when quoting a movie in an essay

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APA Style (7th Edition) Citation Guide: Films/Videos/TV Shows

• Introduction
• Journal Articles
• Magazine/Newspaper Articles
• Books & Ebooks
• Government & Legal Documents
• Biblical Sources
• Secondary Sources
• Films/Videos/TV Shows
• How to Cite: Other
• Additional Help

Table of Contents

Film or Video

Streaming Video From a Website (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.)

Streaming video from a subscription media website (netflix, amazon prime, hulu, etc.), streaming video from a library database, television series episode.

Note: All citations should be double spaced and have a hanging indent in a Reference List.

A "hanging indent" means that each subsequent line after the first line of your citation should be indented by 0.5 inches.

This Microsoft support page contains instructions about how to format a hanging indent in a paper.

Who to Credit - Film or Video

The director should be credited as the author of a film. If the director is unknown, someone in a similar role, such as a producer and/or writer, can be credited. To clarify what role the person has in the production, their job title such as Director is put after their name in round brackets if the job title is known.

Who to Credit - Streaming Video from a Website

For videos from websites such as YouTube or Vimeo, credit the person who posted the content. If a real name is provided, use that followed by the person's user name in square brackets. If the real name of the person who posted the content is not known, just use their user name without brackets.

Note : It is not necessary to specify how you watched a film or video (e.g. motion picture, DVD, streaming online). 

In the Body of a Paper

Books, Journals, Reports, Webpages, etc.: When you refer to titles of a “stand-alone work,” as the APA calls them on their APA Style website, such as books, journals, reports, and webpages, you should italicize them. Capitalize words as you would for an article title in a reference, e.g., In the book Crying in H Mart: A memoir , author Michelle Zauner (2021) describes her biracial origin and its impact on her identity.

Article or Chapter: When you refer to the title of a part of a work, such as an article or a chapter, put quotation marks around the title and capitalize it as you would for a journal title in a reference, e.g., In the chapter “Where’s the Wine,” Zauner (2021) describes how she decided to become a musician.

The APA Sample Paper below has more information about formatting your paper.

• APA 7th ed. Sample Paper

Film or Video

When the Director, Producer and/or Writer is known:

Director/Producer/Writer's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if given. (Job Title). (Year film was produced).  Title of film: Subtitle if any  [Film]. Production Company.

Note: If not produced in the United States, list the city name and the country.

Hallam, J. (Producer, Writer), & Lam, K. (Producer, Director). (2010).  Staff relations in healthcare: Working as a team  [Film]. Insight Media.

• When you have more than one producer, writer and/or writer to credit, separate the names with a comma and put an ampersand (&) before the last person's last name.
• Serling, R. (Executive Producer). (1959–1964). The twilight zone [TV series]. Cayuga Productions; CBS Productions.

In-Text Paraphrase:

(Producer/Director/Writer's Last Name, Year)

Example: (Hallam & Lam, 2010)

Note: This example has two people to credit, so both last names are given)

In-Text Quote:

(Producer/Director/Writer's Last Name, Year, Timestamp)

Example: (Hallam & Lam, 2010, 2:30)

Note: Because the timestamp serves the same purpose in a video as page numbers, paragraph numbers or section headings, you include it in the in-text citation. Include only the beginning timestamp.

When the Director, Producer and/or Writer is not known:  Start the citation with the film title.

Title of film: Subtitle if any  [Film]. (Year film was produced). Production Company if Known.

Era of viruses  [Film]. (2006). Films for the Humanities and Sciences.

( Title of Film , Year)

Example: ( Era of Viruses , 2006)

Note: Italicize the title of the film and capitalize the words for the in-text citation.

( Title of Film , Year, Timestamp)

Example: ( Era of Viruses , 2006, 40:00)

When the Poster's Name is known: 

Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial. of person who posted the video if known. [User name that posted the video]. (Year video was posted, Month Day).  Title of video  [Video]. Website Name. URL

Note: According to APA, for citing purposes the person who posted the video is credited as the author.

Nye, B. [TheRealBillNye]. (2009, April 8).  Bill Nye the science guy on energy  [Video]. YouTube. http://youtu.be/0ASLLiuejAo

(Creator's Last Name, Year)

Example: (Nye, 2009)

(Creator's Last Name, Year, timestamp)

Example: (Nye, 2009, 0:55)

When the Poster's Name is not known: 

User name that posted the video. (Year video was posted, Month Day).  Title of video  [Video]. Website Name. URL

All Aces Media. (2012, January 19).  Often awesome the series  [Video]. Vimeo. http://vimeo.com/35311255

(User name, Year)

Example: (All Aces Media, 2012)

Example: (All Aces Media, 2012, timestamp)

Producer's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Producer). (Year of Publication).  Title of Video  [Video]. Website Name. URL

Note:  When you have one producer (Producer) is used after the producer's name. If you have more than one producer use (Producers) instead.

Allen, T., et. al. (Producers). (2017). The story of Diana  [Video]. Netflix. http://www.netflix.com

(Producer Last name, Year)

Example: (Allen, et. al., 2017)

(Producer Last name, Year, Timestamp)

Example: (Allen, et. al., 2017, 6:45)

Name of Company/Organization that Provided Content or Creator's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial. if known. (Year video was created, Month Day if known).  Title of video  [Video]. Database Name.

National Film Board of Canada. (2014).  Making movie history: The women  [Video]. NFB Campus. 

(Name of Company/Organization, Year)

Example: (National Film Board of Canada, 2014)

(Name of Company/Organization, Year, Timestamp)

Writer, Producer and/or Director's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if given. (Job Title) if known. (Year the episode was originally aired). Title of episode (Season No., Episode No.) [TV series episode]. In Executive Producer's First Initial. Last Name (Executive producer) if known,  Television series name . Production Company.

Note: For other countries, list the city name and the country.

Young, R. (Writer, Producer, Director). (2010). Flying cheap (Season 2010, Episode 2) [TV series episode]. In  Frontline . American University School of Communication's Investigative Reporting Workshop.

(Writer, Producer and/or Director's Last Name, Year)

Example: (Young, 2010)

(Writer, Producer and/or Director's Last Name, Year, Timestamp)

Example: (Young, 2010, 15:38)

Television Series Episode Viewed on a Subscription Media Website 

Writer, Producer and/or Director's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if given. (Job Title) if known. (Year the episode was originally aired). Title of episode (Season No., Episode No.) [TV series episode]. In Executive Producer's First Initial. Last Name (Executive producer) if known,  Television series name . Streaming Video Site. URL

Attenborough, D. (Writer). (2001). Ocean world (Season 1, Episode 1) [TV series episode]. In A. Fothergill (Executive producer),  Blue planet: A natural history of the oceans . Netflix. http://www.netflix.com

Example: (Attenborough, 2001)

 (Writer, Producer and/or Director's Last Name, Year, Timestamp)

Example: (Attenborough, 2001, 10:12)

• << Previous: Secondary Sources
• Next: How to Cite: Other >>
• Last Updated: Apr 30, 2024 1:29 PM
• URL: https://libguides.up.edu/apa

How do I create an in-text citation for a film?

Note: This post relates to content in the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook . For up-to-date guidance, see the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

The in-text citation for a film should key to a works-cited-list entry. If you list a film under its title, you must refer to the title in your writing or cite it parenthetically:

Point of No Return , a remake of Nikita , deviates from the original French movie in several ways. Luc Besson ( Nikita ) and John Badham ( Point ) approach the figure of the femme fatale differently in their films. Works Cited Nikita. Directed by Luc Besson, Gaumont / Les Films du Loup, 1990. Point of No Return . Directed by John Badham, Warner Bros., 1993.

If you list a film under the director’s name, you must discuss or cite the director:

Luc Besson and John Badham approach the figure of the femme fatale differently in their films. Point of No Return (Badham), a remake of  Nikita (Besson), deviates from the original French movie in several ways. Works Cited Badham, John, director. Point of No Return.  Warner Bros., 1993. Besson, Luc, director. Nikita . Gaumont / Les Films du Loup, 1990.

