From wlrc@uhura.neoucom.edu Wed Nov  3 10:59:07 EST 1993
Article: 8994 of rec.video.releases
Xref: economic.mess.cs.cmu.edu rec.video.releases:8994 rec.arts.movies:143139
Newsgroups: rec.video.releases,rec.arts.movies
Path: cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu!nntp.club.cc.cmu.edu!news.mic.ucla.edu!library.ucla.edu!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!howland.reston.ans.net!usenet.ins.cwru.edu!neoucom.edu!wlrc
From: wlrc@uhura.neoucom.edu (William R. Cruce)
Subject: CINEMANIA '94, Review of CD-ROM for movie nuts
Message-ID: <1993Oct31.171525.12500@uhura.neoucom.edu>
Summary: For MS Windows on multi-media PCs 
Organization: Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine
Date: Sun, 31 Oct 1993 17:15:25 GMT
Lines: 100

OVERVIEW
     Microsoft has just released their 2nd CINEMANIA CD-ROM, the
first update in 2 years.  This one is a winner (with one or two 
flaws, see below).  It is slickest and most comprehensive single
software title containing movie reviews that I have ever seen. 
It now includes real sound and motion film clips in addition to
thousands of still pictures (detailed contents listed below). 
The Windows interface is easy to use with all person names, film
titles, and glossary words available from a single contents list. 
When a film has more than one review available, or a film clip,
etc., that is all indicated by lights on the search panel.  The
list price is $60 and it includes a coupon for a $15 rebate if
you bought the '92 version of CINEMANIA (proof requires receipt,
back page of the booklet, or your registration card).  I sent in
my registration card because Microsoft had promised that would
entitle me to notices about upgrades.  I pointed this out to them
in a letter I am sending in with the coupon.

REQUIREMENTS
     Multimedia PC, 386SX or higher, 2MB RAM, 4MB hard disk space,
CD-ROM drive, audio board, VGA (16 or 256 color), MS-DOS 3.1 or
later, MS Windows 3.1 or later, Mouse, Headphones or speakers.

FLAWS
     Since the packaging proclaims that CINEMANIA '94 contains
"the complete text of LEONARD MALTIN'S MOVIE AND VIDEO GUIDE
1994," I was anticipating having CD-ROM access to the film format
information (Cinemascope, Panavision, etc.) contained in Maltin's
new book.  Unfortunately that was missing.  All of Maltin's
latest reviews, covering releases up through mid-summer of 1993,
are there, but not the format information given at the end of the
reviews.  Bummer.
     I caught one serious error in James Monaco's glossary. 
VistaVision was defined as originating from a 70mm negative.  In
the first place 70mm prints originate from 65mm negatives and in
the second place VistaVision is filmed on 35mm stock, but
sideways so the frame is larger than a standard 35mm format. 
When I find one error like this on my first try, it makes me
suspicious that there are others.

COMPETITION
     The only serious competition is MOVIE SELECT from Paramount
Interactive.  It claims to contain over 44,000 reviews.  While I
haven't counted them, it certainly has obscure reviews that I can
find nowhere else, including in the CINEMANIA '94.  It is not
quite as up-to-date: for example, JURASSIC PARK is not there.  It
has at least two different ways of searching for a title, neither
of which is as smooth and fast as CINEMANIA's.  MOVIE SELECT also
has a non-standard Windows interface that, for example, does not
allow minimizing or capture to the clipboard;  CINEMANIA has, as
you would expect from Microsoft, a pretty standard Windows
interface;  most text items can be captured to the clipboard and
transferred to other files.
     Older CD-ROM movie programs were ROGER EBERT '92 (1200
reviews, 80 interviews, and 20 essays, now updated and included
in CINEMANIA), VIDEO MOVIE GUIDE '93 (Martin & Porter, 12,000
reviews, cross-indexed) with a modest Windows search engine and
clipboard capability, and MEGA MOVIE GUIDE (claiming over 50,000
reviews but many of those are duplicate or triplicate reviews -in
a foreign language) with a horrendous DOS search engine.

CINEMANIA CONTENTS
     The information below was captured from CINEMANIA '94 to the
Windows clipboard and edited slightly.  It is reproduced here
under the Fair Use doctrine, without permission.  "Copyright (c)
1993, Microsoft Corp."

PRINTED BOOK VERSIONS INCLUDED:
    Leonard Maltin's capsule reviews of more than 19,000 movies
from his Movie and Video Guide 1994, plus:
    Roger Ebert's detailed reviews of more than 1,200 movies
from his Video Companion 1994,
    Pauline Kael's brief reviews of more than 2,500 movies from
her 5001 Nights at the Movies, and
    Baseline's detailed reviews of classic and recent films from
The Motion Picture Guide.

BIOGRAPHIES:  Biographies and filmographies of nearly 4,000
performers and other film people from Baseline's Encyclopedia of
Film and Ephraim Katz's Film Encyclopedia.

TOPICS:  Articles on more than 850 movie topics from Baseline's
Encyclopedia of Film and Ephraim Katz's Film Encyclopedia, as
well as glossary definitions from James Monaco's How To Read a
Film.

AWARD LIST:  A complete listing of all Academy Award nominees and
winners since their inception in 1927.

GALLERY:  A Multimedia Gallery that lets you browse through
Cinemania's pictures, dialogue, music, and film clips.

LISTMAKER:  A tool for creating and printing lists of movies.

DEMO:  A narrated, animated, introductory tutorial on Cinemania. 

CREDITS:  A detailed listing of all the sources used in
Cinemania. 
-- 
William L.R. (Bill) Cruce [N8WWV]    INTERNET: wlrc@uhura.neoucom.edu