https://letterboxd.com/
In today's world, media consumption is the name of the game. Everywhere you go, you're bombarded with media of all sorts--TV ads, radio jingles, news broadcasts, political tweets, and on and on. Not to mention the internet, which contains a near-infinite stream of videos, songs, photos, ideas, and just about anything else you could imagine. And our habits reinforce this; on average, internet users spend 6½ hours a day online. And this isn't a small subset of hardcore gamers or anything--we're talking about 4.4 billion internet users across the world spending more than 6 hours online every day.
Even if you didn't realize it, we live in an era where the abundance of media is overwhelming. The fact that we have so many things to watch is kind of funny when you think about it. Though it can be stressful when you open up your phone and see how long the list of movies and shows is, it's not a terrible problem to have.
Many of us are eager to bring some sense of orderliness to our lives. Enter a site like Letterboxd, which is both a film-tracking service and a social media hub. If you're familiar with Goodreads, Letterboxd is quite similar. It not only lets you discuss and discover new films, but it also helps you keep track of the flicks you've already watched.
I'm going to explore the service Letterboxd in detail in this review. What is its best use? And is it able to help organize your cultural life? What attracted me to Letterboxd was the idea that I could keep track of anything film-related in one place, and ultimately reduce my mental clutter. So I want to explore if that's really the case, and see how you can use it best yourself.
How it Started
It now has over 120 million monthly active users, and continues to grow.
The letterboxd website first launched in beta mode in late 2011 at Brooklyn Beta, where it quickly became popular among software developers. In early 2013, the site went public with a larger user base and a tiered membership structure that offered both free and premium subscriptions. At present, the site has over 120 million monthly active users and is continuing to grow rapidly.
How it Works
When you're dealing with a service that's equal parts film database and a communal discussion forum, it can be a bit daunting to figure out how the website works. Basically, it goes something like this: Let's say you're thinking of watching a new movie and you want to see whether the online community gives it a thumbs up. Rather than deal with Rotten Tomatoes' ranking system (which divides audience ratings from critics?), you can head to Letterboxd and see what the community thinks of it. Letterboxd combines ratings from both big-name critics and everyday folks like me. For example, at this moment, Parasite boasts a 4.6 out of 5-star rating with thousands and thousands of reviews.
Finally, there?s a full spoiler-free movie review.
Scroll down to read a synopsis of the film and find out more about the cast and crew. There are also recent and popular reviews below, with nothing hidden. Finally, we have full movie reviews.
Then, we meet one of Letterboxd?s best features. Beneath the title?s thumbnail at the top of the page, you see a small ?Where to Watch? tab. This marvelous feature shows you which streaming services and/or networks the film is currently available on, and whether or not you can rent or buy the film there. This feature is a result of a recent partnership with JustWatch. Rather than bouncing between each of your streaming services manually, this feature allows you to get to watching without a moment wasted.
Anyway, after you finish watching your movie, you can save it and add it to your diary. Over time, you'll accumulate quite a retrospective that you can return to at your leisure. In your diary, you'll find the movies you logged, the date you logged them on, and your rating and review (if you gave one). All these parameters can be made public or private. You can sort through them, too, using filters like "decade", "genre", or "rating"? Personally, this is my favorite part of Letterboxd, as it helps me consolidate my thoughts.
Another fantastic feature of Letterboxd's consortium of features is its lists section. Here, users can group collections of films and share them with other users. These lists can be followed, shared, liked, etc. Because it's such a popular feature, users put a lot of work into cultivating their lists. As I browse now, some examples of lists are Anxiety-Induced Cinema; High Art Genre Movies; and A24 - Complete Filmography. Browse for a few minutes and you'll find half a dozen lists that will catch your interest and get you excited about seeing those new films.
So what we've got on Letterboxd is a website that covers all the bases for film lovers. From the beginning of your film search to the end, you can find discussion, analysis, and reflection here. Plus, it has a community-based ranking system, social media style comment-and-like platform, IMDb-like database, and user-curated lists. It's hard to imagine a better designed website than this one.
Mobile Experience
I was expecting the worst when I opened Letterboxd on my phone?s Chrome browser for the first time. But surprisingly, I was wrong and for once, happy to be wrong. The website is so comprehensive with its all-encompassing features, but surprisingly, it was easy to implement this cleanly on mobile. And the Letterboxd app is also clean as clean gets.
There really isn't much to complain about when using the app or website â both are easy to use and navigate. logging films you've watched is very easy, and the interface in Letterboxd is just as intuitive on a desktop client. It's impressive that the app was created 10 years ago but it still looks modern and clean.
Letterboxd Pro/Patron
Patron membership comes with all of the Pro features plus a host of other benefits, such as invitations to VIP screenings and meetups, early access to new features, and a custom cover photo.
Depending on your needs and budget, you can choose between a free membership and a paid membership plan at Letterboxd. Pro members have additional features including year-in-review stats, more control over filters in the activity feed, and other numerical breakdowns. Plus, Patron members get bonuses like invitations to VIP screenings and meetups, early access to new features, and a custom cover photo.
Then there is the Patron membership which costs a good chunk more than the Pro. For $49 a year, a Patron membership will grant you a slew of features that you probably don't need. This includes being granted early access to beta features, having your name in lights on the Letterboxd Patron page, and having a special insignia to signify your elite membership on your profile. Obviously, this is intended for folks who appreciate the work Letterboxd has done and want to give back by supporting the service with a monetary contribution.
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