Re: MLA citation question for h-film posting (3 responses)

From: Leo Enticknap <[email protected]>

Henry M. Taylor writes:

> Having checked out Amazon and the Criterion
site, I would suggest something like this:
> 
> COCTEAU, Jean (1947):
Press notes from the American premiere of 'Beauty and the Beast' ('La
belle et la bête', France 1946). Reprinted in the booklet accompanying
the Criterion DVD edition. The Criterion Collection, 2003 (ASIN:
B00007L4I6).

ASIN is Amazon's internal catalogue number, which can and
might change, especially if the DVD publisher republishes the disc later
with slightly different artwork, etc. Furthermore, in the (admittedly
very unlikely) event that Amazon goes bust, their entire site might
potentially disappear and then the ability to enter the ASIN number into
Google and establish the specific DVD edition being cited could
disappear with it. The only identification numbers I would personally
trust for formal citation purposes are a Library of Congress catalogue
number, a UPC or an ISBN. Weirdly, some DVDs seem to have ISBN numbers
but not others. Almost all have UPCs, though. The databases behind the
LoC, UPC and ISBN identifiers are maintained as public records, whereas
the ASIN database is only maintained by one commercial entity, and could
potentially be withdrawn from public access at any time. Therefore, my
gut feeling is that the ASIN is probably not much use for formal
citation purposes.

I would suggest that in citing a specific retail
video publication (VHS, LD, DVD or BD, for that matter), the crucial
information to provide is:

1. Usual filmographic information - title,
country of production and name of director if there is one
2.
Publisher
3. Country of publication of the video work (as distinct from
the original film, if different)
4. Year of publication of the video
work (ditto)
5. LoC number, and/or ISBN and/or UPC if any of these exist
and are known.
6. Specific information as to which version of the film
the video work derives from, if applicable and known.

In combination,
these should prevent any ambiguity and enable the reader to identify the
precise recording you saw, if necessary.

Example of a DVD
citation:

'Nous sommes tous des assassins' (France, 1950, dir. André
Cayatte); DVD published by Studio Canal (France), November 2003, from
the 1997 Cinémathèque Française restoration.

Example of DVD sleeve
essay citation:

Patrick Russell, introductory essay in accompanying
booklet to DVD set, 'Shadows of Progress - Documentary Films in Britain,
1951-1977', British Film Institute (UK), 2010, pp. 6-7.

Leo

-------------------

From: Jesseca Cornelson <[email protected]>

Perhaps you can do it like a special feature on a DVD? If there's an author to the insert, I'd list the author before the title of the insert. I'd think you'd leave off the disc number bit. I think the suggestion of listing it as a "Pamphlet Insert" is a good one, but I'm not sure where I'd put it (after the title of the insert, perhaps?) or that it's entirely necessary. If it's from a special edition of the DVD, I'd note that after the title of the DVD.

http://www.unm.edu/~unmvclib/hackerupdate.pdf
Citation format #46 on p. 36.

SPECIAL FEATURE ON A DVD Begin with the title of the feature,
in quotation marks, and the names of any important contributors.
Add the title of the DVD and other relevant information
about the DVD, as in item 45. End with the number of the
disc on which the feature appears.

"Sweeney's London." Prod. Eric Young. /Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street/. Dir. Tim Burton. DreamWorks, 2007. DVD. Disc 2.

Cheers!

-------------------

From: "Frank, Michael" <[email protected]>

i have no answer, and in fact since "E" texts became widespread i've pretty much given up trying to keep any semblance of citation rules and regulations in mind . . . but it seems to me that 1.  you need to cite the booklet, not the thing the booklet quotes [i.e. the press notes, though info on the original source may be usefully added]; and 2. this would seem to be a similar case to the program notes that used to appear on the jackets of long-playing records, for which i assume there is a conventional form of citation, so i'd guess that that format could be appropriated in this case

mike