ENG/FILM 363: Film Theories - Film Noir

This page contains strategies for finding film criticism. The film Blade Runner is used as an example to show how you would search different library resources.

In general, here are some film search tips:

1. Use quotation marks around the title of the film; e.g., "Blade Runner"
2. For foreign films, search for both the English and the original language title; e.g., "Le cercle rouge" OR "The red circle"
3. Use filters/limiters to restrict your results to only peer-reviewed articles.
4. Double-check your result is for the film and not the novel. Also, some films have the same name or remakes! Use the date and/or the director's name to narrow your search.
5. Other search terms to use in order to get results specific to the film:
   • "Director's full name" or Last name
   • "Film noir"
   • "Dramatic arts"
   • Film
   • "Film genres"

For more general information about finding journal articles, view our Find Articles research guide.

Searching Is Iterative

Research is not a one and done process! Searching is iterative, meaning that it is something you do again and again with the intention of improving it each time. It's good research practice to look in multiple places (library catalog, databases, etc.) and to run multiple searches. Try switching up your search strategy as you go along -- it's likely that you will come across words and phrases in your results that you will want to use as new search terms! 

Too Many Results?

If your searches are yielding hundreds of results, you need to narrow your search to be more specific. There are a couple ways you can do that: 

1. Add another search term
2. Use a more narrow search term (e.g., change "film" to "film noir")
3. Use another filter / limiter (e.g., select "film studies" as a subject)
4. Restrict a search term to the "Subject" or "Title" field

Not Enough Results?

If your searches are yielding no or few results, you need to broaden your search. There are a couple ways you can do that: 

1. Remove a search term
2. Use a more broad search term
3. Remove a filter / limiter