For any self-proclaimed "lover of all media," the Internet may seem like a dream come true. In fact, its unlimited scope of available information, growing every minute, appeals to almost anyone with a curious interest in something, a specific question or just some time to kill in Angell Hall. While true film buffs usually shy away from any new entertainment medium (preferring to live in the good old days of the cinema), the Internet is a bountiful source of information and entertainment for true cinephiles and plain moviegoers alike.
The primary source of information (and fun) on the Internet is the World Wide Web, which contains thousands of sites related to the cinema. For anyone who feels daunted at the prospect of searching through the insane number of movie sites available, the easiest way to browse is by using a hierarchically organized search engine such as Yahoo! This provides an enormous cross-referenced selection of links to almost every movie site in existence.
If it's strictly information that you are looking for (a film's full credits or a director's, actor's or even editor's filmography), then there is no better place to look than the Internet Movie Database, a gargantuan international database of practically everybody in the world's film industry.
If you want more than just the basic facts, a little more effort is required. For information on movies in general, a site like Moviepreviews.com is quite common. It provides a good list of films currently playing, plus those to be released in the coming months, including links to their trailers and official websites.
For more intelligent Web browsing, there are two fantastic sites that deserve a visit. Film.com is a huge database for film writing and criticism. It has over 30 professional writers and critics contributing, with complete reviews of every film from the past few years. Film.com also features updated box office reports, film news, director profiles and interviews, information on film festivals and an online store selling rare and out-of-print video and laserdisc titles.
The other visit-worthy site focuses more on film history. The Film 100 is a cleverly designed, totally engrossing site with information and links on "the 100 most influential people in the history of the cinema."
In addition to these general sites, Yahoo! can also point you in the right direction to find complete screenplays to a varied selection of films on the Web, as well as the innumerable sites devoted to your favorite actors and actresses. While a handful of these sites are interesting, most of them are rather boring unless you're really into celebrity idolization and adoration (one site is titled: Gillian Anderson - The World's Sexiest Woman).
For specific movie titles, there are basically two paths to choose from: Private sites devoted solely to the film and the official studio sites. The studio sites are generally more fun to play with because of their higher budgets and power. They tend to include more pictures, clips, neat gadgets like games and access to behind-the-scenes stuff. But the information is usually quite limited and the purpose of the whole site is strictly commercial.
Universal Pictures' site is a perfect example. It has a snazzy design with coming attractions and an inside look at the upcoming sequel to "Jurassic Park," "The Lost World." It is packed with information, but most of it is not of much interest.
Sony Pictures, 20th Century Fox, MGM and Miramax are all similar in content, although MGM and Miramax at least try to add humor to their previews in an attempt to keep Netizens online. Almost all studio sites include a store as well, where shirts, hats and other useless items can be purchased with the studio logo on them.
The best sites are those that get creative with their films. At Paramount you can log in to the "Star Trek: First Contact" site as a Vulcan, Klingon or whatever. And Warner Bros. contains a "Twister" site that takes you on an imaginary Internet tornado emergency.
Private movie sites, in contrast to studio sites, are generally packed with more information and links to other related pages (including the official studio site itself), like those on the actors. They also include analysis and discussion of the films.
For instance, "Braveheart" has one of the largest selections of sites, including one that ingeniously shows the drastic difference between the regular (pan-and-scan) and letterboxed versions of the video. However, "Pulp Fiction," to nobody's surprise, boasts more than 25 different pages and is a perfect example of how most of these private movie pages are very similar. It would be a waste of time to look into every nook and cranny of them all.
In Yahoo!'s listing of the private movie sites, older films are found right alongside the requisite newer releases. It is not hard to find rare and bizarre flicks as well. In fact, every movie ever made by anybody seems to be represented on the World Wide Web, which is in itself an endorsement for the Internet. Whatever it is you're looking for, you can be sure that you'll find it amongst the Internet's limitless bounty. Even if you are a nervous old film buff.