Remembering the correct way to quote a movie title in an academic paper, article or other document can be difficult since each writing style has different rules for the proper way to cite sources. Knowing how to quote movie titles properly ensures that you can adhere to the style your professor, boss or client prefers.

MLA Style

Quote movies that are still in theaters or are not released on DVD yet by their title. List the title in italics followed by a period. Follow with "Dir." without the quotation marks and the director's name followed by a period. After the director, list the performers if relevant with "Perf." without the quotation marks and the names of the performers with first names leading. List the studio followed by a comma and the year the movie was released followed by a period. End the citation with "Film." without the quotation marks.

Begin the citation with the last name of the director or a performer if the work emphasizes the role of the director or performer. Follow the last name with a comma and the first name. Place another comma after the first name and add the abbreviation "dir." or "perf." without the quotation marks as appropriate. Follow with the movie's title in italics and place a period after the title. List the studio and place a comma after the studio name. Cite the year the film was released followed by a period and end the citation with "Film." without the quotation marks.

Cite a recorded movie by leading with the movie's title in italics followed by a period. Follow the format for citing a movie not yet released on DVD or video, but use "DVD." or "VHS." at the end of the citation without the quotation marks instead of "Film."

APA Style

Quote a movie in APA style by leading with the last name of the director, followed by a comma and the director's first initial followed by a period. Place the director's title (such as "Director" or "Director & Producer") in parentheses after the name with a period outside of the parentheses. Type the year the film was released inside parentheses with a period outside the parentheses.

Enter the title of the movie in italics followed by the medium in brackets with a period outside the brackets. This may be listed as [Film]. or [DVD]., for example. Next, type the location of the studio followed by a colon and the name of the studio. Place a period after the name of the studio.

Cite movies in-text by placing the movie title in italics inside parentheses followed by a comma and the year the film was released.