Chicago Style film Citation – General Format & Examples

Chicago style film citation is a structured system for recognising the use of motion pictures in academic work, aligning with the guidelines provided by the Chicago Style guide. This citation style is relevant for researchers and scholars in film studies, arts, and humanities, among other disciplines. Key characteristics in Chicago style film citation contain the title, director, production company, year of release, and format. Such citation aims to avoid plagiarism, maintain academic integrity, and provide accurate details for readers to locate the original source.

Definition: Chicago style film citation

The Chicago style film citation follows the style used for essays and books. The only addition is the medium type. A writer can cite a portion of a film similarly to a chapter of a book, since DVDs usually have chapter numbers. When formatting a Chicago style film citation in the bibliography style:

• The entry for a film lists the director as the author, with the label ‘director’ after the name.
• In notes, the citation starts with the film title before the director’s name.
• Writers can also use timestamps to point the reader to a specific scene in the film.

Chicago style film citations include the following elements:

Film director(s):

• When citing, start with the last name, followed by the first name.
• For two directors, the last name should begin for the first director, while the second director can be cited starting with the first name (for example, Elton, John, and John Elton).
• The names should also end with ‘dir’ or ‘dirs’ to indicate the role in the film.

film title:
Use the film title as presented in the source.

Place of publication:
Provide the place of publication from the source.

Production company:
Provide the publisher’s full name.

Publication Year:
Give the year of publication from the source.

Chicago style film citation: Physical format

If the film is available in a physical format like Blu-ray and DVD, it is important to address the format in the bibliography or note entry in Chicago style film citation.

Occasionally, the year of the original theatrical release is different from the physical release. Since the bibliography and notes must list both years, it is crucial to list the original theatrical release before the production company. When generating an entry in the bibliography using the Chicago style film citation, follow thiese guidelines below:

Chicago style film citation: Other contributors

Many people contribute to film production, and it may be necessary to include information about other contributors.
You can mention a film actor and discuss their performance or analyse the writer’s themes. According to the Chicago style film citation, the information is optional and only relevant contributors are cited.

Chicago style film citation: Author

In the Chicago Manual of Style, source citation can be done in the notes and bibliography style above or the author-date style (preferred for social sciences). In author-date style, the in-text citations are in brackets, which consist of the director, year of release and timestamp. In the reference entry, the Chicago style  citation follows the same format as the bibliography.

Chicago Author-Date Style: Online

Chicago author-date style: Physical format

Chicago Author-Date Style: Additional Contributors