Japanese Movie Database

[Gaijin84]

Does one exist? Similar to this HKMDB?

If not, one should be created using the input of the contributors to this site. Seems to be a lot of cross-over knowledge with Asian movies in general. www.jpmdb.com anyone?

[PAUL MARTINEZ]

It's a good idea. I think it should include Korean & Thai films as well.

[Gaijin84]

Agreed - there is absolutely nothing on the web (that I can find) that covers these movies in quantity and detail

[Brian Thibodeau]

I believe HKMDB's Ryan Law runs the KRMDB.com, a database for Korean films similar to this one, but to the best of my knowledge, it's only in Chinese. Unless I'm missing the way into the English version somehow.

I agree, there's a screaming need for a resource like this one for Japanese films. Surely there's plenty of material published in book form on the subject - the problem would be translating it and compiling it into something usable.

Thai films would be a tricky prospect as, based on what I've read, a lot of old Thai films have been lost over the years due to mistreatment, etc., so the task of cataloguing the films of the 30's to the 70's is probably an unenviable one.

[calros]

The best japanese movie databases are in japanese.

The most complete japanese movie database (only cast and crew) is... The Japanese Movie Database: http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/

The best japanese movie database of films from 1950-2005 (half of the cast, half of the crew, synopsis, commentary) are Goo : http://movie.goo.ne.jp/ and MovieWalker: http://www.walkerplus.com/movie/kinejun/

The best japanese movie database of film/video/TV 1950-2005 (links to DVDs) is Allcinema: http://www.allcinema.net/prog/index2.php

At least, MovieWalker and Goo offer the katakana of most of the cast and crew...

[Gaijin84]

So all we need are a bunch of japanese movie freaks that are bilingual and a website! lol

everything has to start somewhere... any volunteers?

[ChItz]

thanx nice post....

[heinz Germany]

Anybody knows the best source for Japanese movie pictures ??

[Gaijin84]

Not sure of one yet, but I did go ahead and buy jpmdb.com - I'm working on getting an online submission form together so that people can add movies/crew/pictures to the database. If anyone is interested in being an editor and being a contributor for this, please let me know. I plan on modeling it on this hkmdb, as I feel it's by far the best on the web.

[bkasten]

Not sure of one yet, but I did go ahead and buy jpmdb.com - I'm working on getting an online submission form together so that people can add movies/crew/pictures to the database. If anyone is interested in being an editor and being a contributor for this, please let me know. I plan on modeling it on this hkmdb, as I feel it's by far the best on the web.

That's really great news. Good luck.

And thanks for the the comment...although there is still lots of things that will change here both on the front-end and the back-end. Of course one of the biggest challenges is running a true bi-lingual site like we do here. But, IMNSHO, it is absolutely necessary.

[Emperor]

Not sure of one yet, but I did go ahead and buy jpmdb.com - I'm working on getting an online submission form together so that people can add movies/crew/pictures to the database. If anyone is interested in being an editor and being a contributor for this, please let me know. I plan on modeling it on this hkmdb, as I feel it's by far the best on the web.

Well done - sounds like a very important project.

I know a thing or two about PHP/MySQL so if you run into any problems or want to bounce ideas off me PM me.

It'd alos be a good idea to bring in as many online groups as possible - there are, for example, a lot of very knowledgable and enthusiastic people here:

www.kfccinema.com/xtemplex/

Good luck and keep us informed on how things go.

[Gaijin84]

Thanks! I welcome your help!

I'll keep this site updated as well as I'm sure there are lots of people that are fans of both country's movies. I'd love to have it as a sister-site to HKMDB in the future - cross promotion and such. There is really no viable source for this info on the web. I also agree with guilo that having it bilingual would be ideal and an eventual goal, but an english version is probably the best place to start.
One of the biggest hurdles is going to have editors that are truly interested in the material and submitting correct information... not those that do not care for the accuracy of the site. Again, one of the most impressive parts of HKMDB is the level of knowledge and care that people take in making sure the site is as accurate as possible.

