Christian Blackwood was an American film director and cinematographer. He was initially a child actor, then a cinematographer acclaimed for his work in Charlotte Zwerin's Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser. But his major work was as the director of over 80 films, mostly documentaries, over a 25-year career. His most famous films are Observations Under The Volcano and On the Set of Death of a Salesman, behind-the-scenes looks at the creation of movies by John Huston and Volker Schlöndorff from the famous novel and play. The latter film won him the grand prize at the Sundance Film Festival. Christian Blackwood died in 1992 of lung cancer. He was married to film writer, producer and fine art photographer, Carolyn Marks Blackwood. His film archives are stored in the Museum of Modern Art.
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Biography from TMDB.
- July 7, 1942
- July 22, 1992 (aged 50)
- Berlin, Germany
- Director, cinematographer and producer, also editor, actor and writer
- 12 on MovieCove · 40 credits in all
Known for
What are Christian Blackwood's films like?
Across their 12 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Ideas and Self.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 12
A split, not a type: Light 6 · Serious 5 · Dark 1
Grounded 9 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 2
Gentle 9 · Charged 2 · Intense 1
Steady 11 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 11 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 0
Slow burn 11 · Even-paced 1 · Relentless 0
Casual 7 · Engaged 5 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 9 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 1
Resolved 10 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy2
- Bittersweet4
- Ambiguous6
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 Christian Blackwood's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 2 of their 12 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Christian Blackwood'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
40 credits, 12 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.
Conversations with Philip Guston (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)
Real Sex (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films
Motel (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films
POV (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)
Signed: Lino Brocka(1987)
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films
Private Conversations: On the Set of ‘Death of a Salesman’ (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)
The Soldier's Tale(1984)
Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films
Observations Under the Volcano (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)
Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
Edith Head (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1981)
Sam Fuller: Writings with a Camera (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1981)
Memoirs of a Movie Palace: The Kings of Flatbush (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1980)
Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Yesterday's Witness (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1976)
Hollywood's Musical Moods (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1976)
Isamu Noguchi (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1972)
Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Larry Rivers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1972)
San Domingo (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1970)
Summer in the City (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1970)
Sex-Business: Made in Pasing (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1970)
David Hockney's Diaries (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1970)
Jim Dine: London (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1970)
Harlem Theater (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)
Christo: Wrapped Coast (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)
Katja Mann: A Life with Thomas Mann (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)
Monk (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1968)
Monk in Europe (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1968)
Lockenköpfchen (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)
Hans Werner Henze: Summer of 1966 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)
Not Reconciled (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1965)
Murderers Among Us(1946)
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all filmsJuilliard (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Tapdancin' (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 37 titles, 35 of them dated from 1946 to 2003.
Biggest box office
Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser (1988)
Highest rated
Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser (1988)
Most popular right now
Murderers Among Us (1946)
Film career
- 1946Screen debut· The Murderers Are Among 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 Christian Blackwood's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 86th percentile, the median of the 9 of 12 with a score; across their 11 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 79th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up8
- 25th to 49th1
Shape of the crowd
4 of their 9 titles are Mixed.
- Universally Loved2
- Divisive1
- Crowd Pleaser2
- Mixed4
Reviewers score the atmosphere 69/100 and the pacing 53/100 in their films, across 4 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.
Who does Christian Blackwood work with?
People who share at least 2 of Christian Blackwood's MovieCove titles; Michael Blackwood shares the most, 5.
- Michael BlackwoodShared titles: Butoh: Body on the Edge of Crisis (1990), Frank Gehry: The Formative Years (1988), Philip Guston: A Life Lived (1981), American Art in the 1960s (1972), Robert Motherwell: Summer of 1971 (1972)See all 5 shared titles with Michael Blackwood
