How Do You Cite a Movie in MLA Format?

Contributor

By cjohnson
eHow Contributing Writer

Article Rating:

(2 Ratings)

Correctly cite a movie in MLA format

An important part of constructing your research paper or thesis is correctly citing your sources in MLA format. The Modern Language Association (MLA) created these style and formatting guidelines so that there is a uniform way of creating, understanding and accessing the sources used during the course of writing an academic paper. These guidelines are widely used throughout the United States, Canada and other countries. If you cited a movie in your document, here is the correct way to cite it using the MLA format.

What Are MLA Guidelines?
The MLA (Modern Language Association) guidelines describe a method used worldwide for acknowledging source… More
Define MLA Writing Format
The Modern Language Association's writing format is a series of regulations and guidelines for writers. Th… More
How to Write in MLA Style
Write a paper in MLA style by putting your last name and the page number in the right-hand corner and citi… More
How to Format the First Page of a Paper in MLA Style
MLA is becoming one of the most pervasive formatting and reference protocols for research and term papers … More
MLA Guidelines for Essays
Modern Language Association (MLA) is the accepted form of documentation used in the Liberal Arts and Human… More
How to Write an MLA Reference Page
Writing an MLA reference page begins with titling it Works Cited, and is formated by listing primary and s… More
How to Write Footnotes in MLA Style
Writing a footnote in MLA style is useful for expressing an idea that isn't part of the main line of argum… More
How Do You Cite a Movie in MLA Format?
An important part of constructing your research paper or thesis is correctly citing your sources in MLA fo… More
How Do You Cite a Song in MLA Format?
Used throughout the United States, Canada and many other countries, the MLA (Modern Language Association) … More
How to Cite a Pamphlet Using MLA Style
In college and graduate school, you will likely be responsible for producing one or more term papers or re… More
How to Cite an Editorial Using MLA Style
When you are working on a term paper or a long-term research project, you will likely need to use source m… More
How to Cite an Advertisement Using MLA Style
Advertising is a unique form of reference material. It indicates not only the way that people may have tho… More
How to Cite the Bible in MLA Style
Just as the Bible is unique among all other written works, it also must be cited in a unique fashion when … More
How to Cite an Anthology Using MLA Style
When writing a term paper or working on a longer term research project, it is important to keep track of y… More
How to Cite a Dissertation in MLA Format
As you are writing a term paper or working on a longer term research project, it is important to keep trac… More

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Step 1

Organize the information you need in order to complete the citation. Besides the movie title, you will need the names of the lead performers (in order of billing), the first and last names of the director, the movie distributor and the year of distribution.
Step 2

The correct citation of a movie in MLA format is as follows:
Movie Title. Dir. FirstName LastName. Perf. FirstName LastName. Distributor, Year of Distribution.
An example of a correct citation would be:
The Usual Suspects. Dir. Bryan Singer. Perf. Stephen Baldwin, Gabriel Byrne, and Benicio Del Toro. PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, 1995.
Step 3

Make sure the formatting follows MLA guidelines. The movie title should be underlined. There should be a period after the movie title, the director's last name, the last lead performer's last name, and the distribution year. The lead performers should be listed in order of billing.
Step 4

If you are citing a movie from a VHS tape or DVD, you need to indicate this on the citation by either listing "Videocassette" or "DVD" before the name of the distributor. An example would be:
The Usual Suspects. Dir. Bryan Singer. Perf. Stephen Baldwin, Gabriel Byrne, and Benicio Del Toro. Videocassette. PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, 1995.