Back | Citing Film and Video |

Citing Film

When citing film and mass media you have a choice whether to cite the title first or a particular director or performer whose work you are discussing. Usually you will begin with the title in the reference list and cite the first word of the title in your parenthetical references (Big). You must also include the director, distributor (i.e. film company) and year of release. You may include other information such as the names of the actors. And you may cite the film by director, screenwriter, or even composer if you are writing about the works of that individual.

Reference List
The Big Country. Dir. William Wyler. Perf. Gregory Peck, Jean Simmons, Carroll Baker, Charlton Heston, Burl Ives.
	Metro Goldwyn Mayer, 1958.
or:
Wyler, William, dir. The Big Country. Perf. Gregory Peck, Jean Simmons, Carroll Baker, Charlton Heston, Burl Ives.
	Metro Goldwyn Mayer, 1958.

Citing Video and DVD
In practice you will usually be citing a VHS videotape or DVD. The only difference is that here you must include the distributor and year of the video. MLA does not require you to cite both the year of original release and the year the video or DVD was issued. However it is usually important for communication scholars to include this information (Big). Being specific about the year and edition can be especially important when citing DVD's as you will probably wish to include chapter numbers in your parenthetical references (Big, ch. 7), and these can vary by edition.
Reference List
The Big Country. Dir. William Wyler. Perf. Gregory Peck, Jean Simmons, Carroll Baker, Charlton Heston, Burl Ives.
	Metro Goldwyn Mayer, 1958. Western Legends series. MGM Home Entertainment, 2001.