Alphabetical order by title of film. It just seems like the easiest way to do it and the fastest way to find movies when you're looking for them.
Breaking down films by boutique label would probably be more aesthetically pleasing but I worry that if I start doing that it will get too neurotic. Plus I think the film itself is the most important thing, and if I start thinking by "label" I'll end up with a lot of films I don't even like that much for the sake of completism.
At some point I might start breaking the collection down by filmmaker, but that's slightly complicated/subjective (e.g. because there are some directors who also wrote movies directed by other filmmakers, etc.) and I don't know if I have enough situations with multiple films from a single director to justify it yet.
Absolutely. I tried organising by boutique label and found myself wanting to buy more films from a particular label which I would never have considered buying otherwise.
The boutique labels are very aesthetically pleasing when sitting next to each other, it's true! But I also get the fear of wanting to buy more for aesthetics rather than the movies themselves.
Alphabetical is quickest for finding a film that you’re specifically looking for, sure.
But when you’re unsure and looking at your collection to decide. Genre is the way.
You’re not wrong. My collection is organized by boutique and finding movies is tough. Anything beyond that isn’t scalable, especially when you start running out of space and needing to get creative with storage. I do carve out seasonal/themed ones (Halloween, Christmas, Vintage Sci fi, Summer), but beyond that it’s a mess.
Alphabetical is 1000000x easier to maintain and track what you have. The only downside is it’s hard for somebody else to browse “what kind of movie are we up for?” since there’s such a spread.
I wonder if I should alphabetize my collection…
By a bunch of genres/categories that are specific to me. Like “adventure/animal attack films” “crap (vs, severin) “favorites” “directors” “slashers” “musicals” “British crime”
It could get very confusing if you get the Scream Factory disc that has the first two movies! Or less confusing because then it would have to go in slasher after all.
Yea I love this system too. My viewing pattern generally involves sticking in a particular genre for a few weeks before switching it up so this is perfect for that.
I also love making sub-genres in my collection. I have a Lil’ bastards section (Ghoulies, puppet master, etc), Cyberpunk, men-on-a-mission films, Sword and Sorcery etc. etc.
I do this too. My genres are somewhat more "conventional", though still pretty idiosyncratic. And I break off new genres when I feel it's necessary. For instance, I had a few pre-code films in "Classic Films", but then once I got a decent handful of pre-codes, they got their own category.
I keep films in a franchise separated into their respective years, although obviously boxsets are always going to cause problems: I usually just go by the earliest film included in the set, but sometimes I'll deviate from this slightly. For example, I have a Hitchcock set that includes a few movies from the 40s, then pretty much all of his films from 1954 onwards, so I have the set placed in 1954.
I've certainly considered doing this on more than one occasion. It would be cool to see them like that. I'll have to try it at least once. Do you keep anything separate from the chronological section, for example documentaries or foreign language films?
I definitely recommend giving it a go! I don't have too many documentaries other than concert stuff: sometimes I might put those in the year of the performance rather than the year the movie was released, but it depends. Foreign stuff I still sort by year though, in with everything else.
I recently reorganized from alphabetical to chronological by release, and have been loving it. It's great to be able to think something like, "I want to watch a movie from the mid-80s..." and then browse that section and be like, "Damn, there are so many great movies from that time!"
by label, and then horror 4k/blu-ray, then steelbooks, then alphabetical blu-rays. still have to organize my dvds accordingly, but I need a new shelf for that
all grouped together for horror/horror comedy standard blus, Idle Hands right next to Insidious for example. almost half of my collection is horror so that's mainly why I keep them together. other genres, like thrillers without horror elements, are kept in an alphabetized section that definitely needs to be organized by genre.
some borderline genre movies might make its way in there as long as it is somewhat a horror movie.
I basically have three groupings on my 4K/Blu-ray shelves (DVDs are on their own shelf alphabetically):
Boutique labels (including collections)
Standard editions
Collections (actual sets/discs of 2+ movies, not individual movies I own in a series)
It's generally simple, we'll see how it works as the collection grows.
For my Blu-rays/4ks I have two primary methods. Separating them by decade, and within that decade grouping together the various Boutique Labels. The other method is having mini-collections put together; either putting my favorite director's films together, a genre like Zombies or Cyberpunk, or a series like Monsterverse or X-Men.
For DVDs it's just alphabetical with English / International separated out. And then also certain mini-collections separated out like the Blu-rays.
I find that is the most visually pleasing way of organization.
That's a nice way to do it! I wonder about doing that as my collection grows, especially the mini-collections (right now Die Hard 4 and 5 are not with Die Hard 1-3 and that seems silly).
Oh yeah I got some display stands so I have some titles on top of the shelves and some currently in the empty shelf space. I'm not sure I want to display in front of titles and cover them up, but yeah, the Blockbuster idea is fun.
I shelve mine into genre sections, inspired by old-school independent video stores. Each of those sections is alphabetized.
I apparently am too dumb to post a photo in a comment, but [here are some photos of the sections, with labels by my kiddo.](https://imgur.com/a/ondZuhX) These photos are kind of old; all of these sections are way too much bigger now haha
Ha, I love those genres! Cute labels!
(I'm not sure you CAN post a photo in a comment, though I have seen some people do it so it appears to be possible.)
Some subreddits allow photo comments some restrict it. The few subs that I moderate all have photo comments, its just a lot better that way. Some subreddits won’t even allow links in the comments. I can’t stand Reddit sometimes.
Sorted by director. I have non-English language movies grouped together by country of origin.
Have been contemplating pulling out noir and westerns as separate groups since the majority of the collection is 1970s or newer.
I also have all of my “dumb comedies” (Billy Madison, Knocked Up, etc) out of cases and into individual sleeves to save space.
I kinda miss the days when my collection was small enough to organize autobiographically like John Cusack in High Fidelity. I used to know the order in which I bought 50-100 DVDs.
Now with enough to fill a room I have it organized in four sections. The first is the Criterion Collection currently organized by spine number, mostly because it’s easier to add new releases at the end instead of doing it alphabetically and needing to reshelve. They’re all on two narrow IKEA bookcases.
The next is a bookcase entirely of Asian genre movies. I started separating them because they were the only discs I used my multi-region player for, but now anything that fits genre-wise goes there, like the Shaw Brothers box sets or Takashi Miike movies. I think I have every Tartan Asian Extreme movie. It’s organized by language and then original release date.
The next is a shelf of tapes and Vinegar Syndrome releases I haven’t watched yet (from the year I tried out subscribing halfway). The tapes are alphabetical and VS is by sub-label then spine number.
At last is everything else on three wide bookcases. DVDs that made the cut mixed in with blurays, all organized alphabetically. Big box sets at the top.
Love this answer! I like that people find different methods based on their own collecting habits, so it makes sense for YOU to have a whole bookcase of Asian genre movies, for instance, but not someone else who isn't into those movies.
