llwatchers is a film database with a difference, an offbeat attempt to categorize movies by their story structure. Instead of focusing on actors, directors and other creative talents involved in a movie, Allwatchers analyzes films based on their plot points, the type of characters they contain, or specific themes or story elements. Looking to see every movie ever made that features clones as characters? Allwatchers can provide a list in mere seconds.
First and foremost, this is a Web page for people who know just what they like ... and who want even more. One-click plot searches allow users to bring up listings of, for example, superhero movies or films with giant monsters. The statistics on films are sparely delivered and frequently make for hilarious reading, as Allwatchers' reviewers rate film protagonists from the Terminator to Marty McFly on their physique, smarts, sense of humor and emotional sensitivity.
Allwatchers covers all genres of film, but site visitors can move directly to a specialized section of the site to perform SF searches. The site also has a sister page that breaks down novel and television plots in exactly the same way for other fans.
This site will never form any serious competition for a straightforward movie database like the Internet Movie Database, but it does offer hard data for researchers seeking out shared themes in movies, for writers looking to compare their stories against standard narrative themes (or cliches), and, of course, for fans seeking movies of a type they particularly enjoy.
— A.M. Dellamonica
Site of the Week—November 24, 2003
ans of the SF classic film The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) owe much of their enjoyment, whether they realize it or not, to the work of one Bernard Herrmann (1911-1975). It was the eminent composer Herrmann who scored that film's evocative music, of course, just as he did for The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958) and Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959); for numerous Twilight Zone episodes; and, most famously, for several Alfred Hitchcock films, including Psycho (1960). But this list hardly exhausts Herrmann's extensive credits, as you will see for yourself if you visit the homepage of The Bernard Herrmann Society.
Here you'll encounter interviews with the composer, as well as critical appreciations of his work. The reminiscences of his friend Elmer Bernstein, "the last active film composer from Hollywood's Golden Age," are particularly illuminating. You'll be apprised of the latest recordings available, be able to view photos of the man and learn about upcoming Society plans for promoting the work of the artist some deem the world's greatest "composer for films." (Herrmann disliked the term "film composer.") And there's a lively forum for online discussion of the music as well. About the only thing missing from this well-designed and easy-to-navigate site are sound files so that you might sample the music itself. But I suppose copyright issues preclude such tasty snippets. You'll just have to rent one of the many films Herrmann scored, sit back and enjoy!
— Paul Di Filippo
Site of the Week—November 17, 2003
ight now, only government employees and the very rich can go into space. But if the organizers of the X-Prize get their way, all of that's going to change.
The $10 million prize will be awarded to the first private team that successfully launches a three-man team on a suborbital flight twice in two weeks in the same spacecraft. The prize draws inspiration from the aviation prizes of the 1920s and 30s, one of which—the $25,000 Orteig prize—provided the impetus for Charles Lindbergh's heroic first transcontinental flight. This time around, the X-Prize's organizers are hoping its multimillion-dollar purse will provide the impetus that jump-starts the space tourism industry.
The foundation's Web site backs up its mission with an array of tools. Spaceflight fans can check out profiles of each of the prize's 20-odd contestants. These profiles provide a brief explanation of how a given team plans to reach the X-Prize's required 62.5-mile altitude and photos (or artistic renderings) of the various spacecraft. The sheer diversity of the designs is amazing—there are straightforward rockets, combination gliders/rocket planes and even a flying saucer.
Elsewhere on the site there's an education section, which offers downloadable projects for kids and adults, a design project for university students and the EGGS Prize, in which middle-school kids compete to launch a water-powered rocket with an egg payload to an altitude of 98.4 ft. The "Images and FAQ" area answers questions about the prize and presents 10 pages' worth of photos for download. And, of course, there's always the "Rules" section for those who want to take a shot at the prize themselves.
— Ken Newquist
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