Skip to Main Content

Southern Film Guide: Research

Southern films and film research guide

Primers

David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson's Film Art: An Introduction, a standard introductory textbook for film analysis 

Criticism & Reviews

A Film Review is generally an article that is published in an online or print newspaper, magazine, or scholarly work that describes and evaluates a film. A review often offers an opinion or focuses on making a recommendation. 

Film Criticism is generally written by an expert in film studies or film scholar. The criticism often presents the film within a specific context (theoretical, social, political or historical) while drawing on a larger dialog and positioning their argument within the field. 

Film Journals

Journal of Film and Video - History, theory, criticism, and aesthetics in film production.
Adaptation - An international forum focused on literature on screen.
Bright Lights Film Journal - One of the most read and respected online movie journals.
Cineaste - Includes articles, interviews, film, DVD and books about film reviews.
Cinema Journal - Quarterly publication by the Universit of Texas Press .
Film and History - Reviews of books and films.
Film Comment - Film Society of Lincoln Center’s journal.
Film International - Film analysis, interviews, books, and DVD reviews.
The Film Journal  - Online forum for film criticism, study and discussion.
Filmmaker - Magazine of Independent Film.
Film Matters - Film publication for undergraduates.
Film Quarterly - University of California Press’ journal.
Flow - Online journal for contemporary TV & media studies. 
Framework: The Journal of Cinema and Media - International journal. 
Historical Journal of Film, Radio & Television - Journal of The International Association for Media and History.
---InTransition - A peer-reviewed academic journal of videographic film and moving image studies. 
Journal of Popular Film and Television - Examines commercial film and TV.
JumpCut  - Reviews how contemporary media addresses class, race, and gender. 
Literature/Film Quarterly - Academic journal devoted to the study of adaptation.
The Moving Image - Produced by the Association of Moving Image Archivists.
Quarterly Review of Film and Video Essays, reviews and interviews.
Scope - Peer-reviewed articles on film and TV.
Screen - A leading international journal of academic film and television studies.
Senses of Cinema - Online film journal devoted to the discussion of cinema.
Sight and Sound - The British Film Institute’s journal on film.
Variety - Important trade publication.
The Velvet Light Trap - A journal for film, tv and other media. 
Wide Angle - Taking an in-depth look that international film.

Film Databases

Film Term Glossaries

British Film Institute’s Glossary of Film Terms: http://www.screenonline.org.uk/education/glossary.html

New York Film Academy’s glossary of film terms: https://www.nyfa.edu/student-resources/glossary/

Film Education / UK Film Industry: http://www.filmeducation.org/resources/primary/teaching_with_film/film_in_the_classroom/terminology/

Film Basics from PBS & Masterpiece Theatre: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/

AMC’s film terms glossary:  http://www.filmsite.org/filmterms.html

Scripts & Industry Info

IMSDB: Internet Movie Script DataBase
Self-proclaimed 'biggest collection of movie scripts' available online. All of these scripts are intended for educational purposes only and can be read or downloaded for free.
SimplyScripts
Downloadable movie scripts, screenplays, and transcripts of current & classic cinema, tv, anime & more.