Filmmaker and film historian Gary Leva has distinguished himself as the creative force behind scores of documentaries, broadcast programs and Special Features, many of them focused on the cinematic arts. His feature documentary, Fog City Mavericks, which highlights 100 years in the history of San Francisco's vibrant filmmaking community, had its world premiere at the 50th San Francisco International Film Festival prior to its continuing life on cable television and disc. Leva's documentaries have made a lasting contribution to the history of film. His award- winning A Legacy of Filmmakers premiered at the Telluride Film Festival and received a New York Film Society screening at Manhattan's Guggenheim Museum. This documentary illuminates the creation of Francis Ford Coppola's landmark film company American Zoetrope, set against the changing landscape of American cinema in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The film is now a part of the curricula at several top universities. Leva's celebrated documentaries on the cinema of George Lucas span the entire range of Lucas' career, from his earliest student films to his first feature, THX 1138, to the Star Wars series and beyond. His collections of documentaries on filmmakers Alfred Hitchcock, Clint Eastwood and Stanley Kubrick are often regarded as the top anthology on each of these master's works. Having earned a distinguished reputation as a leader in his field, Leva continues to work with the top filmmakers of our time, including Christopher Nolan, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Spike Lee, Robert Redford, Oliver Stone and many others. Beyond the world of cinema, Leva has produced documentaries on subjects as varied as the struggle for investigative journalists to stay relevant in the Internet age and the ways in which the achievements of Alexander the Great are reflected in our modern lives. Other projects include the award-winning narrative feature film, Plan B, starring Jon Cryer, the mockumentary R2-D2: Beneath the Dome, broadcast nationally on Fox, and 1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year, broadcast nationally on TCM. Leva is an adjunct professor at the USC School of Cinematic Arts.
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Biography from TMDB.
- Director, producer, editor and writer
- 24 on MovieCove · 89 credits in all
Known for
What are Gary Leva's films like?
Across their 24 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Ideas and Society.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 23
Light 17 · Serious 3 · Dark 3
Grounded 23 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 0
Gentle 19 · Charged 4 · Intense 0
Steady 23 · Shifting 0 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 21 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 0
Slow burn 16 · Even-paced 7 · Relentless 0
Casual 15 · Engaged 8 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 20 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 1
Resolved 21 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy14
- Bittersweet5
- Ambiguous5
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 Gary Leva's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 2 of their 24 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Gary Leva'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
89 credits, 24 with a MovieCove page.
Directors of the Monsterverse (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)
WB 100th Behind the Shield (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)
Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all showsGetting It Right: The Making of Midway (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)
Roland Emmerich: Man on a Mission (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)
The Men of Midway (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)
Joe Rochefort - Breaking The Japanese Code (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)
Turning Point: The Legacy of Midway (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)
We Met At Midway - Two Survivors Remember (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)
Creating Ghidorah (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)
Godzilla: King of the Monsters - Godzilla 2.0 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)
Godzilla: King of The Monsters- The Antarctic Base (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)
Making Mothra (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)
Monsters are Real (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)
Reimagining Rodan (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)
Godzilla: King of the Monsters- Monster Tech: Monarch Joins the Fight (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)
Godzilla: King of the Monsters- Castle Bravo (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films
Ocean's Team 3.0 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)
Reimagining The Met Gala (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)
The Devil and Father Amorth (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)
Moment by Moment - Averting Disaster on the Hudson (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)
