Letterboxd is the perfect factor to occur to movie nerds since IMDb, which is sort of stunning given how simple it’s. Just like the Movie Twitter reply to Goodreads, it’s a social community/on-line catalogue the place you’ll be able to price or evaluate motion pictures, choose just a few of your favorites to focus on in your profile, and comply with your pals and favourite critics. But, Letterboxd is extra than simply “what if social media, however for motion pictures?” Dig slightly deeper and you will find some helpful instruments for managing your cinema obsession.
If you have not used Letterboxd earlier than, it is out there for Android, iOS, or on the web. Anybody can entry it to browse motion pictures, learn evaluations, and see consumer scores, however so as to make a watchlist or depart your personal evaluations, you may have to create a (free) account.
And that is the place the enjoyable begins. You possibly can assemble and share your personal lists of flicks group by any classification you need, from WWII movies in chronological order to movies with the highest kill counts. You possibly can add tags to prepare your collections of movies you have watched or need to watch, get suggestions from the neighborhood, and (with a paid subscription) even customise the show web page for each film and get notified when stuff in your to-watch record arrives on streaming.
Listed here are 5 methods to get extra out of Letterboxd.
Create customized watchlists
An enormous a part of what makes Letterboxd so interesting is that while you discover a film you need to see, you’ll be able to add it to your Watchlist to recollect for later. (Simply press the massive + button on the underside proper, then faucet Watchlist.) That is additionally sort of the app’s greatest weak point. It is good at first, however as your Watchlist grows, it turns into simply as troublesome to decide on one thing to observe from it as it’s scrolling endlessly through Netflix.
That is the place customized lists come in useful. A bit under the Watchlist button, you may see “Add to lists,” which helps you to create your personal public or non-public lists. As a substitute of dumping the whole lot into your commonplace Watchlist, it’s best to create lists for various genres, completely different actors, completely different many years, and even solely primarily based on vibes.
I am unable to advocate this follow sufficient. It is a few additional steps, particularly as you first begin to create lists, however it makes Letterboxd a lot extra helpful. My companion and I take advantage of a shared record for motion pictures we need to watch collectively when we’ve a film evening. I maintain a separate record for horror motion pictures I do know they will not need to see, and one other record for my favourite motion pictures I do know I can rewatch again and again. This straightforward function turns Letterboxd into your personal private Spotify for motion pictures, albeit one the place you’re in sole management of the “algorithm.”
Get higher suggestions with public lists
Your personal lists are a good way to prepare your assortment of flicks you have watched or need to watch, however you might not even have to hassle creating them, since Letterboxd customers love to create their very own lists and share them. If the almighty algorithm in your favourite streaming service is not arising with a superb advice, browse Letterboxd’s public lists.
Once I say customers love making these lists, I imply it. Take, for instance, this record of flicks “for when you want to feel something” that not solely has nice recs like Up or Parasite, however is organized by poster shade. Or this artistic record that pairs classic romantic films with similar modern counterparts that will help you discover older movies you would possibly like.
Since these public lists are created by precise people, for those who discover an individual whose tastes you want, you’ll be able to comply with them. If somebody places a ton of labor into curating one record, there is a first rate likelihood they’ve others you may additionally like. Not like most algorithm-controlled social media apps, Letterboxd makes it simple to see an actual, human connection to a different particular person.
Separate lists are higher than one big Watchlist, however for my cash, tags are a superior organizing system (although they each serve their functions). You possibly can create your personal customized tags when including or modifying a evaluate of a film—as many as you need—and provides as many motion pictures these tags as you deem crucial.
Tags work greatest for marking genres or traits motion pictures have in widespread, however that do not essentially want their very own devoted record. For instance, you would possibly tag a few of your motion pictures as “healthful” or “intestine wrenching” relying on what happens to the dog in the end.
You may also get extra artistic along with your tags. For instance, certainly one of my favourite tags is “psychological well being metaphors,” for movies which have fascinating allegories for psychological sickness; or “eat the wealthy,” a really explicit subgenre that’s surprisingly robust. I even have the tag “haha what the f” for these motion pictures which can be simply too incomprehensible to explain.
What do you assume up to now?
You possibly can add tags by choosing to “Overview or log” a film, although you’ll be able to depart the evaluate textual content clean. As you add extra tags, you’ll be able to browse and kind motion pictures with them. In your profile, you may discover a tab in your tags, and you’ll browse all of the tags you have created and see all the flicks that match them.
Get notified when motion pictures hit streaming (with a Professional subscription)
The free model of Letterboxd is fairly nice, however a Professional subscription takes it a step additional. The Professional tier prices $19 per 12 months, which averages out to about $1.58 monthly. (Although there is no month-to-month choice, solely an annual plan.).
On the Professional tier, you will not see any adverts on the service, which is already a win—generally Letterboxd’s advert placement is so bizarre that it obscures the location’s key options. (Sizzling tip: scroll previous the advert in your profile to seek out your evaluations and lists!) For those who use the app so much, eliminating adverts is already definitely worth the entry charge.
The star of the Professional present, although, is the streaming service filter: Add the streaming providers you utilize, and any time any film in your watchlist involves a kind of providers, you may get a notification within the app.
Decide your posters and get your title featured (with a Patron subscription)
One degree above the Professional tier is the Patron subscription, which prices $49 a 12 months. That is the tier you need to go along with for those who’re feeling Letterboxd a lot you need to throw additional assist to the builders. Which is truthful—it is sort of unbelievable how a lot of this app’s performance is totally free.
On the Professional tier, you do get a few additional perks. You possibly can customise the poster that’s displayed for the flicks you have logged or added to a listing. These alternate posters will probably be seen to you, in addition to another customers who’ve opted in to seeing completely different posters of their settings. You may also add backdrops to your profiles, lists, and evaluations to make them look a bit flashier.
Talking of, since this can be a social web site, you may even have a blue “Patron” label subsequent to your username (Professional supporters get an orange “Professional” badge). It is nothing greater than a beauty addition, however it’s a good method to really feel part of a neighborhood of movie nerds all sharing what they love. For those who’re obsessive about motion pictures and need to share that zeal with everybody else, Letterboxd is for you.
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