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How to Cite a Movie in an Essay: MLA, APA, Harvard, Chicago

November 16, 2023

It is crucial to cite a movie in an essay to give credit to the original creators and sources of information. Just like any other form of media, movies are considered intellectual property, and their use in academic writing requires proper acknowledgment. Citing a movie not only demonstrates academic integrity but also allows readers to access the referenced material for further research. Additionally, citing movies helps to avoid plagiarism and provides a solid foundation for the arguments and claims presented in the essay. By acknowledging the source, it shows that the writer has conducted thorough research and is presenting information from reliable sources. Citing movies also adds credibility and allows readers to verify the information presented. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the correct methods of citing movies to enhance the overall quality and academic value of the essay.

MLA format for citing a movie in an essay

In MLA format, citing a movie in an essay follows a specific set of guidelines. Here’s how to do it:

• Title of the Movie: Start the citation with the title of the movie, in italics or underlined.
• Director’s Name: Include the full name of the director, followed by a comma.
• Performers’ Names: If relevant, you can include the names of performers in the movie, preceded by the abbreviation “perf.” and followed by a comma.
• Distributor: Add the name of the movie’s distributor, followed by a comma.
• Release Year: Include the release year of the movie, followed by a period.

Example citation in MLA format:

Title of the Movie. Directed by Director’s Name, performances by Performers’ Names, Distributor, Release Year.

For instance:

“The Shawshank Redemption.” Directed by Frank Darabont, performances by Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman, Warner Bros., 1994.

It is important to note that if you are referring to the movie within the body of your essay, you should include the title of the movie in italics or underlined, and the in-text citation should be placed in parentheses after the movie title with just the last name of the director and the page number, if applicable, like this: (Darabont 46). Remember to also include a corresponding entry in your bibliography or works cited page at the end of your essay.

By following these guidelines, you can accurately and properly cite a movie in your essay using MLA format.

APA format for citing a movie

In APA format, citing a movie in an essay involves a specific format that ensures clarity and consistency. Here’s how to cite a movie in APA style:

• Producer(s) and Director(s): Start with the last name and initials of the producer(s) and director(s), separated by a comma and an ampersand (&).
• Year of Release: Include the year in parentheses immediately following the names of the director(s) and producer(s).
• Title of the Movie: Capitalize the first letter of each significant word in the title, as well as any subtitles. Italicize the title.
• Country of Origin: Provide the country where the movie was produced.
• Production Company: Include the name of the production company that released the movie.

Example citation in APA format:

Director Last Name, Initial(s) (Director), & Producer Last Name, Initial(s). (Year). Title of the Movie [Motion picture]. Country of Origin: Production Company.

Darabont, F. (Director), & Niki, M. (Producer). (1994). The Shawshank Redemption [Motion picture]. United States: Warner Bros.

Remember to include an in-text citation after mentioning the movie title within the body of your essay. This entails placing the last name of the director and the year of release in parentheses, like this: (Darabont, 1994). In the reference list or bibliography at the end of your essay, ensure you provide a full citation for the movie.

By following these guidelines, you can accurately and properly cite a movie in your essay using APA format.

How to Reference a Movie in Harvard Style

In Harvard referencing style, citing a movie in an essay follows a specific format to ensure consistency and proper attribution. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to cite a movie using Harvard style:

• Director(s) and Producer(s): Start with the last name(s) and initials of the director(s) and producer(s), separated by a comma.
• Year of Release: Include the year of release in parentheses immediately after the names.
• [Motion picture]: Include this phrase in square brackets.

Example citation in Harvard format:

Director Last Name, Initial(s), & Producer Last Name, Initial(s). (Year of Release). Title of the Movie [Motion picture]. Country of Origin: Production Company.

Darabont, F., & Niki, M. (1994). The Shawshank Redemption [Motion picture]. United States: Warner Bros.

When citing a movie within your essay, include the director’s last name and the year of release in parentheses, like this: (Darabont, 1994). Additionally, make sure to list the full citation in your reference list or bibliography at the end of your essay.

By following these guidelines, you can accurately cite a movie in your essay using Harvard format. Don’t forget to consult the official Harvard referencing style guide for any additional specific requirements.

How to Cite a Movie in Chicago/Turabian Format

In Chicago/Turabian format, citing a movie in an essay requires adherence to specific guidelines to ensure accurate referencing. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to cite a movie using Chicago/Turabian style:

• Director(s) and Producer(s): Start with the director(s)’s full name, followed by a “dir.” For the producer(s), use “prod.” Include their names in the order they appear in the movie’s credits.
• Title of the Movie: Capitalize the first letter of each significant word in the title, as well as any subtitles. Italicize the title or use quotation marks, depending on the format used in the original source.
• Directed by, Produced by, or Director(s) and Producer(s): Indicate the directors and producers’ roles using appropriate abbreviations.

Example citation in Chicago/Turabian format:

Director(s) Last Name, First Name(s), dir. Producer(s) Last Name, First Name(s), prod. Year of Release. Title of the Movie. Directed by, Produced by, or Director(s) and Producer(s). Country of Origin: Production Company.

For example:

Darabont, Frank, dir. Niki, Mark, prod. 1994. The Shawshank Redemption. Directed by Frank Darabont, Produced by Mark Niki. United States: Warner Bros.

When citing the movie within your essay, include the director’s(s)’s last name and the year of release in parentheses, like this: (Darabont 1994). Additionally, make sure to list the full citation in your bibliography or reference list at the end of your essay.

By following these guidelines, you can accurately cite a movie in your essay using Chicago/Turabian format. However, it’s important to consult the official Chicago/Turabian style guide for any additional specific requirements.

Using in-text citations for movie references

When citing a movie in an essay, it is crucial to use in-text citations to provide proper attribution and support your statements or arguments. Here’s how to incorporate in-text citations for movie references in your essay:

• Direct Quotes: When directly quoting a line or dialogue from a movie, enclose the quote in quotation marks and include the last name of the director and the year of release in parentheses. For example: “I’m going to make him an offer he can’t refuse” (Coppola, 1972).
• Paraphrasing: If you’re paraphrasing a scene or summarizing the movie, mention the director’s last name and the year of release in parentheses at the end of the sentence. For example: The gripping prison escape in “The Shawshank Redemption” (Darabont, 1994) captivated audiences worldwide.
• Referring to a Movie: If you’re referring to a specific movie without including a direct quote or paraphrase, mention the movie’s title in italics and the director’s last name and the year of release in parentheses. For example: The visual effects in “Inception” (Nolan, 2010) were groundbreaking.

Remember to keep your in-text citations concise and clear, providing enough information for readers to locate the full citation in your reference list. Properly citing a movie within your essay not only acknowledges the original source but also adds credibility to your work.

Creating a Reference List for Movies in the Bibliography

When citing a movie in an essay, it is essential to include a comprehensive reference list or bibliography to provide complete details for your sources. Here’s a guide on how to create a reference list for movies in the bibliography using the appropriate format:

• Start the reference list on a new page titled “References” or “Bibliography.”
• Arrange the entries in alphabetical order based on the last name of the movie’s director.
• Include the following information for each movie entry:
• Director(s) and Producer(s): Start with the last name(s) and initial(s) of the director(s) and producer(s). Use a comma to separate multiple directors or producers. End with a period.
• Year of Release: Enclose the year of release in parentheses. End with a period.
• Title of the Movie: Capitalize the first letter of each significant word in the title and any subtitles. Italicize the title.
• Format: Specify the format of the movie, such as “Motion picture” or “Film.”
• Country of Origin: Mention the country where the movie was produced. End with a colon.
• Production Company: Include the name of the production company that released the movie. End with a period.

Example reference list entry for a movie:

Darabont, F. & Niki, M. (1994). The Shawshank Redemption. [Motion picture]. United States: Warner Bros.

Ensure that each entry is formatted consistently throughout the bibliography. If there are multiple movies by the same director, list them in chronological order, starting with the earliest release.

By following these guidelines, you can create an accurate and well-organized reference list for movies in the bibliography section of your essay. Remember to consult the appropriate style guide for any specific requirements or variations.

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Home / Guides / Citation Guides / APA Format / How to Cite a Movie in APA

How to Cite a Movie in APA

Movies are a great source of information for many different types of papers. In this guide, you will learn how to write citations for various types of movies using APA 7th edition format.

Guide Overview

In this guide, you will find the following information:

Citing a movie

Citing a movie in another language, troubleshooting.

It doesn’t matter how you watched the movie (e.g., DVD, on a streaming service, in the theater, etc.), you cite all movies the same way as shown below.

