How to Cite a Movie in MLA Style | Format & Examples

To cite a film in MLA, include the title, the director, any other relevant contributors, the production or distribution company, and the year of release. If there are multiple versions of a film, you also need to identify the version.

To cite a movie from Netflix (and similar online streaming services), add the name of the website or app (e.g. “Netflix app”). If you watched the movie on an unofficial website or video-sharing platform like YouTube, add the website name, the uploader, the date of upload, and the URL.

In the MLA in-text citation, include the title (or a shortened version of it) and the time range.

MLA movie citation format

You build an MLA Works Cited entry by filling in the relevant elements. An MLA citation usually starts with the author’s name, but because films are created by many different people, you start the citation with the film’s title instead. The director appears after the title as a contributor.

Other contributors

If relevant, you can also add other contributors, as with TV shows. For example, if your paper mentions specific performances, you can include the actors in your citation; if you discuss the film’s visuals, you can include the cinematographer.

Identify the role of each contributor and separate them with commas.

If your discussion of the movie focuses mainly on one contributor (e.g. the director or a performer), you can choose to include that name at the start of the citation instead, where the author would normally go.

In this case, make sure to use the same name in your in-text citation.

Versions

If there are different versions of a film, you need to state which one you used so the reader can find the correct source (e.g. extended version, director’s cut).

If this version was released later than the original, you can also add the year of the original release after the title. This is optional, but it is often helpful to give the historical context of the source.

Publishers

Films are often produced and distributed by several different companies, which can make it difficult to determine the publisher.

Try to identify the organization that had primary responsibility for the movie’s production or distribution. If multiple production companies and/or distributors were equally involved, you can separate them with a forward slash.

Citing online movies

If you stream a film on an official distribution platform like Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime Video, you can choose to add information about the platform to the Works Cited entry if you think it’s relevant.

If the film was republished on a website unconnected to the producers or official distributors (such as YouTube, where anyone can upload a copy of a movie), you should generally include this information in the citation.

After giving full details of the movie, add the name of the website, the uploader, the date it was published, and the URL.

Note that this format only applies to full movies uploaded to YouTube. If you are citing a clip or other material on YouTube, follow the format for citing a YouTube video instead.

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MLA in-text citations for movies

The in-text citation must always correspond with the first word of the Works Cited entry. For movie citations, this is usually the title in italics. If the title is longer than a few words, shorten it to the first word or phrase.

Instead of a page number, add the time range of the part you are quoting or referring to.

If you have already mentioned the title in the sentence, the parenthetical citation only needs to include the time range.

If you are referring to the movie as a whole, it is acceptable to mention only the title with no time range.

If you start the Works Cited entry with the name of a contributor, make sure to use this name in the in-text citation so that the reader can easily locate it in the alphabetized list.

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