Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library: Film & Theatre: Home

Film & Theatre at the King Library

This guide contains information and links to help you with your research on film, theatre, radio, and television at the King Library and beyond.

You may also find these related guides relevant:

For help finding recorded music or scores, see the research guide on Music
If you are researching music theatre or related topics, you may find useful resources on our Dance guide

Need more help? Contact me or check out the library's reference services.

Featured Databases

Arts & Humanities Full Text
Explore the areas of art and design, Archaeology, anthropology and classical studies, architecture, urban planning, philosophy, geography and religion, modern languages and literatures, music, theatre, film and cultural studies. and more. Titles include both scholarly peer-reviewed journals and selected trade and consumer titles relevant to applied arts and cultural studies
Communication Source
Communication Source was developed from a merger of high-quality EBSCO databases, Communication and Mass Media Complete and Communication Abstracts (formerly published by Sage), and includes many unique sources not previously available in other databases. Offers abstracts and indexing as well as full-text content from publications worldwide pertaining to communication, linguistics, rhetoric and discourse, speech-language pathology, media studies and related fields.
Film & Television Literature Index with Full Text
The database is designed for use by film scholars, college students, and general viewers. Bbibliographic and full-text database covering the entire spectrum of television and film. Subject coverage includes film & television theory, preservation & restoration, writing, production, cinematography, technical aspects, and reviews.
Humanities Full Text
Encompasses all key fields of the humanities, covering topics including art, classical studies, dance, film, journalism, philosophy, religion and much, much more. Content includes feature articles, interviews, obituaries and original works of fiction, drama, poetry and much more
International Bibliography of Theatre & Dance with full text
International Bibliography of Theatre & Dance with Full Text was initiated by the American Society for Theatre Research, and since 1984, the Theatre Research Data Center (TRDC) at Brooklyn College has published 14 volumes of the IBTD. These volumes comprise a fully indexed, cross-referenced and annotated databank of over 60,000 journal articles, books, book chapters and dissertation abstracts on all aspects of theatre and performance in 126 countries.

Find Film and Theatre on Video

Digital Theatre Plus
Streaming video platform offering stage performances of classic and modern plays and musicals, along with interviews and workshops with playwrights, directors, designers, actors, musicians, and others involved in the playmaking process. Includes behind-the-scenes documentaries as well as teaching and learning resources to facilitate a deeper understanding of the productions and texts.
Kanopy Streaming
Distributes online educational videos including documentaries, films, interviews plus a range of short video series. The videos are arranged by collections: Arts, Business, Communication/Media, Education (K-12), Health, Humanities, Science. Note: SJSU students, staff, and faculty: You will be asked to authenticate on and off campus. Kanopy uses copyright protection and DRM technology to block video streaming over platforms like Zoom. As a result, screen sharing is not permitted for restricted titles—viewers must watch individually, either outside of class or on their own devices during class. When screen sharing via Zoom, only the presenter is authenticated, so others will see a blank screen.
Swank Digital Campus
A streaming video collection of motion pictures, documentaries, and tv shows. Subscribed titles are displayed at the website. Note: Swank uses copyright protection and DRM technology to block video streaming over platforms like Zoom. As a result, screen sharing is not permitted for restricted titles—viewers must watch individually, either outside of class or on their own devices during class. When screen sharing via Zoom, only the presenter is authenticated, so others will see a blank screen.
Theatre in Video
Contains 250+ definitive performances of the world's leading plays, together with 100+ film documentaries, representing hundreds of leading playwrights, actors and directors. With live television broadcasts of New York productions from the 50s, revivals of classic works and experimental performances from the 60s and 70s, as well as important contemporary performances, Theatre in Video covers a wide range of 20th century theatre history.