Sully: Sully Sullenberger - The Man Behind the Miracle (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)
I Am Spartacus: A Conversation with Kirk Douglas (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)
Restoring Spartacus (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)
One Soldier's Story: The Journey of American Sniper (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)
The Making of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)
The Fugitive: Thrill of the Chase (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)
The Birds: Hitchcock's Monster Movie (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)
Casablanca: An Unlikely Classic (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)
Michael Curtiz: The Greatest Director You Never Heard Of (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)
Clint Eastwood's West (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)
Turning Like Clockwork (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)
Fasten Your Seatbelt: The Thrilling Art of Alfred Hitchcock (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)
Gone With The Wind: The Legend Lives On (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)
North by Northwest: One for the Ages (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)
Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films
Victor Fleming: Master Craftsman (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films
Alma: The Master's Muse (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
Bernard Herrmann: Hitchcock's Maestro (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
Breaking Barriers: The Sound of Hitchcock (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
Edith Head: Dressing the Master's Movies (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
In the Master's Shadow: Hitchcock's Legacy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
Partners in Crime: Hitchcock's Collaborators (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Saul Bass: Title Champ(2008)
Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)Sunlight and Shadow: The Visual Style of 'L.A. Confidential' (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Super Heroes United! The Complete Justice League History (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
The Long Shadow of Dirty Harry (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
The Craft of Dirty Harry(2008)
Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
An Old Fashioned Love Story: Making 'The Bridges of Madison County' (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
Fog City Mavericks (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)
Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all films
View from the Overlook: Crafting 'The Shining' (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)
Vision of a Future Passed: The Prophecy of 2001 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)
Hollywood Helps the Cause (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)
Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all filmsGangsters: The Immigrant's Hero (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)
Prohibition Opens the Floodgates (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)
Welcome to the Big House (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Out of the Shadows: The Man Who Was Deep Throat (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)
Telling the Truth About Lies: The Making of "All the President's Men" (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)
Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Emotional History: The Making of 'The Unbearable Lightness of Being' (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)
Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films
By Any Means Necessary: The Making of 'Malcolm X' (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)
The Characters of Star Wars (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all filmsArtifact from the Future: The Making of 'THX 1138' (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)
R2-D2: Beneath the Dome (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)
Inside The Living Daylights (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)
Inside 'Octopussy' (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)
Ian Fleming: 007's Creator (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)
Plan B (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)
A True Ensemble: The Cast of L.A. Confidential (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
L.A. Confidential: From Book to Screen (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 88 titles, 86 of them dated from 1997 to 2024.
Highest rated
Lost Kubrick: The Unfinished Films of Stanley Kubrick (2007)
Most popular right now
Clint Eastwood: A Cinematic Legacy (2021)
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 Gary Leva's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 82nd percentile, the median of the 22 of 23 with a score; across their 22 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 80th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up16
