That one with that guy who was in the movie that was out last year ... ooh, Navy Seals!

January 7, 2007 7:14 AM

Mefi-ites, please give me some general tips on how to identify a movie I once saw in passing, and now desperately can't identify. IMDB, Wikipedia, Koreanfilm, all provide too many results. Are there sites with dynamic search options could help those of us afflicted with this problem to narrow the list to, say, something like "south korean sci-fi in the last 5-8 years with futuristic robots, a scientists' dead son who is revived, and featuring beautiful blue-screen effects" (or something like that)?
posted by mrmcsurly to society & culture (10 comments total)

Casshern
posted by urbanwhaleshark at 7:32 AM on January 7, 2007

More than likely you're talking about Casshern. I'm shocked that you could ever forget such a film, it being perhaps the craziest movie to come out of Japan and one of the very few films that have left me truly speechless after it was over.
posted by nixerman at 7:33 AM on January 7, 2007

IMDB Power Search is pretty neat. It's a pay service w/free trials.
posted by box at 9:27 AM on January 7, 2007

Allmovie has a lot of information, but it's not necessarily easy to get to it. And lots of union library catalogs (WorldCat, for example) have the same kind of features, though the library catalogs are better for limiting by publisher or copyright date than, say, themes or actors.
posted by box at 9:29 AM on January 7, 2007

IMDB Power Search is pretty neat. It's a pay service w/free trials.

IMdB Power Search is entirely free and so far always has been. The "free trial" you're seeing referred to is the spammed-everywhere-on-IMdB ad for IMdBpro.com.

Although you apparently already have an answer, IMdB's "plot keywords" would be your friend in similar circumstances.
posted by WCityMike at 11:06 AM on January 7, 2007

Props for that title. Ooh, Navy Seals! Indeed.

Anyhow, if you're old like me, you can always try Usenet movie groups. I don't think there's a movie the people on rec.arts.movies.past-films can't identify, and the people on alt.movies.silent are so knowledgeable it's frightening.
posted by smashingstars at 1:45 PM on January 7, 2007

Thanks for reminding me about Casshern. I completely forgot about it after being blown away by the trailer a few years ago. Anyone know where someone in the US (DC, specifically) can find a copy?
posted by squarehead at 2:48 PM on January 7, 2007

I got my version of Casshern from yesasia.com. I don't remember how long it took to deliver, but it wasn't unreasonable.

I opted for the special edition, but they have several available, including a limited edition coming later this month.
posted by blind.wombat at 3:31 PM on January 7, 2007

IMDB Power Search is NOT a pay service.
posted by dgeiser13 at 4:32 PM on January 7, 2007

There was an earlier AskMefi thread about Casshern here. The general consensus is that although the trailer is kick-ass, the movie does not live up to it. Borrow, don't buy.
posted by Hogshead at 5:00 PM on January 7, 2007