Research Options

Research in the collections of the Film Museum is possible for scientific, artistic and commercial purposes. Since the 1960s, many scholars, artists and filmmakers, as well as commercial media enterprises have been using the material of the museum in varied ways. In addition, the Film Museum Library, Austria's largest film-related resource of its kind, is open to the public. It is also possible, by prior appointment, to view films from the video collection comprising several thousands of titles.

 

Film Collection

Symbolbild, Archiv Heiligenstadt
Requests for information on the film collection (film searches, viewing options) for research purposes should be directed to
 

Commercial Use

Filmsammlung Archiv Heiligenstadt
Requests for information on the commercial use of film (related) materials to
 

Film-Related Collection

Fotosammlung © Lukas Maul
Requests for information on our stills, poster, and paper collection for research purposes should be directed to
 

Library

Periodicals Collection

Amos Vogel Library

Collection Online: Haneke

Michael Haneke, Regiedrehbuch, 2011, zu seinem Film "Amour" (Foto: ÖFM © Robert Newald)
Online Search | Requests for information on the Collection Michael Haneke for research purposes should be directed to
 

Collection Online: Vertov

Originalplakat zu "Ėntuziazm" (1931) von Dziga Vertov
Online Search | Requests for information on the Collection Dziga Vertov for research purposes should be directed to
 

Papers

Symbolbild, Text zu "Film und die digitale Kultur"
This web-page provides essays, lecture transcripts, policy papers and conversations on topics that are central to the work of film museums and archives.
 

 
Archival research

In the early decades of film history, film was neither appreciated as an art form nor as a significant document; thus, little attention was paid to its preservation. Film was just another piece of merchandise, a consumer product which was customarily thrown away or recycled after its first use in the cinema. Even Thomas Alva Edison called his own creation a "useless invention".
 
Those works which weren't immediately destroyed usually met with a dire fate sooner or later. Early celluloid (so-called "nitrate film") is highly inflammable and, if not stored at cool temperatures and carefully regulated humidity levels, it decays and eventually literally crumbles to dust. This explains why many films from the 1890s to the 1940s (and even later) have survived only in fragmentary form. Working closely with historians from various fields, the Film Museum endeavours to identify such films and to search for additional materials throughout the world.
 
The resulting knowledge has benefited both academic projects (dissertations, book and DVD publications) and film or television productions (such as historical documentaries) or museum exhibitions. Last but not least, the results of such research add to our ongoing presentation and educational programmes.