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Letterboxd is moving from a simple place to track and rate films to a service where you can actually watch them. On Wednesday December 10 the company will launch its new Video Store in twenty three countries. It is a major step for a platform built on film discovery and on the habits of its more than twenty four million members.
The Video Store will not work like a subscription service. You pay only for the films you want to watch and you get a forty eight hour window once you start a title. Prices vary by country and by film. In the United States the launch titles will cost between 3.99 and 19.99 to rent. What makes the store stand out is its focus on curation. The team behind Letterboxd used millions of watchlists reviews and signals from its community to decide what to offer at launch. Every title has been chosen because members showed interest in it and because many of the films have been almost impossible to find in certain regions.
At launch the store features nine films divided into two collections. The first is called Unreleased Gems. These are films that have not been available in the countries where Letterboxd is now making them accessible and they can only be rented for a limited thirty day period. The list includes It Ends a tense story about recent college graduates trapped on an endless backroad that made a strong impression at festivals earlier this year. Sore A Wife From the Future is a time bending romance from Indonesia and has become one of the most talked about titles from that country this year. Kennedy is a brooding Indian neo noir thriller that has stayed out of reach for most viewers since its festival run. The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo is a bold debut from Chile about a young girl trying to protect her towns queer community during a moment of fear and superstition.
The second collection is called Lost and Found. These films already have strong reputations but have often been overlooked or difficult to find. Tiger on the Beat appears in a new 4K restoration and gives audiences a chance to revisit a classic Hong Kong action comedy. Kisapmata brings one of the most respected Filipino films into the digital space with a new restoration. It Must Be Heaven returns after a troubled release that kept it from reaching a wider audience. Poison the early feature from Todd Haynes remains a key work in independent cinema. Before We Vanish offers a distinct Japanese take on an alien invasion story.
Letterboxd says it plans to add more films before the end of the year. The hope is to give both filmmakers and audiences a place where unusual overlooked or long unavailable work can finally find the viewers who have been waiting for it.
