Film Reviews
Film reviews can be found across many platforms and represent the perspectives of different stakeholders (critics, audiences, industry, and scholars). The key is to clarify what type of review you need in order to illustrate the impact you are trying to document.
- Public reception (newspapers and mainstream critics): Look to newspapers and major media outlets that publish film criticism (e.g., The Guardian, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Radio-Canada/CBC).
- Specialized film and arts sources: These reviews are often more in-depth and may include interviews with filmmakers (e.g., Sight & Sound, Cahiers du cinéma, 24 images).
- Trade and industry publications: Useful for production context, box office/distribution information, and industry positioning (e.g., Variety, The Hollywood Reporter).
- Academic and scholarly sources: In-depth analysis, often peer-reviewed or published under an editorial board (e.g., Film Quarterly, JCMS: Journal of Cinema and Media Studies).
Indexes and Databases
- Film Index International
- Wikipedia's index of films by decade and by genre (e.g. Category: 1960s films)
- Film & Television Literature Index
Examples of Online Sources
- Canadian Newsstream (ProQuest): Canadian newspapers (particulaly for English-language)
- ProQuest Screen Studies Collection: combines AFI Catalog, Film Index International, and FIAF International Index to Film Periodicals Database.
- Érudit: useful for French-language Canadian cultural writing, includes a few French-language film journals.
- EBSCO Film & Television Literature Index
- JSTOR
- EBSCO Academic Search Complete
Film Magazines
The following print reference sources can be used to locate where hard-to-find film reviews have been published. These resources are non-circulating; they can only be accessed on campus.