Curtis Lee Hanson (March 24, 1945 – September 20, 2016) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. Born in Reno, Nevada, Hanson grew up in Los Angeles. After dropping out of high school, Hanson worked as photographer and editor for Cinema magazine. In the 1970s, Hanson participated as a writer for the horror film The Dunwich Horror (1970) and made his directorial debut the B-Movie Sweet Kill (1973), where he lacked creative control to fulfill his vision. While Hanson continued directing, he rose to prominence screenwriting critically acclaimed films such as The Silent Partner (1978), White Dog (1982), and Never Cry Wolf (1983). After working on projects that kept him unsatisfied, he decided that he should write and direct thriller films based on the success of The Silent Partner. Hence, he followed up with The Bedroom Window (1987) where his writing and directing finally came to merge. By this point, his body of work made an impression on screenwriter David Koepp, who was convinced that he could handle the directorial duties for his script, which led to Bad Influence (1990). Finally he directed The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992), which was both a critical and commercial success. Moving forward he directed the thriller The River Wild (1994), which grossed $94.2 million. Afterwards, he directed the acclaimed neo-noir crime film L.A. Confidential (1997) earning him the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay as well as nominations for Best Picture and Best Director. The film was also nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival and is preserved by the Library of Congress in the National Film Registry as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". His next directorial effort was the critically acclaimed comedy-drama Wonder Boys (2000). Then came the hip-hop drama 8 Mile (2002), starring rapper Eminem and based on his life experiences. The film was a triumph with critics and at the box-office grossing $242.9 million. Finally the romantic comedy In Her Shoes (2005), was also critically acclaimed and a financial success. Prior to his 2014 retirement, due to poor health, Hanson directed Lucky You (2007), and Chasing Mavericks (2012), both had troubled productions and the final results did not come near his previous critical and financial accomplishments. Hanson's last significant directorial effort was the HBO television film Too Big to Fail (2011) receiving nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited Series or Movie and Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series or Movie. Hanson died of natural causes in 2016. Description above from the Wikipedia article Curtis Hanson, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- March 24, 1945
- September 20, 2016 (aged 71)
- Reno, Nevada, USA
- Director, producer, writer and actor
- 22 on MovieCove · 29 credits in all
What are Curtis Hanson's films like?
Across their 22 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Morality.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 1 · Earnest 21
A split, not a type: Light 7 · Serious 5 · Dark 10
Grounded 19 · Stylized 3 · Heightened 0
A split, not a type: Gentle 8 · Charged 6 · Intense 8
Steady 9 · Shifting 11 · Whiplash 2
Straight-faced 14 · Some laughs 7 · Funny 1
A split, not a type: Slow burn 12 · Even-paced 7 · Relentless 3
A split, not a type: Casual 10 · Engaged 9 · Full focus 3
Easy watch 8 · Affecting 10 · Heavy 4
Resolved 15 · Open-ended 6 · Ambiguous 1
Moods and endings
- Happy8
- Bittersweet11
- Tragic1
- Ambiguous1
- Cyclical1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Curtis Hanson's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 18 of their 22 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (7).
- Never Cry Wolf (1983) · writer · free
- The Children of Times Square (1986) · director, writer · free
- The Bedroom Window (1987) · director, writer · free
- Bad Influence (1990) · director · free
- The Dunwich Horror (1970) · writer · free
- Losin' It (1982) · director · free
- Sweet Kill (1972) · director, writer, producer · free
- Cinemax, show their title on Cinemax
- Cineverse, show their title on Cineverse
- Howdy, show their title on Howdy
- Lionsgate+, show their title on Lionsgate+
- Midnight Pulp, show their title on Midnight Pulp
- ScreenPix, show their title on ScreenPix
- Shout! TV, show their title on Shout! TV
- Sony Pictures Core, show their title on Sony Pictures Core
Subscription and free streaming for Curtis Hanson's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
29 credits, 22 with a MovieCove page; 17 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Chasing Mavericks(2012)
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films
Too Big to Fail(2011)
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films
The Big Year(2011)
Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films
Three Rivers(2009)
Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all shows
Revolution! The Making of 'Bonnie and Clyde' (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
Lucky You(2007)
Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films
The Making of 'Some Like It Hot' (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)
In Her Shoes(2005)
Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films
'In a Lonely Place' Revisited (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)
Adaptation.(2002)
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films
8 Mile(2002)
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films
Greg the Bunny (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)
Wonder Boys(2000)
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films
L.A. Confidential(1997)
Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films
Film Music Masters: Jerry Goldsmith (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)
The River Wild(1994)
Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films
Bad Influence(1990)
Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films
Evil Town (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)
The Bedroom Window(1987)
Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films
Never Cry Wolf(1983)
Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films
Losin' It(1982)
Midcredits score: 13th percentile of all films
White Dog(1982)
Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films
The Little Dragons (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1980)
The Silent Partner(1978)
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films
Fly Me(1973)
Midcredits score: 12th percentile of all films
Sweet Kill(1972)
Midcredits score: 12th percentile of all films
The Dunwich Horror(1970)
Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all films
Career shape
A full career of 28 titles from 1970 to 2012.
