---------------------------------------------------- Internet Guide for Chinese Studies Newsletter http://www.sino.uni-heidelberg.de/igcs/ignew.htm ---------------------------------------------------- 6 Feb 2004 (Matthias Arnold & Martin Gieselmann) New in IGCS - Chinese Film & Movies http://www.sino.uni-heidelberg.de/igcs/igfilm.htm): The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) Ed./Corp.: Internet Movie Database / Amazon.com, USA. URL.: http://imdb.com/ Language: English. Self description: "The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is a HUGE collection of movie information. We try to catalog every pertinent detail about a movie, from who was in it, to who made it, to trivia about it, to filming locations, and even where you can find reviews and fan sites on the web. We then do our best to present this information in a manner that is easy to search and access." Description: The IMDb started in 1990, since 1998 it is part of the Amazon.com company. It is a professional and regularly updated database with ~50 different index searches, cf. http://imdb.com/Help/search-tips. Film titles are listed in the transcription that came with its release, but all (known) translations in other languages are listed, too (no Chinese characters, though). The entries include extensive links to other information within the database, not only to persons and their functions, but also to categories like "Titles with certificate: Hong Kong:IIB" (738). To the left of each entry there is a sub-navigation, containing "Overview", "Awards & Reviews", "Plot & Quotes", "Fun Stuff", "Other Info", "Promotional", "External Links", and more. However, only the better known Asian movies have much in here. Typical for Amazon are the "User comments", "User Ratings", and "Recommendations". It currently contains: China - 1470 entries, Hong Kong - 4919, Taiwan - 573, Singapore - 171 (as of 6 Apr 2004). Note: Though IMDb is always worth checking out, one should keep its limitations for Chinese film in mind. Data are abound but not necessarily all embracing: complete filmographies for example exist only in very few cases. So always double check with Chinese sources - this includes informations on release dates, awards and nominations etc. As a rule more recently produced films are represented comparatively better, while data of the pre 1980 times should be treated with caution. Personal names are turned around (Yimou Zhang and Li Gong), while role names are not. Film titles are mostly transcribed in Pinyin, but note that there are mixtures of Pinyin and other transcription systems especially in the case of Hong Kong movies. All entries are English only, with no Chinese characters. Site contents: (1) Home; (2) Search; (3) Now Playing; (4) News; (5) My Movies; (6) Games; (7) Boards; (8) Help; (9) US Movie Showtimes; (10) Top 250; (11) Register; (12) Recommendations; (13) Box Office; (14) Index; (15) Trailers. _______________________________________________________ With kind regards, Hanno E. Lecher INTERNET GUIDE FOR CHINESE STUDIES -- editor http://www.sino.uni-heidelberg.de/igcs/ _______________________________________________________ An archive of this list as well as an subscribe/unsubscribe facility is available at: http://listserv.uni-heidelberg.de/archives/igcs-l.html