- 50th to 74th6
- 25th to 49th1
Shape of the crowd
12 of their 23 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved3
- Cult Classic2
- Crowd Pleaser12
- Mixed6
Reviewers score the atmosphere 63/100 and the pacing 74/100 in their films, across 6 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 Gary Leva work with?
People who share at least 2 of Gary Leva's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Michael Crawford shares the most, 19.
Writers
- Pi WareShared titles: Skin Deep: The Battle Over Morgellons (2019), Pure Cinema: Through the Eyes of the Master (2008), Saul Bass: Title Champ (2008), The Business End: Violence in Cinema (2008), Lost Kubrick: The Unfinished Films of Stanley Kubrick (2007), The Maltese Falcon: One Magnificent Bird (2006)See all 6 shared titles with Pi Ware
Actors
- Martin ScorseseShared titles: The Master's Touch: Hitchcock's Signature Style (2009), Pure Cinema: Through the Eyes of the Master (2008), Saul Bass: Title Champ (2008), Molls and Dolls: The Women of Gangster Films (2006)See all 4 shared titles with Martin Scorsese
- William FriedkinShared titles: The Master's Touch: Hitchcock's Signature Style (2009), Pure Cinema: Through the Eyes of the Master (2008), Great Bolshy Yarblockos! Making 'A Clockwork Orange' (2007), The Visions of Stanley Kubrick (2007)See all 4 shared titles with William Friedkin
- Clint EastwoodShared titles: A Moral Right: The Politics of Dirty Harry (2008), The Business End: Violence in Cinema (2008), The Craft of Dirty Harry (2008), The Evolution of Clint Eastwood (2008)See all 4 shared titles with Clint Eastwood
- Michael MadsenShared titles: The Business End: Violence in Cinema (2008), The Evolution of Clint Eastwood (2008), Molls and Dolls: The Women of Gangster Films (2006), The Maltese Falcon: One Magnificent Bird (2006)See all 4 shared titles with Michael Madsen
Cinematographers and editors
- Yoram AstrakhanShared titles: Clint Eastwood: A Cinematic Legacy (2021), CABARET: The Musical That Changed Musicals (2013), A Moral Right: The Politics of Dirty Harry (2008), Pure Cinema: Through the Eyes of the Master (2008), Saul Bass: Title Champ (2008), The Business End: Violence in Cinema (2008), The Craft of Dirty Harry (2008), The Evolution of Clint Eastwood (2008), Whatever You Desire: Making 'L.A. Confidential' (2008), Full Metal Jacket: Between Good and Evil (2007), Great Bolshy Yarblockos! Making 'A Clockwork Orange' (2007), Lost Kubrick: The Unfinished Films of Stanley Kubrick (2007) and 5 moreSee newest 12 of 17 shared titles with Yoram Astrakhan
- Sean CarterShared titles: CABARET: The Musical That Changed Musicals (2013), The Master's Touch: Hitchcock's Signature Style (2009), The Evolution of Clint Eastwood (2008), Full Metal Jacket: Between Good and Evil (2007), Great Bolshy Yarblockos! Making 'A Clockwork Orange' (2007), Standing on the Shoulders of Kubrick: The Legacy of 2001 (2007), The Visions of Stanley Kubrick (2007)See all 7 shared titles with Sean Carter
- Anne EriksonShared titles: Whatever You Desire: Making 'L.A. Confidential' (2008), The Visions of Stanley Kubrick (2007), Film Noir: Bringing Darkness to Light (2006), Molls and Dolls: The Women of Gangster Films (2006), Woodward and Bernstein: Lighting the Fire (2006), Ben-Hur: The Epic That Changed Cinema (2005)See all 6 shared titles with Anne Erikson
Producers
- Michael CrawfordShared titles: Clint Eastwood: A Cinematic Legacy (2021), CABARET: The Musical That Changed Musicals (2013), 1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year (2009), The Master's Touch: Hitchcock's Signature Style (2009), A Moral Right: The Politics of Dirty Harry (2008), The Business End: Violence in Cinema (2008), The Craft of Dirty Harry (2008), The Evolution of Clint Eastwood (2008), Whatever You Desire: Making 'L.A. Confidential' (2008), Full Metal Jacket: Between Good and Evil (2007), Great Bolshy Yarblockos! Making 'A Clockwork Orange' (2007), Lost Kubrick: The Unfinished Films of Stanley Kubrick (2007) and 7 moreSee newest 12 of 19 shared titles with Michael Crawford
- Frankie GlassShared titles: The Business End: Violence in Cinema (2008), The Evolution of Clint Eastwood (2008), Full Metal Jacket: Between Good and Evil (2007), Great Bolshy Yarblockos! Making 'A Clockwork Orange' (2007), Lost Kubrick: The Unfinished Films of Stanley Kubrick (2007), Standing on the Shoulders of Kubrick: The Legacy of 2001 (2007), The Visions of Stanley Kubrick (2007)See all 7 shared titles with Frankie Glass
- Julie FahertyShared titles: A Moral Right: The Politics of Dirty Harry (2008), Pure Cinema: Through the Eyes of the Master (2008), Saul Bass: Title Champ (2008), The Business End: Violence in Cinema (2008), The Craft of Dirty Harry (2008), The Evolution of Clint Eastwood (2008), Whatever You Desire: Making 'L.A. Confidential' (2008)See all 7 shared titles with Julie Faherty
- Nicholas GoodmanShared titles: A Moral Right: The Politics of Dirty Harry (2008), Pure Cinema: Through the Eyes of the Master (2008), Full Metal Jacket: Between Good and Evil (2007), Great Bolshy Yarblockos! Making 'A Clockwork Orange' (2007), Film Noir: Bringing Darkness to Light (2006)See all 5 shared titles with Nicholas Goodman