Biggest box office
8 Mile (2002)
Highest rated
L.A. Confidential (1997)
Most popular right now
8 Mile (2002)
Film career
- 2002Screen debut· Adaptation.
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Curtis Hanson's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 61st percentile, the median of all 21; across their 22 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 69th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up9
- 50th to 74th6
- 25th to 49th3
- Below 25th4
Shape of the crowd
12 of their 22 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved3
- Crowd Pleaser12
- Broadly Agreed3
- Mixed4
Reviewers score the atmosphere 70/100 and the pacing 51/100 in their films, across 20 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Curtis Hanson's work okay for kids?
Across up to 15 MovieCove titles with content scores, sex & nudity and profanity run heavier than most films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Curtis Hanson work with?
People who share at least 2 of Curtis Hanson's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Robert Elswit shares the most, 4.
Directors
- Gary LevaShared titles: The Master's Touch: Hitchcock's Signature Style (2009), Whatever You Desire: Making 'L.A. Confidential' (2008)See all 2 shared titles with Gary Leva
Actors
- Kim BasingerShared titles: Whatever You Desire: Making 'L.A. Confidential' (2008), 8 Mile (2002), L.A. Confidential (1997)See all 3 shared titles with Kim Basinger
- Brian DennehyShared titles: The Big Year (2011), Never Cry Wolf (1983)See all 2 shared titles with Brian Dennehy
- Danny DeVitoShared titles: Whatever You Desire: Making 'L.A. Confidential' (2008), L.A. Confidential (1997)See all 2 shared titles with Danny DeVito
- Guy PearceShared titles: Whatever You Desire: Making 'L.A. Confidential' (2008), L.A. Confidential (1997)See all 2 shared titles with Guy Pearce
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Robert ElswitShared titles: The River Wild (1994), The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992), Bad Influence (1990), The Children of Times Square (1986)See all 4 shared titles with Robert Elswit
- Craig KitsonShared titles: Lucky You (2007), In Her Shoes (2005), 8 Mile (2002)See all 3 shared titles with Craig Kitson
- Christopher YoungShared titles: Lucky You (2007), Wonder Boys (2000)See all 2 shared titles with Christopher Young
- Mark IshamShared titles: In Her Shoes (2005), Never Cry Wolf (1983)See all 2 shared titles with Mark Isham
Producers
- Carol FenelonShared titles: The Big Year (2011), Lucky You (2007), In Her Shoes (2005), 8 Mile (2002)See all 4 shared titles with Carol Fenelon
- Roger CormanShared titles: Fly Me (1973), Sweet Kill (1972), The Dunwich Horror (1970)See all 3 shared titles with Roger Corman
- Michael CrawfordShared titles: The Master's Touch: Hitchcock's Signature Style (2009), Whatever You Desire: Making 'L.A. Confidential' (2008)See all 2 shared titles with Michael Crawford
- Garth H. DrabinskyShared titles: Losin' It (1982), The Silent Partner (1978)See all 2 shared titles with Garth H. Drabinsky
Mixed roles
- Arnon MilchanShared titles: Whatever You Desire: Making 'L.A. Confidential' (2008), L.A. Confidential (1997)See all 2 shared titles with Arnon Milchan
- Michael G. NathansonShared titles: Whatever You Desire: Making 'L.A. Confidential' (2008), L.A. Confidential (1997)See all 2 shared titles with Michael G. Nathanson
