How Do You Cite A Movie In MLA Style – Format With Examples
Published by at January 24th, 2025 , Revised On January 24, 2025
Movies are not just entertainment but also sources of information and inspiration. They can be used for academic papers, research papers, and other creative projects. However, it is important to properly cite them in your work so that credit is given to the movie’s creators in the right way.
Whether you are studying a film’s themes, mentioning a famous quote, or examining its cultural impact, using the MLA format for citation is the best way to reference information from a movie. In this blog, we will discuss what MLA style is, how you cite a movie in MLA style, and mistakes to avoid during citation.
What is the MLA Style?
Modern Language Association, also known as MLA, is a well-known citation style used to cite references and sources of information in academic writing. This citation style is mostly used in subjects like humanities, literature, and language. However, the MLA format is very easy and simple to understand.
Whether you are citing a website, book, short story, or movie, the MLA citation style guide has clear instructions on how to cite different types of sources in your research work. Here are the main elements of the MLA citation style:
- Author: (The name of the person whose work you are referencing).
- Title of Source: (The title of the book, article, movie, or short story).
- Publisher and Publication Date: (The name of the organisation that is in charge of publishing the work and the date of publication or release).
- Location: (Where you can find the work you are referencing, such as URL, DOI, or page number).
Difference Between In-Text Citation & Full Citation?
Many students new to citation can get confused between MLA in-text citations and full citations. Let’s see some differences between them:
| In-text Citation | Full Citation |
| This citation is used in the sentence or placed at the end of it. | A full citation is written in the “Works Cited Page” at the end of the paper. |
| An in-text citation is a very brief reference that only includes the author’s name and page number. In some cases, only the title of the source is also mentioned. | A full citation includes all the details of the source, such as the name of the author, title name, publishing date, publisher name, editor’s name, URL, or page number. |
| The purpose of an in-text citation is to quickly show where the information came from. | The purpose of a full citation is to give all the details so readers can find the information. |
| It is written in brackets. | It is written with many punctuation rules, such as quotation marks, commas, and periods. |
How To Cite A Movie In MLA?
You should write the right information so that readers can understand what you are using as a reference in your work when you cite a movie. This includes the name of the movie in italics, and the name of the director. Then comes the name of the production company and year of release.
A period always comes after the name of the movie title, and a citation in MLA style ends with a period. Moreover, a time stamp can be written if you want to cite a specific part of the movie. You can also see how to cite a movie in Harvard style by taking a look at this.
Hire A Professional Editor
- Expert UK Editor
- Grammar and Punctuation
- Precision and Clarity
- Zero Plagiarism
- Excellent Customer Service
How To Cite A Movie In MLA Style With Multiple Contributors?
When a movie has multiple contributors, such as producers, actors, or screenwriters, you can cite them as well in MLA style. However, in most citations, the performers or actors are mostly given credit. The rest of the citations remain the same, with the same punctuation.
Example: The Dark Knight. Directed by Christopher Nolan, performance by Christian Bale, Health Ledger. Warner Bros., 2008.
In-Text Citation: (Nolan)
How To Cite A Movie In MLA From DVD or Blu-Ray?
It is very easy to cite a movie in MLA style from a DVD or Blu-ray source. This citation begins with the name of the movie in italics, followed by the name of the director, production company name, and year of release. However, you have to mention the source of the movie, such as DVD or Blu-ray, at the end of the citation. Here is an example:
Example: The Inception. Directed by Christopher Nolan, Warner Bros., 2010. Blu-Ray.
In-Text Citation: (Inception)
If you are referring to a specific time, then you can write the time stamp, like:
(Inception, 01:22:07)
How To Cite A Movie In MLA Style Viewed On An App or Website?
When you cite a movie from an online platform like Hulu, Netflix, or HBO Max, then you need to mention the name of the site at the end of your citation. Besides this, the format for citing a movie in MLA stays the same.
Example: The Irishman. Directed by Martin Scorsese, Tribeca Productions, 2019. Netflix, www.netflix.com
In-Text Citation: (The Irishman)
For time stamp, you say it like this (The Irishman, 02:22:02)
How To Cite A Movie In MLA Format From Theaters?
If you watched a movie in the theater and want to cite it in your work, then you have to mention the name of the movie, director’s name, the production company name, the year of release, and “theater” so that readers and researchers can know the location of your source.
Here is an example of a full citation in MLA style:
Example: Avengers: Endgame. Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, Marvel Studios, 2019. Theater.
In-Text Citation: (Avengers: Endgame)
How To Cite A Movie In MLA With Different Original Release Date?
Sometimes, a movie is released again with new changes or in a new format, such as 3D, which is why it has two dates: the original release date and the re-release date. When you cite a movie in MLA with two release dates, then you should mention it in the citation.
For example, Star Wars: A New Hope was originally released in 1977 and re-released with new effects in 1977. So, this is what a full citation for this movie looks like:
Example: Star Wars: A New Hope. Directed by George Lucas, Lucasfilm, 1977. Re-Release 1997, 20th Century Fox.
In-Text Citation: (Star Wars: A New Hope)
Mistakes That You Should Avoid When You Cite A Movie In MLA Style
You should always follow the right guidelines and avoid mistakes when you are citing a movie in MLA style. It does not matter whether you are using MLA style for in-text citations for a movie or a full citation; a poor reference can leave a bad impression of your work. So, here are some mistakes that you should avoid:
- The title of the movie is always italicised. Do not write it in quotation marks.
- An in-text movie citation in MLA style is always written in parentheses.
- You should always be careful about punctuation, such as periods and commas when citing movies in MLA.
- Place the sentence in quotation marks when you are writing a dialogue from the movie.
- Try to use time stamps when you are referencing a specific time or part of the movie.
- Do not forget to mention the director’s name and year of release as this will make your citation incomplete.
Frequently Asked Questions
In MLA format, movie titles are always italicised. This helps them stand out in the citation so that readers can easily understand what you are talking about. Moreover, larger works are always italicised in MLA citation style.
Example: The Matrix instead of “The Matrix”.
The proper way of quoting movies in MLA is by writing the quote or sentence in quotation marks. You have to write the dialogue exactly as it is said, followed by the movie title in italics. In addition, it is not necessary to provide the time stamp, but you can add it if you want.
Example: “May the Force be with you” (Star Wars, 1:23:05)
Movie titles in MLA are always italicised as they are considered large works. Short story titles are never italicised as they are small works. So, whether you are writing a movie title in your sentence or on the Works Cited Page, you will always italicise it.
Example:
Correct: The Greek Wedding
Incorrect: “The Greek Wedding”