[heinz Germany]

Did You post this an the Japanese Martial Arts Film forum ? there are the real Jap movie lovers
http://pub3.ezboard.com/fkungfufandomfrm25

[Gaijin84]

I'll definitely post it here as well as soon as there is something for people to see

I think one issue is going to be having people believe it is a helpful site while it is being updated. No one is going to care about a move database that only has a few hundred movies in it, no matter how well it is presented.

It's going to be tough maintaining quality while trying to boost quantity

[bkasten]

I'll definitely post it here as well as soon as there is something for people to see
I think one issue is going to be having people believe it is a helpful site while it is being updated. No one is going to care about a move database that only has a few hundred movies in it, no matter how well it is presented.
It's going to be tough maintaining quality while trying to boost quantity

True enough. One thing you could do is is start with just a forum, and then try to enlist people to get the core group going. Like most groups--of almost any size it seems--there will be that very small core group of truly essential people. The fringe members of that core may change over time, but there will always be the core. It's clear enough, for instance, who they are on this site.

Another thing you could do is what HKMDB did when it came into existence--start with a pre-populated database. Ryan Law is still solely responsible for a large part of the content of this database. When this site was being converted to a dynamic database driven site in 1999 (back when that was a "new" thing) there was a HUGE amount of initial data, so that when the site went live it was already quite usable and valuable as a research tool. As such, although I run and maintain all technical aspects of the site these days, and the editors constantly add and refine data, it is still very much Ryan's work, and this site is still very important to Ryan. It's a labor of love. And it has to be as there is absolutely no aspect to this site that makes money.

Ryan has a Korean Cinema sister site (it is only in Chinese) krmdb.com that actually is commercially viable...but then again the Korean movie industry is in better shape than is HK's.

Again, good luck.

[Emperor]

guilao is right:

1. It shouldn't be hard to pre-populate the database - only recently I had a list of 500 zombie movies in Word that I was able to export to MySQL and hand over to a site to make use of (and I may make use of it myself). I would imagine if you got enough fans together you could start a thread to list japanese films - Name, year and pos. IMDB link would suffice for now (if you ask around you may find someone with a list or a couple of people with speciliats lists). You could get 500-1,000 entries together easily. You can export that rapidly into a database and then set the users to improving and editting things. Haivng a system where users can add updates and editors only need to authorise them will mean the entries will be rapidly fleshed out- Spread the workload as much as possible while maintaining quality

2. Get a forum in as a priority. You can then start co-ordinating activity form there. I can install phpBB2 in about 5 minutes if you want.

3. Sign up as affiliates to places like Amazon and YesAsia and then offer links so people can buy things. It should help defray costs (as might bangig in GoogleAds). You aren't going to beocme rich but you shouldn't have to foot the bill

Emps

[Gaijin84]

thank you very much for the recommendations and support Emperor! Planning on getting it started this weekend (at least a splash page) and implementing your forum point as well

hopefully there is something to see in a few days

[Emperor]

thank you very much for the recommendations and support Emperor! Planning on getting it started this weekend (at least a splash page) and implementing your forum point as well

hopefully there is something to see in a few days

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Emps

[garycheah]

great sites...thanks for sharing!

[Jean-Claude Michel]

"Bonjour" to everybody... from France.
Concerning databases, there is a partial Japanese database, devoted to Horror, Fantasy and SF movies; it's in English too, and to date they have repertoried more than 1,000 titles, with complete cast/crew credits, notification of remakes, recurrent themes, etc. Here is the link:
http://www.fjmovie.com/horror/


For Korean films, there is a COMPLETE database and in English !!! I use this site since at least two years. You can make "selective" searches, for instance you can type "ghost films" and you'll have all the movies dealing with the subject, or having the word "ghost" in the title. Idem for actors, directors, technicians, etc. Plus, a synopsis virtually for each film, stills, and often reproductions of the posters !!! plus trivia like the release date, number of spectators, etc. The link is below:

http://www.koreafilm.or.kr/english/

For Indian movies, several databases exist, but I don't know if any is "complete". Some are for Marathi films, others for Hindi films, etc. But on Indian movies we have several books published, anyway.

For Thailand, it's really a problem, as for the Philippines, etc.

[STSH]

So all we need are a bunch of japanese movie freaks that are bilingual and a website! lol

everything has to start somewhere... any volunteers?