APA movie citation structure:

Director Last Name, F.M. (Director). (Release Year). Title of motion picture [Film]. Studio.

Note:  If you cannot locate certain bibliographic data from the film’s cover, consult IMDB.com or a similar website.

APA movie citation example:

Ayoade, R. (Director). (2011). Submarine [Film]. Film4 Productions.

In-text citations for movies

Parenthetical citation: (Ayoade, 2011)

Narrative citations: Ayoade (2011)

Note: If no director cannot be identified, someone in a similar role can be credited in the director’s place as the author. 

When a film is in another language, simply include the translation in brackets after its original title. If the film’s title is in a language that does not use the Roman alphabet, transliterate the title.

Last name, F. M. (Director). (Year of release). Original title in sentence case  [Translated in title case] [Film]. Studio.

Derbez, E. (Director). (2013). No se aceptan devoluciones [Instructions not included] [Film]. Pantelion Films.

Structure: (Last name, date, timestamp [hour: minute: second])

Parenthetical citation: (Derbez, 2013, 1:15:38)

Narrative citations: Derbez (2013, 1:15:38)

Solution #1: Specifying editions of a movie

While you do not need to specify how you watched a movie, it is sometimes necessary to include the version or edition of the film in brackets next to the word “Film.”

Structure & Example:

Director Last Name, F. M. (Director). (Release Year). Title of motion picture [Film; Edition description]. Studio.

Lucas, G. (Director). (1983). Star wars episode V: The empire strikes back [Film; widescreen 2-disc special edition]. 20th Century Fox.

APA Formatting Guide

APA Formatting

• Annotated Bibliography
• Block Quotes
• et al Usage
• In-text Citations
• Multiple Authors
• Paraphrasing
• Page Numbers
• Parenthetical Citations
• Reference Page
• Sample Paper
• APA 7 Updates
• View APA Guide

Citation Examples

• Book Chapter
• Journal Article
• Magazine Article
• Newspaper Article
• Website (no author)
• View all APA Examples

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To cite a movie or film in APA style, it is important that you know some basic information such as the director’s name, the year, the full movie title, and the production company’s name. The templates for in-text citations and a reference list entry of a movie or film and their examples are given below:

In-text citation template and example:

Director Surname (Year)

Joon-ho (2006)

Parenthetical:

(Director Surname, Year)

(Joon-ho, 2006)

Reference list entry template and example:

Surname name, F. M. (Director). (Year). Movie title [Film]. Production Company.

Joon-ho, B. (Director). (2006). The host [Film]. Chungeorahm Film Sego Entertainment.

To cite a movie in APA style on your reference page, it is important that you know the name of the director, release date of the movie, title of the movie, and name of the production company.

In the in-text citation, use the movie director’s surname along with the release date. If you are including a direct quote, you should also include the time stamp for the beginning of the quotation. Templates and examples for the in-text citation of a movie are given below.

Director’s Surname (release date)

Stephenson (1999)

(Director’s Surname, release date)

(Stephenson, 1999)

With a Direct Quote:

“Quote” (Director’s Surname, release date, time stamp)

“I can work harder” (Stephenson, 1999, 1:05:42).

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How to Cite a Movie: MLA, APA, and Chicago Style

• Posted on January 28, 2022

Writing a research paper doesn’t mean limiting your sources to books and articles. You might use a movie, and if you do, you need to know how to cite it properly. Since there are different citation guides , you must follow the directions specific to your paper style.

The most popular formats are MLA style, APA format, and Chicago style. Each style guide has unique, yet very specific guidelines for spacing, punctuation, italics, and more.

Creating a movie citation for a motion picture you’re referencing protects you against plagiarism. When you’re using other people’s ideas or words, you have to credit them in your work. Otherwise, it looks like you’re passing the information off as your own. If you write anything that isn’t an original idea, you need to credit the person who said it first or you are plagiarizing.

Referencing a movie in your paper can take many different forms. You might mention the film in passing. You might compare it to other films or works of literature. You could also dedicate a whole paper to discussing one specific movie and its impact on popular culture.

You can quote lines from films in your paper just as you’d quote a researcher. Put the sentence in quotation marks and include an in-text citation. You’ll find out how to do that when you learn how to cite a movie in MLA, APA, and Chicago Style.

Common Movie Citation Formats

To cite a motion picture, you’ll need some basic information. Having these details on hand will help whether you’re using MLA, APA, or Chicago style for the film citation. All citation guides require information like:

• Title of the movie
• Name of the director
• Production company
• Film distributor
• Year of release

There are certain instances to use each format, so below are citation examples for MLA style, APA style, and Chicago style.

The  Modern Language Association  created MLA style. The handbook has undergone many changes over the years and is now in its ninth edition. It’s updated as technology and research change. The original handbook had information about citing books and papers, yet the modern edition tells you how to cite song lyrics, social media posts, and more.

You’re likely to use MLA style when writing papers for the humanities, such as language arts or cultural studies. Writing a film critique or using movies to comment on society falls under the humanities umbrella, and you are likely to use MLA style for such projects.

MLA Style Movie Citations

Citing a movie in MLA style is very similar to citing other sources. Start with the movie title in italics, then identify the director or directors. You can list a few stars if you mention them in your paper. This level of detail helps readers find the exact citation in your MLA Works Cited page.

Most of the punctuation in a movie citation using MLA format is a comma. This punctuation differs from other MLA citations that use a lot of periods or put information in parenthesis. Here is an example of a movie formatted for an MLA citation:

Movie. Directed by Bob Action, performances by Ima Star, Big Name, and Too Famous, Movie Studios, 2020.

It’s a straightforward process with room to specify what version you’re referencing if there are multiple versions of the film. In that case, you would add the version after the director’s name. For example:

Movie. Directed by Bob Action, extended version, Movie Studios, 2020.

If you watched the movie on a streaming service, you should indicate that information. Just as when you’re citing journal articles found online with a URL or DOI, the streaming service helps the reader find the exact film.

Most streaming services upload the regular version of the movie, but including this detail erases all doubt.  Netflix  and other streaming services change up their inventory periodically, so cover your bases by including the date you watched the movie. Otherwise, a reader might think you’re making up information because the film isn’t currently available through the service.

Maybe the service censored the line you quoted, and people who own the DVD know the real language. They might think you got the information wrong in your paper. When they go to your reference page, they’ll see where you accessed the movie and understand how your experience could differ. Here is an example of a movie formatted for an MLA citation if it was on a streaming service:

Movie. Directed by Bob Action, Movie Studios, 2020. Netflix, 13 May 2021.

You can also cite movies you watched on  YouTube . The format is similar to that of a streaming service, except you include the name of the user who uploaded the film and the specific URL. For example:

Movie. Directed by Bob Action, Movie Studios, 2020. Movie. Directed by Bob Action, performances by Ima Star, Big Name, and Too Famous, Movie Studios, 2020. YouTube, uploaded by Film Appreciation Community, 13 May 2021, http://www.youtube.com/specificvideo .

When you compile your works cited list, you’ll put the movie citation in alphabetical order according to the movie title.

MLA Style In-text Citations

You need to include an in-text citation whenever you mention the film in your paper. If you paraphrase anything from the movie, you need to show the reader what you’re referencing. Text citations are easy to figure out once you have the reference completed for your works cited page.

Use parentheses to signal that you’re citing a source in the body of your paper. After the opening parenthesis, put the movie title in italics. For example:

However, there are other times when you’ll need in-text citations. If you use a direct quote from the movie, close the quotation marks of the passage, and include the text citation before the ending punctuation. This citation will include the title of the movie and the timestamp of when the character speaks the specific line. You still put the movie title in italics inside of the parenthesis. Follow the title with the timestamp and duration of the line using a semicolon to show the time. For example:

(Movie 15:10-35)

If the quote goes beyond one minute, clarify the time range with more details, such as:

(Movie 15:10-16:07)

You can also mention the movie title in your text using general context without needing an in-text citation. For example:

In Movie, the viewer goes on a wild adventure that spans just two hours.

If you mention a specific part of the movie, you’ll need to add an in-text citation with the time stamp. For example:

In Movie, the viewer first visits the graveyard at night (1:03-50).

If the movie title is long, you can shorten it to the first few words, so your in-text citations are concise.

The  American Psychological Association  created the APA style guide. It has detailed parameters for academic and research papers. You use the APA format when working in the social sciences, like psychology, sociology, economics, and related fields.