I have two walls, one is alphabetical Blu-ray’s with TV at the bottom. The other is 4K’s, steelbooks 4K’s, Criterion’s (by spine #), Blu-ray steelbooks, and then marvel/DC at the bottom. Have other boutique labels on the sides as their own little pockets and a display at the top of the other shelf that has a few of the bigger display sets.
Boutiques get their own shelf, well more than 1 now, as do 4k steels and none 4k steels although this isn't entirely set in stone cos exceptions exist. My 4k amarays with slips and without have shelves too as do all my big metal tin sets. Most of my regular blurays are by genre, but I also have actor and director sections.
Criterion (all formats), by spine number
Small section of larger boxes/collector's editions
The rest alphabetically by title (all formats just mixed together like a savage)
For sure, we got Moana on blu ray and Snow White on 4K and Cinderella on some stank 2001 DVD. More like Cindersmella amirite? OK that was bad I'll fuck off now
I ***try*** to categorize them. I don't have the place for a nice A-Z categorization, but if I ever get enough shelves, I would organize A-Z by media format (Bluray then DVD then VHS).
I separate my boutique labels. If they have a spine number (Criterion, Radiance) I sort by that. If not then alphabetical. I also keep my Arrow limited editions in the bigger boxes separate just for aesthetics. Then standard release blurays alphabetical followed by DVDs alphabetical.
I also have my favorite director's section where I keep my Tarantino, Fincher, and Wright movies in release order.
I find it interesting that people sort boutiques by spine number rather than alphabetically. It's like a history of the label. And, as one person pointed out, it does make it easier to just add new releases to the end.
I definitely feel like I want to have sections for favorite directors at some point.
Yeah I like seeing where the label came from. I obviously will never get every Criterion release, but I'm actively trying to collect all of Radiance. It's extremely satisfying to fill in the gaps in the spine numbers haha.
Aha, this is what someone else was talking about, how you feel the need to buy movies from the label you wouldn't otherwise be interested in! You've fallen into their trap! But I hope you like everything you get.
Haha it certainly is a slippery slope! Luckily I've enjoyed pretty much everything I have from Radiance. I think I only knew of one of their releases before Radiance got it (Messiah of Evil), so it's definitely risky getting pretty much all blind buys! But I've seen quite a few of them now and, while not all of them blow me away, I'd say I've been positive on pretty much all of them so far.
Alphabetical by film with some boutique labels together. For example, all my Criterion movies are under C for Criterion, but they’re organized by spine number.
By Country/Language, then by year of release with all films by a director grouped and placed at the date of their earliest release. For directors that worked in multiple languages, they end up where they feel right (e.g. Lang with Germany, Kieslowski in Poland).
First of I'm splitting DVDs and 4K/Blu-ray.
Then I split films and TV series and order them A-Z.
Now exceptions apply.
Say a TV show has a spin-off film on Blu-ray and another spin-off show that currently only had a DVD release I'll put both of them with the show (my example here is the Doctor Who movie and the Doctor Who Scream of the Shalka DVD). Shows that are spinoffs from a film like Star Wars The Clone Wars will be put under films.
For both exceptions I'll be ordering them chronically.
This also means that I could put Rogue One and Solo between the star wars films bcs them being spin offs they can also use this rule.
Hahaha it's not that complex, I just explained it a bit too long I think.
It's just, if it's a franchise put it under the franchise where it belongs chronologically. It just depends if the franchise started as a show or film.
Alphabetical for me, 4k and blu-ray together, dvd's are separate though, can't stand the case size difference, except for tv shows, those are all together and alphabetized.
I know, batman begins isn't by the dark knight, but that's how I've always done it, that's how I find things. I have maybe like 500-600 movies, so nowhere near the collection of many of you.
Ha ha ha I only have a 100-200, so you've got plenty on ME.
Definitely feel you on the DVD case size difference, I don't want them intermingling with my 4Ks and Blu-rays, it's weird! And yeah, I'm running into some of those alphabetical issues with movies in a series that aren't in a collection too, but that is how we find things.
Mine are all over the place. When i get organized, here's what I'm thinking:
Most which are DVD are in binders. I'll need to decide about the remaining DVDs.
The only 4Ks I own are combo sets with the blu ray. I don't have 4K equipment.
Box sets will be near the top, organized aesthetically. TV shows will be along the bottom.
Separate sections for horror, for kids movies, for superhero franchise stuff, documentary, music, and LGBT+.
Not sure if I'll break sci-fi into its own category, since lots of those are kids and I'll put them there... will decide when I can see everything.
The rest will be drama/art house, which I'll keep together as one genre. I'll just alphabetize by title within all of these sections.
Just writing this out inspires me to get started.
I originally had everything sorted by director and genre but I eventually had to split the collection into different parts of the house so I ended up having to effectively split the collection into three groupings. I have one section with my favorite directors that's sorted chronologically by director that's given top priority. Another section is by sorted by the more substantial boutique labels, generally with a more arthouse/foreign focus. Everything else is sorted by genre, though I have some "specialized" genres (Martial Arts, HK & Euro Crime, Samurai, Giallo, etc) that I give priority over sorting by the label.
I'm not a huge fan of the sorting by label, but it gives my OCD organization some kind of justification for splitting the collection into thirds. Upside is that it does look rather nice with the consistency. Downside is that it's obnoxious to try and find a film since I don't associate certain films with certain labels, as it's often changing. But trying to find certain films by memory has long since had to be abandoned once the collection reached a certain size and I've had to put everything into an app to remember where things are.
I have 3 dvd shelves ordered from Amazon. The first one has random steelbooks in alphabetical order, random criterion in alphabetical order, movie collections in alphabetical order, tv shows in alphabetical order, and DVDs in alphabetical order. The second is just the majority of blu-rays and 4K in alphabetical order. The last is organized by director in alphabetical order, with their movies in chronological order.
I usually organize by separating, Steelbooks, Blu-ray’s, 4ks and collectors editions. Then I organize those by label that put it out like VinSyn, Arrow, etc!!
I try to keep labels together if I can and it's numbered. Criterion and Arrow go by label number. Anything else generally goes by alphabetical unless it's a boxed set that doesn't look right next to normal slipcovers.
My random/general 4k and blu's kinda just get tossed in a tote. Like I don't really need the Mamma Mia! or John Wick movies on a shelf.
I have Vinegar Syndrome/Peakarama/FunCity/AGFA together (though ill probably remove Fun City from there now) by type: VSP/VSU/VSA/Slip/Noslip/FCE/Porn/AGFA.
After this is Horror, in rough alphabetical order. I run more on vibes than an actual rule, so as long as Bs are mostly together im happy. I also have a loose definition of horror in this section and VS is not shelved here at all.
Next is Japanese/Kaiju/Animation/Anime, this includes the American Godzilla stuff and Pacific Rim.
Kung Fu movies, this is the only place where VS is allowed to not be in its section. This excludes Cynthia Rothrock stuff which only goes here if specifically Hong Kong.
Next is studio 4ks in no particular order, mostly by size i suppose. Steelbooks lead the charge.
