It’s been nearly 20 years since the demise of CD-ROM movie resource Cinemania.
The last version ofCinemaniathat Microsoft released,Cinemania 97, was integrating web updates and working with internet technologies.
as one CD-ROM could handle.
Its the kind of thing thatd have you sending a technical support ticket to YouTube today.
But back in the mid-90s?
It was something of a revolution.
It wasnt much, but it felt like gold dust.
The curated lists, for instance, allow you to follow genres of film and get appropriate recommendations.
Furthermore, the tours feature is still superb.
Next up, Im going to listen to Haskell Wexler taking about cinematography.
These features are brilliant: a hugely accessible, entertaining film school.
Ironically, the more multimedia content thatCinemaniatried to squeeze on, the more compromises needed to be made.
Which thus madeCinemania, ultimately, more of a database to most.
One with a big advantage, and a big disadvantage.
Even with its focus primarily on English-language films,Cinemaniastruggled to keep on top of everything.
Tiny, of course, but its the thought that counted.
What you then got was admirable detail, though, even if these was not always much of it.
The reviews, though, especially Ebert and Kaels lengthier dissections, are flat-out delights.
All of which you’ve got the option to browse, before putting theRoboCopBlu-ray on again.
Furthermore, downloading the IMDb entire to view it offline is both illegal and illogical.
Ill sign up for whoever crowdfundsCinemania 2015right now, though.
