What is the Internet Movie Database?:
How to find what you're looking for at IMDB:
- Go straight to the Video page to get an overview of all that IMDb has to offer. There are videos, movie trailers, full length movies, and lots more multimedia here.
- Navigate to the Full-Length Movies to see all of the free films at the Internet Movie Database. These are organized alphabetically.
- Probably your best search option is the main Search Videos page. Here, you'll see many search filters, but the most useful are down the right-hand side: Refine by Type, Refine by Provider, Refine by Genre, etc.
A few of the more helpful and or interesting Internet Movie Database search strings were Character Name Search, Crazy Credits Search, Plot Summary Search, and Soundtracks Search. I would highly recommend that you use this Internet Movie Database Search Shortcuts page if you use the IMDb on a regular basis; it really, really cuts down on your searching time and it's also a great way to explore more of what the Internet Movie Database has to offer.
IMDB University:
- Internet Movie Database Classes: This is separated into class years, i.e., freshman, sophomore, etc.
- IMDb Frequently Asked Questions: Links not only to FAQ, bu Message Boards Helpdesk, information on using IMDb's images, and an A to Z index for the Internet Movie Database.
Special features of the site:
- A to Z Index: Already mentioned this above, but it's worth a repeat. The Internet Movie Database site states that this is not an exhaustive list of all that's on the site, but it's a pretty good start.
- Internet Movie Database Directory: A directory of all the IMDb's features.
- Film Genres: Gives you a good list of browsable mega-topics.
Why should I use the Internet Movie Database?:
IMDB:
IMDB is, in a word, extensive. The site offers a staggering array of information related to the entertainment industry: scrips, trivia, director/producer information, publicity contacts, plot summaries, movie trailers, etc. In addition to background information, the Internet Movie Database also offers exclusive character resources (biographies and memorable quotes from recurring TV show or movie characters), and the ability to instantly watch thousands of TV shows and movies on the site itself.
Internet Movie Database users are invited to participate in the site's ever-growing wealth of information by rating movies on a rating scale. The IMDB Top 250 is based on these user votes of confidence (or disapproval), steadily rotating a list of movies through the list of favorites depending on votes received.
Each page associated with a movie or TV show on IMDB offers several consistent features:
- a plot outline
- a plot summary (short version of the plot outline)
- a plot synopsis
- keywords
- cast information
- any relevant quotes
- message boards

