With the cinematic tidal wave that is the Melbourne International Film Festival upon us, I thought it might be useful to highlight just a few of the terrific film-studies resources we have available:

The American Film Institute (AFI) Catalog Online

American Film Institue Catalog

The American Film Institute holds a very important position in the preservation and celebration of American film culture, and this online resource is an ever expanding encyclopaedia of information about the American cinema from its earliest roots in the 1890s through until the present day. And it’s great fun taking issue (or otherwise) with their list of top 100 US films!

Film Index International: British Film Institute

British Film Institute

Not to be outdone,  the British Film Institute has created the remarkable Film Index International which, as its name implies, takes a world view of the history of cinema. With information covering over 170 countries, this massive resource boasts entries on over 127,000 films and a staggering 870, 000 people working in the film industry! The BFI are also responsible for that fine magazine, Sight and Sound, which we have available electronically as well as in print.

International Index to Performing Arts Full Text

International Index to Performing Arts

Covering just about every field you can think of from puppetry to theatre, film, television and all points in between, this remarkably useful online resource is an invaluable way to find information in over 280 magazines devoted to the performing arts.  It also comes loaded with more than 100 full text journals, including core film studies titles such as Variety, Sight and Sound, Film Comment and Film Quarterly.

The Wiley-Blackwell history of American film edited by Cynthia Lucia, Roy Grundmann, and Art Simon

Wiley-Blackwell 2012

Whilst all of these online resources are fantastic, don’t forget that we also have one of the strongest collections of film-studies material on our shelves as well. If you come into the Arts Reading Room and head for the browsing shelves in the 791 Dewey range, I feel confident that you won’t be disappointed; not to mention what’s in our stacks! Lights, camera, action……

Something cinematic from our Picture Collection; they don’t make them like that anymore!

St James Theatre, Bourke Street, Melbourne, ca.1944

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