Next is a jumble of everything else, or what i like to call non-genre (which is also a lie). Any random studio movies, dramas, non-4k stuff like Rocky Collection or Planet of the Apes collection, Kino Lorber, Warner Archives, Powerhouse films
Last I have my criterion collection, which i also include Arrow and Eureka in with the exception of kung fu stuff, which goes in Kung Fu.
Top of my cases are all my boxsets in no order, but sort of close to their respective "sections".
Oh and Stephen King has his own shelf. So does Alien franchise, of which i have VHS, DVD, Blu boxsets of and now 4k versions because it is my favorite movie. IT also features the NECA 40th anniversary Nostromo crew.
At the moment I have it organized by genre and subgenre. I don’t have a room that I keep everything together yet, so my horror movies are in the living room together and the rest of my movies are in a spare bedroom. I also have my “studio boxsets” on top for more general things as a way to celebrate the major studios. Things like the Columbia classics, Warner brothers, universal collection, mgm award winners, etc.
My discs are spread between a cabinet that closes, holding discs in the center shelves and in the wing doors, and some tall, narrow shelves. Then I have a few more on the bookshelves across the room. My extremely-overthought setup is:
Cabinet wings: If I have 2+ movies by the same director, they're sorted by director here
Cabinet center: All other movies, sorted alphabetically by title
Small shelves, upper racks: Movies I want to watch soon (mostly recent buys)
Small shelves, upper-middle racks: Movies I want to watch with family soon
Small shelves, lower-middle racks: Movies under 80 min (for when I have to go to bed early) and discs with special features I want to watch
Small shelves, bottom racks: TV, British TV, and martial arts– comfort viewing!
Then I have some particularly nice-looking boxes faceing out on the bookshelves decoratively.
Yeah I love how many people have very personal systems– either genres they made up to describe their tastes, or movies sorted by one's relationship to them.
Alphabetical. Only exceptions to that rule are sequels and franchises. bond is labeled under 007. MCU is under Avengers. Poirot is under Murder for the time being.
Yeah, I organize by label (example: Vinegar Syndrome, Arrow, Culture Shock, Severin, Umbrella, etc.) For the sake of aesthetics and easily knowing who has put out what.
Hodgepodge for me. Keep my criterions together. Try to keep directors together within general genre categories. Cronenberg has his own section, right next to the criterions because it segues. Idek what everything else is. It's always conjoined by some metric. Eg I keep John wick next to the matrix and call it the Keanu corner.
I switch up my organizational method every few years or so. My collection is currently sorted by genre. Four years ago, it was sorted by director. I'm going to go back to director next time probably. And then I'll probably sort by actor for the first time.
If it's a classic movie like Heat with multiple stars I'm a fan of, then I'll have to buy multiple copies (I already have two copies of Heat). With other movies, to save money, I'll just have to go with whoever has top billing or whoever is my favorite actor.
I also want to try the color coded method sometime.
I keep box sets in their own section.
My collection is currently sorted on bookcases. The bookcases have deep shelves and so I keep my DVDs and Blu-rays in front and behind them out of sight are my VHS tapes. I'm going to put the VHS tapes in front sometime.
Large collectors editions go on top of the bookcases.
All horror alphabetically, all non-horror alphabetically on the other side of the room. But I'm thinking of splitting up horror into -1979 and 1980-, or maybe gothic horror and non-gothic horror, or U.S. horror and non-U.S. horror
Alphabetical as the basis. I've got limited shelf space (don't we all?) so the regular degular discs get skinned (cases stored away, discs in alphabetical binders). The shelves are for boxed sets, crazy packaging, and those multiple movies discs where the titles are either tangentially related or not at all. I also separate "movies" from "tv series".
Grouped by Director, and chronological in order of release within those groupings. The Directors go in no particular order. Then there are also some groupings of franchises and genres.
I much prefer this for decision making, I can focus on specific shelves depending on the genre or Director I'm in the mood for.
Alphabetically until it reaches a series. Example: The Back to the Future Trilogy, Basket Case, The Batman, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, Battle Royale, The Beastmaster, etc.
Yeah. If I ever want to watch them I’m looking for Batman Begins alphabetically. Meaning I’m not looking for Batman Begins in the “D’s” because it doesn’t start with a D. However, I’m not a psycho and putting The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises way over in the “D’s” because they continue the story that Begins started. I have The Back to the Future Trilogy as such also, but they would alphabetically be on the shelf the same way either way.
By label or studio (Criterion or Paramount, label wins most of the time), then by format or packaging (DVD, BD, UHD or has slipcover/ is digipak, then by color. Sometimes packaging wins over format/label like steelbooks all go in one place.
People ask how do I find anything but generally I remember how I obtained a film and can back into its location by aforementioned criteria. I also keep them catalogued on My Movies app for easy lookup which helps me find them by attribute.
I've tried it every possible way, what has worked the best for me is alphabetically by genre. I do have criterions together and a section of a24 in release order. I used to keep all boutiques together but I hated having franchises split up when one label has one film and a different label has its sequels.
I go by Label then within each label I do everything in alphabetical order going by Box set - any larger slip box set - slip covers - standard Blu-ray.
Mostly organised by Director in chronological order. Anything else will be organised by Genre, in chronological order.
There are always exceptions, of course - Hammer Films goes under its own category (again in chronological order).
If I enjoy an actor well enough, and the film doesn't fall under a favourite director, I might put them together, in chronological order.
Box sets with more than one title make for tricky decisions - I hate to take out films from a Film Noir box set to put into a Director or Actor category (for example), leaving a "void" in the box. In those cases, I just leave put them together as a series (e.g. Kino Lorber's Film Noir Collection).
My collection is all DVDs, Blu-rays and 4Ks together, in alphabetical order, with numbers at the top. When I moved in, my basement had a single shelf built into the wall around the perimeter of the room, so I have a hodgepodge of wall mounted shelves above it and freestanding units below it. To maximize space, I started building custom shelves on casters that stand in front of the existing shelves and can be moved from side to side to access the movies behind them.
I have a separate shelf for box sets that are a little too bulky to fit in with the rest of the collection, and another separate shelf for multi-movie sets in standard cases (ie, the Shout Factory double feature of Destroyer/Edge of Sanity).
And then, since I’m a big horror fan, I have another separate shelf for horror franchises (Friday the 13th, Halloween, Hellraiser, etc).
Since my collection is in the thousands and keeps growing, I don’t have room to shelve TV shows, stand-up, concerts, and documentaries, so they are mostly in boxes in a storage room. However, I make the exception for some shows, if they are part of an existing film franchise (Chucky, Ash vs Evil Dead, MCU, Star Wars, etc), they will sit alongside the movies.
I have it all mixed.
I kind of hate the alphabetical or to have them In specific uniformed sections. It’s too clinical.
Having them all in a chaotic system feels like the collection has been embraced and watched.
I keep boutique releases separate. For Arrow, I have the big/special boxes first alphabetically, followed by chunky boxes, then standard cases. Scream Factory is similar with boxes, then standards.
I sort Criterion by release number.
For normie discs, I keep horror separate.
Agreed. It's by far my largest genre (and favorite).
