Letterboxd: one film, two viewings, two experiences

A film may leave you cold the first time and become a favorite years later. If your record only keeps the latest star rating, that earlier impression disappears.

Letterboxd helps film lovers discover movies, save a watchlist, record viewings and read other people's reviews. This article focuses on two records: Films shows which titles you have seen, while Diary records individual viewings by date. One is organized around films; the other around experiences. Official introduction

You can mark an old film as watched without remembering the date. Add a dated diary entry when you want to keep a particular experience. New members can therefore begin without reconstructing years of dates. Browsing needs no account; saving your own records requires signing up and signing in. Watched films and diary entries

Suppose you are rewatching a favorite film and want to keep two different reactions. The following steps use the website.

1. Separate wanting to watch, having watched and this particular viewing

Use the clock icon on a film page to add it to Watchlist. If you only want to record that you saw it before, use the eye icon. It enters Films without requiring an exact date. Marking a film watched or logging it removes it from the watchlist. Watchlist and watched status

2. Add a date and reaction for this viewing

After watching, choose + Log, find the film and enter the actual viewing date. Add a rating, review or tags if wanted, then save. A dated record enters Diary and also marks the film watched. Clicking the eye alone does not create a dated diary entry. Logging a viewing

For example, if the first viewing earned three stars and the rewatch four, record each date and rating separately. Add a new entry for another viewing; edit the relevant existing entry when correcting an earlier rating.

3. Return to the diary to check this entry

Open Diary from the account menu and find both records by date. Check that the rewatch was not written into the old entry. A new diary rating does not overwrite earlier diary ratings. Adding or editing a diary rating does, however, update the film's default rating. Its current rating can therefore differ from an older entry. How ratings are retained

The result is one film with two dated experiences. If you only remember seeing a film, keep the watched mark; there is no need to invent a date to fill the diary.

Two records answer two questions

“What have you seen?” and “How did this viewing feel?” need different units of record. Films helps you review the range of titles; Diary preserves each viewing's context. Separating an object from an experience allows rewatches without treating them as duplicate data. Reading, exercise and learning products can likewise ask whether users are describing an object or recording something that happened.

Ask for less information to get started

The eye icon lets people state something they know: they have seen this film. Dates and reviews are available when they want a more specific record. The tradeoff is that the two actions need clear explanations, or users may expect every watched mark to appear in Diary. Fewer required fields still need a clear account of what each action saves.

Current opinions can coexist with earlier impressions

A new rating expresses a current view while an older entry retains its original reaction. Different ratings are not necessarily an error. People should be able to tell which entry they are editing and what will change. Making every displayed number identical would erase useful history.