John Richard Schlesinger, CBE, was an English film and stage director, and actor. He won an Academy Award for Best Director for Midnight Cowboy, and was nominated for two other films (Darling and Sunday Bloody Sunday). Schlesinger was born in London, into a middle class Jewish family. His acting career began in the 1950s and consisted of supporting roles in British films and television productions. He began his directorial career in 1956 with the short documentary Sunday in the Park about London's Hyde Park. In 1958, Schlesinger created a documentary on Benjamin Britten and the Aldeburgh Festival for the BBC's Monitor TV programme, including rehearsals of the children's opera Noye's Fludde featuring a young Michael Crawford. By the 1960s, he had virtually given up acting to concentrate on a directing career, and another of his earlier directorial efforts, the British Transport Films' documentary Terminus (1961), gained a Venice Film Festival Gold Lion and a British Academy Award. His first two fiction films, A Kind of Loving (1962) and Billy Liar (1963) were set in the North of England. A Kind of Loving won the Golden Bear award at the 12th Berlinale in 1962. His third feature film, Darling (1965), tartly described the modern, urban way of life in London and was one of the first films about 'swinging London'. Schlesinger's next film was the period drama Far from the Madding Crowd (1967), an adaptation of Thomas Hardy's popular novel accentuated by beautiful English country locations. Both films (and Billy Liar) featured Julie Christie as the female lead. Schlesinger's next film, Midnight Cowboy (1969), was internationally acclaimed. A story of two hustlers living on the fringe in the bad side of New York City, it was Schlesinger's first film shot in the US, and it won Oscars for Best Director and Best Picture. During the 1970s, he made an array of films that were mainly about loners, losers and people outside the clean world, such as Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971), The Day of the Locust (1975), Marathon Man (1976) and Yanks (1979). Later, came the major box office and critical failure of Honky Tonk Freeway (1981), followed by films that attracted mixed responses from the public From 1973, he was an associate director of the Royal National Theatre, where he produced George Bernard Shaw's Heartbreak House (1975). He also directed several operas, beginning with Les contes d'Hoffmann (1980) and Der Rosenkavalier (1984), both at Covent Garden. Schlesinger was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his services to film in 1970. In 2003, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs, California Walk of Stars was dedicated to him.
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Biography from TMDB.
- February 16, 1926
- July 25, 2003 (aged 77)
- London, England, UK
- Director, actor, writer and producer
- 26 on MovieCove · 51 credits in all
What are John Schlesinger's films like?
Across their 23 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.
Genres
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
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 2 · Wry 2 · Earnest 19
A split, not a type: Light 5 · Serious 8 · Dark 10
A split, not a type: Grounded 14 · Stylized 6 · Heightened 3
Gentle 4 · Charged 12 · Intense 7
Steady 11 · Shifting 11 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 15 · Some laughs 6 · Funny 2
Slow burn 11 · Even-paced 11 · Relentless 1
Casual 7 · Engaged 13 · Full focus 3
A split, not a type: Easy watch 3 · Affecting 8 · Heavy 12
A split, not a type: Resolved 12 · Open-ended 10 · Ambiguous 1
Moods and endings
- Happy3
- Bittersweet17
- Tragic2
- 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 John Schlesinger's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 17 of their 26 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (10).
- Midnight Cowboy (1969) · director · free
- Billy Liar (1963) · actor, director · free
- A Kind of Loving (1962) · director · free
- An Englishman Abroad (1983) · director · free
- Darling (1965) · actor, director, writer · free
- Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971) · director, writer · free
- The Falcon and the Snowman (1985) · director, producer · free
- Pacific Heights (1990) · actor, director · free
- The Tale of Sweeney Todd (1997) · director · free
- The Believers (1987) · director, producer · free
Subscription and free streaming for John Schlesinger'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
51 credits, 26 with a MovieCove page; 13 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
The ROH Live: The Tales of Hoffmann (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)
The Next Best Thing(2000)
Midcredits score: 15th percentile of all films
The Tale of Sweeney Todd(1997)
Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films
Eye for an Eye(1996)
Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films
Cold Comfort Farm(1995)
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films
The Innocent(1993)
Midcredits score: 29th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films
A Question of Attribution (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)
Pacific Heights(1990)
Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films
Verdi: Un ballo in maschera (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)
Screen One (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)
Madame Sousatzka(1988)
Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films
The Believers(1987)
Midcredits score: 40th percentile of all films
Der Rosenkavalier (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)
Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films
An Englishman Abroad(1983)
Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films
Separate Tables (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1983)
Les Contes d'Hoffmann (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1981)
Honky Tonk Freeway(1981)
Midcredits score: 26th percentile of all films
Yanks(1979)
Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films
Marathon Man(1976)
Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films
The Day of the Locust(1975)
Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films
Flick Flack (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1974)
Visions of Eight(1973)
Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films
Sunday Bloody Sunday(1971)
Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films
Midnight Cowboy(1969)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all films
Days in the Trees (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)
Darling(1965)
Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films
The Wednesday Play (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1964)
Billy Liar(1963)
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films
A Kind of Loving(1962)
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films
Terminus (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1961)
Winston Churchill: The Valiant Years (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1960)
The Four Just Men (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1959)
Stormy Crossing (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1958)
Monitor (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1958)
Ivanhoe (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1958)
The Beasts of Marseilles(1957)
Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all films
Wakes Week in Blackburn (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1957)
Brothers in Law (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1957)
Pursuit of the Graf Spee(1956)
Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films
The Buccaneers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1956)
The Last Man to Hang (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1956)
Sunday in the Park (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1956)
Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all shows
The Divided Heart (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1954)
The Starfish (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1952)
Sunday Night Theatre (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1950)
Black Legend (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1949)
Career shape
A full career of 51 titles from 1949 to 2016.
