Conference bookie::movies

    Viewfinders, Inc. is a mail-order company that claims to be able to
    locate "virtually any videocassette that is currently available". (My
    experience with them has been very good, but there are a few things
    even they can't get. Oh, and they're VHS only.)
    
    For a catalog, write to:
    
    	Viewfinders, Inc.
    	Uncommon Video
    	P.O. Box 1665
    	Evanston, IL 60204-1665
    
    	(or, to order via credit card, call 
    	1-800-342-3342)
    
    -b

    Facets Video offers tapes for sale or for rent-by-mail, and carries an
    impressive inventory of foreign and/or hard-to-find films. For
    information, write to:
    
    	Facets Video
    	1517 West Fullerton Ave.
    	Chicago, IL 60614
    
    Or call 312-281-9075.
    
    -b

Re: .1

Do you know if they do PAL format ?  or only that N??? american format ?

    Re .3: Both of the places I listed are U.S. companies, and stock VHS
    exclusively, as far as I know. If anyone knows of mail-order sources
    for PAL-format video, they're welcome to post them here.
    
    -b

It's VHS in PAL format I need :-)

The USENET databases have information on tens of thousands of movies,
including directors, release years, alternate titles, cast, composer,
writers, cinematographers, character names, plot summaries, trivia, and
1-to-10 ratings (determined by vote).  Naturally, the amount of
information on different movies and people varies, depending on how
much someone cared about that item, but they usually form a good
starting point.  The lists themselves are maintained by an
international group of volunteers (I'm in the process of taking over
the writers list) who get updates from USENET readers.

The lists are posted on a rotating basis (usually one per week) to the
rec.arts.movies newsgroup, and are available for anonymous FTP from 
boulder.colorado.edu:pub/tv+movies/lists.  There are also packages of
programs and shell scripts there to produce nice listings, or you can
use grep/SEARCH.

But I digress...moderator, feel free to move this discussion to a more
appropriate place.

    The new Facets catalog is here! [Well, OK, I had to pay for it.]
    Catalog #12 added an index-by-director to the usual alphabetical index;
    this is neat, but would be neater if the indexing didn't have a few
    errors in it. "Whaddya mean, page 266? There's nothing ON page 266!"
    
    But there's lots of fun stuff in here. [Among other things, I was
    delighted to find that "Peking Opera Blues" is listed as available on
    video, so I don't have to wait 'til it comes around to the local rep
    theaters (though I expect it's more fun on the big screen).] There are
    heaps of old horror flicks, hard-to-find imports, experimental films,
    short subjects, and lots and lots of classics - all in all, a terrible
    temptation to someone who likes movies that the local video stores
    don't stock...
    
    Contact information hasn't changed from reply .2.
    
    -b

    
    
    
        Soooooo tell me how do I get on the USENET?????? Almost
    all the notes refer to USENET but, no one seems to be able 
    to tell me how to get on it...... Can you shed some light on
    it for me, please???????
    
    
                     Thanx in Advance
    
    
                 ***** Deadhead Lefty *****
    
    
                 

    There are lots of ways to get access to the usenet, and the information
    is somewhat scattered. I use VNEWS, a newsreader application for VMS;
    for information on that, see the CLO::VNEWS conference. Topic 1
    includes some basic info, topic 16 includes information on the VNEWS
    kits and how to get them, and note 240.1 happens to have a recent
    version of the command file used to install the kit.
    
    The UPSAR::NEWS-BACKBONE conference deals with usenet servers - which
    machines are available for you to hook into from VNEWS, status of
    various servers, problems, downtime, etc. 
    
    Skim through both conferences for "how-to" topics, etc., and you should
    be able to get going. And then you'll find out just how bad the
    signal-to-noise ratio is on the usenet. ;-)
    
    -b

But you don't need to skim anything for the databases; they are in a
single location for the grabbing.  That location has, incidentally,
moved since .6 was written; the primary location is now
refuge.colorado.edu:pub/tv_movies/lists -- but don't grab them until
you read the end of this message.

That is an anonymous FTP location; you can access anonymous FTP sites
through your FTP client by using the FTP pass-through server
(ftp-gw.pa.dec.com port 1555; from UNIX systems, use "ftp
ftp-gw.pa.dec.com 1555"; from VMS systems, I believe you need UCX V2.0
or greater).  Follow the directions that are printed; use a user name
of "anonymous", the site name "refuge.colorado.edu" and your E-mail
address as a password.

For the IP-impaired among you, you can also retrieve the databases
using E-mail; send a message to ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com (that's
DECWRL::FTPMAIL to you) with the subject of "help" for directions.

Beware: the databases are very large: currently over 6Mb just for the
basic lists, with a complete environment (including programs and
supplemental databases) consuming over 27Mb -- and they are growing fast.

A much better option for the casual browser is the relatively new
E-mail query server; send the word "help" to movie@ibmpcug.co.uk for
directions (if you don't know how to use that mail address, then you
really should learn; read DECWRL::"gateway.doc" for the details).

