The Relationship Between Movie Greatness and Rewatchability: A Scientific Report

Introduction:

Alright, folks, in this very scientific report, we are diving into the exciting world of movie greatness vs rewatchability. I've previously laid out the details of what makes a movie great in my previous article (What Even is A Movie?) but for this experiment I'll summarize. We give out stars, specifically five of them. From a tragic 0.5 to an absolute masterpiece at 5 stars. We (we is me) rate movies based on storyline, cinematography, entertainment value, and that extra oomph that makes films special. No fancy schmancy reputations here, good is good, no matter the genre or language. Awe, let's get down to business!

Methodology:

To get this party started I had to pull out my trusty Data Analyst skills. I wrangled the data from my Letterboxd profile, specifically the watch activity. That means movie titles, Letterboxd URLs, watch date, the release year, and of course, the very relevant ratings. Tags were there too, but they're not the star of the show today (askies tags). 

Using Microsoft SQL Server I wrote up a simple query to aggregate and analyze the data. Once that was done, I took my treasure trove of information and imported it into Power BI. Cue the music, lights and insights.

Analysis of Findings:

Ya ne, did the data have some stories to tell. Comrades it turns out when I rated a movie a 3 out of 5 stars I was more likely to skip the rewatch. Maybe they were good, but not quite good enough to warrant a repeat performance. Or maybe they were just straight up average. On the flip side, the higher the movie rating the more I found myself hitting that play button again. Seems like greatness does have some rewatch appeal after all. 

Just a note: a Null rating means I didn't rate the movie.

All Logged Movies

 

Single Watch

  

Rewatch

Discussion:

Well, well, well, looks like my hypothesis took a nosedive straight into the "incorrect" territory. My assumption that better movies would be less likely to grab my attention for a repeat viewing was definitely off the mark. But hey, the perspective I had was influenced by the psychological side of things. The mental dedication it takes to dive into some movies. It's one thing to stumble upon an epic journey that sucks you in, but intentionally jumping in is a whole other thing. So, if I didn't feel up for that ride I'd give the rewatch a pass. However, credit is owed to the rating system I used for how it evened out the playing field. Even the lighter flicks got a fair deck. They might not be emotionally demanding, but they still have that potential for greatness.

Conclusion:

In a shocking twist, this study reveals that my hypothesis of a negative relationship between movie greatness and rewatchability was unforgivably wrong. The higher I rated a movie, the more likely I was to dish up some more. Let's also note that it takes a certain readiness and willingness to dive back into the magic. And finally, thanks to my robust star-studded rating system (pun very intended), greatness knows no bounds.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be over here planning my next movie marathon.