Welcome back to Collector’s Corner, the bi-weekly series talking all things related to my film collection! Today, we’re referencing my massive Letterboxd “owned” list again, this time for a look at my most-owned genres.
Without further ado, from most-owned to least…
- Drama: 460 films
- Comedy: 399 films
- Romance: 324 films
- Thriller: 142 films
- Action: 121 films
- Crime: 119 films
- Mystery: 118 films
- Adventure: 107 films
- Musical: 101 films
- Family: 70 films
- Western: 69 films
- Fantasy: 65 films
- Horror: 47 films
- War: 36 films
- Sci-fi: 31 films
- History: 21 films
- Animation: 18 films
- Documentary: 7 films
While there is some overlap in the genre lists, since a film can be marked with more than one genre on Letterboxd, I think the numbers offer up a pretty accurate reflection of what I own. (Many films on the comedy list, for example, are rom-coms or screwball comedies that could also appear on the romance list.)
In general, I was unsurprised by the results. Documentary coming in last was completely to be expected, as I tend not to revisit docs (and there’s no sense buying it if you aren’t going to watch it again!).
There’s a difference in favorite genres for discovery vs. genres that produce long-term favorite films, which accounts for some of the lower numbers here. For instance, I watch a decent amount of sci-fi and would consider it a favorite genre when choosing new-to-me films to watch, but only a fraction of those discoveries turn out to be films I add to the collection.
I didn’t expect to see such comparatively low numbers for crime, mystery, or musical films, especially considering that I own a few large box sets in those genres. Going further down the list, I’ve got a pretty good mix of genres in the collection, which reflects my eclectic viewing tastes!
What are your favorite genres? Is your film collection geared toward any particular genres, or do you just buy what you know you’ll want to watch repeatedly, as I do? Feel free to share in the comments!
The Motion Pictures 
Cool to see your faves! For me, film noir is #1, not only due to personal tastes but by sheer number of noir titles on the tower (and in a notebook, burned off TCM to disc). And most of my collection is made up of films I really liked and planned to watch again (some exceptions include gifts, unseen discs too low in price to pass up, and films that are part of multiple-film sets). It’s rare for me to buy a film sight unseen, expecting it to be one I’d watch again and again, though noir films are exempt from that rule.
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I used to buy unseen films a lot more often than I do now — probably because I’m running out of shelf space, haha. The only ones I’ve bought recently have been for the Stanwyck project, films I couldn’t find elsewhere and need to review. I have to agree that if you are going to buy blind, noir is probably the best genre for it. I rarely meet a film noir I don’t like enough to watch at least a few times!
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You hit the nail on the head about buying and watching noir…every one I’ve ever seen, no matter how small or cheap, has something cool going for it. And as we speak, I’m doing a final re-arrange of the Monolith now that I’ve stopped buying discs…because like you, I’m out of room!
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I have room for maybe 60 more DVDs… which seems like a lot but it’ll fill up fast! My Criterion wishlist alone could fill half of it, haha. I haven’t gone on a complete buying ban but have tried to be more selective.
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In case you’re not aware, Movies Unlimited is having a Criterion sale…most DVDs are $17.99, and Blu-rays are $23.99. (They’re also having a Mill Creek sale, which I KNOW you’ll be salivating over).
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Barnes and Noble will be having another 50% off Criterion sale in November too, I believe… too many good sales!
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