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A Guide to Film and Media Studies

Finding videos

WashU Libraries Film Collection
A collection of streaming films are available through the Library catalog. The collection contains many films frequently requested by faculty at WashU for their classes. The films are available for viewing for both education and entertainment purposes by WashU students, faculty and staff.  For a complete listing of film, click here.

In addition, the WashU Libraries have a large collection of VHS, DVD, laserdisc and 16/35 mm format films. The VHS videos are arranged as a browsing collection in Olin on Level A. Video, DVD and laser disk formats circulate for seven days (limit five per checkout) and should be returned to the Olin Check-Out Desk. We offer VCR, laser and DVD stations in the library to view those films which do not circulate or have been placed on reserve and cannot be checked out. The 16/35 mm films are non-circulating, but may be checked out by faculty for on campus showings with prior arrangement with the Film Studies Office and projectionist.

You can search for films in all formats by title in the library catalog.

example:
Title: Apocalypse Now

Most of the titles will have the words videorecording or motion picture in parentheses next to the title.

example:
Title: On the Waterfront [videorecording]/Columbia Pictures Corporation (1986)
or
Keywords: waterfront and videorecording

To search for films by a specific director, producer, studio, or leading actor, do a keyword or author search.

examples:
Author: Coppola, Francis Ford
or
Keyword: Paramount Pictures

You can search for videos on a particular topic by doing a subject search or word search and then limiting the format to video:

examples:
Subject: King, Martin Luther
or
Word: argentin* (for films about Argentina)

When the catalog gives you a list of titles on your subject, click on the "Limit/Sort" button and choose "Material Format" to limit your list of titles to "Video/Film" only.

Or, you can choose "Specific Video Recording" and select between "videodisc" (which means DVD or laserdisc) and "videocassette" (which means VHS), and "16 or 35mm film reel" (which is a celluloid print of the film).

You can also search for videos in a particular genre by doing a subject search:

examples:
Action and Adventure Films
Animated Films
Comedy Films
Detective and Mystery Films
Documentary Films
Feature Films
Foreign Films
Horror Films
Science Fiction Films
Silent Films

You can also search for films from a particular country by doing a subject search:

examples:
Motion pictures, Israeli [films from Israel]
Motion pictures, Spanish [films from Spain]