Why are so many people (not here) obsessed with Letterbox and seem to lose their fucking mind if you use IMDB?
Is everyone who says this some salesman for Letterboxd? I have no reason to get it. I've used IMDB just fine for 23+ years.
My guess would be because Letterboxd is a bit trendier at the moment. It's got the buzz around it. It's especially popular with people under 25. And it had a big user boost during the pandemic, so it feels like the new kid on the block (even though it's actually been there for many years). It's also the smaller website that's up against the corporate goliath of Amazon's IMDb. Or something.
Personally, I love Letterboxd. But it's horses for courses, innit? If people prefer IMDb or Trakt or whatever else there is out there for logging their film viewings, I can't see any reason that I should care about that.
I don't really care for either, they are good for a clear identification of a movie or series when you want to point someone else to it, because they have a unique number and a cover image attached to it, but other than that I don't use them because there are far better sources for any other purposes, i.e. short descriptions and reviews are far better at rottentomatoes.
shareCan you elaborate on the usage context here? The details you provided are a tad vague.
IMDB still remains the popular mainstay for accessing general information about movies, from cast/crew to release data and technical details when available.
By contract, Letterboxd offers a highly attractive and accessible experience for tracking and chronicling reviews of films. The site features more social engagement options, including but not limited to commenting on individual reviews and being able to follow your friends' posts.
When you add up the list of features, Letterboxd presents a more robust appeal than IMDB. That's not to say that IMDB is lacking in its specific targets, but it might call into question how you generally use IMDB.
I prefer the rating system on IMDB, but I much prefer letterboxd for the interaction I can have others.
shareI checked out Letterboxd when it was "the new thing" and again when IMDb shut down its forums, and both times didn't see a way to import my years of IMDb ratings, so forgot about it. Now it seems you can import iMDb ratings, but LB doesn't have TV shows/episodes.
Like many here I assume, I used IMDb to keep track of my ratings, its quite flexible advanced search function and the forums; still do for the former two reasons. If there was a browser extension/userscript/site that would automatically keep ratings in sync between the two, I'd consider joining LB to keep up with a few irl movie friends. Haven't found one yet. Please do lmk if anyone knows of one.
Everything you need to know about a movie is on IMDB (even references to reviews).
shareI love Letterboxd and I’ve never really used IMDb, but I have absolutely no attitude towards people who prefer it.
Whatever way someone chooses to celebrate their love of film is good by me 👍
Bit of a sneering, hipster-ish attitude, isn't it? 'Oh, mate, you should be on Letterboxd. IMDb is, like, so 2005, y'know?'
Obviously, the correct answer is use whatever you find most useful and/or appealing. Still, the fact that some of its users may be a bit cretinous is not going to diminish my love for Letterboxd.