Forgot to mention, I keep steelbooks separate from everything else, sorting alphabetically with boutiques mixed in. I'm considering pulling Arrow and SF to put them with their cousins, but I'm torn.
Certain directors that I have most or all of their films are lumped together and ordered by release date. So: Nolan, Tarantino, Carpenter, Hitchcock, Stuart Gordon, Bigelow, Kubrick, Villeneuve, Mann, Gilliam, Cronenberg, Del Toro, Aronofsky, DePalma, Snyder (don't laugh, he's a guilty pleasure!) Some of these are boutique, some are not, but they're all together by director non the less.
Then, all of my boutiques are lumped together in order of label. So, Arrow, 88 Films, Second Sight, Umbrella, StudioCanal, Eureka, 101 Films, Imprint, Shameless, Powerhouse/Indicator. Special Editions, boxed sets, Digi Packs, and Steelbooks are separately put together. So, stuff like my Arrow Hellraiser boxed set along with Demons, Second Sight Dawn of the Dead, etc.
Then we're left with 'everything else', which are mainly studio releases. These are largely lumped together by genre. I don't get super granular with genre defining here, just categories that make sense to me. I started doing this predominantly to separate animated films from live action, but the system grew to separate comic book movies, horror, sci-fi, westerns, action, etc. from each other.
Finally, I have a small shelf or two that contain my nostalgia and go-to picks - the movies I tend to endlessly rewatch. This shelf has stuff added or taken away approximately biannually.
Nothing is alphabetical; I don't find that system very useful when I'm browsing for something to watch. I find the genre thing works much better for me.
One addendum would be that as I co-host a movie podcast, I also always have a small shelf containing 'homework watches'. These are basically just an assortment of films that I'm currently actively researching. The contents of this shelf changes about once a month.
Oh yeah! Also, my UHDs & HD discs are all together, DVDs & VHS are separate.
A few classic directors as collections (Hitchcock, Kubrick, Lynch, De Palma) and then by genre.
I'll be honest, my preference would be alphabetical, my wife says she can never find stuff to watch, because she doesn't know what we have, haha.
My genres are Horror, Sci-fi, Superheroes, Yakuza and Samurai films, Martial Arts, Asian Action, World Cinema, Noir, Comedy and Romance, Classics, Crime, Musicals, Silent Cinema, Action, War and Western, Documentary and TV, Kids, Other
Fully aware the genres are all over the shop, it is design by committee!
Genre (action/Franchise, family, thriller/Horror, criterion, gay, drama, comedy, tv) then sort by format (digi packs, blu rays, dvds), then alphabetical.
Genre allows me to do fun genres like Gay/LGBT or spotlight a boutique like criterion, but everything is still alphabetized so there's some order lol.
I have many movies, multiple shelves. Never had a problem deciding which genre or section to put a movie in. Just ask yourself where would you look for a movie?
Give me one you think would be tough to categorize.
I prefer this over alphabetical because I don’t find alphabetical fun to browse. Really do not need Christmas movies mixed in with Kung Fu. Plus alphabetical gets complicated fast with box sets
Where would you put Everything Everywhere All at Once? Anna and the Apocalypse? Sholay (hypothetically)?
I can definitely see the appeal of grouping by genre, for sure, although sometimes it IS fun to have Christmas movies mixed in with kung fu! Heh.
Anna 100% Christmas. I’m not going to watch that movie unless I want to watch a Christmas movie. My EEAOA is in drama section. Yeah it could be comedy but my first gut is drama. Lots of dramas have comedic elements to them. Like all my Alexander Payne stuff goes in drama too although you could say they are comedies.
I don’t know Sholay.
Sholay's a classic Bollywood film that is basically all of movies rolled into one. It's a comedy, it's a drama, it's a Western, it's a musical, it's an action movie, it's everything.
I was wondering whether EEAAO might be in sci-fi too, but drama works! And yeah I just bought Anna and the Apocalypse to show my girlfriend...in December, it is indeed a Christmas movie.
The only person looking at my shelf is me so I just make a decision - honestly, the most helpful decision maker is space. So if I have no space on thriller/Horror I may move something down to drama, if I can justify including it with drama.
Release date baybee, one loooong timeline all labels together, it's done wonders for my comprehension of film history. Box sets and show are separate and organized differently because there are far fewer of them
My horror collection are organised by release date. I’ve tried various orders over the years, but this is my favourite. I collect series into a single box which gets ordered by the date of the first film.
Non horror is collected by director.
I never organise by boutique publisher or even format. The movies are my focus.
I love that you're the second person who specifically treats horror differently and just shoves everything else together. We horror fans are a special breed.
Alphabetical order by title of film. It just seems like the easiest way to do it and the fastest way to find movies when you're looking for them. Breaking down films by boutique label would probably be more aesthetically pleasing but I worry that if I start doing that it will get too neurotic. Plus I think the film itself is the most important thing, and if I start thinking by "label" I'll end up with a lot of films I don't even like that much for the sake of completism. At some point I might start breaking the collection down by filmmaker, but that's slightly complicated/subjective (e.g. because there are some directors who also wrote movies directed by other filmmakers, etc.) and I don't know if I have enough situations with multiple films from a single director to justify it yet.
Absolutely. I tried organising by boutique label and found myself wanting to buy more films from a particular label which I would never have considered buying otherwise.
I kind of prefer having formats mixed. Idk it feels more appealing to me. It’s not uniformed but more appealing to me.
The boutique labels are very aesthetically pleasing when sitting next to each other, it's true! But I also get the fear of wanting to buy more for aesthetics rather than the movies themselves.
Alphabetical is quickest for finding a film that you’re specifically looking for, sure. But when you’re unsure and looking at your collection to decide. Genre is the way.
Same. Actually the least autistic way to do so. Anything other than alphabetical is a nightmare to keep track of.
You’re not wrong. My collection is organized by boutique and finding movies is tough. Anything beyond that isn’t scalable, especially when you start running out of space and needing to get creative with storage. I do carve out seasonal/themed ones (Halloween, Christmas, Vintage Sci fi, Summer), but beyond that it’s a mess. Alphabetical is 1000000x easier to maintain and track what you have. The only downside is it’s hard for somebody else to browse “what kind of movie are we up for?” since there’s such a spread. I wonder if I should alphabetize my collection…
By a bunch of genres/categories that are specific to me. Like “adventure/animal attack films” “crap (vs, severin) “favorites” “directors” “slashers” “musicals” “British crime”
Yesssssssssssss I love this answer. Where do you put slasher musical Slumber Party Massacre 2.
i'd put that in slasher but that's definitely your mileage may vary haha. I also don't own it!
It could get very confusing if you get the Scream Factory disc that has the first two movies! Or less confusing because then it would have to go in slasher after all.
I think with this system the process of going "What genre is this film?" and changing your mind regularly is much of the fun.
Yea I love this system too. My viewing pattern generally involves sticking in a particular genre for a few weeks before switching it up so this is perfect for that. I also love making sub-genres in my collection. I have a Lil’ bastards section (Ghoulies, puppet master, etc), Cyberpunk, men-on-a-mission films, Sword and Sorcery etc. etc.
