Welcome back to Collector’s Corner, the bi-weekly series where I share all things related to my film and memorabilia collections!
This week I’m doing a big shelf-read of my DVD collection to make sure my Letterboxd list and database are up to date. As I prepared for this mammoth task, the idea struck me to take a look at the breakdown of my collection by decade. So, that’s what this week’s Collector’s Corner will be dedicated to!
By the Numbers
- 1900s: 1 film
- 1910s: 23 films
- 1920s: 46 films
- 1930s: 174 films
- 1940s: 180 films
- 1950s: 179 films
- 1960s: 101 films
- 1970s: 43 films
- 1980s: 45 films
- 1990s: 80 films
- 2000s: 123 films
- 2010s: 49 films
Observations
- Using 1970 as the cutoff, the ratio is 704 classic to 340 modern films total, or 176 classic films for every 85 modern on the shelves.
- The only pre-1910 film I own is 1909’s Mr. Flip, which appears in one of my boxed sets, the Slapstick Encyclopedia.
- All of the silent films I own are in boxed sets, with the exception of three: A Lady of Chance (1928), The Shock (1923), and Wings (1927). This is something I hope to change soon, as there are several silent favorites I do not yet own on DVD and want to have in nice editions!
- Though my favorite films to watch are those released long before I was born, I do own 80 films from the 1990s and 123 from the 2000s — my formative years! I can’t resist the rom-coms of my youth and teenagedom (especially since I find so many of them in bargain bins).
- Unsurprisingly, the decade I own the most of is the 1940s (with the ’50s and ’30s close behind). I’ve always struggled to choose between the ’30s and ’40s as my favorite movie decade, and my shelves reflect those preferences pretty well!
- Of my three most-owned decades, these are the most prominent genres: drama for the 1930s, drama for the 1940s, and… drama for the 1950s! I guess I really like dramas! (Romance and mystery also ranked very highly for all three of these decades.)
- My most-owned year from each decade: 1909, 1916, 1926, 1939, 1947, 1950, 1960/62 (tie), 1972/73 (tie), 1988, 1999, 2001, 2010
The Motion Pictures 
Yes, I am with you, can’t decide if the 30’s or 40’s are my favorite decade!! How many do you own, or got from the library or do you have some on VHS?
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All of these are films that I own, though I do rent from the library too! Most of my collection is on DVD. I used to have more VHS but got rid of them, with the exception of a few that have sentimental value. They just took up too much space, unfortunately. I have some on Blu-ray but prefer DVD since it gives me the option to watch using my laptop or portable player.
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Cool lists! And no surprise that 1939 is your biggest year for the ’30s…I bet EVERYONE has 1939 as their big year! I’m still getting my Letterboxd page stocked, and when I do, I’ll be checking out my decade stats as well. I seriously have no idea which decade will be my most-owned: I’m tempted to say the ’80s, but I bet with all my noir films and cheese horror/sci-fi, it’s going to be the ’50s.
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I was actually kind of surprised by 1939… I thought I would own more from 1937 (one of my personal favorite non-landmark years, haha)! Interested to see how your stats work out!
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