I spend a fair bit of my non-HK movie time (though there's not much left by then !) translating Japanese cast information and uploading it to IMDb.
For all its faults and gaps, IMDb has pretty good coverage of Japanese movies. I've updated literally hundreds of J movies there. My grasp of JIS is poor, so any Db which printed in Japanese only, or mainly Japanese, would stump me entirely.
What I mainly do is transliterate names to English writing then add them.
I also have the advantage of a sleeping dictionary.

My current project is updating movies of my favourite J actress, Hideko Takamine, whose career spanned 50 years (1929-1979). I was fortunate to pick up a program of a huge retrospective of her films while in Tokyo last year. 80 films - it was one SERIOUS retrospective.

So, don't be too hard on IMDb. Well, for the Japanese films at least.
For HK movies - take with at least a pound of salt.

[STSH]

Not sure of one yet, but I did go ahead and buy jpmdb.com - I'm working on getting an online submission form together so that people can add movies/crew/pictures to the database. If anyone is interested in being an editor and being a contributor for this, please let me know. I plan on modeling it on this hkmdb, as I feel it's by far the best on the web.

Okay, I'll volunteer.
Keep me informed.

Another question to tackle - scope.
If you aim to cover all Japanese film, then it would be a bigger Db than even hkmdb, as Japan has been producing a-list (and of course cheaper stuff too) films for decades more than HK.
Perhaps start with just martial arts / swordplay then branch out ? Or start with recent films and work back.

[Mike Thomason]

Thai films would be a tricky prospect as, based on what I've read, a lot of old Thai films have been lost over the years due to mistreatment, etc., so the task of cataloguing the films of the 30's to the 70's is probably an unenviable one.

Yes, it's true...records and research seem to all point towards around 75% of Thai cinema having been lost to the ages. But as to what's left, here's a work-in-progress out of Thailand itself...

http://www.thaifilmdb.com/en/

@ STSH: What is wrong with saying you have a Japanese wife/partner? There are some of us out here (and I speak for myself at this point in time) that find your repeated referal to her as your "sleeping dictionary" downright offensive at a racial level -- though I doubt that really bothers you or you wouldn't say it in the first place...

For those that are unaware of what the term "sleeping dictionary" implies, there was an American film made about the subject...

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0242888/

...though lifting its British Colonial origins and transposing them to early twentieth century Sarawak should be viewed as the usual Hollywood liberty-taking work of fiction that it is. There are no recorded incidences of such a thing taking place in former British-Borneo and the film, when originally released, was considered in some parts of the Iban community (as Jessica Alba's character is identified as Iban of origin) downright insulting towards their ancestors' cultural history.

The intimation of a "sleeping dictionary" is a woman who sleeps (or offers sex) with a man of another culture in trade to teach him her own culture, language and practices. My apologies for taking this topic off track, but I personally find the usage of the expression "sleeping dictionary" (whether intoned in jest or not) in repeated fashion both deeply offensive and morally indefensible -- especially when placed in context of the culturally respectful environment it is being housed within.

[STSH]

For those that are unaware of what the term "sleeping dictionary" implies, there was an American film made about the subject...

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0242888/

Don't forget that there are other points of view. For one such alternate view, read one of the best interracial romances published in the 1950s, The Wind Cannot Read by Richard Mason. I sourced the term from this book, and therefore use it as a term of familiarity and even affection.

And before you go casting aspertions, remember that this isn't alt.asian-movies. Flaming isn't the norm here.

[bkasten]

OK Andrew has responded, so let's carry on now...and not bring the matter up again in this forum. I invite you to discuss it further between yourselves in private if necessary. Indeed, I left this up until now because it is a matter very close to my own heart and one I take very seriously. (As I have stated elsewhere, my long term significant other is Chinese.) This just isn't the right place for this discussion--largely because it takes us away from our intended purpose of making a perfect movie database, and the weight and depth of the issues concerning this topic are mostly outside the purview of a movie database website...even one that serves as a cultural bridge like this one does.

Maybe at some point in the future we can revive and explore some aspects of this discussion subject under more controlled and impersonal circumstances.