    Has anyone used "Flickers!", a PC application that supposedly includes
    a database of 30,000 movies, with directors, cast, reviews, ratings,
    and other such items of interest? The price is reasonable, but I'd like
    to know how accurate it is - and how complete. [There are few things
    more disappointing than getting a nifty new reference book - or program
    - and discovering that the things one wants to look up aren't
    included...]
    
    thx,
    -b

	Anyone know the current address of Pacific Arts Video? I lost my copy
of Koyaanisqaatsi and the local store tells me its out of print. I'd like to
confirm this if I can.

    RE: 5.3
    Hi,
    I will supply you with a reliable source in London, England, that
    I have used for many years. They will of course have no problem in
    supplying you with PAL cassettes.
    By the way, I don't know your whereabouts either. If classics are
    your interest, I suggest you get in touch with me (STKAI2::LOOW or
    e-mail Hans Loow @SOO)
    Regards,
    Hans

I see I haven't updated the information on the databases lately.  The
Internet Movie Databases include more than 500,000 facts on more than 40,000
movies, TV movies, miniseries, and series, including cast, crew, biographies,
production data, trivia, quotes, goofs, awards, and much more.

Key parts of the "access" file:

The movie database frequently asked questions list contains more information
on the whole movie database project. For a copy send an e-mail message with
the subject "HELP FAQ" to <movie@ibmpcug.co.uk>. Here is a summary of the
ways to access the database:

(1) e-mail interface
  
    For details send a message with the subject HELP to <movie@ibmpcug.co.uk>

(2) WWW interface

    The Internet Movie Database is available over the WWW (World Wide Web).
    There are numerous WWW clients (browsers) available for almost every
    system. e.g.

        NetScape (X, Windows, Mac)      ftp.mcom.com 
        Mosaic   (X, Windows, Mac)      ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu   /Web
        lynx     (vt100 terminal)       ftp.wustl.edu       /packages/www/lynx

    Using a WWW client, open one of the following URLs.

        http://www.cm.cf.ac.uk/Movies/welcome.html
        http://www.leo.org/Movies/welcome.html
        http://www.msstate.edu/Movies/welcome.html
        http://ballet.cit.gu.edu.au/Movies/welcome.html
        http://www.csl.sony.co.jp/Movies/welcome.html

    See the comp.infosystems.www.users newsgroup and its FAQ for more info
    on the WWW and discussion on availability of browsers for your system.

[You can also install locally on a UNIX, MS-DOS, or Amiga system, with Windows
coming soon; there's also a telnet interface to the WWW interface.  I left
these out, since they probably won't interest many people -- see the beginning
of this note if you want to know about them.]

    Just a quick note about Viewfinders (.1)
    
    I called them a few months ago to order a copy of "Reefer Madness". 
    After waiting several weeks with no film, I called back and they
    informed me that no copies were to be had, alas, but that they would
    keep searching and let me know if it turned up.
    
    Just before New Years', I got a package in the mail from them ... at
    last, success!
    
    My estimation for Viewfinders just went up several notches.  Bravo!
    
    						--Eric--

From the spring 1996 Critic's Choice Video mailorder catalog:

   Call the Critic's Choice Video Search Line to find any video
   in any format you want!  Just call 1-900-370-6500 ($1.95 for
   the first minute, $.95 each additional minute) Monday-Friday,
   9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Central Time.  You can request specific 
   titles, individual stars, or subject matter.  In many cases we 
   can locate a film even if you don't know the title!  Using our
   master database of 58,000 movies, we can often give you immediate
   availability and pricing information.  In other cases, we
   research your request and get back to you by mail. The decision 
   to buy -- or not to buy -- is yours.  There is no obligation.
   Over half our Video Search Line orders are shipped immediately - 
   most within 2 weeks!  If you order through the Video Search Line,
   you get a $5.00 discount coupon good on your next order.

Just fyi.  I've never used this service myself, though I've ordered
videos from their mailorder catalog.  The toll-free order number 
(through which I assume you can request a catalog) and address for 
Critic's Choice Video are:

	Critic's Choice Video
	P.O. Box 749
	Itasca, IL 60143-0749

	1-800-367-7765, 24 hrs/7 days

Enjoy!

-- Nina

    RE: .7
    
         While I was in Chicago a month ago, I went to find Facets Video
    and it was the seediest, run-down looking joint I had ever seen.  The
    catalog section was off-limits to visitors, so all I saw was the rental
    section (very small and limited selection).  What an amazing contrast
    to the very-professional, nice-looking catalog (with the HUGE
    selection) they produce!
    
                                      Greg

Hmm.  I see this update is long overdue -- this changed in March.

The Internet Movie Database has moved once again.  It can be accessed at

	http://www.imdb.com

which is easier to type, but harder to remember, than

	http://www.moviedatabase.com

However, that site is just the front page; you'll probably want to use the
server that is geographically closest to you.  Currently, those sites are

	http://us.imdb.com
	http://uk.imdb.com

The old sites redirect to this site, for a limited time, at least.

There are still E-mail and FTP interfaces; for E-mail, mail-server@imdb.com
(subject HELP).  There are too many FTP sites to list here, and they change
too often -- see http://us.imdb.com/interfaces.html for the current list.