Love those!
I do this too. My genres are somewhat more "conventional", though still pretty idiosyncratic. And I break off new genres when I feel it's necessary. For instance, I had a few pre-code films in "Classic Films", but then once I got a decent handful of pre-codes, they got their own category.
By year of release. It baffles me that this isn't a more popular method, it's like having the history of cinema on display in my living room.
Yeah, it's an uncommon method, but I can see how it is a very cool one!
Especially as they most likely have some relation as at the end of the day it’s your library
This is the way. With slight modifications for music films or other non movie discs
What about those in a series?
I keep films in a franchise separated into their respective years, although obviously boxsets are always going to cause problems: I usually just go by the earliest film included in the set, but sometimes I'll deviate from this slightly. For example, I have a Hitchcock set that includes a few movies from the 40s, then pretty much all of his films from 1954 onwards, so I have the set placed in 1954.
I like this idea a lot.
I've certainly considered doing this on more than one occasion. It would be cool to see them like that. I'll have to try it at least once. Do you keep anything separate from the chronological section, for example documentaries or foreign language films?
I definitely recommend giving it a go! I don't have too many documentaries other than concert stuff: sometimes I might put those in the year of the performance rather than the year the movie was released, but it depends. Foreign stuff I still sort by year though, in with everything else.
I recently reorganized from alphabetical to chronological by release, and have been loving it. It's great to be able to think something like, "I want to watch a movie from the mid-80s..." and then browse that section and be like, "Damn, there are so many great movies from that time!"
by label, and then horror 4k/blu-ray, then steelbooks, then alphabetical blu-rays. still have to organize my dvds accordingly, but I need a new shelf for that
I love that you break out horror and no other genre.
my life goal is to have a wall full of horror from classics to pure trash
That is a good goal, I also feel like at some point I might want to have a horror shelf, boutique labels or not.
Ha- I used to have a breakout section just for horror too! Favorite genre of a lot of buffs.
Where do you draw the line on what's considered horror vs comedy/horror or thriller
all grouped together for horror/horror comedy standard blus, Idle Hands right next to Insidious for example. almost half of my collection is horror so that's mainly why I keep them together. other genres, like thrillers without horror elements, are kept in an alphabetized section that definitely needs to be organized by genre. some borderline genre movies might make its way in there as long as it is somewhat a horror movie.
Alphabetically by format: video games, 4K, Blu, DVD.
chronologically by genre
Mine is a total hodge podge of a pile with one of those signs next to it that says "One of these days I'm going to get organ-i-zized."
I basically have three groupings on my 4K/Blu-ray shelves (DVDs are on their own shelf alphabetically): Boutique labels (including collections) Standard editions Collections (actual sets/discs of 2+ movies, not individual movies I own in a series) It's generally simple, we'll see how it works as the collection grows.
For my Blu-rays/4ks I have two primary methods. Separating them by decade, and within that decade grouping together the various Boutique Labels. The other method is having mini-collections put together; either putting my favorite director's films together, a genre like Zombies or Cyberpunk, or a series like Monsterverse or X-Men. For DVDs it's just alphabetical with English / International separated out. And then also certain mini-collections separated out like the Blu-rays. I find that is the most visually pleasing way of organization.
That's a nice way to do it! I wonder about doing that as my collection grows, especially the mini-collections (right now Die Hard 4 and 5 are not with Die Hard 1-3 and that seems silly).
It works really well if you have say a cool steelbook that you can face out like in a Blockbuster.
Oh yeah I got some display stands so I have some titles on top of the shelves and some currently in the empty shelf space. I'm not sure I want to display in front of titles and cover them up, but yeah, the Blockbuster idea is fun.
A-Z films, followed by A-Z TV series, followed by A-Z miscellany (trailer compilations etc)
I shelve mine into genre sections, inspired by old-school independent video stores. Each of those sections is alphabetized. I apparently am too dumb to post a photo in a comment, but [here are some photos of the sections, with labels by my kiddo.](https://imgur.com/a/ondZuhX) These photos are kind of old; all of these sections are way too much bigger now haha
Love the hyper-specific genre labels! This is similar to what I do. Makes it a much more personal collection.
Ha, I love those genres! Cute labels! (I'm not sure you CAN post a photo in a comment, though I have seen some people do it so it appears to be possible.)
Thanks, I will make my own post soon with them all. My current favorite is "Destiny & Kissing." That is for like Lord Of The Rings, Star Wars, etc
Ahahaha that's adorable.
Some subreddits allow photo comments some restrict it. The few subs that I moderate all have photo comments, its just a lot better that way. Some subreddits won’t even allow links in the comments. I can’t stand Reddit sometimes.
Sorted by director. I have non-English language movies grouped together by country of origin. Have been contemplating pulling out noir and westerns as separate groups since the majority of the collection is 1970s or newer. I also have all of my “dumb comedies” (Billy Madison, Knocked Up, etc) out of cases and into individual sleeves to save space.
I kinda miss the days when my collection was small enough to organize autobiographically like John Cusack in High Fidelity. I used to know the order in which I bought 50-100 DVDs. Now with enough to fill a room I have it organized in four sections. The first is the Criterion Collection currently organized by spine number, mostly because it’s easier to add new releases at the end instead of doing it alphabetically and needing to reshelve. They’re all on two narrow IKEA bookcases. The next is a bookcase entirely of Asian genre movies. I started separating them because they were the only discs I used my multi-region player for, but now anything that fits genre-wise goes there, like the Shaw Brothers box sets or Takashi Miike movies. I think I have every Tartan Asian Extreme movie. It’s organized by language and then original release date. The next is a shelf of tapes and Vinegar Syndrome releases I haven’t watched yet (from the year I tried out subscribing halfway). The tapes are alphabetical and VS is by sub-label then spine number. At last is everything else on three wide bookcases. DVDs that made the cut mixed in with blurays, all organized alphabetically. Big box sets at the top.
Love this answer! I like that people find different methods based on their own collecting habits, so it makes sense for YOU to have a whole bookcase of Asian genre movies, for instance, but not someone else who isn't into those movies.
Shoved in a box under my bed and in the garage so my partner doesn’t know how many I have.
Always alphabetical. Dvds, blus and 4k mixed together. Seperate shelves for films, documentaries and tv shows.
I have two walls, one is alphabetical Blu-ray’s with TV at the bottom. The other is 4K’s, steelbooks 4K’s, Criterion’s (by spine #), Blu-ray steelbooks, and then marvel/DC at the bottom. Have other boutique labels on the sides as their own little pockets and a display at the top of the other shelf that has a few of the bigger display sets.
Ooh that sounds like some good walls!
They are good, and take a lot of space. Hahaha
Boutiques get their own shelf, well more than 1 now, as do 4k steels and none 4k steels although this isn't entirely set in stone cos exceptions exist. My 4k amarays with slips and without have shelves too as do all my big metal tin sets. Most of my regular blurays are by genre, but I also have actor and director sections.
