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Merce Cunningham

Actor · Died July 26, 2009, aged 90 · Centralia, Washington, USA

Mercier Philip "Merce" Cunningham was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of American modern dance for more than 50 years.

Biography from TMDB.

Born
April 16, 1919
Died
July 26, 2009 (aged 90)
From
Centralia, Washington, USA
Works as
Actor
Titles
1 on MovieCove · 22 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 13% in 30 days

What are Merce Cunningham's films like?

Across a limited sample of 4 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Ideas and Society.

Themes

share of theme weight
Ideas
61%
Society
25%
Self
14%
Art3 titles, browse their movies with this themeLegacy2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 4 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 4 · Serious 0 · Dark 0

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

Grounded 1 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 1

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

Gentle 3 · Charged 1 · Intense 0

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

Steady 4 · 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 3 · 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 4 · 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 1 · Engaged 3 · Full focus 0

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

Resolved 3 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings shown from 5 titles

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Contemplative
4
Joyful
3
Hopeful
1
Warm
1
Bittersweet
1

How their films linger

Rousing2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-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 Merce Cunningham's films?

As of October 24, 2026, their 1 MovieCove title streams on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Merce Cunningham'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

22 credits, 1 with a MovieCove page; 12 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • August Pace 1989-2019 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)

    Choreographer

  • Cunningham(2019)

    as Archival Footage

    Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films

  • Loops (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)

    Actor

  • Ocean (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    Choreographer

  • Beach Birds for Camera (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)

    Choreographer

  • Points in Space (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)

    Director · Writer · as Self

  • Coast Zone (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)

    Choreographer

  • Channels/Inserts (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1981)

    Choreographer

  • Locale (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1980)

    Choreographer

  • Merce by Merce by Paik (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1978)

    Actor

  • Merce by Merce by Paik Part One: Blue Studio: Five Segments 1975-1976 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1976)

    Director

  • Westbeth (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1975)

    Director

  • Walkaround Time (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1973)

    Choreographer · Actor

  • Assemblage (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1968)

    Choreographer · Actor

  • John Cage (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1966)

    Actor

  • Variations V (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1966)

    Choreographer · as Self

  • Antic Meet (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1964)

    Choreographer · as Dancer

  • Night Wandering (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1964)

    Director · as Dancer

  • Appalachian Spring (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1944)

    as The Preacher

  • BIPED (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Choreographer

  • Changing Steps (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director

  • Exchange (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Actor

Career shape

A full career of 22 titles, 19 of them dated from 1944 to 2023.

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting10 of 22: 6 only acting, 4 with another roleDirecting5 of 22: 3 only directing, 2 with another roleWriting1 of 22: 0 only writing, 1 with another roleOther crew11 of 22: 8 only other crew, 3 with another role

22 titles, 5 with more than one role — other crew and acting overlap on 3 of them.

By decade

1940s1 · acting1960s5 · 4 acting · 4 crew1970s4 · 2 acting · 3 crew1980s4 · crew1990s1 · crew2010s3 · 2 acting · 1 crew2020s1 · crew

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

How do Merce Cunningham's films land?

Their one MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 61st percentile; across a limited sample of 4 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 83rd percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

83rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 4

Approval · how many liked their films

69thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 4

Reach · how many have seen their films

51stpercentile
Typical film, the median of 4

Midcredits score across 1 title, by percentile

  • 50th to 74th1

Shape of the crowd

1 of their 1 title is Crowd Pleaser.

  • Crowd Pleaser1

Most loved · actor

Cunningham (2019)

Midcredits 61st · 52% liked

Reviewers score the acting 67/100 in their films, across 3 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

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 Merce Cunningham work with?

People who share at least 2 of Merce Cunningham's MovieCove titles; Allen Ginsberg shares the most, 2.