How to Find Film Reviews
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General Tips
Film reviews appear in a variety of sources, including popular magazines, newspapers, and film-related journals; they also appear on Web sites.
To find a review of a particular film, first note the film's original premiere and release dates and any re-release dates. Most films are reviewed soon after their release, and you will need to select an index, database, or other resource
that covers the time period in which the film was released. For each of the resources listed below, I have included dates of coverage.
If you are unsure of a film's release date(s), consult one of the following sources or ask a librarian for help.
To locate criticism and analysis of a film, consult one of the sources listed on the Indexes & Databases page for Film.
Reviews of Recent Films
(Released within the last five years)
- Academic Search Elite
(1984 to present) Includes citations to reviews in periodicals such as Film Comment, Journal of Popular Film & Television, Sight & Sound, as well as reviews in several national newspapers.
To find film reviews: enter key words from the title of the film and then add the phrase "motion pictures reviews."
Example: Babette's Feast and "motion pictures reviews"
Search syntax:
Truncation: use an asterisk *.
Phrase searching: use double quotation marks " ".
Wildcard: use a question mark ?.
- Alternative Press Index. College Park, MD: Alternative Press Centre, 1969- .
(1995 to present) Indexes reviews in periodicals such as The Advocate, Cineaste, The Nation, The Utne Reader, and other "radical" or "alternative" periodicals.
To find film reviews: Start searching in the volume covering the year that the film was released; at the back of the volume, there is a section listing "Other Reviews," which contains the sub-section "Film Reviews." Entries are arranged in alphabetical order by film title. Some film reviews also appear in the main part of the index, but the most complete list is in the back.
- Contemporary Women's Issues
(1992 to present) Includes citations to film reviews from periodicals like Camera Obscura and The Journal of Popular Film and Television.
To find film reviews: enter key words from the title of the film and then in the drop-down menu for "Article Type," choose "Media Review."
Search syntax:
Truncation: automatic.
Phrase searching: automatic.
- InfoTrac OneFile
(1980 to present) Includes citations, and some full text, to reviews in popular periodicals (e.g. The Nation, The New Republic, The New Yorker, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, and Time), four major daily newspapers, and an assortment of film-related journals (e.g. Cineaste, Film Comment, and Film Quarterly).
To find film reviews: enter key words from the title of the film and then add either "movie reviews*" or "reviews*" (be sure to include the asterisk).
Example: Babette's Feast and movie review*
Search syntax:
Truncation: use an asterisk *.
Phrase searching: use double quotation marks " ".
Wildcard: use an exclamation point !.
- LexisNexis Academic
(Approx. 1980 to present) Includes the full text of film reviews from major national and international newspapers, such as the
Atlanta Journal and Constitution, The Boston Globe, The Daily Telegraph, The New York Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, and The Times (London); also includes periodicals like Daily Variety.
To find film reviews: do a "Guided News Search." In the first drop down menu, "News Category," choose "Arts & Sports News." In the second drop-down menu, "News Sources," choose "Book, movie, music, and play reviews." Enter key words from the title of the film and then adjust the date range as appropriate.
Search syntax:
Truncation: use an exclamation point.
Phrase searching: use double quotation marks " ".
Wildcard: use an asterisk *.
- OmniFile Full Text Mega
(1982 to present) Indexes articles from over 3,000 scholarly and popular periodicals in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences; also includes the full text of selected articles from over 1,650 of these periodicals.
Note: OmniFile contains all of the information (1982 to present) in six Wilson databases, including Humanities Abstracts and Readers' Guide Abstracts.
To find film reviews:
- Search strategy 1: In the first entry box, enter key words from the title of the film and leave the default search type as "All - Smart Search."
In the second entry box, enter the phrase "film review" and limit the phrase to the "document type" field in the drop-down menu.
- Search strategy 2: Enter key words from the title of the film and add the phrase "motion pictures reviews." Leave the default search type as "All - Smart Search."
Search syntax:
Truncation: unnecessary when using "All - Smart Search"; otherwise, use an asterisk *.
Phrase searching: use double quotation marks "".
