How to Cite a Movie, Television and Radio Programs in Harvard Style?

Movies are generally cited when dialogue or indirect reference to a movie has been included in the text. The same is the case with television and radio programs. Harvard referencing for all three types of media is simple and straightforward, as the examples below will demonstrate.

The most important detail needed to cite a movie or a television/radio program is the name of the producer/direction/radio host in place of the author’s name.

In-Text Citation and Reference Formats with Examples

1.    Citing movies

In-text citation: (Title of Movie in italics year, HH:MM:SS)

Reference list entry: Issuing body Year of publication, Title of Map – italicised, Series (if available), Publisher, Place of publication, State abbreviation (if known), Initials Surname (Director/Producer whichever is known).

An important point to note: In Harvard referencing, HH:MM:SS is a timestamp, in which the hour, minute and second at which a movie (or television series) is referenced. This is helpful, especially if a direct quote has been written from a movie. The timestamp helps readers know exactly when the dialogue was spoken on-screen.

For example:

In-text citation: Wall Street (1987, 20:04:09) OR (Wall Street 1987, 20:04:09)

Reference list entry: Wall Street, DVD video recording, 1987, Twentieth Century Fox Films, Beverly Hills, CA, P Weir (Director).

·         Citing DVDs or Videos

Note: In Harvard referencing, in-text citations for movies seen in cinema, in the form of a physical print and movies in different formats—like BluRay—all follow the above-mentioned basic format. This is because their information can still be retrieved from online sources. Therefore, the elements to be included in the references are the same no matter which format the movie was seen in.

The format for DVD videos is:

In-text citation: (Author/Producer/Director Surname Year)

Reference list entry: Author/producer/Director Surname, Initial(s) Year of release or publication, Title of a movie in italics, type of medium, Publisher, Place.

For example:

In-text citation: (Taylor 2009)

Reference list entry: Taylor, B 2009, The four P’s marketing strategies, DVD, Video Education Australiasia, Bendigo, VIC.

2.    Citing television programs

Harvard referencing uses the same format for citing television series and movies. Here is an example:

In-text citation: (Australian Idol 2005, 09:10:04)

Reference list entry: Australian Idol, television series, 2005, Grundy Television, Sydney, G Beness (Executive Producer).

3.    Citing radio programs

Radio programs are referenced and cited in the same way as television programs in Harvard style. The format for radio programs’ citation is:

In-text citation: Title of radio program in italics Year

Reference list entry: Title of the radio program in italics Year, format, Title of the radio station, Place, Date accessed.

For example:

In-text citation: (Search for meaning 1998)

Reference list entry: The search for meaning 1998, radio program, ABC Radio, Sydney, 24 March.

Frequently Asked Questions