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Shakespeare in Movies: ENG 0822, ENG 0922

Research help for the course, "Shakespeare in Movies."

Film Review vs. Film Criticism

Collage of periodicals

Question: What's the difference between film reviews and film criticism?

Film reviews are assessments of the aesthetic, entertainment, social, and cultural merits of a current film or video.  Reviews tend to be short to medium length articles, often written by a single staff writer for a particular publication.  In most cases, the chief aim of a review is to tell the reader whether the film is worth viewing.  Although reviews are usually fairly "quick takes" on a movie, they can in some instances be substantive and very insightful.

Film criticism is scholarly writing about particular films, past and present. Film criticism can be found in film journals and other publications devoted to theater, history, literature, women's studies, ethnic studies, and other disciplines. Critical film articles tend to be more academic and longer than reviews.  Critical film articles often discuss films in broad social, political, and historical context.  Many times the focus of these articles is on a fairly specific aspect of a film, a director's work, or a film genre.

Find Film Reviews -- metasites

These freely available websites bring together reviews published in a variety of established and not-so-established online sources.  Choose your reviews carefully, and try to learn as much as possible about the source that published them.

Shakespeare Film Details

Need to double-check the year your film version was released? Need to confirm the director's name? Try using the source below.