Wildcard: do not use with "All - Smart Search"; otherwise, use a question mark ?.
- World Shakespeare Bibliography Online
(1971 to present) Includes citations to film reviews as well as articles, books, and audiovisual materials related to Shakespeare; also includes book reviews and theatre reviews.
To find film reviews: do an advanced search; enter any appropriate keywords, title terms, or names, and then in the "document type" dropdown menu, choose "film." Reviews are listed in the records for particular films.
Search Syntax
Truncation: use an asterisk *.
Phrase searching: use double quotation marks "".
- Web Sites
Be wary of reviews found on the Web; always consider the source of the review!
Reviews of Older Films
- Academic Search Elite
(1984 to present) Includes citations to reviews in periodicals such as Film Comment, Journal of Popular Film & Television, Sight & Sound, as well as reviews in several national newspapers.
To find film reviews: enter key words from the title of the film and then add the phrase "motion pictures reviews."
Example: Babette's Feast and "motion pictures reviews"
Search syntax:
Truncation: use an asterisk *.
Phrase searching: use double quotation marks " ".
Wildcard: use a question mark ?.
- Alternative Press Index. College Park, MD: Alternative Press Centre, 1969- .
(1995 to present) Indexes reviews in periodicals such as The Advocate, Cineaste, The Nation, The Utne Reader, and other "radical" or "alternative" periodicals.
To find film reviews: Start searching in the volume covering the year that the film was released; at the back of the volume, there is a section listing "Other Reviews," which contains the sub-section "Film Reviews." Entries are arranged in alphabetical order by film title. Some film reviews also appear in the main part of the index, but the most complete list is in the back.
- Contemporary Women's Issues
(1992 to present) Includes citations to film reviews from periodicals like Camera Obscura and The Journal of Popular Film and Television.
To find film reviews: enter key words from the title of the film and then in the drop-down menu for "Article Type," choose "Media Review."
Search syntax:
Truncation: automatic.
Phrase searching: automatic.
- Film Indexes Online
(1893 to present) includes citations to reviews as well as production and cast information.
To find film reviews: search for the title of the film; the citations to reviews will appear at the bottom of the entry for the film, after the cast and production information.
Search syntax:
Truncation: use an asterisk *.
Phrase searching: automatic.
- Film Literature Index. Albany, NY: Filmdex, 1973- .
Reference Index Area R 050 F4873
(Library has 1991 to present)
The years 1973-1987, 1989-2001 are currently available
online. Information from 2002 to the present is still only available in the print version of the Index, however.
To find film reviews online: on the "Advanced Search" screen, enter key words from the film's title and then in the drop-down menu for "Document Type," choose "Reviews."
To find film reviews in the print version: look up the title of the film; citations to reviews will be listed under the film's title.
- Film Review Annual. Englewood, NJ: J.S. Ozer, 1982- .
Reference R 791.43 F4871
(Library has 1981-1992, 1994 to present) Reprints film reviews and also lists additional reviews.
Each volume covers one year; start looking in the volume that covers the year in which the film was released.
- Film Review Index. Ed. Patricia King Hanson and Stephen L. Hanson.
2 vols. Phoenix, AZ: Oryx, 1986-1987.
Reference R 016.791 F487
Volume 1 covers 1882-1949
Volume 2 covers 1950-1985
- Humanities Abstracts
(1907 to present) Indexes film reviews from a variety of film-related journals, such as Film Quarterly and Sight & Sound.
To find film reviews:
- Films released prior to 1984: enter key words from the title of the film and then add the phrase "motion pictures reviews."
Example: Philadelphia Story and "motion pictures reviews"
- Films released from 1984 to the present:
- Search Strategy 1: enter key words from the title of the film and then add the phrase "motion picture reviews."
Example: Babette's Feast and motion picture reviews
- Search Strategy 2: in the first entry box, enter key words from the title of the film, leaving the default search type as "All - Smart Search"; in the second entry box, type the phrase "film review" and change the drop-down menu to "document type" (note that the "film review" document type only works consistently for post-1984 films).
Search syntax:
Truncation: unnecessary when using "All - Smart Search"; otherwise,
use an asterisk *.