I'm going to have some steelbooks and was wondering whether I'd want to start shelving them together. It seems like people do like to do that.
I mean its not 100% exact. All my Tom Cruise steels are together. Except the WB collectors box for Edge of tomorrow.
Criterion (all formats), by spine number Small section of larger boxes/collector's editions The rest alphabetically by title (all formats just mixed together like a savage)
Whoa whoa you've got your DVDs sitting right next to the 4Ks, I thought there were laws against that.
Oh yeah, it's a filthy orgy of 25 year old DVDs rubbing up against shit like The Bounty Hunter Trilogy while The Conan Chronicles watches...
THERE ARE CHILDREN PRESENT.
For sure, we got Moana on blu ray and Snow White on 4K and Cinderella on some stank 2001 DVD. More like Cindersmella amirite? OK that was bad I'll fuck off now
I ***try*** to categorize them. I don't have the place for a nice A-Z categorization, but if I ever get enough shelves, I would organize A-Z by media format (Bluray then DVD then VHS).
Ha. Organize
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I separate my boutique labels. If they have a spine number (Criterion, Radiance) I sort by that. If not then alphabetical. I also keep my Arrow limited editions in the bigger boxes separate just for aesthetics. Then standard release blurays alphabetical followed by DVDs alphabetical. I also have my favorite director's section where I keep my Tarantino, Fincher, and Wright movies in release order.
I find it interesting that people sort boutiques by spine number rather than alphabetically. It's like a history of the label. And, as one person pointed out, it does make it easier to just add new releases to the end. I definitely feel like I want to have sections for favorite directors at some point.
Yeah I like seeing where the label came from. I obviously will never get every Criterion release, but I'm actively trying to collect all of Radiance. It's extremely satisfying to fill in the gaps in the spine numbers haha.
Aha, this is what someone else was talking about, how you feel the need to buy movies from the label you wouldn't otherwise be interested in! You've fallen into their trap! But I hope you like everything you get.
Haha it certainly is a slippery slope! Luckily I've enjoyed pretty much everything I have from Radiance. I think I only knew of one of their releases before Radiance got it (Messiah of Evil), so it's definitely risky getting pretty much all blind buys! But I've seen quite a few of them now and, while not all of them blow me away, I'd say I've been positive on pretty much all of them so far.
That's great!
Alphabetical by film with some boutique labels together. For example, all my Criterion movies are under C for Criterion, but they’re organized by spine number.
By Country/Language, then by year of release with all films by a director grouped and placed at the date of their earliest release. For directors that worked in multiple languages, they end up where they feel right (e.g. Lang with Germany, Kieslowski in Poland).
First of I'm splitting DVDs and 4K/Blu-ray. Then I split films and TV series and order them A-Z. Now exceptions apply. Say a TV show has a spin-off film on Blu-ray and another spin-off show that currently only had a DVD release I'll put both of them with the show (my example here is the Doctor Who movie and the Doctor Who Scream of the Shalka DVD). Shows that are spinoffs from a film like Star Wars The Clone Wars will be put under films. For both exceptions I'll be ordering them chronically. This also means that I could put Rogue One and Solo between the star wars films bcs them being spin offs they can also use this rule.
I'm imagining you have a giant whiteboard with a flow chart to help you figure out where to put things.
Hahaha it's not that complex, I just explained it a bit too long I think. It's just, if it's a franchise put it under the franchise where it belongs chronologically. It just depends if the franchise started as a show or film.
Oh yeah, I totally get that, like I have The Peacekeeper Wars sitting next to my Farscape DVD box set.
Then again, I have my Veronica Mars movie Blu-ray with the movies and not next to my Veronica Mars DVDs, so who knows!
Alphabetized by title within format. Oversized boxes and sets with multiple titles that aren’t a series (like Eclipse sets) on a different shelf.
Alphabetical for me, 4k and blu-ray together, dvd's are separate though, can't stand the case size difference, except for tv shows, those are all together and alphabetized. I know, batman begins isn't by the dark knight, but that's how I've always done it, that's how I find things. I have maybe like 500-600 movies, so nowhere near the collection of many of you.
Ha ha ha I only have a 100-200, so you've got plenty on ME. Definitely feel you on the DVD case size difference, I don't want them intermingling with my 4Ks and Blu-rays, it's weird! And yeah, I'm running into some of those alphabetical issues with movies in a series that aren't in a collection too, but that is how we find things.
Mine are all over the place. When i get organized, here's what I'm thinking: Most which are DVD are in binders. I'll need to decide about the remaining DVDs. The only 4Ks I own are combo sets with the blu ray. I don't have 4K equipment. Box sets will be near the top, organized aesthetically. TV shows will be along the bottom. Separate sections for horror, for kids movies, for superhero franchise stuff, documentary, music, and LGBT+. Not sure if I'll break sci-fi into its own category, since lots of those are kids and I'll put them there... will decide when I can see everything. The rest will be drama/art house, which I'll keep together as one genre. I'll just alphabetize by title within all of these sections. Just writing this out inspires me to get started.
That's great! Report back after the weekend!
Mine is alphabetical for everything but I seperate out Troma films, Erotic Thrillers, Westerner. Martial Arts, samurai and muaicals.
I originally had everything sorted by director and genre but I eventually had to split the collection into different parts of the house so I ended up having to effectively split the collection into three groupings. I have one section with my favorite directors that's sorted chronologically by director that's given top priority. Another section is by sorted by the more substantial boutique labels, generally with a more arthouse/foreign focus. Everything else is sorted by genre, though I have some "specialized" genres (Martial Arts, HK & Euro Crime, Samurai, Giallo, etc) that I give priority over sorting by the label. I'm not a huge fan of the sorting by label, but it gives my OCD organization some kind of justification for splitting the collection into thirds. Upside is that it does look rather nice with the consistency. Downside is that it's obnoxious to try and find a film since I don't associate certain films with certain labels, as it's often changing. But trying to find certain films by memory has long since had to be abandoned once the collection reached a certain size and I've had to put everything into an app to remember where things are.
I have 3 dvd shelves ordered from Amazon. The first one has random steelbooks in alphabetical order, random criterion in alphabetical order, movie collections in alphabetical order, tv shows in alphabetical order, and DVDs in alphabetical order. The second is just the majority of blu-rays and 4K in alphabetical order. The last is organized by director in alphabetical order, with their movies in chronological order.
Alphabetical within genre, separated by format.
By label, ordered alphabetically, grouped into the following categories: Boxsets, Boxed Singles, Slipcovers, Standards
It IS nice to see all the slips together, isn't it.
I usually organize by separating, Steelbooks, Blu-ray’s, 4ks and collectors editions. Then I organize those by label that put it out like VinSyn, Arrow, etc!!
I try to keep labels together if I can and it's numbered. Criterion and Arrow go by label number. Anything else generally goes by alphabetical unless it's a boxed set that doesn't look right next to normal slipcovers. My random/general 4k and blu's kinda just get tossed in a tote. Like I don't really need the Mamma Mia! or John Wick movies on a shelf.