APA Style Movie Citations

While a movie citation in MLA style is very basic, there is more specific formatting for an APA citation. Instead of starting with the movie title, you list the director starting with the last name, then the first initial. Specify that the person is the director in parentheses. Documentaries would have a producer instead of a director, so you’d use that job title instead.

Next, you put the year the company produced the movie, then the title. In square brackets, specify that it’s a film because TV shows use a similar style, and last is the name of the production company. Here is an example of a movie formatted for an APA citation:

Action, B. (Director). (2020). Movie [Film]. Movie Studios.

You might refer to the special features included on a DVD version of the film, so you’ll add this information to your citation. For example:

Action, B. (Director). (2020). Movie [Film; DVD release]. Movie Studios.

If you watched the film on a streaming service, the citation includes those details as well. For example:

Action, B. (Director). (2020). Movie [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.netflix.com

When you compile your reference list, you’ll put the movie citation in alphabetical order according to the director’s last name.

APA Style In-text Citations

In-text citations for APA format are similar to those of MLA style. As always, you use parentheses to offset the information from the body of your paper and the citation goes inside of the ending punctuation of a sentence.

While MLA uses the movie title, APA calls for the director’s last name and the year of the movie. For example:

(Action, 2020)

If you’re quoting the film or mentioning a specific scene, include the timestamp after the director’s name and year. For example:

(Action, 2020, 0:15:10)

Chicago Style

The University of Chicago created  Chicago Style  for use in the humanities, sciences, and social sciences. This format differs from both MLA and APA by having a bibliography instead of works cited or reference pages. Some papers using Chicago Style ask for you to create endnotes as well.

Chicago Style Movie Citations

Chicago Style has two options: author-date or notes-bibliography. Your professor will tell you what to use for a student paper. If you’re writing an article to submit to a journal, the submission guidelines will clarify which format you need to use.

The author-date format is similar to APA citations. You start with the director’s last name, then their first name, then the job title of the director. This detail is to clarify the person’s role in the movie because a documentary would have a producer instead of a director.

Next is the year the production company released the movie, followed by the movie’s title in italics. Check out this citation example to see how similar it is to APA format:

Action, Bob, director. 2020. Movie. Movie Studios.

If you watched the movie online, you would add the streaming service and direct URL to the movie. Here is an example:

Action, Bob, director. 2020. Movie. Netflix. http://www.netflix.com/movieaddress

If you’re using the notes-bibliography style instead of author-date, you need all the same information but the order is different. Here is an example:

Action, Bob, director. Movie. Movie Studios, 2020.

If you watched the movie online through a streaming service, you add that information in slightly different places as well. For example:

Action, Bob, director. Movie. Netflix, 2020. http://www.netflix.com/movieaddress

Chicago Style In-text Citations

The author-date in-text citation format is also similar to APA’s text citation, without a comma. In Chicago Style, an author-date in-text citation example is:

(Action 2020)

If you’re referencing a specific quote or scene, you’d include the timestamp of the duration. Instead of using a dash like in MLA format, you write the word “to.” Here is an example:

(Action 2020 0:15:10 to 0:15:35)

The in-text citations for author-date style are the same whether you watched the movie on DVD or on Netflix. The reader can find that information when they look for the citation in your bibliography.

When you’re using the notes-bibliography style, in-text citations are understandably different. You number the note and include all the information from the bibliography citation for the first note. Later, you can use a shortened note to reference each movie version because you’ve already given the entire information in the first note.

Considerations for Citing Movies

Citing a movie isn’t too different from citing a book across various style guides, but you must pay attention to the details. Streaming services like Netflix and Hulu  changed the TV industry . It’s very simple to access movies and TV series you might not find otherwise.

When you watch movies online, make sure to cite if it came from Netflix or if it’s a YouTube video. While this article focused on movie citations, there are also differences when citing a TV show or podcast.

Easy Ways to Cite a Movie

Once you learn the basic information needed for a citation, it’s relatively simple to follow the specific formats for MLA, APA, or Chicago Style.

Doing large amounts of research can make it hard to focus on your references. Using the  Quetext citation generator  simplifies the process for you. Whether you’re working on an academic paper, a professional article, or checking your students’ work, Quetext helps with the citations while also checking for any sign of plagiarism.

Take out the stress and confusion of punctuation and parentheses, and let Quetext do the work for you.

Sign Up for Quetext Today!

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Everything You Need to Know about How to Quote a Movie in Academic Writing

Updated 19 Jun 2024

It is clear that our intentions of putting a quote in an essay may differ. Even though most research papers focus on print or online sources, a lot of modern university courses implement audiovisual materials for their research. Regardless if you are writing a movie review essay or want to include a short movie in an Engineering presentation, knowing how to quote a movie is essential. It is especially relevant in Arts, Engineering, Programming, Sound Recording, and 3D Design degrees. Since such type of citing mostly deals with knowledge regarding print sources or using various YouTube videos for short presentation projects, college students get vulnerable to plagiarism risks by simply inserting some quote or referencing their source without due credibility. After all, working with any research paper requires relevant citing where every claim is always backed up with a reference.

Types of Citations in Academic Writing

The most challenging part about how to quote a film is knowing what has to be included and what are the differences between academic writing formats. A reason for this confusion might be publisher information depending on if it is a Youtube or DVD source. As most universities request APA, MLA, or Chicago academic format, which is close to Turabian style, yet represents separate formatting, it becomes essential. The most popular is classic MLA format, which is why college students always ask about how to cite a movie quote MLA way. While no citing format is easier or more complex, MLA can be told apart by using in-text citations and Works Cited for Bibliography reference. The APA format will have a References word on the final page. Now Chicago format differs because of its use of footnotes, endnotes, and Bibliography in a particular styling.

In simple terms, you will use two general citation types, which are essential in knowing how to cite a movie in an essay, both in text and Bibliography. The in-text citation will contain your relevant quote itself with a brief reference to an existing source, so it can be found at the end of your paper. Any mistake made through the text will reflect in your Bibliography page as well if the numbering or contributors list is incorrect.

Generate Citations Automatically

Correct audiovisual citation by style with examples.

• MLA Citation Guidelines

Let’s start with how to cite a movie MLA 8 format before moving on to the other audiovisual citations.

If some movie quote is taken as verbatim, the quotation marks are necessary. Here is how to quote when you include a direct phrase:

      "May the Force be with you." (Star Wars)

Now there is a Works Cited page (Bibliography) where you have to include directors, studio, and the year where it was filmed if required by formatting. Our example becomes this:

      Lucas, George, dir. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Twentieth Century Fox, 1977. Film.

As we can see, you have to list films (if it is in theaters) by their title, including the director's name, movie studio where it was filmed, or distributed, ending up with mentioning film release year.

Now that we have learned how to quote a movie in an essay MLA style, we will continue with audio recording citing. For example:

     “ The spectral analysis made in Icelandic caves has been higher in the low frequencies, compared to what the North American explorations have shown. ” (Wilders).

There is no need to specify production year, if it is unavailable, mentioning the author of relevant recording is sufficient.

Now our Works Cited page requires the full name of your performer or a band, followed by relevant content title, year, release year, and studio's name.

For example:

      Wilson, Steven. The Raven That Refused to Sing. 2013. Kscope Music Records, 2013. CD.

When you require MLA in-text citation for some radio broadcast, there is no need to place a timestamp as it is done for in-text citation film template. Just mention the quote with the name of your broadcast as done below:

      “ The Cold War became an emotional turmoil for both superpowers, especially the children. ” ("The Cold War Childhood")

Works Cited page citing becomes a bit longer:

      "The Cold War Childhood". Conservative Talk Theater. Seattle KTTH 770. KTTH, Seattle. 13 May 2018. Radio.

Regarding how to cite a movie in text If you have found your source on some website, use the following template:

      Last name, First name of the creator. “Title of the film or video.” Title of the website , role of contributors and their full name or username, Version, Numbers, Publisher, Publication date, URL.

The Youtube video example:

      Talks at Google. “Kelly Jones: Stereophonics Lead Singer in Conversation.” YouTube , May 7, 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4w9TBxKXWYo.

In-text citation example:

      Talks at Google 00:00:04 - 00:00:13)

Now if there is no author listed, in-text citation movie rules require citing a relevant title of your video instead. 

