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ENG 490/590 Course Research Guide

This is a guide to the library and research materials you may find useful to accomplish the objectives of ENG 490/590--The Hollywood Studio System: Warner Bros., with Dr. Mike Aronson, Spring 2007.

Note: items with the off-campus access limited to UO icon are available only to University of Oregon faculty, staff, and students, or to users working in the library.

Background & Definitions

  • Cinema Studies: The Key Concepts KNIGHT REF PN 1993.45 .H36 2000
  • Critical Dictionary Of Film And Television Theory KNIGHT REF PN 1993.45 .C75 2001
  • Film Encyclopedia KNIGHT REF PN 1993.45 .K34 2001

Film Information (plot synopses, cast & crew)

  • The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States (1893-1970) KNIGHT REF PN1998 .A57
    A source for information about all American feature films produced between 1893-1970. Includes production credits, plot summaries, and cross-indexing of themes and genres.
  • Halliwell's Film Guide KNIGHT REF PN 1993.45.H27 1986
    Plot summaries and brief critical annotations for nearly 18,000 English-language feature films with a strong emphasis on U.S. movies from the 1930s and 1940s.
  • Internet Movie Database
    Provides plot summaries and succinct critical comment on more than 60,000 films.
  • Magill's Survey of Cinema:
    Provides essay-length reviews of roughly 3,000 films. Articles on each film include a plot summary, critical notes on directing, acting, screen writing, cinematography, and the film's place in the history of its genre.
    • English Language Films, First Series KNIGHT REF PN1993.45 .M3
    • English Language Films, Second Series KNIGHT REF PN1993.45 .M32
    • Foreign Language Films KNIGHT REF PN1993.45.M34 1985
    • Silent Films KNIGHT REF PN1995.75.M33 1982

Biographical Information

Film Industry Information

  • Encyclopedia of Exhibition (1996/97-current) KNIGHT REF PN1993 .E539
    Especially useful for its statistics section, which includes historical data about movie theaters, film revenues, and movie audiences. Older editions are in the circulating collection on the 3rd floor of Knight Library.
  • Index to Motion Picture Credits
    A comprehensive database of cast and crew in all Academy Award categories back to 1934.
  • The New Historical Dictionary of the American Film Industry KNIGHT REF PN1993 .5 .U6 S539 1998
  • The Numbers
    Provides current and historical business information about the film industry. The database includes 10,000 movies and about 500,000 separate pieces of information.
  • WorldWide Box Office, 1899-2001
    Provides information about worldwide movie ticket sales. Be sure to check out their sources page for additional data.

Social/Political/Historical Context

  • American Popular Culture Through History series
    • 1900s KNIGHT REF E169 .1 .B248 2002
    • 1910s KNIGHT REF E169 .1 .B634 2002
    • 1920s KNIGHT REF E169 .1 .D796 2004
    • 1930s KNIGHT REF E169 .1 .Y59 2002
    • 1940s KNIGHT REF E169 .1 .S559 2004
    • 1950s KNIGHT REF E169 .12 .Y69 2004
    • 1960s KNIGHT REF E169 .12 .R53 2003
    • 1990s KNIGHT REF E169 .12 .O96 2003
  • The Columbia Chronicles of American Life, 1910-1992 KNIGHT REF E169 .1 .G664 1995
  • Readers' Guide Retrospective (1890-1982)
    An index to articles in general-interest, news, and opinion magazines.
  • Timetables of History: A Horizontal Linkage of People and Events KNIGHT REF D11 .G78 1991
  • Twentieth-Century Teen Culture by the Decades: A Reference Guide KNIGHT REF HQ799 .U65 R65 1999

Film Criticism

For earlier criticism, try these resources:

  • Critical Index: A Bibliography Of Articles On Film In English (1946-1973) KNIGHT Z 5784.M9 G47 (overflow area, 4th floor)
  • The Film Index: A Bibliography (late 19th century-1936) KNIGHT Z5784 .M9 W75 (overflow area, 4th floor). Three volumes: "The Film as Art," "Film as Industry," and "Film in Society." Indexes fan and trade magazines, reviews, but excludes newspaper articles.
  • New Film Index; A Bibliography Of Magazine Articles In English (1930-1970) KNIGHT Z 5784.M9 M29 1975
  • Retrospective Index To Film Periodicals (1930-1971) KNIGHT Z 5784.M9 B39 (overflow area, 4th floor)

Film Reviews

  • FIAF off-campus access limited to UO (1972-present)
  • Film Review Annual (1982-2001) KNIGHT PN 1995 .F465
  • Film Review Index (1882-1985) KNIGHT REFERENCE Z 5784 .M9 F513
  • Lexis/Nexis Academic off-campus access limited to UO (dates vary by title)
  • New York Times Film Reviews (1913-1982) KNIGHT REFERENCE PN 1995 .N4
  • Variety Film Reviews (1907-1990) KNIGHT PN 1993 .V36

Books & Films Not Available at UO

  • Summit Catalog
    Summit is a Northwest consortium of libraries that doubles our collection. You can borrow books not owned by the UO Library by selecting the Request Item option. Summit works only for books. If you want to request journal articles or films, you'll need to fill out an interlibrary loan form. For additional tips, see Looking for ...Books and Journals.
  • WorldCat off-campus access limited to UO
    WorldCat provides access to library catalogs from around the world. The database contains bibliographic records describing books, journals, films, maps, musical scores, manuscripts, etc. To obtain materials you find in WorldCat, use the interlibrary loan form.
Maintained by: Elizabeth Peterson, emp@uoregon.edu
Last Modified: 04/22/2008