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Jim Brown

Director, producer and cinematographer, also writer · Born June 7, 1950 (76) · New York City, New York, USA

Jim Brown is a four-time Emmy Award winning American director/producer known primarily for his work in musical documentaries. He heads Jim Brown Productions, LLC and Ginger Group Productions, Inc. He specializes in social, cultural and musical documentaries with an emphasis on how the power of music can create change. He has one of the largest archives of American folk and roots music from the last 4 decades of his life's work. Brown is a recently retired professor at New York University's Kanbar Institute of Film and Television at Tisch School of the Arts. He taught at New York University for 35+years. He is a member of the Directors Guild of America and a retired member of the International Cinematographers Guild. Brown is also an avid hiker, skier and loves gardening, filmmaking and photography.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
June 7, 1950 (76)
From
New York City, New York, USA
Works as
Director, producer and cinematographer, also writer
Titles
6 on MovieCove · 20 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 37 days to Oct 26Down 13% in 30 days

What are Jim Brown's films like?

Across their 5 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Society and Morality.

Themes

share of theme weight
Society
48%
Morality
16%
Ideas
13%
Bonds
11%
Power
11%
Legacy3 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity3 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice2 titles, browse their movies with this themeHope2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 5 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 3 · Serious 2 · Dark 0

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

Grounded 5 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 0

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

A split, not a type: Gentle 2 · Charged 3 · Intense 0

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

Steady 5 · Shifting 0 · Whiplash 0

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 4 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 0

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

Slow burn 5 · 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 2 · Engaged 3 · Full focus 0

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

Resolved 5 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Hopeful
4
Warm
4
Joyful
2
Contemplative
1
Triumphant
1
Other
1

How their films linger

Hopeful4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy4
  • Bittersweet1

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 Jim Brown's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 1 of their 6 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, on Tubi (1).

Subscription and free streaming for Jim Brown'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

20 credits, 6 with a MovieCove page.

  • A Royal Grand Design (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)

    Director · Writer

  • Holly Near: Singing For Our Lives(2018)

    Director · Cinematographer · Producer

    Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Woody Guthrie All-Star Tribute Concert 1970 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)

    Director

  • Free to Rock(2017)

    Director · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films

  • The Highwaymen: Friends Till the End (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    Director

  • Billy Joel - A Matter of Trust: The Bridge to Russia(1987)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films

  • 50 Years with Peter Paul and Mary(2014)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Sing Your Song(2011)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films

  • Pete Seeger: The Power of Song(2007)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • Isn't This a Time! A Tribute Concert for Harold Leventhal (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)

    Director · Producer

  • Peter, Paul & Mary: Carry It On (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)

    Director

  • Mostly Sondheim (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)

    Director · Producer

  • The Singing Kettle: World Tour (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)

    Director

  • Appalachian Journey (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)

    Cinematographer

  • American Patchwork: Songs and Stories of America (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)

    Show 3 episodes · Cinematographer

  • In the Hank Williams Tradition (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)

    Director

  • We Shall Overcome (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)

    Director · Cinematographer

  • A Vision Shared: A Tribute to Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)

    Director · Cinematographer · Producer

  • Woody Guthrie: Hard Travelin' (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)

    Director

  • The Weavers: Wasn't That a Time (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)

    Director

Career shape

A full career of 18 titles from 1982 to 2022.

Biggest box office

Pete Seeger: The Power of Song (2007)

$88K worldwide

Most popular right now

Holly Near: Singing For Our Lives (2018)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Directing16 of 18: 9 only directing, 7 with another roleWriting1 of 18: 0 only writing, 1 with another roleProducing5 of 18: 0 only producing, 5 with another roleCinematography4 of 18: 2 only cinematography, 2 with another role

18 titles, 7 with more than one role — directing and producing overlap on 5 of them.

By decade

1980s5 · crew1990s3 · crew2000s4 · crew2010s5 · crew2020s1 · crew

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

How do Jim Brown's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 90th percentile, the median of all 6; across their 5 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 86th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

86thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 5

Approval · how many liked their films

87thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 5

Reach · how many have seen their films

14thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 5

Midcredits score across 6 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up5
  • 50th to 74th1

Shape of the crowd

2 of their 6 titles are Universally Loved.

  • Universally Loved2
  • Divisive1
  • Crowd Pleaser2
  • Mixed1

Most divisive · director, producer, cinematographer

Holly Near: Singing For Our Lives (2018)

90th percentile spread · 23% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director, producer

Pete Seeger: The Power of Song (2007)

Midcredits 97th · 88% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 75/100 in their films, across 3 reviewed titles; fans 77, detractors 50. 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 Jim Brown work with?

People who share at least 2 of Jim Brown's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Pat Murphy shares the most, 3.

Actors

Editors

Producers