Streaming services or databases use this template:

      Last name, First name of content creator. Title of the film or video . Role of contributors and their First name Last name, Version, Numbers, Publisher, Publication date.  Database name , URL.

If you feel lost in MLA, remember you can always use the MLA citation generator to help you with any kind quote for free.

• APA Formatting examples 

The in-text citation may include relevant movie scenes with a timestamp or a direct quote. It also applies both for fiction films and this formatting explains how to cite a documentary in text if necessary.

Both movies and Netflix documentaries citing follow this example:

      “ My mama always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get .” (Zemeckis, 1994).

The References page will have to include all the people who produced the film with their respective roles, following each other, then placing an obtained release year. Any movie title comes with formatting in square brackets, country of origin, and the studio name.

See this example:

      Finerman, R. (Producer), & Zemeckis, R. (Director). (1994). Forrest Gump. [Motion Picture]. The United States. Paramount Pictures. 

• Audio Recording Citing in APA

For an in-text citation, you have to include the name of the author (speaker), then paraphrase your content, and state the year of a given recording. See here:

      " The majority of praise and worship ceremonies revolve around Biblical scriptures. " (Morley,  2011).

      In a challenging conversation about religious practices, Morley (2011) states that "...(your quote)".

The References page must include the last name of a speaker with relevant initials, mention specific roles in the brackets, then a year, title, and format of our recording in the brackets. Then specify your source, a web page, or a place where the recording can be accessed or downloaded. Follow this example:

      Morley, N. (Speaker). (2011). Modern Religious Practices (CD Recording Vol. 3). Miami, FL: Praise & Worship Library Archives.

• Radio Broadcast Citing in APA

An in-text citation includes broadcast's name in the brackets with the year after your quote:

      " In most cases, mechanical engineers turned to additional education courses to catch up with technology. " (Jones, 2015)

The same rules apply to Podcast recordings, yet you must include a radio station, creator's name, date, and location.

Our Bibliography page goes as follows:

    Jones, K. (Narrator). (2015, February 4). The Mechanical Engineering Versus Machine  Learning [Radio broadcast episode]. In W. Carlton (Producer), Evening Edition. Seattle, WA: KTTH AM 770.

If you have a film or DVD in another language, use this template:

      Director, D. D. (Director). (Date of publication). Title of a motion picture in original  language [Translated title] [Film]. Production company.

Now our in-text citation both for MLA in-text citation movie quote or Youtube video remains the same:

      According to (“Star Wars”, 1975), the characters…

YouTube video has this format:

      Person or group who uploaded a video. (Date of publication). Title of video [Video]. Website host. URL

The Podcast goes as follows: 

     Executive Producer, E. P. (Executive Producer). (Range of publication). Title of podcast  [Audio podcast]. Production company. URL

Once again, you can use a free APA citation generator to simplify the process and save your time.

• Chicago Citing Rules

If you do not know how to cite a quote from a movie in Chicago format, there is no need to fear once you learn some basic rules. Let's start with a motion picture reference rules. Since Chicago makes it possible to use notes, it ends up in three formatting styles. See below:

      First footnote/endnote: August Rush , DVD, directed by Kirsten Sheridan. (2007; Chicago, IL: Warner Bros. Pictures, 2008).

      Subsequent notes: August Rush .

     Bibliography page: August Rush . DVD. Directed by Kirsten Sheridan. 2007; Chicago, IL: Warner Bros. Pictures, 2008.

•  Audio recording

      First footnote/endnote: Nirvana, Nevermind , Geffen Records, 1991, Compact disc.

      Subsequent notes. Nirvana, Nevermind .

      Bibliography page: Nirvana, Nevermind . Geffen Records. 1991. Compact disc.

• Radio recording

   First footnote/endnote: " Tom Sawyer's principles ," Morning Broadcast, Radio Disney (Riverside, CA: Radio Disney, February 7, 2011).

       Subsequent notes. " Tom Sawyer's principles ".

      Bibliography page: " Tom Sawyer's principles. " Morning Broadcast, Radio Disney Riverside, CA: Radio Disney, February 7, 2011.

Chicago format is often considered as the most confusing, which is only partially true. Check out our Chicago style citation website generator to try and fill in available information. This AI system will provide you with examples free of charge, so you can learn how this particular formatting works.

How to Make Sure that My Video Source is Credible?

It may seem easy to find a good reference, yet not all sources are approved by college professors. The most important part is to keep within the basic citing rules that will help you to stay safe.

• Finding the original author or writer's credits.

If you want to include something in a research paper, avoid using blogs or unreliable websites when citing a video because it is not a published paper or a reference that can provide statistical data or clear reasoning. Use Google Scholar or scientific journals that have authors with a decent background. If it is not possible to use anything credible, look for information about the author to find out their expertise level.

• Secondary Source Danger.

If you need a primary source, check similar scientific papers or Bibliography pages to find out whether your information is a secondary or a primary source. Every journal article, including your own paper, will appear as a secondary source unless it is your own argumentation. The primary sources stand for credibility, which is why a movie quote or an audio recording is like a first-hand experience.

• Visit the local library.

If you cannot find a particular video on Youtube or do not have the required information to quote a movie or an audio recording, visit college’s local library as such information is usually listed in the notes. Alternatively, you can ask the college librarian for information, which will help you to cite and specify the source.

• Do not use too much multimedia referencing.

While it is good for some projects to include movie or audio citing, do not overdo it because it will make the paper hard to read and will keep the bias away from your own opinion. Even when you write a non-technical, creative paper, it is still necessary to include some analysis among the videos that only seem natural. It will make your sources fit in a much better way!

How to Make My Essay Perfect?

Citing a movie or any other source is crucial if you want to receive good marks and deliver a credible paper. Considering all existing citation challenges, it is not surprising that even good essays still receive low grades because of minor omissions. Thankfully, there are ways to check your paper before you submit it. A safe approach to get things right is EduBirdie where you can double-check your paper, correct the formatting issues when you need to cite a video, eliminate grammar mistakes, and process your project for plagiarism risks among other things, such as an option to  pay someone to write my research paper . Do not wait any longer because there are safe and affordable ways to receive an excellent essay!

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How to Cite a Movie Using MLA Style

Last Updated: February 17, 2020

This article was co-authored by Christopher Taylor, PhD . Christopher Taylor is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of English at Austin Community College in Texas. He received his PhD in English Literature and Medieval Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014. This article has been viewed 391,068 times.

You might need to use Modern Language Association (MLA) style guidelines if you're writing a paper for your middle, high school, or college-level class. You may also be a graduate student or researcher who uses MLA citations all the time! If you're writing a paper about movies, or you want to include a movie in a research paper on some other topic, you'll need to cite it properly. Making a correctly formatted Works Cited and adding in-text citations to your essays shows your audience that you're not plagiarizing.

Citation Templates

Making the Works Cited

• For now, your citation should just look like: “ Notting Hill .”
• If the title is a translation, include the original title in brackets. For example, “ The Chorus [Les Choristes] .”

• Your citation should now look something like this: “ Notting Hill . Dir. Roger Michell.”

• These citations look like this: “Michell, Roger, dir. Notting Hill .”

• The citation should now look like: “ Notting Hill . Dir. Roger Michell. Perf. Julia Roberts, Hugh Grant, and Richard McCabe.”
• If your paper is about a particular actor, you can begin the citation with their name. This formatting looks like this: “Roberts, Julia, perf. Notting Hill . Dir. Roger Michell.”

• Almost there! Your citation should now look something like this: “ Notting Hill . Dir. Roger Michell. Perf. Julia Roberts, Hugh Grant, and Richard McCabe. Universal Pictures, 1999.”

• If you watched the film online, you can skip to step 8.
• For VHS, type out “videocassette” in your citation. It'll look like this: “ Notting Hill . Dir. Roger Michell. Perf. Julia Roberts, Hugh Grant, and Richard McCabe. Universal Pictures, 1999. Videocassette.”
• If you watched the movie at the theater, you can just type out “Film” for a complete citation! It'll look like this: “ Notting Hill . Dir. Roger Michell. Perf. Julia Roberts, Hugh Grant, and Richard McCabe. Universal Pictures, 1999. Film.”

