Film fanatics can find others who share their obsession

Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Aug 15, 2004 by JIM BAINBRIDGE THE GAZETTE

Are you the only one in your circle of friends who still enjoys debating which version of "The Ladykillers" -- Tom Hanks or Alec Guinness -- is better? Are you tired of talking to your dog about how much you love "A Dog of Flanders," with Jack Warden and John Voight?

Then try cinephiles.net, a site that calls itself "the premiere world-wide community of individuals who are passionate about cinema." Film lovers can check out others' opinions about movies on the discussion forums; on a recent visit, the board was buzzing about "what defines a camp film."

If a movie piques your interest, the site has links to amazon.com so you can buy that DVD or VHS.

In some cases, such as "Dancing at Lughnasa" with Meryl Streep or "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" with Nicolas Cage, you even can buy the book it was based on or the soundtrack.

Cinephiles also can read concise, informative reviews written by the site's resident critic, a member of the San Diego Film Critics Society.

And, if you click with another cinephile and want to keep in touch, you can even sign up for a free e-mail address.

www.cinephiles.net

Daily Script is a collection of downloadable movie scripts and screenplays meant to "serve as a resource for writers and actors" or for those who simply appreciate good screenwriting.

A movie script is featured daily -- hence the name Daily Script -- from among the hundreds in the site's archive.

www.dailyscript.com

If you're the sort who finishes watching one of those "based on a true story" films and want to know more, the Web site for you is Reel Faces.

Not only does it run thumbnail profiles and side-by-side photos of the actors and the people they portrayed, but there is background material, stories, video clips, photos, reviews and shopping links.

For the page devoted to "The Pianist," for example, there are links to purchase the DVD of the film, the book upon which the film is based, an original CD of Wladyslaw Szpilman's playing and a CD of the soundtrack.

Its only flaw is that there isn't enough of it -- just 23 films so far.

www.chasingthefrog.com/reel faces/reel_faces.php

c Always curious about the historical accuracy of the films he watched, California graphic designer Tom Rust finally was spurred to action after watching "Gangs of New York."

Long hours of research on the Internet satisfied his curiosity about the veracity of Martin Scorsese's blood-soaked epic and convinced him of the need for a Web site that could sort out the history from the fiction. The result is Reel History, a work in progress that currently offers essays only on "Elizabeth," "Malcolm X" and "Titanic."

www.reelhistory.org

Turner Classic Movies does a fine job of providing the cable- network basics -- a searchable schedule and monthly spotlights -- but it also gives you games, downloads, discussion forums, a shopping section and a streaming-video archive with hundreds of trailers, classic movie scenes (including some deleted ones) and short documentaries, as well as a huge photo gallery.

www.turnerclassicmovies.com

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0126 or bainbird@gazette.com