LibGuides: COMM 220: Introduction to Film: Home

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Library Resources for Film Studies

This Research Guide will direct you to specialized Library resources for Introduction to Film (COMM 220), including books, journals, online subscription databases and websites.

Course Description

Introduction to Film (COMM 220) presents an overview of the technical and artistic elements of filmmaking. Students will gain an enhanced understanding of the early history of film, film genres and genre conventions, narrative structure, and cinematic techniques including mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing, and sound.

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Both NCC Libraries are open, but you can still borrow books and other materials remotely by using our Library to Go service. You can choose quick pickup on campus, or free delivery to your home.

Use the same form to request:

Access to materials that your instructor has put on electronic reserve in Blackboard;
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NEW for Fall 2025 MLA Handbook Plus!

NCC students, faculty, and staff now have access to the MLA Handbook online!

This searchable e-book version of the ninth edition is the authoritative guide to citing sources in MLA format.

In addition to the complete text of the print book, MLA Handbook Plus offers examples of citations, guidance on formatting research papers, instructional videos, and the Spanish-language translation, Manual MLA.

For more help with MLA format, visit the NCC Library's online guide to Citing Sources.

The image of the MLA Handbook pictured here is a scan of the NCC Library's own print copy! Please ask for it at the Research Help Desk.

NEW books in the NCC Library collection!

American Noir Film: From "The Maltese Falcon" to "Gone Girl" by Booker, M. Keith.
Call Number: PN 1995.9 .F54 B66 2025

ISBN: 9781538194096

Publication Date: 2025

This book explores how the popular genre and its tropes evolved from the early classics to neo-noir and beyond, while maintaining the distinct features audiences love. Movies discussed range from "Double Indemnity" and "Sunset Boulevard" to "Chinatown" and "Devil in a Blue Dress," as well as recent films "Under the Silver Lake" and "Promising Young Woman."
Hollywood High: A Totally Epic, Way Opinionated History of Teen Movies by Handy, Bruce.
Call Number: PN 1995.9 .Y6 H363 2025

ISBN: 9781501181177

Publication Date: 2025

What influence did Francis Ford Coppola have on George Lucas' film "American Graffiti"? And Lucas on John Singleton's "Boyz N the Hood"? How does teenage sexuality in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" compare to "Twilight"? Which teen movies pass the Bechdel test? Why is "Mean Girls" the last great teen film of the 20th century? This book situates iconic teen movies within their times and reveals the intriguing stories, artists, and passions behind their creation. These films aren't merely beloved stories; they reflect teens' growing economic and cultural influence, societal panics, and shifting perceptions of youth in America. Much more than a nostalgia trip, "Hollywood High" is a lively, provocative, and affectionate cultural history, spanning nearly 100 years.
Moving Pictures: A History of American Animation From Gertie to Pixar & Beyond by Larsen, Darl.
Call Number: NC 1766 .U5 L37 2024

ISBN: 9781538160374

Publication Date: 2024

In this book, author Darl Larsen playfully lays out the history of American animation as it transitioned from vaudeville sub-feature to craftsman-like artistry to industrial diversion and, ultimately, to theatrical regulars on par with blockbusters. Larsen identifies and discusses the major figures, movements, and studios across nearly 120 years of animation in the United States. Progressing chronologically, this book follows animation from stage performance through its use as wartime propaganda, its seven-minute heyday and decamp to television, and finally the years of struggle as cartoons became feature films. Covering everything from the generations preceding Mickey Mouse to recent releases such as the "Super Mario Bros. Movie," the text is an essential read for movie fans, and a nostalgic revisiting of some of America's favorite films.
"No Country for Old Men": From Novel to Film by King, Lynnea Chapman.
Call Number: PS 3563 .C337 N638 2009

ISBN: 9780810867291

Publication Date: 2009

In 2005, Cormac McCarthy's novel "No Country for Old Men" was published to wide acclaim, and in 2007, Ethan and Joel Coen brought their adaptation to the screen. The film earned praise from critics worldwide and was honored with four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. In this book, scholars offer varied approaches to both the novel and the award-winning film. Beginning with several essays dedicated entirely to the novel and its place within the McCarthy canon, the anthology offers subsequent essays focusing on the film, the adaptation process, and the Coen Brothers more broadly. The book also features an interview with the Coen Brothers' long-time cinematographer Roger Deakins. This entertaining and enriching book is an important contribution to both literature and film studies.
Screening #MeToo: Rape Culture in Hollywood by Funnell, Lisa.
Call Number: PN 1995.9 .R27 S37 2022

ISBN: 9781438487601

Publication Date: 2022

This book offers an important and timely discussion of the pervasive nature of rape culture in Hollywood. Essays in the collection examine films released from the 1960s onward, a broad period that coincides with the end of the Motion Picture Production Code in Hollywood, which resulted in more frequent and increasingly graphic images of sex and violence being included in mainstream movies. Focusing on narratives in which surveillance and sexual violence feature prominently, contributors from North America and Europe examine a variety of film genres, including spy films, teen comedies, kitchen sink dramas, coming-of-age stories, rape/revenge films, and horror films. Reflecting the increasing social and academic awareness of sexual violence in Hollywood film, and its transmission and cultivation of rape culture in the United States and abroad, they are concerned not only with the content of the films under scrutiny, but also with the clear relationship between the stories, how they are being told, and the culture that produced them. The text challenges readers to look at mainstream Hollywood films differently, in light of attitudes about art and power, sexuality and consent, and the pleasures and frustrations of criticizing 'entertainment' films from these perspectives.