• If you watched Notting Hill on Blu-Ray, for example, your citation will look like this: “ Notting Hill . Dir. Roger Michell. Perf. Julia Roberts, Hugh Grant, and Richard McCabe. 1999. Universal Pictures, 2013. Blu-Ray.”

• This citation will look something like this: “ Notting Hill . Dir. Roger Michell. Perf. Julia Roberts, Hugh Grant, and Richard McCabe. Universal Pictures, 1999. Netflix . Web. 18 July 2017.”

• Your Works Cited should be on a separate page at the end of the paper, and it should be titled Works Cited. You don't need to put quotation marks around the words Works Cited, or italicize them.
• Make the whole document double-spaced, but don't add extra spaces between citations.

Doing In Text Citations

• For example, “ Notting Hill is a perfect illustration of a typical late 1990s rom-com ( Notting Hill ).”

• “Michell went for a personal touch in his directing for this film (Michell, Notting Hill ).”

• So, for example, “Roberts's classic wide smile made appearances throughout the movie (Roberts, Notting Hill ).”

• Add the timestamp like this: “Roberts lays her heart out on the floor in front of Grant at the end of the film (Roberts, Notting Hill , 02:01:33-02:03:10).”

Expert Q&A

• MLA citation requirements for movies and television are a little more flexible than those for other sources, which is why you're allowed to sometimes start with director or performers' names. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

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• ↑ https://www.american.edu/library/documents/upload/Film-Video-Citation-Guide.pdf
• ↑ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/05/
• ↑ http://libguides.bates.edu/mla

About This Article

Citing a movie using Modern Language Association style is relatively simple once you know how. If you’re discussing the movie in general, write the title in italics and parenthesis at the end of the sentence when you mention it. If you’re discussing a director or actor in the movie, include their surname in the parenthesis before the title. If you’re referencing a specific shot, you should also include a timestamp at the end. In your works cited section, start with the title in italics, then write “Dir.” followed by the director’s full name. Then, include any relevant actors by writing “perf.” followed by their names. After that, write the movie’s distributor, like Universal Pictures, and the release date. Finally, write the format you watched the movie in, like VHS, DVD, or Netflix. If you saw it in the cinema, write “film” instead. For more tips from our Educational co-author, including how to organize your works cited list, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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MLA Film Citation

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Website Book Journal Movie

←Back to MLA Citation Examples

How to cite a film in a bibliography using MLA

The most basic MLA entry for a film citation consists of the movie title, director, production company, and release date. You may also choose to include other contributors, such as the writer(s), performer(s), and producer(s) if they are relevant to your assignment’s discussion. You may also include the film’s original release date if you’re citing a new release or special edition.

Film Title . Directed by First Name Last Name, Production Company, Release Date.

BibMe: The Movie . Directed by John Smith, Columbia Pictures, 2009.

Foreign Language Film with Translated Title:

Begin the film citation entry with the film’s title in italics, followed by a period. If the film is dubbed in English, begin by including the English title, followed by the translated title in square brackets.

BibMe: The Movie [BibMe: La Película ]. Directed by John Smith, Columbia Pictures, 2009.

Cite the director’s name after the movie title by writing “Directed by” with the director’s first and last name in normal order.

Film with Other Contributors:

If relevant, you may also choose to include the names of other key contributors in the author element, including writer(s), performer(s), and/or producer(s). Group different types of personnel together and separate each personnel group by a period. Write these personnel names in normal order – do not reverse the first and last names. Write these additional contributions according to the role of the person or group. For instance, “produced by,” “screenplay by,” or “performance by.” If you can’t describe the role using a phrase with “by,” include the role using a noun or noun phrase. Use commas to separate the name of the person (in normal order) from their role (Larry David, general editor).

BibMe: The Movie . Directed by John Smith, performances by Mike Jones and Jim Jones. Columbia Pictures, 2009.

If you would like to emphasize the contributions of a specific person because you focus on their role or contribution, include their role and name with contributors, not with authors. If you include the author, in the case of film, the director and their name, you style the entry as shown above. However, if you omit the director role and name, you start the film citation as above with the film title, followed by a period, and instead of a director, include the role and name of another contributor. For example, “Performances by Sharon Stone and Meryl Streep. List the film’s distribution company, followed by a comma, the year released, and a period.

BibMe: The Movie . Performances by Sharon Stone and Meryl Streep, Columbia Pictures, 2009.

Film with Alternate Original Release Date:

If the film’s original year of release differs from the year of release for the copy of the film you viewed, include the original year of release after film title, and place the year of release for the copy of the film you viewed after the film’s distribution company at the end of the entry. Usually, when citing a film with an original release date and a new release date, there has been a special update. You may also include details in the version element, such as “Director’s cut” or “Digitally enhanced edition.” Include those details after the original release date.

BibMe: The Movie . 2007. Director’s cut, Columbia, 2009.

Film Viewed on an App or Website:

If you viewed the film on an app or a website, include specific location details if it will help readers locate the specific copy you viewed. Capitalize and italicize the app or site name.

BibMe: The Slide Program . Columbia Pictures, 2009. Netflix app.

BibMe: The Slide Program . Columbia Pictures, 2009. Netflix , www.netflix.com.

If you viewed the film in person in a theater, cite the film without any additional format or location details.

Film Viewed on Physical Media:

If you viewed the film on physical media, such as a DVD, follow the release date with a comma and a disc number, followed by a period. End the entry with “DVD.”

BibMe: The Movie . 2007. Director’s cut, Columbia, 2009, disc 1. DVD.

If there is no disc number, simply include “DVD.”

BibMe: The Movie . 2007. Director’s cut, Columbia, 2009. DVD.

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Do I need to cite a movie if I'm explaining scenes throughout my paper?

Yes, cite any movie you are discussing in your paper.  

• If using exact lines from the film, treat these in-text as a quotation.
• If explaining what happened in the movie or other ideas from the film (in other words, paraphrasing), then this is an in-text paraphrase.
• See below for examples of in-text quotations and in-text paraphrases.

Visit the APA Help guide to see an example.

• Click on References and In-text Citation Examples
• Select Other and see Film/TV .

Film / Motion Picture

Richter, J. (Producer), & Hausmann, J. (Director). (1985).  Cezanne: The man and the mountain  [Motion picture]. United States: Home Vision.

In-text Paraphrase : (Richter & Hausmann, 1985).  Quotation : (Richter & Hausmann, 1985, Timestamp)

Thank you for using ASK US. For more information, contact your  Campus Library/ARC .

• Last Updated Oct 17, 2019
• Views 65351
• Answered By Baker Librarians

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Comments (2)

• What if the purpose of the paper is to analyze the movie? If I'm explaining scenes from the movie for most of the paper, do I need to have an in-text citation on almost every sentence? by Kevin on Jul 31, 2019
• If you are paraphrasing a few different sentences in the same paragraph, but they are not all in a row or together, you would have to cite after each sentence. You may also want to take a look at the following ASK US question/answer (http://askus.baker.edu/a.php?qid=1177498). It deals with whether one citation should be used at the end of a multiple sentence paragraph or after every sentence. If you are concerned about citing a lot from the same source, you may want to take a look at Section 6.11 One Work by One Author (p. 174) of the APA Manual, 6th edition. It provides examples where author's name appears multiple times in a single paragraph. The fact that there is a rule suggests that, even though it may seem like it is excessive, it is still necessary to have the in-text citations. by Kelly Bayee on Aug 02, 2019

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Extras/Film: How To Cite A Movie In an Essay

by Aveline MacQuoid on September 28, 2022

in Extras , Film

How To Cite A Movie In an Essay

Films tend to be rich material for writing an article. Even if your assignment isn’t devoted to a film or TV show, you can cite a movie to make your document more vivid. The movie is an artistic piece that is so well-loved among the public, foremost thanks to the comprehensive material they cover. Mentioning them brings extra information into a research paper. 

Many students have difficulty referring to a film. No wonder, as this kind of reference requires setting a specific format. Let’s explore the inherent features of movie citation for not anymore to avoid mentioning a film in your papers.

Why To Cite a Movie

What is actually a citation? What do we mean when talking about it? A citation includes a specially defined method to make a reference. Once you have an information piece you include in your writing, you should refer to it. This will demonstrate to your readers that the data, description, definition, or quote comes not out of your head but from a different channel.

Besides the ethical part, citation also provides the necessary details to locate and find the source you cite. References are generally given on a References list, which is a separate page. Learning correct citing is crucial for completing an assignment that would meet all the requirements.

