This guide will help you research films.

Questions you might explore in your research:

1. What genre does your film fall into? What are the implications of this?

2. When, where, and how was your film first created?

3. What can you learn about the director, writer(s), and producer(s)?

4. What can you learn about the principle actresses/actors in the film?

5. How is/was your film critically received at the time it was made?

6. Is there scholarly criticism of your film?

7. What is the historical context of your film, and why is it important to understanding the film?

8. If your film is an adaptation of a short story or novel, how does it compare to the original? What different choices does the film director make? What impact does that have on the meaning of the film?

Welcome to the Film Studies libguide. This is a guide to help you find and research films. You can learn more about film analysis, the history of film, film criticism, and more.

Image from the New York Public Library Digital Gallery.

A few books to help you be the film critic you've always wanted to be!: