Best Gifts for Movie Lovers and Cinephiles

Christmas is fast approaching and unfortunately, the days of buying a movie lover a simple DVD is long gone. With streaming services taking over the industry, DVDs are quickly becoming a thing of the past. Although buying a movie fan a gift card to a local movie theater is always useful, there’s usually nothing fun or surprising about getting a gift card as a gift.

Buying a gift for cinephiles can be difficult because they are out of the ordinary. You can’t easily find cinephile gifts in stores like you can with other products. They usually require deeper research and knowledge of the person you are buying the gift for.

Every cinephile is different and has their own preferences of directors and favorite films. This blog post gives you a list of the best gifts you can buy for movie lovers. This list may not have gifts that specifically fit your cinephile friend or partner’s interests but they should at least give you an idea of what gifts to look for.

10 Best Gifts For Movie Buffs

10. The Criterion Collection

Criterion is a distribution company that has made its way into many movie lovers’ hearts. They were created in 1984 and have made a legacy of digitally restoring important classic and contemporary movies. Criterion creates special DVD packages with designs and features that deepen a fan’s appreciation of the film. The packages usually contain beautifully artistic DVD covers and bonus features such as posters, booklets, documentaries about the production, and more. The Criterion Collection is the best way to buy a DVD as a gift for movie lovers. Search their Criterion Collection to see if you can find a Criterion package of a film that your cinephile loves.

9. A Script of Their Favorite Film

Scripts are an interesting and unique gift for movie lovers. They offer an in-depth look into a film and what the writer’s intentions were before the director took over. Physical copies of scripts can forever be stored and easily accessed at any time. If you find out what movie your cinephile loves, you can buy them a script online or download the script online and print it off. Here are a few great websites where you can find scripts.

A24 Screenplays
William Goldman: Four Screenplays with Essays
The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb)
Simply Scripts
HollywoodScriptShop.com

8. Books About Films

Some of the greatest gifts for movie fans, ironically, are books. Many cinephiles read almost as much as they watch movies and TV shows. There are a lot of books that detail the entire production of a film or showcase different art pieces that relate to films. Books that examine the history of the film industry also make great gifts for movie buffs. If you need some recommendations of books, check out this short list:

Criterion Designs
The Film Snob*s Dictionary: An Essential Lexicon of Filmological Knowledge
The Art of Horror Movies: An Illustrated History
Separate Cinema: The First 100 Years of Black Poster Art
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood
Monsters in the Movies by John Landi
Letters from Hollywood: Inside the Private World of Classic American Moviemaking
The Art of Pixar
The Stanley Kubrick Archives
Paul Thomas Anderson: Masterworks
Quentin Tarantino: The iconic filmmaker and his work
The Star Wars Archives
The Wes Anderson Collection
85 Years of the Oscar: The Official History of the Academy Awards
Eat What You Watch Book

7. Mini Portable Projector

Nowadays, you don’t need a DVD player or a huge console to watch content. All you need is one device that can fit in the palm of your hands. Portable projectors are a newer invention and many of them have built-in streaming services and WiFi capabilities. Movie buffs will love this gift because it will give them the freedom to watch films anywhere, anytime.

6. Inflatable At-Home Movie Theater

Sometimes watching a movie on a regular TV screen can be an unfulfilling. The movie theater experience is difficult to replicate and with the pandemic closing down movie theaters for almost a year, it left a lot of uncertainty about how long movie theaters would be around. Well if you can’t go to the movie theaters, the next best option is to bring them to you. Along with projectors, inflatable mega movie projection screens can be a great gift for movie buffs who love hosting movie nights.

5. Card and Board Games

Movie fans are usually well-versed in film and television, but they rarely get the chance to prove it. Card and board games are a great way to test the knowledge of self-proclaimed movie buffs. There are two games that every cinephile should have.

Cinephile which is a card game dedicated to people who have a deep appreciation of films. It is seen by many as the ultimate game for movie geeks.

Blockbuster, a board game that is more casual and party-oriented. The game is for anyone who has ever seen a film but it can be especially fun for movie fans.

4. Popcorn Machine

Movie theaters carry certain associations in our minds. Candy, drinks, and of course, popcorn all come to mind when we think of the silver screen. A popcorn machine is both a symbolic and useful gift to movie lovers. It can also add to the decoration and ambiance in their house or apartment.

3. A Poster of their Favorite Film

Speaking of decorations, there are no more popular movie-related decorations than posters. Posters can mean a lot to people who are fond of movies. They have a sentimental value, especially when it is a movie poster of their favorite film. They make a great gift that can also can be a reminder of you just by looking at them.

2. Ticket Box

Many cinephiles collect cinema tickets the same way some people collect baseball cards. A ticket box is a gift that some movie enthusiasts will love because it gives them a place to store all of their tickets. As they age, they can look through their tickets and keep track of what they saw in theaters and the memories that come with that.

1. Framed Film Cell

If your movie lover is a fan of classic films from the 20th Century, then they’ll love a FilmCell. FilmCells are framed displays of images and real 35mm film from iconic movies. Each piece of film included is hand-cut from film reels and placed in a quality frame. They can also come with a backlight to highlight the film cells as it hangs on a wall. You can learn more about FilmCells here.

Creative Gifts For Creative People

Getting someone a basic gift like socks or a gift card is easy but it’s not always the most memorable. Memorabilia can be a very meaningful gift to movie lovers along with the other gifts on our list. This holiday season, we hope these recommendations will make your movie lover’s holiday a little more special.