LibGuides: Film and TV: Websites

Subject websites

Anyone can publish content on the internet, carefully evaluate free information according to the following criteria:

Accuracy: Can you verify the facts provided on this site? Is a methodology stated?

Authenticity: Consider the author’s credentials. Is it academic discussion? Who owns the site?

Objectivity: Are arguments presented fairly? Is the information biased in its presentation?

Coverage: Is adequate detail provided? Is the information too basic, too complex or irrelevant?

Currency: Is the information time sensitive? When was this website last updated?

Cannes Film Festival
Latest news and history of the festival.
Filmunlimited
The Guardian's film web page, includes film reviews and information about new releases.
Locarno Film Festival
London Film Festival
Information on films showcased at the festival.

Aardman Animation
Official website with information on the history of the studios and past animations. It includes up to date news on current and future projects.
The Simpsons Archive
A large collection of episode guides, articles and web links compiled by fans of the show.
Jan Svankmajer
Features an extensive range of information on the work and life of Svankmajer.
Walt Disney Studios
The studios’ official website. Includes in depth information on the layout and use of the studios.

Gateways and general sites

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
All the latest Oscar news.
BBC Archive
Browse the archive collection by collections, subjects and programmes. The BBC are increasing the content available in the archives.
BFFS On-line (British Federation of Film Societies)
National body promoting film exhibitions and societies. Includes up-to-date general film news and useful links.
Box Office Mojo
Contains sources of data such as film budgets and box-office figures for the US and overseas markets, and for identifying the producers and distributors involved in particular films.
British Film Institute and National Film Archive
This is a publicity page about the services they offer. It includes links to lists of libraries in the UK with film collections, and top UK films.
Close Up Film
A one-stop online resource for all the latest film releases, big name interviews, news and diary.
Film Noir web links
Links from Images: a journal of film and popular culture (see below).
IMDb: Internet movie database
Comprehensive database of film information, from 1892 to the present. The collection is updated daily. No registration process is required for access.
IMSDb: Internet movie script database
Indiewire
News, information, and networking site for independent-minded filmmakers, the industry and moviegoers specifically focused on American Independent Cinema.
Just Watch
An independent and ad-free movie database where you can find and compare legal ways to watch tens of thousands of films across all decades, countries and genres online.
Kemps Film and Television production services handbook online
Use Kemps to search for over 37,000 production services companies from 115 countries worldwide. Use it to find everything from Aerial Photography to Video Equipment, Location Services, Crew and much more.
Learning on Screen
Learning on Screen is a charity whose aim is to make moving image and sound as important in education and research as the written word. This link provides information about their services, including BoB (Box of Broadcasts) . This link provides information about their services.
LUMIERE database
Admissions data for films released in Europe from 1996 onwards.
MRQE: Movie Review Query Engine
Founded in 1993 by Stewart M. Clamen, this is the internet’s largest database of movie reviews for over 100,000 titles. The continually growing site provides a searchable index of all published and available reviews, news, interviews, and other materials associated with specific movies.

Organisations

American Film Institute
BBC
BFI Screenonline
The British Film Institute’s guide to British television history, with access to moving image material.
British Board of Film Classification
The British Board of Film Classification’s website with information and history about the board.
British Film Commission
British Film Council
British Film Institute and National Archive
The BFI is the British Film Institute. The site includes a world-renowned archive, cinemas, festivals, films, publications and learning resources. It also includes links to lists of libraries in the UK.
British Pathe
British Universities Film & Video Council: Learning on Screen - News on Screen
British Universities Film & Video Council: Learning on Screen - Researcher's Guide to Screen Heritage
Contacts
An essential guide for contacts in the entertainment industry; it contains listings for over 5000 companies, services and individuals across all branches of television, stage, film and radio.
European Audiovisual Observatory
FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting)
US media watch group highlighting media bias and censorship.
Film Distributors' Association (FDA)
Film London
Film Noir Foundation
Devoted to America's noir heritage; includes video archives of interviews with key noir actors and directors.
International Documentary Association
International Federation of Film Archives
Jewish Film Archive
Learning on Screen
Learning on Screen is a charity whose aim is to make moving image and sound as important in education and research as the written word. This link provides information about their services, including BoB (Box of Broadcasts). This link provides information about their services.
London Jewish Cultural Centre: Film Archive
National Film Board of Canada
The collection includes documentaries, animations experimental films, fiction and interactive works. They take on issues of global importance that matter to Canada such as the environment, human rights, international conflict, the arts and more.
National Museum of Photography, Film and Television
Royal Television Society
Students' British Board of Film Classification
Includes case studies aimed at film and media students.

Film and television history

Arts on Film Archive
Hosted by the University of Westminster.
BIRTH Television Archive
Archive of vintage British (BBC), Austrian, Dutch, Belgian (Francophone) and German television programmes.
Early cinema
Film Archives UK
UK public sector moving image archives
Moving History
A guide to UK film and TV public archives, includes some films available online.
National Archives: Public Information Films
National Film Preservation Board
Scottish Screen Archive
Over 100 years of Scottish history on film and video.
Separate Cinema
The Separate Cinema Archive is a collection of over 25,000 film posters, lobby cards and photographs chronicling the black film industry.
University of California Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA)
Includes digitised film-related items.
Who's Who of Victorian Cinema

Web search tips

Google Scholar. Try using this to limit your search to scholarly sources.

Google Advanced Search. You can search within a particular domain eg .gov.uk. This will limit your search to UK government publications.

Or, instead of searching the Internet, go directly to the source. We have selected some websites here that could be useful to your search.

"Double quotation marks". If you're searching for the title of a document or searching for a phrase, enclose your search in "double quotation marks".

E-books

David Bordwell's website on cinema
This website features the full-text of many of Bordwell's key essays and articles.
Film Studies for Free
Online books page
Hosted by the University of Pennsylvania.
Amsterdam University Press Digital Repository
Freely accessible ebooks published by Amsterdam University Press (a significant amount of which is published in English).
Sparknotes
Free to access online study guides aimed at high school students; there is a charge for downloading the printable pdf files.
University of California Press E-Books Collection
Freely accessible ebooks published by the University of California Press.

Electronic journals

Bright Lights film journal
Movie analysis, history and commentary on a wide range of film genres.
Film & History: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Film and Television Studies
Articles on the relationship between film and history. Includes a detailed filmography of historical and history related documentaries and links to related academic websites
Filmmaker Magazine
News and features on independent film. The site features a comprehensive database of film festivals.
Film-Philosophy
International academic journal with philosophical film reviews.
Framework
An international journal published bi-annually. It includes in-depth film reviews and contemporary interviews.
Images: a journal of film and popular culture
Articles on film and television that specialise in classic films.
Jump Cut
Reviews of contemporary media. The site includes film and media articles, Hollywood cinema, third world cinema, radio, TV and criticism on a variety of themes, such as ethnicity and race.
Offscreen
Online since 1997, this Montreal based journal covers film festivals, retrospectives, film forums, and both popular and academic events.
Reverse Shot
Bi-monthly quarterly, independently published film journal.
Scope
Published three times a year, this is a peer-reviewed online journal edited by staff and students in the Institute of Film & Television Studies at the University of Nottingham.
Senses of Cinema
This Australian-based journal focuses on Australian cinema, both past and present.
Vertigo
A quarterly British film magazine focusing on worldwide independent cinema.

Open access repositories

OpenDOAR Directory of Open Access Repositories
Worldwide coverage