Phrase searching: use double quotation marks "".
Wildcard: do not use with "All - Smart Search"; otherwise, use a
question mark ?.
- Index to Critical Film Reviews in British and American Periodicals. Ed. Stephen E. Bowles. 3 vol. in 2. New York: B. Franklin, [1974-1975].
Reference R 791.43 B787i
Covers reviews published between 1939 and 1972.
- InfoTrac OneFile
(1980 to present) Includes citations, and some full text, to reviews in popular periodicals (e.g. The Nation, The New Republic, The New Yorker, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, and Time), four major daily newspapers, and an assortment of film-related journals (e.g. Cineaste, Film Comment, and Film Quarterly).
To find film reviews: enter key words from the title of the film and add either "movie reviews*" or "reviews*" (be sure to include the asterisk).
Example: Babette's Feast and movie review*
Search syntax:
Truncation: use an asterisk *.
Phrase searching: use double quotation marks " ".
Wildcard: use an exclamation point !.
- LexisNexis Academic
(Approx. 1980 to present) Includes the full text of film reviews from major national and international newspapers, such as the
Atlanta Journal and Constitution, The Boston Globe, The Daily Telegraph, The New York Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, and The Times (London); also includes periodicals like Daily Variety.
To find film reviews: do a "Guided News Search." In the first drop down menu, "News Category," choose "Arts & Sports News." In the second drop-down menu, "News Sources," choose "Book, movie, music, and play reviews." Enter key words from the title of the film and then adjust the date range as appropriate.
Search syntax:
Truncation: use an exclamation point.
Phrase searching: use double quotation marks " ".
Wildcard: use an asterisk *.
- New York Times
- 1851 to present:
Microfilm cabinets C20-C26
Consult the New York Times Index shelved in the Reference Index Area at R 071 N53.
- (1851-2001):
Historical Newspapers: The New York Times
To find film reviews: on the Advanced Search screen, enter key words from the title of the film. Then click on the "More Search Options" tab toward the bottom of the page and in the "Article Type" drop-down menu, choose "Review."
- (1913 to 2000):
New York Times Film Reviews. New York: New York Times, 1913/68-2000.
Reproduces the original reviews from The New York Times. No longer published.
Reference R 791.43 N53
- (1980 to present):
LexisNexis Academic
For details, see above.
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PCI: Periodical Contents Index
(c. 1770-1995) Includes film reviews and criticism.
To find film reviews: enter the title of the film; if
necessary, add the phrase "film reviews" or the word "reviews" and limit by date.
Example: Babette's Feast and reviews
Search syntax:
Truncation: use an asterisk *.
Phrase searching: automatic.
- Readers' Guide Abstracts
(1890 to present) Indexes articles in popular periodicals; also includes citations to book and film reviews.
To find film reviews:
- Films released prior to 1983: Enter key words from the title of the film and add the phrase "motion pictures reviews." Leave the default search type as "All - Smart Search."
- Films released from 1983 to the present:
- Search strategy 1: In the first entry box, enter key words from the title of the film and leave the default search type as "All - Smart Search."
In the second entry box, enter the phrase "film review" and choose "document type" field from the drop-down menu (note that the "film review" document type only works consistently for post-1982 films).
- Search strategy 2: Enter key words from the title of the film and add the phrase "motion pictures reviews." Leave the default search type as "All - Smart Search."
Search syntax:
Truncation: unnecessary when using "All - Smart Search"; otherwise, use an asterisk *.
Phrase searching: use double quotation marks "".
Wildcard: do not use with "All - Smart Search"; otherwise, use a question mark ?.
- World Shakespeare Bibliography Online
(1971 to present) Includes citations to film reviews as well as articles, books, and audiovisual materials related to Shakespeare; also includes book reviews and theatre reviews.
To find film reviews: do an advanced search; enter any appropriate keywords, title terms, or names, and then in the "document type" drop-down menu, choose "film." Reviews are listed in the records for particular films.
Search Syntax
Truncation: use an asterisk *.
Phrase searching: use double quotation marks "".
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