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Howard Brookner

Howard Brookner

Director, producer, writer and cinematographer · Died April 27, 1989, aged 34 · New York City, New York, USA

Howard Brookner (April 30, 1954 – April 27, 1989) was an American film director. He produced and directed the documentary Burroughs: the Movie about William S. Burroughs (1983), Robert Wilson and the Civil Wars on theatre director Robert Wilson (1986), and directed, co-produced and co-wrote Bloodhounds of Broadway (1989). From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Read more

Biography from TMDB.

Born
April 30, 1954
Died
April 27, 1989 (aged 34)
From
New York City, New York, USA
Works as
Director, producer, writer and cinematographer
Titles
5 on MovieCove · 9 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 39 days to Oct 28Down 64% in 30 days

What are Howard Brookner's films like?

Across a limited sample of 3 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Society and Survival.

Themes

share of theme weight
Society
24%
Survival
20%
Bonds
19%
Self
19%
Ideas
19%

What they feel like to watch

their average across 3 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 3 · Serious 0 · Dark 0

Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 2 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 0

Gentle: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their gentle movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 2 · Charged 1 · Intense 0

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 2 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 0

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 1

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 0 · Relentless 0

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 0 · Engaged 3 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 2 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings shown from 5 titles

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Joyful
2
Contemplative
2
Warm
1
Tense
1
Absurd
1

How their films linger

Thought-provoking2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

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 Howard Brookner's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 3 of their 5 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on The Criterion Channel (3).

Subscription and free streaming for Howard Brookner'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

9 credits, 5 with a MovieCove page.

  • Nova 78'(2025)

    Cinematographer · Sound

    Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films

  • Robert E. Fulton III Edit of Burroughs: The Movie (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

    Director

  • Bloodhounds of Broadway(1989)

    Director · Producer · Screenplay · as Daffy Jack

    Midcredits score: 31st percentile of all films

  • Mystery Train(1989)

    Thanks

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films

  • Probe (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)

    Show 1 episode · Story

  • Robert Wilson and the Civil Wars (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)

    Director · Producer

  • Burroughs: The Movie(1983)

    Director · Cinematographer · Producer

    Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films

  • American Playhouse (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)

    Show 1 episode · Director · Producer · Writer · as Daffy Jack

  • Permanent Vacation(1980)

    Gaffer

    Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films

Career shape

A full career of 9 titles from 1981 to 2026.

Biggest box office

Bloodhounds of Broadway (1989)

$44K worldwide

Highest rated

Burroughs: The Movie (1983)

Midcredits 81st

Most popular right now

Nova 78' (2025)

Film career

  • 1989Screen debut· Bloodhounds of Broadway

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting2 of 9: 0 only acting, 2 with another roleDirecting5 of 9: 1 only directing, 4 with another roleWriting3 of 9: 1 only writing, 2 with another roleProducing4 of 9: 0 only producing, 4 with another roleCinematography2 of 9: 0 only cinematography, 2 with another roleOther crew3 of 9: 2 only other crew, 1 with another role

9 titles, 5 with more than one role — directing and producing overlap on 4 of them.

By decade

1980s7 · 2 acting · 7 crew2010s1 · crew2020s1 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it.

How do Howard Brookner's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 77th percentile, the median of all 5; across a limited sample of 3 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 80th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

80thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 3

Approval · how many liked their films

71stpercentile
Typical film, the median of 3

Reach · how many have seen their films

54thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 3

Midcredits score across 5 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up3
  • 50th to 74th1
  • 25th to 49th1

Shape of the crowd

2 of their 5 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved1
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser2
  • Broadly Agreed1

Most divisive · actor, director, writer, producer

Bloodhounds of Broadway (1989)

77th percentile spread · 32% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director, producer, cinematographer

Burroughs: The Movie (1983)

Midcredits 81st · 70% liked

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 Howard Brookner work with?

People who share at least 2 of Howard Brookner's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Allen Ginsberg shares the most, 2.

Actors

Mixed roles