Joan Micklin Silver (May 24, 1935 – December 31, 2020) was an American director. She was born in Omaha, Nebraska and received her B.A. From Sarah Lawrence College. Her early low budget film Hester Street received Best Actress Oscar nomination for actress Carol Kane. Her 1977 film Between the Lines was entered into the 27th Berlin International Film Festival. She is also known for the film Crossing Delancey which was released in 1988 and stars Amy Irving. She also conceived and directed the musical revue A... My Name Is Alice with Julianne Boyd. Description above from the Wikipedia article Joan Micklin Silver, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- May 24, 1935
- December 31, 2020 (aged 85)
- Omaha, Nebraska, United States
- Director and writer, also producer
- 15 on MovieCove · 24 credits in all
What are Joan Micklin Silver's films like?
Across their 15 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Bonds.
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 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 15
A split, not a type: Light 8 · Serious 3 · Dark 4
Grounded 15 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 0
A split, not a type: Gentle 8 · Charged 5 · Intense 2
Steady 12 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 5 · Some laughs 5 · Funny 5
Slow burn 12 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 0
Casual 10 · Engaged 5 · Full focus 0
A split, not a type: Easy watch 7 · Affecting 4 · Heavy 4
Resolved 12 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy3
- Bittersweet11
- 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 Joan Micklin Silver's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 12 of their 15 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (11).
- Chilly Scenes of Winter (1979) · director, writer · free
- Hester Street (1975) · director, writer · free
- Bernice Bobs Her Hair (1976) · director, writer · free
- Charms for the Easy Life (2002) · director · free
- Between the Lines (1977) · director · free
- Big Girls Don't Cry... They Get Even (1991) · director · free
- On the Yard (1978) · producer · free
- A Fish in the Bathtub (1998) · director · free
- Loverboy (1989) · director · free
- In the Presence of Mine Enemies (1997) · director · free
- Invisible Child (1999) · director · free
Subscription and free streaming for Joan Micklin Silver'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, 15 with a MovieCove page; 2 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Hunger Point(2003)
Midcredits score: 31st percentile of all films
Charms for the Easy Life(2002)
Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films
Invisible Child(1999)
Midcredits score: 24th percentile of all films
A Fish in the Bathtub(1998)
Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films
A Private Matter (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)
Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films
Loverboy(1989)
Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films
Crossing Delancey(1988)
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films
Finnegan Begin Again (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)
Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films
The Nightingale (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1983)
Faerie Tale Theatre (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)
Chilly Scenes of Winter(1979)
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films
On the Yard(1978)
Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all films
Between the Lines(1977)
Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films
Bernice Bobs Her Hair(1976)
Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films
Hester Street(1975)
Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films
The Frontier Experience (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1975)
The Case of the Elevator Duck (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1974)
The Fur Coat Club (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1973)
Limbo (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1972)
The Immigrant Experience: The Long Long Journey (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1972)
Career shape
A full career of 24 titles from 1972 to 2003.
Biggest box office
Crossing Delancey (1988)
Highest rated
Crossing Delancey (1988)
Most popular right now
Loverboy (1989)
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 Joan Micklin Silver's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 49th percentile, the median of all 15; across their 15 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 54th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up3
- 50th to 74th4
- 25th to 49th7
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
7 of their 15 titles are Mixed.
- Cult Classic1
- Crowd Pleaser6
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed7
Reviewers score the atmosphere 71/100 and the pacing 46/100 in their films, across 13 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 Joan Micklin Silver work with?
People who share at least 2 of Joan Micklin Silver's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Raphael D. Silver shares the most, 5.
Actors
- John HeardShared titles: Chilly Scenes of Winter (1979), On the Yard (1978), Between the Lines (1977)See all 3 shared titles with John Heard
- Susan May PrattShared titles: Hunger Point (2003), Charms for the Easy Life (2002)See all 2 shared titles with Susan May Pratt
- Doris RobertsShared titles: A Fish in the Bathtub (1998), Hester Street (1975)See all 2 shared titles with Doris Roberts
- Peter RiegertShared titles: Crossing Delancey (1988), Chilly Scenes of Winter (1979)See all 2 shared titles with Peter Riegert
Cinematographers and editors
- Kenneth Van SickleShared titles: Between the Lines (1977), Bernice Bobs Her Hair (1976), Hester Street (1975)See all 3 shared titles with Kenneth Van Sickle
- Jim MakiejShared titles: Hunger Point (2003), Charms for the Easy Life (2002)See all 2 shared titles with Jim Makiej
- Janice HamptonShared titles: Big Girls Don't Cry... They Get Even (1991), Prison Stories: Women on the Inside (1991)See all 2 shared titles with Janice Hampton
- Theo van de SandeShared titles: Big Girls Don't Cry... They Get Even (1991), Crossing Delancey (1988)See all 2 shared titles with Theo van de Sande
Producers
- Raphael D. SilverShared titles: A Fish in the Bathtub (1998), Crossing Delancey (1988), On the Yard (1978), Between the Lines (1977), Hester Street (1975)See all 5 shared titles with Raphael D. Silver
- Gerald T. OlsonShared titles: Big Girls Don't Cry... They Get Even (1991), Prison Stories: Women on the Inside (1991)See all 2 shared titles with Gerald T. Olson
Mixed roles
- Griffin DunneShared titles: Big Girls Don't Cry... They Get Even (1991), Chilly Scenes of Winter (1979)See all 2 shared titles with Griffin Dunne