Citing Movies in Different Formats

Citation of a movie is sometimes more complex than a referral to books or articles. On top of that, these citations differ depending on the  academic styles used. Various styles demand different options. Generally, no mention of the film format is needed, but you may specify it. In addition, it can be helpful to consult paperwriter reviews to find reliable academic writing assistance for your essay. These reviews provide insights into the quality and reliability of different writing services, ensuring you make an informed choice.

We’ll show you what is correct motion picture citing in academic work. It’s not that difficult if you know the algorithm. Though, the data you may need to include cannot always be easily available. If you don’t want to spend a lot of time and force searching, ask  paperell.net . This is a trusted service for providing reliable academic support for students. 

How to Cite a Movie in APA

In the author section, introduce the director. For the publisher, use the film-making production company. The movie title is italicized and followed by the words “Motion picture” in square brackets. If you mention the picture in the text, add the director’s name and the production date. The timestamp is put when referring to a certain scene. 

This is how it shall look like:

Quefféléan, A. Decraene, F.-X.(Producers), & Iosseliani, O. (Director). (1989).  Et la lumière fut  [Motion picture]. France: CNC.

How to Cite a Movie in MLA

Works Cited section in MLA style shall contain the director, title, production company, and the year the picture was released. When it comes to earlier and later releases, indicate the very version you are referring to. Adding the original release date is optional and becomes important if you need to show the historical perspective. 

If there are numerous authors, put the picture title first, followed by the director’s name. Other contributors may also be mentioned if this information is relevant to your study. A costume director, photography director or soundtrack writer may be specified with their positions and names.

It may be that you watched a picture online. This applies both to video-sharing hubs and  streaming services . You should then show it in your article by adding the resource name coupled with its URL address. No further info is needed in such a case.

How to Cite a Movie in Chicago Style

Here, any contributor whose mention is important for your study comes first. This includes actors, composers, producers, dialogue writers, etc. In Chicago format, positions shall be omitted. The motion picture title goes after in italics, followed by naming a means containing a copy of the picture (DCD, Laser Disc, or VHS). You shall introduce the movie’s directors after the wording “Directed by”.

See the sample:

Romer, Dan.  Luca . Directed by Enrico Casarosa. Screenplay by Jesse Andrews, Mike Jones. Performances by Jacob Tremblay, Jack Dylan Grazer, Emma Berman. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, 2021.

How to Increase the Quality of Your Essay

If your task is to create a powerful and convincing study on motion pictures, you should consider what picture to choose. This is probably the first thing you should narrow down to. Specialized resources dedicated to cinematography may help you here. 

If your assignment is to write about cowboys, you should look for westerns. If you need to demonstrate the gamblers’ universe , pictures of casinos are obviously what you have to search for. Divorce melodramas filmed in Italy, seashore pictures, or Audrey Hepburn’s best scenes are examples of further categories you may want to explore.

After you define what to tell about, master the basic terms and definitions. Do an outline, and read the works of others to understand what similar essays look like.

Mind that referencing is crucial for an academic assignment. Remember, the data you need to include differs across formats.

Final Thoughts

Citation in research works or essays is required for referencing. Details of the cited artworks shall be arranged in an order required by different academic styles. The procedure for making referrals is not the strength of a wide number of students, frankly speaking.

However, the art of making citations can be mastered. You should carefully read what data is needed for a certain format. Collect this data from designated websites or hard copies of picture releases and organize them in a way to meet the requirements. Check with the samples, edit the mistakes you may have made, and – here you go!

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Library FAQs

How do i cite a movie scene or quotation in the body of my paper.

First, read the assignment carefully or ask your teacher if they have specific suggestions or requirements for in-text citations to videos.

Otherwise, if you have included a quotation or referred to a particular scene, you would put the time-stamp that is displayed in your media player in parentheses after your reference. Your goal is to help your reader find whatever it is that you're writing about.  First your reader would find the movie in your list of references, and then they could find the exact spot within the movie.

For the MLA , include the specific time-stamp (in the case of a quotation) or include the time-stamp range (if you refer to a scene or section).  Include the hours, minutes and seconds.  Separate the numbers with colons without any spaces.  Your sentence punctuation would go after and outside the parentheses.  

Example: ( Blade Runner , 00:15:33-00:18:45).

For the APA , include only the time-stamp, not a range.  Even if you are referring to a scene, all that's required is the start time.

Example: (Scott, 2010, 3:12).

More Information

• General information about MLA in-text citations from the Excelsior Online Writing Lab
• General information about APA in-text citations from APA Style
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• Last Updated Jul 20, 2022
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• Answered By Susanna

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How to Cite Movie Dialogue in APA

Including movie dialogue in your research paper can spark the reader's interest while tying your discussion to something relatable. Some quotes can bring humor to the paper, while others are more poignant or educational. As with any other resource, however, you must cite movie dialogue per APA standards.

In-Text Citation

When quoting movie dialogue within the text, the citation must directly follow the quote. Although writers are involved in the creation of a movie, usually there isn't a specific author. Instead, the in-text citation should name the producer. End the dialogue like this: (Producer's last name, Year).

Reference Page

Since there is no author, you should list the source alphabetically by the producer's last name. The entire citation should look like this:

Last name, First initial. (Producer), & Last name, First initial. (Director). (year). Movie title [Motion picture]. Country of Origin: Name of Studio.

Here is an example:

Scott, A. (Producer), & Harris, P. (Director). (2006). The Muppets: a celebration of 30 years [Motion picture]. United States: Henson Associates.

Note that the name of the movie should be italicized. Also, include the words "Producer" and "Director" in parentheses as described, as well as the words "Motion picture" in brackets.

Need help with a citation? Try our citation generator .

• University of Maryland: APA Style Guide

Jen has been a professional writer since 2002 in the education nonprofit industry. Her work has been featured in the New Jersey SEEDS Annual Report, as well as several Centenary College publications, including "Centenary in the News" and the "Trustee Times." In 2009, Jen earned a Master of Arts degree in leadership and public administration from Centenary College.

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• How to Quote | Citing Quotes in APA, MLA & Chicago

How to Quote | Citing Quotes in APA, MLA & Chicago

Published on April 15, 2022 by Shona McCombes and Jack Caulfield. Revised on May 31, 2023.

Quoting means copying a passage of someone else’s words and crediting the source. To quote a source, you must ensure:

• The quoted text is enclosed in quotation marks or formatted as a block quote
• The original author is correctly cited
• The text is identical to the original

The exact format of a quote depends on its length and on which citation style you are using. Quoting and citing correctly is essential to avoid plagiarism which is easy to detect with a good plagiarism checker .

Table of contents

How to cite a quote in apa, mla and chicago, introducing quotes, quotes within quotes, shortening or altering a quote, block quotes, when should i use quotes, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about quoting sources.

Every time you quote, you must cite the source correctly . This looks slightly different depending on the citation style you’re using. Three of the most common styles are APA , MLA , and Chicago .

Citing a quote in APA Style

To cite a direct quote in APA , you must include the author’s last name, the year, and a page number, all separated by commas . If the quote appears on a single page, use “p.”; if it spans a page range, use “pp.”

An APA in-text citation can be parenthetical or narrative. In a parenthetical citation , you place all the information in parentheses after the quote. In a narrative citation , you name the author in your sentence (followed by the year), and place the page number after the quote.

Punctuation marks such as periods and commas are placed after the citation, not within the quotation marks .

• Evolution is a gradual process that “can act only by very short and slow steps” (Darwin, 1859, p. 510) .
• Darwin (1859) explains that evolution “can act only by very short and slow steps” (p. 510) .

Complete guide to APA

Citing a quote in mla style.

An MLA in-text citation includes only the author’s last name and a page number. As in APA, it can be parenthetical or narrative, and a period (or other punctuation mark) appears after the citation.

• Evolution is a gradual process that “can act only by very short and slow steps” (Darwin 510) .
• Darwin explains that evolution “can act only by very short and slow steps” (510) .

Complete guide to MLA

Citing a quote in chicago style.

Chicago style uses Chicago footnotes to cite sources. A note, indicated by a superscript number placed directly after the quote, specifies the author, title, and page number—or sometimes fuller information .

