When you include films as part of the references of bibliography of your history paper, be sure to follow these Chicago movie citation examples. The student version of Chicago style, often called Turabian, is easy to use once you understand the basic elements. Depending on your teacher’s guidelines, you’ll either use the notes-bibliography or author-date style.
Movie Citation Examples in Chicago Author-Date
Follow this basic format for citing movies in Chicago author-date style. The first element contains the director’s name. If they are important to your citation, you can choose to include the timings in the parenthetical citation.
Reference List Citation Format
Last Name, First Name, director. Year. Title of Movie. Production Company or Distributor.
Parenthetical Citation Format
(Director’s Last Name Year, 0:00:00 to 0:00:00)
Example Reference List
Melfi, Theodore, director. 2016. Hidden Figures. 20th Century Fox.
Example Parenthetical Citation
(Melfi 2016, 0:11:43 to 0:14:54)
Online Movie Citation Format
If you accessed and viewed the movie online, then you will need to add the URL to the end of the citation.
Reference List Citation Format
Last Name, First Name, director. Year. Title of Movie. Production Company or Distributor. URL.
Parenthetical Citation Format
(Director’s Last Name Year, 0:00:00 to 0:00:00)
Example Reference List
Scorsese, Martin, director. 2019. The Irishman. Netflix. https://www.netflix.com/title/80175798.
Example Parenthetical Citation
(Scorsese 2019, 1:12:45 to 1:13:26)
Chicago Movie Citation Examples – Notes/Bibliography
Citing movies in the notes-bibliography style is a little different than author-date style. Follow this format for your bibliography and notes.
Bibliography Citation Format
Last Name, First Name, director. Title of Movie. Production Company or Distributor, Year.
Notes Citation Format
##. Title of Movie, directed by First Last Name (Production Company or Distributor, Year).
Example
Spielberg, Steven, director. Schindler’s List. Universal Pictures, 1993.
1. Schindler’s List, directed by Steven Spielberg (Universal Pictures, 1993).
How to Cite Online Movies
Include the URL if you are citing movies found online. Use either the director or movie title as the first element of the bibliography entry. You may add the length of the movie, if desired. List the title as the first element in the notes entry.
Bibliography Citation Format
Last Name, First Name, director. Title of Movie. Production Company or Distributor, Year. URL.
Notes Citation Format
#. Title of Movie, directed by First Last Name (Production Company or Distributor, Year), URL.
Example
Rees, Dee, director. Mudbound. Elevated Films, 2017. https://www.netflix.com/title/80175694.
1. Mudbound, directed by Dee Rees (Elevated Films, 2017), https://www.netflix.com/title/80175694.
- Include actor, producer, or writer data, if they are relevant to your paper.
- Chicago author-date style uses a reference list.
- Chicago notes-bibliography style uses a bibliography.
- Always follow your teacher’s guidelines.
Adding Visual Elements to Your Research
Using Chicago style for your history paper gives you a good opportunity to add visual elements to your research. Many history buffs love to watch documentaries and movies about kings, queens and other historical figures. Always check for accuracy before citing a movie source.