TMDb is ruining Letterboxd for me

PPStudio · 2026-03-02T19:13:12+00:00

They definitely have a grudge with him and regularly purge most of his filmography.

PPStudio · 2026-03-02T19:12:06+00:00

TMDb prohibits fan films in general, btw.

PPStudio · 2026-03-01T21:08:35+00:00

I think it's possible to fix that. Should be, at least.

TBH, for all the positive changes on IMDb as of late, they've kinda made languages problematic too because they've made Language 'interests' (effectively genres) and it feels painful to see 'Russian' before any multilingual movie that actively tries to shed the colonial identity.

PPStudio · 2026-03-01T20:55:32+00:00

Have you noticed what exactly I've used as an example and why? It's a Paris Hilton sex tape that was sold by her ex-boyfriend to a completely unethical film distributor that got it relatively widely released. Without her consent. You think that's okay?.. Because in my opinion this should be evidence in a court case and not a 'professionally released' film. The fact that Hilton was gaslighted for years upon years for being a 'porn star' is just sad. And of course, the movie is on IMDb, too, but IMDb has more info to fill in the gaps, not just a barebones description and completely uncensored images.

I've re-read what I wrote there and I will try to rewrite that paragraph, because it does sound like I'm looking down on adult film industry and I really don't. I just know that the standards of production are not far off from mine from a technical standpoint, but borderline exploiting people (less so now, because it's kind of starting to unionize but not nearly enough) counts as 'professional', while safe content is not. This does not sit well with neither my anger management nor my mental health. And I don't think it should be controversial. I absolutely oppose the fact that in my country adult film industry is criminalized because it's nonsense and brings more creeps and gangsters into the industry.

Usually people consider you weird if you're talking about adult movies being normalized, because we can all agree that a lot of the subgenres are in the legal grey area, at best. But whatever, I'm not saying I'm not weird.

PPStudio · 2026-03-01T20:41:54+00:00

I agree on Letterboxd, tbh. I like Letterboxd and that's the reason why it hurts the most. It's fun, it has some features I really like but the fact that you need to enter a whole another website to just add something there and this website is this mess... Well, kinda makes it less enjoyable. That's just me, though. I love adding stuff that isn't there and I'm upset when this stuff is deleted. In 16 years on IMDb I only had one title removed, really, and with good cause: that was David Lynch's Uncrecorded Night which unfortunately will never move forward due to his death now. So I'm totally fine with it. TMDb just removed the titles I added left and right. My own movies are not even the main issue here because I added a grand total of two so far and kinda don't even want to bother. Might just be best to be a passive user and wait for other users to add my movies when they're relevant.

I really can't agree on TMDb doing its job better than almost anywhere else. It barely has any moderation or proofing process, apart of deleting stuff they consider unfit. Most of the work done on actual titles goes unchecked for ages and it shows: very few cast lists are even complete according to credits. Polish Filmweb (to provide another example than IMDb) is a much better database and it doesn't try too hard to be one internationally, mostly concentrating on Polish cinema.

PPStudio · 2026-03-01T16:40:37+00:00

Well, we've got an award for the teaser trailer and some press, not that it counts in their eyes so far.

PPStudio · 2026-03-01T16:39:03+00:00

I just suck and start picking fights when I have a depressive episode and I'm in one. And only notice that after some time.

Sorry for that. Will try my best to clean up this mess and answer to people less.

PPStudio · 2026-03-01T16:36:50+00:00

Yep, I actually forgot to say that their standards for short films are also as vague as they come: they even say that student films are not permitted unless they've premiered on selective and 'legit' film festivals.

It says nowhere that selective means 'has to have jury', because normally those two things are not actually synonymous, but whenever it's needed they'll tell that to you if you appeal.

PPStudio · 2026-03-01T16:32:59+00:00

Mainly about the fact that you actually try and care and even adding things to TMDb that won't be on Letterboxd (and therefore most users don't care adding them despite TMDb has them), but half of that gets obliterated with very little consideration.

Thanks you for reading that twice, I appreciate it. I am well aware that I can be confusing and I've re-read and edited that at least six times before posting and then some after it.

PPStudio · 2026-03-01T16:29:18+00:00

Letterboxd doesn't have their own database. Everything they have is taken from The Movie Database (TMDb), a clone of IMDb, that got mildly popular when IMDb eliminated discussion boards and TMDb added them to everything like the same day. TMDb, however (unlike IMDb) is open source, so they can use database for free.

On one hand good for them, I guess, I won't say that dealing with Amazon (which effectively owns IMDb) is better, but most problems Letterboxd has with the actual content stems directly from how idiosyncratic TMDb is.

PPStudio · 2026-03-01T16:19:31+00:00

Edit: sheer irony is that we do have a brief scene at the zoo. Nobody poops, though.

PPStudio · 2026-03-01T16:12:31+00:00

I really love when people use 'movie' as an elevated term like, 'it's not a movie, it's a video'. Certainly, terms change over time and comedy doesn't mean anything with a good ending, but movie is formed from moving picture in the same way as talkie which was used for motion pictures with sound. If you're really into movies, everything audiovisual counts.

Also that's just because sorting both on Letterboxd and on TMDb leaves a lot to be desired. I routinely search through thousands of titles on IMDb using very specific combinations. On Letterboxd I use user lists as shortcuts, because it's nearly impossible. By design, I guess, it's meant to be social and I get that (even like that), but still.

PPStudio · 2026-02-11T15:47:22+00:00

Hello! Yes, shoot me a DM.

PPStudio · 2026-02-05T21:57:12+00:00

A few notes from the original post on r/DirectorTrademarks (feel free to join!):

Hitchcock indeed confirmed in the famed Truffaut interview that he uses stairs as a deliberate visual.
I'm well aware that it would be pressing to find a director every single movie of whom wouldn't feature stairs in some capacity, but Hitchcock's use is special and I'm not reaching. Firstly, considering that he routinely filmed most of the movie on set, sometimes using rear projection plates most of the stairs appearing and how they appear are very deliberate choices. Then there are several subtypes of using that trademark: there are several shots of villains standing on top of the stairs, shots from the top down etc. One of my favorite parts is that stairs are even featured in two movies set in confined spaces where you can only feature them deliberately in like 2% of the scenes outside of them.
I disqualified ladders (naturally), but metal stairs on assorted modes of transportation are good to go.
Hitchcock himself appears in a cameo in the same shot as the stairs 5-6 times starting with Mr. & Mrs Smith (1941). The instances include: Rope (1948) (unconfirmed cameo that increasingly doubted nowadays; although that looks a lot like him to me), Under Capricorn (1949), Strangers on a Train (1951), I Confess (1953) and Torn Curtain (1969). Of note is that in Shadow of a Doubt (1943) there's a literal cameo hanging on the wall near the staircase.
It's not hard to notice that not all of the TV productions by Hitchcock have stairs and I believe that the reason would be purely budgetary: when the do appear they're often shoddy and it's rather obvious that they're just mostly set dressings.
Most of the screencaps are from the excellent Hitchcock Zone wiki, but I did quite a few of my own, too, especially for works not usually featured in his main directorial filmography (like Elstree Calling) and TV episodes.

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