002.

Tibbetts, John C. The encyclopedia of novels into film. New York : Facts on File, c1998. Ref. PN 1997.85 .T54 1998.

Tibbetts, John C. The encyclopedia of stage plays into film. New York: Facts on File, c2001.
Ref.  PN 1997.85 .T544 2001.

Wright, Gene, 1939. Horrorshows : the A-to-Z of horror in film, TV, radio & theater. New York, N.Y. : Facts on File, c1986.
Ref.  PN 1995.9.H6 W74 1986.

Variety film reviews. New York: Garland Pub., 1983.
Ref.  PN 1995 .V34 1983.

Sources for investigating the historical setting of the film

 Schwartz, Richard A. Cold War Culture: Media and the Arts, 1945 – 1990.  New York:  Facts on File, 1998.
    Ref. E 169.12 .S39 1997
  

Parker, Thomas & Douglas Nelson, eds.  Day by Day:  The Sixties.  2 vols.  New York:  Facts on File Publications, 1983.  
         Ref. D 840 .P27 1983 vols. 1-2

Leonard, Thomas, Cynthia Crippen, Marc Aronson, eds.  Day by Day: The Seventies.  2 vols.  New York:  Facts on File Publications, 1988.  
Ref. D 848 .L4 1988 vols. 1-2

Meltzer, Ellen & Marc Aronson, eds.  Day by Day:  The Eighties.
         2 vols.  New York:  Facts on File, Inc., 1995.  
         Ref. D 848 .M45 1995 vols. 1-2

Tompkins, Vincent, ed.  American Decades.  9 vols.  Detroit:  Gale    
         Research Inc., 1996.   
         Ref.  E 169.12 .A419 1994 vols. 1-9

Singleton, Carl, ed.  The Sixties in America.  3 vols.  Pasadena: 
         Salem Press,   Inc., 1999.   
         Ref. E 169.12 .A5 1999 vols. 1-3

Citing the sources you find