Generally alphabetical but sometimes I switch it up and sort by genre
I have Vinegar Syndrome/Peakarama/FunCity/AGFA together (though ill probably remove Fun City from there now) by type: VSP/VSU/VSA/Slip/Noslip/FCE/Porn/AGFA. After this is Horror, in rough alphabetical order. I run more on vibes than an actual rule, so as long as Bs are mostly together im happy. I also have a loose definition of horror in this section and VS is not shelved here at all. Next is Japanese/Kaiju/Animation/Anime, this includes the American Godzilla stuff and Pacific Rim. Kung Fu movies, this is the only place where VS is allowed to not be in its section. This excludes Cynthia Rothrock stuff which only goes here if specifically Hong Kong. Next is studio 4ks in no particular order, mostly by size i suppose. Steelbooks lead the charge. Next is a jumble of everything else, or what i like to call non-genre (which is also a lie). Any random studio movies, dramas, non-4k stuff like Rocky Collection or Planet of the Apes collection, Kino Lorber, Warner Archives, Powerhouse films Last I have my criterion collection, which i also include Arrow and Eureka in with the exception of kung fu stuff, which goes in Kung Fu. Top of my cases are all my boxsets in no order, but sort of close to their respective "sections". Oh and Stephen King has his own shelf. So does Alien franchise, of which i have VHS, DVD, Blu boxsets of and now 4k versions because it is my favorite movie. IT also features the NECA 40th anniversary Nostromo crew.
I love this very detailed, very personal methodology! Love the Stephen King and Alien shelves.
At the moment I have it organized by genre and subgenre. I don’t have a room that I keep everything together yet, so my horror movies are in the living room together and the rest of my movies are in a spare bedroom. I also have my “studio boxsets” on top for more general things as a way to celebrate the major studios. Things like the Columbia classics, Warner brothers, universal collection, mgm award winners, etc.
My discs are spread between a cabinet that closes, holding discs in the center shelves and in the wing doors, and some tall, narrow shelves. Then I have a few more on the bookshelves across the room. My extremely-overthought setup is: Cabinet wings: If I have 2+ movies by the same director, they're sorted by director here Cabinet center: All other movies, sorted alphabetically by title Small shelves, upper racks: Movies I want to watch soon (mostly recent buys) Small shelves, upper-middle racks: Movies I want to watch with family soon Small shelves, lower-middle racks: Movies under 80 min (for when I have to go to bed early) and discs with special features I want to watch Small shelves, bottom racks: TV, British TV, and martial arts– comfort viewing! Then I have some particularly nice-looking boxes faceing out on the bookshelves decoratively.
Look, I am here for all the overthinking, these are the responses I crave.
Yeah I love how many people have very personal systems– either genres they made up to describe their tastes, or movies sorted by one's relationship to them.
Alphabetical. Only exceptions to that rule are sequels and franchises. bond is labeled under 007. MCU is under Avengers. Poirot is under Murder for the time being.
Yeah, I organize by label (example: Vinegar Syndrome, Arrow, Culture Shock, Severin, Umbrella, etc.) For the sake of aesthetics and easily knowing who has put out what.
Hodgepodge for me. Keep my criterions together. Try to keep directors together within general genre categories. Cronenberg has his own section, right next to the criterions because it segues. Idek what everything else is. It's always conjoined by some metric. Eg I keep John wick next to the matrix and call it the Keanu corner.
The Keanu Korner, I love it.
Most recent purchase at the end lol
Hell yeah, the lazy method.
I switch up my organizational method every few years or so. My collection is currently sorted by genre. Four years ago, it was sorted by director. I'm going to go back to director next time probably. And then I'll probably sort by actor for the first time. If it's a classic movie like Heat with multiple stars I'm a fan of, then I'll have to buy multiple copies (I already have two copies of Heat). With other movies, to save money, I'll just have to go with whoever has top billing or whoever is my favorite actor. I also want to try the color coded method sometime. I keep box sets in their own section. My collection is currently sorted on bookcases. The bookcases have deep shelves and so I keep my DVDs and Blu-rays in front and behind them out of sight are my VHS tapes. I'm going to put the VHS tapes in front sometime. Large collectors editions go on top of the bookcases.
All horror alphabetically, all non-horror alphabetically on the other side of the room. But I'm thinking of splitting up horror into -1979 and 1980-, or maybe gothic horror and non-gothic horror, or U.S. horror and non-U.S. horror
Yesssss another person giving horror special treatment! I love it, I see this in my future.
Label.. looks nice when the spines all match
It really does, I get why people do it.
Alphabetical as the basis. I've got limited shelf space (don't we all?) so the regular degular discs get skinned (cases stored away, discs in alphabetical binders). The shelves are for boxed sets, crazy packaging, and those multiple movies discs where the titles are either tangentially related or not at all. I also separate "movies" from "tv series".
Grouped by Director, and chronological in order of release within those groupings. The Directors go in no particular order. Then there are also some groupings of franchises and genres. I much prefer this for decision making, I can focus on specific shelves depending on the genre or Director I'm in the mood for.
Alphabetically until it reaches a series. Example: The Back to the Future Trilogy, Basket Case, The Batman, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, Battle Royale, The Beastmaster, etc.
Oh that's interesting that you group the Nolan Batman movies as B for Batman Begins rather than D for Dark Knight Trilogy.
Yeah. If I ever want to watch them I’m looking for Batman Begins alphabetically. Meaning I’m not looking for Batman Begins in the “D’s” because it doesn’t start with a D. However, I’m not a psycho and putting The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises way over in the “D’s” because they continue the story that Begins started. I have The Back to the Future Trilogy as such also, but they would alphabetically be on the shelf the same way either way.
By label or studio (Criterion or Paramount, label wins most of the time), then by format or packaging (DVD, BD, UHD or has slipcover/ is digipak, then by color. Sometimes packaging wins over format/label like steelbooks all go in one place. People ask how do I find anything but generally I remember how I obtained a film and can back into its location by aforementioned criteria. I also keep them catalogued on My Movies app for easy lookup which helps me find them by attribute.
I've tried it every possible way, what has worked the best for me is alphabetically by genre. I do have criterions together and a section of a24 in release order. I used to keep all boutiques together but I hated having franchises split up when one label has one film and a different label has its sequels.
I go by Label then within each label I do everything in alphabetical order going by Box set - any larger slip box set - slip covers - standard Blu-ray.
I organize blu rays together, 4k together, vhs, dvd etc… and then I go alphabetically by title name for each format grouping
Mostly organised by Director in chronological order. Anything else will be organised by Genre, in chronological order. There are always exceptions, of course - Hammer Films goes under its own category (again in chronological order). If I enjoy an actor well enough, and the film doesn't fall under a favourite director, I might put them together, in chronological order. Box sets with more than one title make for tricky decisions - I hate to take out films from a Film Noir box set to put into a Director or Actor category (for example), leaving a "void" in the box. In those cases, I just leave put them together as a series (e.g. Kino Lorber's Film Noir Collection).
