American Film Institute Catalog
American Film Institute Catalog
http://afi.chadwyck.com.ts.isil.westga.edu/home
Grades: All | Subject(s): American Cinema | Overall rating: 8
I love to watch movies, plays, and musicals, so I was thrilled when I found this directory to review on the Galileo list of Directories. The American Film Institute (AFI) is a privately funded organization established by mandate of President Lyndon B. Johnson to preserve the "legacy of American film heritage, educate the next generation of filmmakers and honor the artists and their work (American Film Institute, 2014)."
The information contained within the site was thorough, well-organized, and interesting; however, with the exception of the home page, no images were used. For this reason, I assigned the AFI Catalog an overall rating of 8.
When I started my review, I simply clicked through the main headings. When you enter the site, users are presented with a quick search option and four main menus: advanced search, AFI's top 10 films, AFI's 100 years lists, and information resources.
The AFI Top 10 webpage lists the top ten films honored by the AFI at their annual awards ceremony. The awards are listed in alphabetical order, and users can click a movie title to learn more about the film. When I was a child, I loved Mary Poppins, so I clicked on the title Saving Mr. Banks. A lengthy (almost too detailed) description of the movie is given along with production information, information about the music used in the film, cast and production credits, and information included in the credits for the film. An option for users to download a citation of the film is given. When I clicked on it, a .txt file opens for users to gather citation information.
I then decided to search for my all-time favorite movie, Top Gun. I'm assuming because of the age of the film, not near as much information is offered by the AFI directory. Users can view production information, a small portion of the production and cast credits, the genre, and some source citations. However, I was disappointed to not find as much information as is offered with more recent films.
The AFI 100 Years list page was really interesting. In 1998, the organization celebrated 100 years of American film by publishing a list of the top 100 American films to date. Since then, the AFI has published a new list every year to recognize a different aspect excellence within the American Film Industry. Some more recent lists include the top movie musicals, the top actors, the top actresses, and the top film scores. Each list is hyperlinked so the user can find more information about each film, actor, etc.
I enjoyed looking through the information on the site; however, I think the contents would be incredibly worthwhile for a school with a strong performing arts or film program. Our school has a broadcast video production department that might find this information useful. It was easy to search and the site catalogs film history from 1893 to now, so I think it could be a helpful resource to someone studying film. However, one might could find the same information (with pictures) at their website (http://www.afi.com) or the Internet Movie Database website or app, so I am not sure I would pay for this service at our library.
Source articles:
American Film Institute. (2014, July 10). Retrieved October 7, 2014, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Film_Institute.
Saving Mr. Banks. (2013). Retrieved October 7, 2014, from
http://gateway.proquest.com.ts.isil.westga.edu/openurl?ctx_ver=Z39.88-
2003&xri:pqil:res_ver=0.2&res_id=xri:afi-us&rft_id=xri:afi:film:69899.
Top Gun. (2013). Retrieved October 7, 2014, from
http://gateway.proquest.com.ts.isil.westga.edu/openurl?ctx_ver=Z39.88-
2003&xri:pqil:res_ver=0.2&res_id=xri:afi-us&rft_id=xri:afi:film:57496.
http://afi.chadwyck.com.ts.isil.westga.edu/home
Grades: All | Subject(s): American Cinema | Overall rating: 8
I love to watch movies, plays, and musicals, so I was thrilled when I found this directory to review on the Galileo list of Directories. The American Film Institute (AFI) is a privately funded organization established by mandate of President Lyndon B. Johnson to preserve the "legacy of American film heritage, educate the next generation of filmmakers and honor the artists and their work (American Film Institute, 2014)."
The information contained within the site was thorough, well-organized, and interesting; however, with the exception of the home page, no images were used. For this reason, I assigned the AFI Catalog an overall rating of 8.
When I started my review, I simply clicked through the main headings. When you enter the site, users are presented with a quick search option and four main menus: advanced search, AFI's top 10 films, AFI's 100 years lists, and information resources.
The AFI Top 10 webpage lists the top ten films honored by the AFI at their annual awards ceremony. The awards are listed in alphabetical order, and users can click a movie title to learn more about the film. When I was a child, I loved Mary Poppins, so I clicked on the title Saving Mr. Banks. A lengthy (almost too detailed) description of the movie is given along with production information, information about the music used in the film, cast and production credits, and information included in the credits for the film. An option for users to download a citation of the film is given. When I clicked on it, a .txt file opens for users to gather citation information.
I then decided to search for my all-time favorite movie, Top Gun. I'm assuming because of the age of the film, not near as much information is offered by the AFI directory. Users can view production information, a small portion of the production and cast credits, the genre, and some source citations. However, I was disappointed to not find as much information as is offered with more recent films.
The AFI 100 Years list page was really interesting. In 1998, the organization celebrated 100 years of American film by publishing a list of the top 100 American films to date. Since then, the AFI has published a new list every year to recognize a different aspect excellence within the American Film Industry. Some more recent lists include the top movie musicals, the top actors, the top actresses, and the top film scores. Each list is hyperlinked so the user can find more information about each film, actor, etc.
I enjoyed looking through the information on the site; however, I think the contents would be incredibly worthwhile for a school with a strong performing arts or film program. Our school has a broadcast video production department that might find this information useful. It was easy to search and the site catalogs film history from 1893 to now, so I think it could be a helpful resource to someone studying film. However, one might could find the same information (with pictures) at their website (http://www.afi.com) or the Internet Movie Database website or app, so I am not sure I would pay for this service at our library.
Source articles:
American Film Institute. (2014, July 10). Retrieved October 7, 2014, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Film_Institute.
Saving Mr. Banks. (2013). Retrieved October 7, 2014, from
http://gateway.proquest.com.ts.isil.westga.edu/openurl?ctx_ver=Z39.88-
2003&xri:pqil:res_ver=0.2&res_id=xri:afi-us&rft_id=xri:afi:film:69899.
Top Gun. (2013). Retrieved October 7, 2014, from
http://gateway.proquest.com.ts.isil.westga.edu/openurl?ctx_ver=Z39.88-
2003&xri:pqil:res_ver=0.2&res_id=xri:afi-us&rft_id=xri:afi:film:57496.