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Jim McBride

Jim McBride

Director, writer and producer · Born September 16, 1941 (85) · New York City, New York, USA

Jim McBride is an American television and film director, film producer and screenwriter. Richard Brody, writing for The New Yorker, named McBride as one of the twelve greatest living narrative filmmakers, citing David Holzman's Diary as a "time capsule of sights and sounds, ideas and moods, politics and history", and "one of the greatest first films." Description above from the Wikipedia article Jim McBride, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
September 16, 1941 (85)
From
New York City, New York, USA
Works as
Director, writer and producer
Titles
12 on MovieCove · 24 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 20% in 30 days

What are Jim McBride's films like?

Across their 7 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Morality.

Genres

Biography2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 59th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Biography movies
Comedy2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 34th percentile
: browse their Comedy movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Self
36%
Morality
15%
Society
15%
Bonds
12%
Ideas
9%
Power
8%
Survival
5%
Ambition2 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity3 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice2 titles, browse their movies with this themeFame2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 7 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 2 · Stylized 5 · Heightened 0

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

Gentle 0 · Charged 6 · Intense 1

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

Steady 1 · Shifting 5 · Whiplash 1

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 5 · Funny 1

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 6 · 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 5 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 1

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

Resolved 7 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
5
Romantic
3
Absurd
1
Bittersweet
1
Joyful
1
Other
7

How their films linger

Fun4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy2
  • Bittersweet3
  • Tragic1
  • Cyclical1

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 McBride's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 9 of their 12 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (5).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Jim McBride'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

24 credits, 12 with a MovieCove page; 4 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Flywheel: Ignition of the Soul(2026)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Alan Jackson: Small Town Southern Man(2018)

    Actor

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • My Son's Wedding to My Sister-in-Law (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)

    Director · Editor · Writer

  • Welcome to São Paulo (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)

    Director

  • Six Feet Under(2001)

    Show 1 episode · Director

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all shows

  • Meat Loaf: To Hell and Back(2000)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films

  • Dead by Midnight (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)

    Director

  • Pronto (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)

    Director

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

    Director

  • Uncovered(1994)

    Director · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all films

  • The Wrong Man (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)

    Director

  • Fallen Angels (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)

    Show 1 episode · Director

  • Blood Ties(1991)

    Director · Co-Producer

    Midcredits score: 21st percentile of all films

  • Great Balls of Fire!(1989)

    Director · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all films

  • The Wonder Years(1988)

    Show 3 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all shows

  • The Big Easy(1986)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all films

  • The Twilight Zone (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)

    Show 1 episode · Director

  • Breathless(1983)

    Director · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films

  • Last Embrace(1979)

    as Man in Cantina

    Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films

  • A Hard Day for Archie(1974)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 6th percentile of all films

  • Glen and Randa (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1971)

    Director · Screenplay

  • Pictures from Life's Other Side (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1971)

    Director · as Himself (uncredited)

  • My Girlfriend's Wedding (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)

    Director · Editor · as Himself

  • David Holzman's Diary (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)

    Director · Editor · Producer · Writer

Career shape

A full career of 24 titles from 1967 to 2026.

Biggest box office

Breathless (1983)

$20M worldwide

Highest rated

The Big Easy (1986)

Midcredits 62nd

Film career

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting2 of 24: 2 only acting, 0 with another roleDirecting21 of 24: 12 only directing, 9 with another role · typical Midcredits score48thWriting7 of 24: 0 only writing, 7 with another roleProducing3 of 24: 1 only producing, 2 with another roleEditing3 of 24: 0 only editing, 3 with another role

24 titles, 9 with more than one role — directing and writing overlap on 7 of them.

By decade

1960s2 · crew1970s4 · 1 acting · 3 crew1980s5 · crew1990s7 · crew2000s4 · crew2010s1 · acting2020s1 · 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 Jim McBride's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 46th percentile, the median of all 10; across their 7 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 50th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

50thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Approval · how many liked their films

36thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Reach · how many have seen their films

68thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Midcredits score across 12 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up3
  • 50th to 74th3
  • 25th to 49th4
  • Below 25th2

Shape of the crowd

5 of their 12 titles are Mixed.

  • Universally Loved2
  • Divisive1
  • Crowd Pleaser3
  • Broadly Agreed1
  • Mixed5

Most divisive · producer

Flywheel: Ignition of the Soul (2026)

94th percentile spread · 31% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director

Six Feet Under (2001)

Midcredits 97th · 91% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 55/100 and the pacing 45/100 in their films, across 7 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 Jim McBride's work okay for kids?

Across a limited sample of up to 4 MovieCove titles with content scores.

Their medianMedian of all films
Sex & Nudity4 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 Jim McBride work with?

People who share at least 2 of Jim McBride's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Affonso Beato shares the most, 5.

Writers

Actors

Composers and cinematographers