Holt Library: ENG 112 Writing & Research: Critical Analysis of Film

Film

General Databases with Film Reviews

ProQuest Central This link opens in a new window
General reference database for over 175 subjects from magazines, journals and newspapers, including peer-reviewed and scholarly works.
New York Times This link opens in a new window
Full articles from the New York Times (1980-current).

Streaming Films and Writing Tips

Films on Demand Video Collection This link opens in a new window
Thousands of high-quality videos and documentaries: PBS, Ken Burns documentaries, Masterpiece Theater, HBO documentaries, Scientific American, American Experience. Enjoy them at home or use them in your classes.

Purdue OWL: Writing About Film
Writing about what makes a film good or bad involves a similar analytical skillset as writing about literature. However, because film is a medium that is newer and more collaborative than literature, and because film production involves very different technologies, film writing requires its own unique vocabulary.

Books at Holt Library

Where No Black Woman Has Gone Before: subversive portrayals in speculative film and TV

When Lieutenant Uhura took her place on the bridge of the Starship Enterprise on Star Trek, the actress Nichelle Nichols went where no African American woman has ever gone before. Yet several decades passed before many other black women began playing significant roles in speculative film and television--a troubling omission, given that these genres offer significant opportunities for reinventing social constructs such as race, gender, and class.

The Ancient World in the Cinema

This entertaining and useful book provides a comprehensive survey of films about the ancient world, from The Last Days of Pompeii to Gladiator. Jon Solomon catalogues, describes, and evaluates films set in ancient Greece and Rome, films about Greek and Roman history and mythology, films of the Old and New Testaments, films set in ancient Egypt, Babylon, and Persia, films of ancient tragedies, comic films set in the ancient world, and more.

The Horror of It All: one moviegoer's love affair with masked maniacs, frightened virgins, and the living dead

Art of the Modern Movie Poster

Critically authoritative, visually stunning, and physically massive, Art of the Modern Movie Poster is the first and last word on post-WWII film poster design. Showcasing fascinating examples from 15 nations, this collection of more than 1,500 exemplary designs is a must-have for film buffs, design and poster aficionados alike.

A Short Guide to Writing about Film

This practical guide addresses how to write effective and perceptive essays about film - a fundamental requirement of any course involving film history or criticism. It first explains why writing about cinema can be such an interesting activity, and then discusses the various stages in the writing process specific to film studies - taking notes on a movie, making an outline, finding and researching a topic, integrating technical details into an analysis and revising for sharper style.

Open Source Film Journals

Alphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Media This link opens in a new window
Alphaville is a fully peer-reviewed online journal edited and published by staff, PhD students and postdoctoral researchers in Film and Screen Media at University College Cork, Ireland.
Film Criticism This link opens in a new window
Film Criticism is a peer-reviewed, online publication whose aim is to bring together scholarship in the field of cinema and media studies in order to present the finest work in this area, foregrounding textual criticism as a primary value. Our readership is academic, although we strive to publish material that is both accessible to undergraduates and engaging to established scholars.
Film Matters Magazine This link opens in a new window
Film Matters is an exciting film magazine, celebrating the work of undergraduate film scholars. It is published three times a year, by students and for students, and each issue contains feature articles, as well as a healthy reviews section.