Martin Brest (born August 8, 1951) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. After his feature debut, Going in Style (1979), he directed the action comedies Beverly Hills Cop (1984) and Midnight Run (1988), which were critical and commercial hits. He then directed Scent of a Woman (1992), starring Al Pacino, who won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance, and earned Brest nominations for Best Director and Best Picture. He followed it with Meet Joe Black (1998), which received mixed reviews. Brest's next film was Gigli (2003). After disagreements between Brest and Revolution Studios, creative control was taken from him, resulting in a radically re-written and re-shot version of the original film being released, which became his first and only unprofitable film and, in fact, a major box-office bomb and was widely panned. It remains his last film to date. Description above from the Wikipedia article Martin Brest, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- August 8, 1951 (75)
- The Bronx, New York City, New York
- Director, producer and writer
- 12 on MovieCove · 15 credits in all
What are Martin Brest's films like?
Across their 7 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds 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 0 · Earnest 7
A split, not a type: Light 4 · Serious 3 · Dark 0
A split, not a type: Grounded 5 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 1
Gentle 1 · Charged 5 · Intense 1
Steady 0 · Shifting 6 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 3
A split, not a type: Slow burn 4 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 1
Casual 4 · Engaged 3 · Full focus 0
A split, not a type: Easy watch 3 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 2
Resolved 6 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy3
- Bittersweet4
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 Martin Brest's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 6 of their 12 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Prime Video (3).
Subscription and free streaming for Martin Brest'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
15 credits, 12 with a MovieCove page.
One Battle After Another(2025)
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films
Going in Style(2017)
Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films
Gigli(2003)
Midcredits score: 1st percentile of all films
Meet Joe Black(1998)
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films
Josh and S.A.M.(1993)
Midcredits score: 30th percentile of all films
Scent of a Woman(1992)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films
Midnight Run(1988)
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films
Spies Like Us(1985)
Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films
Beverly Hills Cop(1984)
Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films
Going in Style(1979)
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films
Hot Tomorrows (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1977)
Saturday Night Live(1975)
Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all shows
Minestrone (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1975)
Hot Dogs for Gauguin (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1972)
Career shape
A full career of 15 titles from 1972 to 2025.
Biggest box office
Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
Highest rated
Scent of a Woman (1992)
Most popular right now
Meet Joe Black (1998)
Film career
- 1985Screen debut· Spies Like Us
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 Martin Brest's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 86th percentile, the median of all 11; across their 7 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 83rd percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up7
- 50th to 74th3
- 25th to 49th1
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
8 of their 12 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved2
- Crowd Pleaser8
- Mixed2
Reviewers score the atmosphere 64/100 and the pacing 46/100 in their films, across 7 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 Martin Brest's work okay for kids?
Across up to 5 MovieCove titles with content scores, sex & nudity, profanity and alcohol & drugs 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 Martin Brest work with?
People who share at least 2 of Martin Brest's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Billy Weber shares the most, 4.
Writers
- Bo GoldmanShared titles: Meet Joe Black (1998), Scent of a Woman (1992)See all 2 shared titles with Bo Goldman
Actors
- Al PacinoShared titles: Gigli (2003), Scent of a Woman (1992)See all 2 shared titles with Al Pacino
- John AshtonShared titles: Midnight Run (1988), Beverly Hills Cop (1984)See all 2 shared titles with John Ashton
Composers and editors
- Billy WeberShared titles: Gigli (2003), Josh and S.A.M. (1993), Midnight Run (1988), Beverly Hills Cop (1984)See all 4 shared titles with Billy Weber
- Michael TronickShared titles: Meet Joe Black (1998), Scent of a Woman (1992), Midnight Run (1988)See all 3 shared titles with Michael Tronick
- Thomas NewmanShared titles: Meet Joe Black (1998), Josh and S.A.M. (1993), Scent of a Woman (1992)See all 3 shared titles with Thomas Newman
- Chris LebenzonShared titles: Josh and S.A.M. (1993), Midnight Run (1988)See all 2 shared titles with Chris Lebenzon
Producers
- Ronald L. SchwaryShared titles: Meet Joe Black (1998), Scent of a Woman (1992)See all 2 shared titles with Ronald L. Schwary