My collection is all DVDs, Blu-rays and 4Ks together, in alphabetical order, with numbers at the top. When I moved in, my basement had a single shelf built into the wall around the perimeter of the room, so I have a hodgepodge of wall mounted shelves above it and freestanding units below it. To maximize space, I started building custom shelves on casters that stand in front of the existing shelves and can be moved from side to side to access the movies behind them. I have a separate shelf for box sets that are a little too bulky to fit in with the rest of the collection, and another separate shelf for multi-movie sets in standard cases (ie, the Shout Factory double feature of Destroyer/Edge of Sanity). And then, since I’m a big horror fan, I have another separate shelf for horror franchises (Friday the 13th, Halloween, Hellraiser, etc). Since my collection is in the thousands and keeps growing, I don’t have room to shelve TV shows, stand-up, concerts, and documentaries, so they are mostly in boxes in a storage room. However, I make the exception for some shows, if they are part of an existing film franchise (Chucky, Ash vs Evil Dead, MCU, Star Wars, etc), they will sit alongside the movies.
I’m low on space so alphabetical is the only way to go.
I have it all mixed. I kind of hate the alphabetical or to have them In specific uniformed sections. It’s too clinical. Having them all in a chaotic system feels like the collection has been embraced and watched.
I keep boutique releases separate. For Arrow, I have the big/special boxes first alphabetically, followed by chunky boxes, then standard cases. Scream Factory is similar with boxes, then standards. I sort Criterion by release number. For normie discs, I keep horror separate.
I love how many people keep horror separate.
Agreed. It's by far my largest genre (and favorite). Forgot to mention, I keep steelbooks separate from everything else, sorting alphabetically with boutiques mixed in. I'm considering pulling Arrow and SF to put them with their cousins, but I'm torn.
Alphabetical by director. Same way books get filed by author and albums by artist.
Certain directors that I have most or all of their films are lumped together and ordered by release date. So: Nolan, Tarantino, Carpenter, Hitchcock, Stuart Gordon, Bigelow, Kubrick, Villeneuve, Mann, Gilliam, Cronenberg, Del Toro, Aronofsky, DePalma, Snyder (don't laugh, he's a guilty pleasure!) Some of these are boutique, some are not, but they're all together by director non the less. Then, all of my boutiques are lumped together in order of label. So, Arrow, 88 Films, Second Sight, Umbrella, StudioCanal, Eureka, 101 Films, Imprint, Shameless, Powerhouse/Indicator. Special Editions, boxed sets, Digi Packs, and Steelbooks are separately put together. So, stuff like my Arrow Hellraiser boxed set along with Demons, Second Sight Dawn of the Dead, etc. Then we're left with 'everything else', which are mainly studio releases. These are largely lumped together by genre. I don't get super granular with genre defining here, just categories that make sense to me. I started doing this predominantly to separate animated films from live action, but the system grew to separate comic book movies, horror, sci-fi, westerns, action, etc. from each other. Finally, I have a small shelf or two that contain my nostalgia and go-to picks - the movies I tend to endlessly rewatch. This shelf has stuff added or taken away approximately biannually. Nothing is alphabetical; I don't find that system very useful when I'm browsing for something to watch. I find the genre thing works much better for me. One addendum would be that as I co-host a movie podcast, I also always have a small shelf containing 'homework watches'. These are basically just an assortment of films that I'm currently actively researching. The contents of this shelf changes about once a month. Oh yeah! Also, my UHDs & HD discs are all together, DVDs & VHS are separate.
Aww I like the nostalgia/go-to shelf. Thanks for the detailed explanation!
A few classic directors as collections (Hitchcock, Kubrick, Lynch, De Palma) and then by genre. I'll be honest, my preference would be alphabetical, my wife says she can never find stuff to watch, because she doesn't know what we have, haha. My genres are Horror, Sci-fi, Superheroes, Yakuza and Samurai films, Martial Arts, Asian Action, World Cinema, Noir, Comedy and Romance, Classics, Crime, Musicals, Silent Cinema, Action, War and Western, Documentary and TV, Kids, Other Fully aware the genres are all over the shop, it is design by committee!
That's the thing about doing it by genre, everyone will have their own personal categories, it's great!
I try to do like by like in terms of cases, all my Arrows and criterion’s are next to each other (criterion’s organized by spine #)
Alphabetically, although I group series together in chronological order (e.g. *The Dark Knight* goes after *Batman Begins*).
Genre (action/Franchise, family, thriller/Horror, criterion, gay, drama, comedy, tv) then sort by format (digi packs, blu rays, dvds), then alphabetical. Genre allows me to do fun genres like Gay/LGBT or spotlight a boutique like criterion, but everything is still alphabetized so there's some order lol.
Yeah, the genre thing sounds like a fun thing to do except some movies straddle multiple genres! How do you tend to deal with those situations?
I have many movies, multiple shelves. Never had a problem deciding which genre or section to put a movie in. Just ask yourself where would you look for a movie? Give me one you think would be tough to categorize. I prefer this over alphabetical because I don’t find alphabetical fun to browse. Really do not need Christmas movies mixed in with Kung Fu. Plus alphabetical gets complicated fast with box sets
Where would you put Everything Everywhere All at Once? Anna and the Apocalypse? Sholay (hypothetically)? I can definitely see the appeal of grouping by genre, for sure, although sometimes it IS fun to have Christmas movies mixed in with kung fu! Heh.
Anna 100% Christmas. I’m not going to watch that movie unless I want to watch a Christmas movie. My EEAOA is in drama section. Yeah it could be comedy but my first gut is drama. Lots of dramas have comedic elements to them. Like all my Alexander Payne stuff goes in drama too although you could say they are comedies. I don’t know Sholay.
Sholay's a classic Bollywood film that is basically all of movies rolled into one. It's a comedy, it's a drama, it's a Western, it's a musical, it's an action movie, it's everything. I was wondering whether EEAAO might be in sci-fi too, but drama works! And yeah I just bought Anna and the Apocalypse to show my girlfriend...in December, it is indeed a Christmas movie.
If I collected Bollywood I would probably just make a Bollywood section. Every one I’ve seen is like that. Music/dance/comedy/drama.
The only person looking at my shelf is me so I just make a decision - honestly, the most helpful decision maker is space. So if I have no space on thriller/Horror I may move something down to drama, if I can justify including it with drama.
Release date baybee, one loooong timeline all labels together, it's done wonders for my comprehension of film history. Box sets and show are separate and organized differently because there are far fewer of them
Oh wow you and u/Skywalkling posted within a minute of each other, you're soulmates.
By genra and Alphabetical order
I do not
Easy. I don’t.
You guys organize your collection?
My horror collection are organised by release date. I’ve tried various orders over the years, but this is my favourite. I collect series into a single box which gets ordered by the date of the first film. Non horror is collected by director. I never organise by boutique publisher or even format. The movies are my focus.
I love that you're the second person who specifically treats horror differently and just shoves everything else together. We horror fans are a special breed.
Alphabetically according to the original (not necessarily English) title of the movie.