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Donna Deitch

Donna Deitch

Director, also producer · Born June 8, 1945 (81) · San Francisco, California, USA

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.   Donna Deitch (born June 8, 1945 in San Francisco, California) is an American film and television director best known for her 1986 film Desert Hearts. The film was groundbreaking as one of the first releases to depict a lesbian love story in a generally mainstream, albeit art house, vein but with positive and respectful themes. Deitch also directed the mini-series The Women of Brewster Place. Her partner is writer Terri Jentz. Description above from the Wikipedia article Donna Deitch, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
June 8, 1945 (81)
From
San Francisco, California, USA
Works as
Director, also producer
Titles
18 on MovieCove · 42 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Official site (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 156 days to Oct 27Down 38% in 30 days

What are Donna Deitch's films like?

Across their 5 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Bonds.

Themes

share of theme weight
Self
35%
Bonds
34%
Morality
17%
Survival
7%
Power
6%
Family bonds3 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 4 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 1 · Serious 1 · Dark 2

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

Grounded 2 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 0

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

Gentle 0 · Charged 2 · Intense 2

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

Steady 2 · Shifting 2 · 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 0 · Funny 0

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

Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 2 · 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 2 · 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 are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Romantic
3
Tense
3
Melancholic
2
Hopeful
2
Dread
1
Other
2

How their films linger

Bittersweet3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteWistful2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy1
  • Bittersweet3
  • Ambiguous1

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 Donna Deitch's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 13 of their 18 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Hulu (6).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Donna Deitch'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

42 credits, 18 with a MovieCove page; 5 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Remembering Reno: Reflections on the Making of Desert Hearts (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)

    Actor

  • A Gifted Man(2011)

    Show 1 episode · Director

    Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all shows

  • The Glades(2010)

    Show 1 episode · Director

    Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all shows

  • Private Practice(2007)

    Show 4 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all shows

  • Heroes(2006)

    Show 1 episode · Director

    Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all shows

  • Eureka(2006)

    Show 1 episode · Director

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all shows

  • South of Nowhere(2005)

    Show 2 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all shows

  • Bones(2005)

    Show 1 episode · Director

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all shows

  • Grey's Anatomy(2005)

    Show 1 episode · Director

    Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all shows

  • Dragnet(2003)

    Show 1 episode · Director

    Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all shows

  • Crossing Jordan(2001)

    Show 9 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all shows

  • The $treet (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)

    Show 2 episodes · Director

  • Common Ground (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)

    Director

  • Law & Order: Special Victims Unit(1999)

    Show 3 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all shows

  • Judging Amy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)

    Show 1 episode · Director

  • The Devil's Arithmetic(1999)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films

  • Angel on My Shoulder (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)

    Director · Cinematographer · Producer · Writer · as Self / Narrator

  • Total Security (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)

    Show 1 episode · Director

  • The Visitor (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)

    Show 1 episode · Director

  • Murder One: Diary of a Serial Killer (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)

    Director

  • Second Noah (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)

    Show 1 episode · Director

  • Murder One(1995)

    Show 5 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all shows

  • A Change of Place (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)

    Director

  • Criminal Passion(1994)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 13th percentile of all films

  • ER(1994)

    Show 2 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all shows

  • NYPD Blue(1993)

    Show 13 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all shows

  • Sexual Advances (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)

    Director

  • Veronica Clare (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)

    Show 1 episode · Director

  • Prison Stories: Women on the Inside(1991)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films

  • WIOU (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)

    Show 1 episode · Director

  • The Women of Brewster Place (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)

    Director

  • The Women of Brewster Place (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)

    Show 2 episodes · Director

  • As Kineastas (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)

    Actor

  • Desert Hearts(1985)

    Director · Producer · as Hungarian Gambler

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films

  • Woman to Woman (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1975)

    Director

  • Portrait (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1972)

    Director

  • She Was A Visitor (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1970)

    Director

  • Several Friends (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)

    Actor

  • Memorabilia (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)

    Director

  • P. P.1 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)

    Director

  • Berkeley 12 to 1 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1968)

    Director

  • Directors on Directing (Part 2) (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Actor

Career shape

A full career of 42 titles, 41 of them dated from 1968 to 2017.

Biggest box office

Desert Hearts (1985)

$2.5M worldwide

Highest rated

Desert Hearts (1985)

Midcredits 86th

Most popular right now

South of Nowhere (2005)

Film career

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting5 of 42: 4 only acting, 1 with another roleDirecting38 of 42: 36 only directing, 2 with another role · typical Midcredits score76thWriting1 of 42: 0 only writing, 1 with another roleProducing2 of 42: 0 only producing, 2 with another roleCinematography1 of 42: 0 only cinematography, 1 with another role

By decade

1960s4 · 1 acting · 3 crew1970s3 · crew1980s4 · 2 acting · 3 crew1990s17 · crew2000s10 · crew2010s3 · 1 acting · 2 crew

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 Donna Deitch's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 46th percentile, the median of all 4; across a limited sample of 4 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 38th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

38thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 4

Approval · how many liked their films

54thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 4

Reach · how many have seen their films

68thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 4

Midcredits score across 18 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up10
  • 50th to 74th5
  • 25th to 49th2
  • Below 25th1

Shape of the crowd

12 of their 18 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved3
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser12
  • Mixed2

Most divisive · director

Prison Stories: Women on the Inside (1991)

78th percentile spread · 25% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director

Murder One (1995)

Midcredits 91st · 88% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 62/100 and the pacing 38/100 in their films, across 3 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 Donna Deitch's work okay for kids?

Across a limited sample of up to 3 MovieCove titles with content scores.

Their medianMedian of all films
Sex & Nudity3 titlesmedian 54 · moderateMedian of all films: 32

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.

Who does Donna Deitch work with?

People who share at least 2 of Donna Deitch's MovieCove titles; Robin Katz shares the most, 2.