Research

The Moving Image Source Research Guide is a gateway to the best online resources related to film, television, and digital media.

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  • Edison Papers  
    View scanned images of Edison's original papers, including his personal notes, correspondence, and more. Includes information on the invention of the kinetoscope and other moving image technology, as well as Edison's business records. Search the archive by author, title, or folder.
  • Entertaining America: Jews, Movies, and Broadcasting  
    An online exhibit documenting the relationship of Jews to film and television, including information on Jewish actors, directors, writers, businessmen, studio tycoons, and more. The exhibit covers specific works (Seinfeld, Your Show of Shows) and events (McCarthyism, the Holocaust) spanning from the invention of cinema to today.
  • Europa Film Treasures  
    Europa Film Treasures is an online film catalogue created by a consortium of European film archives. It offers free access, via streaming, to more than 400 films presented with extensive historical notes in five languages, and categorized by time period, country of origin, and genre.
  • Film & History   Paid Subscription Required Peer Reviewed
    Film & History is a peer-reviewed interdisciplinary journal that studies the exchanges between film and history. The journal is affiliated with the American Historical Association and operates under the direction of the Center for the Study of Film and History.
  • Film Literature Index   Paid Subscription Required Peer Reviewed
    An index of scholarly film periodicals.
  • German Hollywood Connection  
    This website features short introductory articles on the artistic and economic connections between American and German film workers from the earliest days of the industry to the present.
  • History in Motion  
    This site features clips from newsreels, early documentary films, and early narrative films such as The Great Train Robbery. Browse clips by topic, title, and date. History in Motion is the moving image section of Eyewitness to History, a site that compiles photos, first person accounts, and other historical primary sources for students. The film section focuses primarily on American history.
  • History on/and/in Film  
    This website reproduces papers delivered at the Third Australian History and Film Conference, held in Perth in 1985. These essays, many by well-known scholars, represent a diverse array of approaches to the study of film and history.
  • Hollywood Reporter   Paid Subscription Required
    Website of the daily Hollywood trade paper, with searchable archives dating back to 1950.
  • International Association for Media and History   Peer Reviewed
    The International Association for Media and History is an organization of scholars "dedicated to historical inquiry into film, radio, television, and related media." The website provides information on current publications by members as well as volume information on the association's journal The Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television.
  • International Federation of Film Archives   Peer Reviewed
    FIAF is an international association of film archives dedicated to the preservation of the moving image. Although the actual catalog of associated-archival holdings is only available to paying users, the website also hosts a variety of free information pertaining to film preservation, most notably fully downloadable back issues of the Journal of Film Preservation.
  • Internet Archive: Feature Films  
    A collection of almost 900 public-domain feature films, including some classic silent films by Charlie Chaplin and Mack Sennett.
  • Kine Weekly Online Index @ The British Cinema History Research Project   Paid Subscription Required
    The Kine Weekly online index covers the period from 1955 through the end of the publication in 1971. Also contains some earlier materials. Password required.
  • Lexis-Nexis Academic   Paid Subscription Required Peer Reviewed
    Search the full text of selected newspapers, wire services, and business sources for historical film reviews, business information, or other primary sources.
  • Library of Congress: Variety Stage  
    Explore the relationship between vaudeville and early film. This collection includes 61 short films of vaudeville acts.
  • Like Television  
    Streaming video of classic films with expired copyright.
  • Louise Brooks Society  
    This website has an extensive bibliography on the silent film actress, with some sources dating back to the 1920s. Also includes a filmography, photo galleries, and extensive information on Louise Brooks ephemera.
  • Margaret Herrick Library  
    Huge collection of film-related material, including fan magazines, photographs, clippings, screenplays, and more.
  • Matsuda Film Productions: The Japanese Silent Films Site  
    Matsuda Film Productions is an archival rental house for silent Japanese cinema. Provides information on Matsuda's rental services and includes information on the historical context and development of early cinema in Japan.
  • Media History Digital Library  
    Providing online access to the histories of cinema, broadcasting, and recorded sound, the Media History Digital Library digitizes collections of classic media periodicals that belong in the public domain for full public access.