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David Maysles

David Maysles

Director, producer and cinematographer, also editor and actor · Died January 3, 1987, aged 55 · Brookline, Massachusetts, USA

Albert (born November 26, 1926, Boston, Massachusetts) and David Maysles (rhymes with "hazels", born 10 January 1932, Boston, Massachusetts) were a documentary filmmaking team whose cinéma vérité works include Salesman (1968), Gimme Shelter (1970) and Grey Gardens (1976). Their 1964 film on The Beatles forms the backbone of the DVD, The Beatles: The First U.S. Visit. Several Maysles films document art projects by Christo and Jeanne-Claude over a three-decade period, from 1974 when Christo's Valley Curtain was nominated for an Academy Award to 2005 when The Gates headlined New York's Tribeca Film Festival. David Maysles, the younger brother, died of a stroke on January 3, 1987, in New York. Albert Maysles graduated in 1949 with a BA from Syracuse University and later earned a masters degree at Boston University. Albert has continued to make films on his own since his brother's death. Jean-Luc Godard once called Albert Maysles "the best American cameraman". In 2005 Maysles was given a lifetime achievement award at the Czech film festival AFO (Academia Film Olomouc). He is working on his own autobiographical documentary. In 2005 he founded the Maysles Institute, a nonprofit organization that provides training and apprenticeships to underprivileged individuals. Albert is a patron of Shooting People, a filmmakers' community. Description above from the Wikipedia article Albert and David Maysles, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
January 10, 1931
Died
January 3, 1987 (aged 55)
From
Brookline, Massachusetts, USA
Works as
Director, producer and cinematographer, also editor and actor
Titles
8 on MovieCove · 34 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 38 days to Oct 27Down 13% in 30 days

What are David Maysles' films like?

Across their 6 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Society and Bonds.

Themes

share of theme weight
Society
41%
Bonds
19%
Ideas
18%
Self
16%
Power
6%
Isolation3 titles, browse their movies with this themeFame2 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds2 titles, browse their movies with this themeHope2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 6 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 1

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

Grounded 6 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 0

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

Gentle 5 · Charged 1 · Intense 0

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

Steady 5 · 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 2 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 1

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

Slow burn 5 · Even-paced 1 · Relentless 0

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

Casual 4 · 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 2 · Ambiguous 1

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Melancholic
4
Contemplative
3
Joyful
2
Warm
2
Thrilling
2
Other
2

How their films linger

Haunting3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteWistful3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy1
  • Bittersweet1
  • Ambiguous4

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 David Maysles' films?

As of October 24, 2026, 4 of their 8 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for David Maysles' 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

34 credits, 8 with a MovieCove page; 2 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Muhammad and Larry (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)

    Sound

  • The Gates (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)

    Director

  • The Beales of Grey Gardens(2006)

    Director · as Self

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films

  • Christo in Paris (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)

    Director · Cinematographer

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

    Show 1 episode · Director

  • Islands (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)

    Director

  • Horowitz: The Last Romantic (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)

    Director

  • Ozawa (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)

    Director

  • Muhammad and Larry (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1980)

    Director

  • Running Fence (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1977)

    Director

  • Six American Families (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1977)

    Show 1 episode · Co-Director

  • Grey Gardens(1975)

    Director · Cinematographer · Producer · as Self (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films

  • The Burks of Georgia (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1976)

    Director

  • Christo's Valley Curtain (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1974)

    Director

  • Gimme Shelter(1970)

    Director · Cinematographer · as Self

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • The Maysles Brothers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)

    Actor

  • Salesman(1969)

    Director · Editor · Producer

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films

  • Journey to Jerusalem (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1968)

    Director

  • Experiment on 114th Street (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1968)

    Director

  • Meet Marlon Brando (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1966)

    Director · Cinematographer

  • Salvador Dalí's Fantastic Dream (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1966)

    Director

  • Orson Welles in Spain (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1966)

    Director · Producer

  • With Love from Truman (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1966)

    Director · Cinematographer · Editor · Producer

  • Sean O'Casey: The Spirit of Ireland (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1965)

    Cinematographer

  • Cut Piece (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1965)

    Director · Producer

  • IBM: A Self Portrait (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1964)

    Director

  • What's Happening! The Beatles in the U.S.A.(1964)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films

  • Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! The Beatles in New York (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1964)

    Director

  • The Beatles: The First U.S. Visit(1964)

    Director · Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • Showman (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1963)

    Director

  • That's Me (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1963)

    Sound

  • Anastasia (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1962)

    Director

  • The Prince and the Showgirl(1957)

    Producer's Assistant

    Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all films

  • Bus Stop(1956)

    Producer's Assistant

    Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films

Career shape

A full career of 33 titles from 1956 to 2009.

Biggest box office

Grey Gardens (1975)

$42K worldwide

Highest rated

The Beatles: The First U.S. Visit (1964)

Midcredits 97th

Most popular right now

Gimme Shelter (1970)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting1 of 33: 1 only acting, 0 with another roleDirecting27 of 33: 19 only directing, 8 with another role · typical Midcredits score94thProducing7 of 33: 2 only producing, 5 with another roleCinematography6 of 33: 1 only cinematography, 5 with another roleEditing2 of 33: 0 only editing, 2 with another roleOther crew2 of 33: 2 only other crew, 0 with another role

33 titles, 8 with more than one role — directing and producing overlap on 5 of them.

By decade

1950s2 · crew1960s16 · 1 acting · 15 crew1970s6 · crew1980s5 · crew1990s1 · crew2000s3 · 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 David Maysles' films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 91st percentile, the median of all 8; across their 6 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 93rd percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

93rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 6

Approval · how many liked their films

92ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 6

Reach · how many have seen their films

61stpercentile
Typical film, the median of 6

Midcredits score across 8 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up6
  • 50th to 74th2

Shape of the crowd

4 of their 8 titles are Universally Loved.

  • Universally Loved4
  • Crowd Pleaser3
  • Mixed1

Most divisive · director

What's Happening! The Beatles in the U.S.A. (1964)

63rd percentile spread · 13% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director, cinematographer

The Beatles: The First U.S. Visit (1964)

Midcredits 97th · 86% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 81/100 and the pacing 38/100 in their films, across 5 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 David Maysles work with?

People who share at least 2 of David Maysles' MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Albert Maysles shares the most, 6.

Directors

Actors

Editors

Producers