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Find Film Reviews and Criticism

Film criticism, analyses of films written by academics and film scholars, are usually published in scholarly journals. Film criticism can be written at any time, often years after a film is released. Film reviews, written by journalists or lay people, are published in various sources including newspapers, magazines and online. These are usually published when the film is released so keep release dates in mind when you are searching for reviews.

Databases

Use the following databases to find film reviews or film criticism. Some contain the full text, and others will give you a citation which you can use to find the criticism or review in print in the library.

Academic Search Complete
Find film criticism and reviews from both scholarly and popular sources. Includes full-text articles.
Hint: Enter the title of the film in quotes. eg. “American in Paris”

International Index to the Performing Arts (IIPA)
Find film criticism and reviews from scholarly film journals and trade journals. Includes full-text articles.

LexisNexis Academic
Find reviews from popular sources such as newspapers and some magazines. Includes the New York Times.

  1. Choose News from the tabs at the top of the screen.
  2. Enter the title of the movie and director, if known, connected by “AND.”
  3. Sources: Choose “Book, Movie, Music, Play, and Video Reviews.”
  4. Specify Date: Choose the date range that includes the date the movie was released. Notice that the default date range is only the previous 3 months. (If you’re not sure of a film release date, check the Internet Movie Database.)

MLA International Bibliography
Find film criticism from scholarly sources. Includes full-text articles.

Reviews in Print

Film Review Annual, PCL Reference PN 1993 F5475
Find the full-text of film reviews from newspapers and magazines for films released between 1981 and 2001. These books come out annually, so you’ll need to know the year the film was released. You will also find additional sources for reviews. (If you’re not sure of a film release date, check the Internet Movie Database.)

Magill’s Cinema Annual, PCL Reference PN 1993.3 M34
These books provide one lengthy review, citations of other reviews, film credits and the box-office gross. Within each year, reviews are arranged alphabetically by title of film. There are also indexes by title, director, screenwriter, performer or subject . Because these books come out annually, you will need to know the year the film was released. (If you’re not sure of a film release date, check the Internet Movie Database.)

New York Times Film Reviews, PCL Reference PN 1995 N4
Provides the full-text of reviews from the New York Times from 1913-2000. Because these books come out annually, you will need to know the year the film was released. (If you’re not sure of a film release date, check the Internet Movie Database.)

Web Sites

Visit the following web sites for film reviews . Keep in mind that film reviews on many web sites are not reviewed by scholars or editors.

Internet Movie Database
http://www.imdb.com/
Find reviews, cast and crew details, and awards. “User comments” can be submitted by any visitor to the site and are not edited or checked for accuracy. The “external reviews” links you to reviews found in magazines or on other web sites.

Movie Review Query Engine
http://www.mrqe.com
A searchable database of more than 300,000 movie reviews from over a hundred Internet sources, including newspapers and magazines. Covers both modern and older films.

FAQs

The review I found isn't full text online.
Search for the title of the journal in the Library Catalog, to see if the review is available in full text elsewhere online or in print in the library.


I need a review of an older movie and I can’t find one online.
See the Reviews in Print section above for good sources to find reviews of older movies.

Need help? Ask A Librarian.