Film career
- 1965Screen debut· Darling
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 John Schlesinger's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 68th percentile, the median of all 25; across their 23 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 73rd percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up10
- 50th to 74th9
- 25th to 49th6
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
16 of their 26 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved2
- Divisive1
- Cult Classic1
- Crowd Pleaser16
- Broadly Agreed2
- Mixed4
Reviewers score the atmosphere 74/100 and the pacing 46/100 in their films, across 22 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 John Schlesinger's work okay for kids?
Across up to 10 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore, sex & nudity, profanity and frightening / intense run heavier than most films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does John Schlesinger work with?
People who share at least 2 of John Schlesinger's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Jim Clark shares the most, 7.
Writers
- Waldo SaltShared titles: The Day of the Locust (1975), Midnight Cowboy (1969)See all 2 shared titles with Waldo Salt
- Frederic RaphaelShared titles: Far from the Madding Crowd (1967), Darling (1965)See all 2 shared titles with Frederic Raphael
- Keith WaterhouseShared titles: Billy Liar (1963), A Kind of Loving (1962)See all 2 shared titles with Keith Waterhouse
- Willis HallShared titles: Billy Liar (1963), A Kind of Loving (1962)See all 2 shared titles with Willis Hall
Actors
- Alan BatesShared titles: An Englishman Abroad (1983), Far from the Madding Crowd (1967), A Kind of Loving (1962)See all 3 shared titles with Alan Bates
- Julie ChristieShared titles: Far from the Madding Crowd (1967), Darling (1965), Billy Liar (1963)See all 3 shared titles with Julie Christie
- Campbell ScottShared titles: The Tale of Sweeney Todd (1997), The Innocent (1993)See all 2 shared titles with Campbell Scott
- Joanna LumleyShared titles: The Tale of Sweeney Todd (1997), Cold Comfort Farm (1995)See all 2 shared titles with Joanna Lumley
Composers and editors
- Jim ClarkShared titles: Honky Tonk Freeway (1981), Yanks (1979), Marathon Man (1976), The Day of the Locust (1975), Visions of Eight (1973), Far from the Madding Crowd (1967), Darling (1965)See all 7 shared titles with Jim Clark
- Peter HonessShared titles: The Next Best Thing (2000), Eye for an Eye (1996), Madame Sousatzka (1988), The Believers (1987)See all 4 shared titles with Peter Honess
- Richard Rodney BennettShared titles: The Tale of Sweeney Todd (1997), Yanks (1979), Far from the Madding Crowd (1967), Billy Liar (1963)See all 4 shared titles with Richard Rodney Bennett
- Richard MardenShared titles: The Innocent (1993), The Falcon and the Snowman (1985), Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971)See all 3 shared titles with Richard Marden
Producers
- Joseph JanniShared titles: Yanks (1979), Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971), Far from the Madding Crowd (1967), Darling (1965), Billy Liar (1963), A Kind of Loving (1962)See all 6 shared titles with Joseph Janni
- Edward JosephShared titles: Yanks (1979), Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971), Far from the Madding Crowd (1967)See all 3 shared titles with Edward Joseph
- Edward TeetsShared titles: The Believers (1987), The Falcon and the Snowman (1985)See all 2 shared titles with Edward Teets
- Michael ChildersShared titles: The Believers (1987), The Falcon and the Snowman (1985)See all 2 shared titles with Michael Childers
