How to Cite Movie Titles in Papers

When writing research papers or articles, it is necessary to show data about the outside sources in which information was found. The documentation of these sources is called "citation." The Modern Language Association (MLA) requires that movie sources be cited according to a specific format. The sources will be also listed in alphabetical order on the "Works Cited" page (sometimes called a "Bibliography")

Things You'll Need

• MLA Style Manual

Instructions

In-Text Citation

1. Type the title of the film, in quotations and then in parentheses, right after the sentence to which the citation refers.

2. Translate the title if it is a foreign film. If the title is foreign but familiar to English-speaking audiences, such as "Moulin Rouge," it is not necessary to translate it.

3. Close the citation with a period inside of the closing quotation marks and final parenthesis.

Entry in the "Works Cited" Page

1. Type the title of the movie, underline it and end it with a period. Capitalize the first letter of all major words in the title; do not capitalize words such as "a," "an," or "the" unless it is the first word in the title. If it is a foreign-language film, translate the title into English.

2. Type the abbreviation, "Dir." and then the director's first name and last name, without the underline, followed by a period. Type the abbreviation, "Perf." and the first and last names of the first, second and third leading actors, with a comma between the names, and with a period at the end.

3. Enter a description of the recording format such as "videocassette" or "DVD," followed by a period.

4. Type the distributor of the film, followed by a comma, and the year of release, followed by a period.

Tips & Warnings

• Plagiarism can end your academic career and sully your professional reputation permanently -- even if you are cleared of the charges. Be very careful to cite all sources of information, even if you do not quote them directly.

References

• Allan Hancock College Writing Center: MLA Documentation
• Honolulu Community College Library: MLA Citation Examples
• Landmark College: MLA Citation Guide

Resources

• Read this Article in UK English
• University of Pittsburgh: Citing