Finding film reviews
Film reviews (occasionally "film criticism") are articles published by newspapers and other non-academic publications that provide commentary on the film's quality from the standpoint of the reviewer. Reviews can be a useful primary sources when studying how a film was received by audiences upon its release.
Online resources
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Film and Television Literature Index with Full Text This link opens in a new windowIn addition to scholarship and theory, features reviews from its collection of hundreds of publications including Variety movie reviews from 1914 to the present.
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New York Times Film ReviewsNYT film reviews for the last several decades. Older reviews may be found in the historical archive below. If you haven't yet registered for a NYT account with your Kenyon email, read about how to do so here.
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Nexis Uni This link opens in a new windowA wide range of news sources are searchable through Nexis Uni, try searching using a film's title and the added keyword "review".
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Newspaper Source This link opens in a new window
Full text for regional U.S. newspapers, international newspapers, newswires, and newspaper columns. Television & radio news transcripts are also provided.
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New York Times (Historical archive) This link opens in a new window
Full text of the New York Times including article-level images. Coverage is from 1851-2017
Review aggregators
Print resources
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Magill's Survey of Cinema, Silent Films byCall Number: PN1995.75 .M33 1982
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Magill's Survey of Cinema, English Language Films, First Series byCall Number: PN1993.45 .M3Publication Date: 1980
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Magill's Survey of Cinema, English Language Films, Second Series byCall Number: PN1993.45 .M32Publication Date: 1981
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Magill's Survey of Cinema, Foreign Language Films byCall Number: PN1995.9.F67 M34Publication Date: 1985
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Magill's Cinema Annual byCall Number: PN1993.3 .M34Volumes covering 1982-2019; 1982-1998 are in storage and must be requested
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Film Review Index byCall Number: PN1995 .F53 1986Publication Date: 1986Vol. 1: 1882-1949; Vol. 2: 1950-1985