Unlike with parenthetical citations, in this style, the period or other punctuation mark should appear within the quotation marks, followed by the footnote number.

Complete guide to Chicago style

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The AI-powered Citation Checker helps you avoid common mistakes such as:

• Missing commas and periods
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Make sure you integrate quotes properly into your text by introducing them in your own words, showing the reader why you’re including the quote and providing any context necessary to understand it.  Don’t  present quotations as stand-alone sentences.

There are three main strategies you can use to introduce quotes in a grammatically correct way:

• Add an introductory sentence
• Use an introductory signal phrase
• Integrate the quote into your own sentence

The following examples use APA Style citations, but these strategies can be used in all styles.

Introductory sentence

Introduce the quote with a full sentence ending in a colon . Don’t use a colon if the text before the quote isn’t a full sentence.

If you name the author in your sentence, you may use present-tense verbs , such as “states,” “argues,” “explains,” “writes,” or “reports,” to describe the content of the quote.

• In Denmark, a recent poll shows that: “A membership referendum held today would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters” (Levring, 2018, p. 3).
• In Denmark, a recent poll shows that support for the EU has grown since the Brexit vote: “A membership referendum held today would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters” (Levring, 2018, p. 3).
• Levring (2018) reports that support for the EU has grown since the Brexit vote: “A membership referendum held today would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters” (p. 3).

Introductory signal phrase

You can also use a signal phrase that mentions the author or source, but doesn’t form a full sentence. In this case, you follow the phrase with a comma instead of a colon.

• According to a recent poll, “A membership referendum held today would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters” (Levring, 2018, p. 3).
• As Levring (2018) explains, “A membership referendum held today would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters” (p. 3).

Integrated into your own sentence

To quote a phrase that doesn’t form a full sentence, you can also integrate it as part of your sentence, without any extra punctuation .

• A recent poll suggests that EU membership “would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters” in a referendum (Levring, 2018, p. 3).
• Levring (2018) reports that EU membership “would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters” in a referendum (p. 3).

When you quote text that itself contains another quote, this is called a nested quotation or a quote within a quote. It may occur, for example, when quoting dialogue from a novel.

To distinguish this quote from the surrounding quote, you enclose it in single (instead of double) quotation marks (even if this involves changing the punctuation from the original text). Make sure to close both sets of quotation marks at the appropriate moments.

Note that if you only quote the nested quotation itself, and not the surrounding text, you can just use double quotation marks.

• Carraway introduces his narrative by quoting his father: “ “ Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, ” he told me, “ just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had ” ” (Fitzgerald 1).
• Carraway introduces his narrative by quoting his father: “‘Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,’ he told me, ‘just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had ” (Fitzgerald 1).
• Carraway introduces his narrative by quoting his father: “‘Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,’ he told me, ‘just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had’” (Fitzgerald 1).
• Carraway begins by quoting his father’s invocation to “remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had” (Fitzgerald 1).

Note:  When the quoted text in the source comes from another source, it’s best to just find that original source in order to quote it directly. If you can’t find the original source, you can instead cite it indirectly .

Often, incorporating a quote smoothly into your text requires you to make some changes to the original text. It’s fine to do this, as long as you clearly mark the changes you’ve made to the quote.

Shortening a quote

If some parts of a passage are redundant or irrelevant, you can shorten the quote by removing words, phrases, or sentences and replacing them with an ellipsis (…). Put a space before and after the ellipsis.

Be careful that removing the words doesn’t change the meaning. The ellipsis indicates that some text has been removed, but the shortened quote should still accurately represent the author’s point.

Altering a quote

You can add or replace words in a quote when necessary. This might be because the original text doesn’t fit grammatically with your sentence (e.g., it’s in a different verb tense), or because extra information is needed to clarify the quote’s meaning.

Use brackets to distinguish words that you have added from words that were present in the original text.

The Latin term “ sic ” is used to indicate a (factual or grammatical) mistake in a quotation. It shows the reader that the mistake is from the quoted material, not a typo of your own.

In some cases, it can be useful to italicize part of a quotation to add emphasis, showing the reader that this is the key part to pay attention to. Use the phrase “emphasis added” to show that the italics were not part of the original text.

You usually don’t need to use brackets to indicate minor changes to punctuation or capitalization made to ensure the quote fits the style of your text.

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

If you quote more than a few lines from a source, you must format it as a block quote . Instead of using quotation marks, you set the quote on a new line and indent it so that it forms a separate block of text.

Block quotes are cited just like regular quotes, except that if the quote ends with a period, the citation appears after the period.

To the end of his days Bilbo could never remember how he found himself outside, without a hat, a walking-stick or any money, or anything that he usually took when he went out; leaving his second breakfast half-finished and quite unwashed-up, pushing his keys into Gandalf’s hands, and running as fast as his furry feet could carry him down the lane, past the great Mill, across The Water, and then on for a mile or more. (16)

Avoid relying too heavily on quotes in academic writing . To integrate a source , it’s often best to paraphrase , which means putting the passage in your own words. This helps you integrate information smoothly and keeps your own voice dominant.

However, there are some situations in which quoting is more appropriate.

When focusing on language

If you want to comment on how the author uses language (for example, in literary analysis ), it’s necessary to quote so that the reader can see the exact passage you are referring to.

When giving evidence

To convince the reader of your argument, interpretation or position on a topic, it’s often helpful to include quotes that support your point. Quotes from primary sources (for example, interview transcripts or historical documents) are especially credible as evidence.

When presenting an author’s position or definition

When you’re referring to secondary sources such as scholarly books and journal articles, try to put others’ ideas in your own words when possible.

But if a passage does a great job at expressing, explaining, or defining something, and it would be very difficult to paraphrase without changing the meaning or losing the weakening the idea’s impact, it’s worth quoting directly.

If you want to know more about ChatGPT, AI tools , citation , and plagiarism , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

• ChatGPT vs human editor
• ChatGPT citations
• Is ChatGPT trustworthy?
• Using ChatGPT for your studies
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• Chicago style
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A quote is an exact copy of someone else’s words, usually enclosed in quotation marks and credited to the original author or speaker.

In academic writing , there are three main situations where quoting is the best choice:

• To analyze the author’s language (e.g., in a literary analysis essay )
• To give evidence from primary sources
• To accurately present a precise definition or argument

Don’t overuse quotes; your own voice should be dominant. If you just want to provide information from a source, it’s usually better to paraphrase or summarize .

Every time you quote a source , you must include a correctly formatted in-text citation . This looks slightly different depending on the citation style .

For example, a direct quote in APA is cited like this: “This is a quote” (Streefkerk, 2020, p. 5).

Every in-text citation should also correspond to a full reference at the end of your paper.

A block quote is a long quote formatted as a separate “block” of text. Instead of using quotation marks , you place the quote on a new line, and indent the entire quote to mark it apart from your own words.

The rules for when to apply block quote formatting depend on the citation style:

• APA block quotes are 40 words or longer.
• MLA block quotes are more than 4 lines of prose or 3 lines of poetry.
• Chicago block quotes are longer than 100 words.

If you’re quoting from a text that paraphrases or summarizes other sources and cites them in parentheses , APA and Chicago both recommend retaining the citations as part of the quote. However, MLA recommends omitting citations within a quote:

• APA: Smith states that “the literature on this topic (Jones, 2015; Sill, 2019; Paulson, 2020) shows no clear consensus” (Smith, 2019, p. 4).
• MLA: Smith states that “the literature on this topic shows no clear consensus” (Smith, 2019, p. 4).

Footnote or endnote numbers that appear within quoted text should be omitted in all styles.

If you want to cite an indirect source (one you’ve only seen quoted in another source), either locate the original source or use the phrase “as cited in” in your citation.

In scientific subjects, the information itself is more important than how it was expressed, so quoting should generally be kept to a minimum. In the arts and humanities, however, well-chosen quotes are often essential to a good paper.

In social sciences, it varies. If your research is mainly quantitative , you won’t include many quotes, but if it’s more qualitative , you may need to quote from the data you collected .

As a general guideline, quotes should take up no more than 5–10% of your paper. If in doubt, check with your instructor or supervisor how much quoting is appropriate in your field.

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How do I quote film dialogue in MLA format in an essay?

I am reading the OWL website and I am absolutely confused. Can anybody help me? It makes no sense to me. Do I just make a little section for the dialogue or something else? I am confused.