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Leslie Woodhead

Leslie Woodhead

Director, producer and writer · Born January 1, 1937 (89)

James Leslie John Woodhead, OBE is a British documentary filmmaker. For his National Service commencing in 1956, he served in Fife at the Joint Services School for Linguists where he was taught Russian. He was posted to West Berlin to monitor the communications of Soviet pilots flying in and out of East Germany.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
January 1, 1937 (89)
Works as
Director, producer and writer
Titles
7 on MovieCove · 36 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 8% in 30 days

What are Leslie Woodhead's films like?

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

Themes

share of theme weight
Society
28%
Self
23%
Morality
18%
Power
13%
Ideas
9%
Survival
5%
Bonds
4%
Justice3 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity2 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 1 · Serious 2 · Dark 3

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

Grounded 6 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 0

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

A split, not a type: Gentle 1 · Charged 2 · Intense 3

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

Steady 5 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 0

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 6 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 0

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

Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 0

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

Casual 1 · Engaged 3 · Full focus 2

Affecting: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their affecting movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

A split, not a type: Easy watch 2 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 3

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

Resolved 4 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
4
Melancholic
3
Dread
2
Contemplative
2
Hopeful
1
Other
2

How their films linger

Thought-provoking4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy1
  • Bittersweet3
  • Tragic1
  • 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 Leslie Woodhead's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 2 of their 7 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Leslie Woodhead'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

36 credits, 7 with a MovieCove page.

  • Ella Fitzgerald: Just One of Those Things(2019)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films

  • Diana: The Day Britain Cried (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)

    Director · Writer

  • Diana: The Day We Said Goodbye (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)

    Director

  • The Day They Dropped The Bomb (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

    Director

  • The Day Kennedy Died(2013)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films

  • The Hunt for Bin Laden(2012)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films

  • Histoire Immédiate (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)

    Show 1 episode · Director

  • 9/11: The Day That Changed the World (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)

    Director

  • How the Beatles Rocked the Kremlin (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)

    Director · Producer · as Self - Narrator

  • Godless in America (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)

    Director

  • Children of Beslan (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)

    Director

  • Srebrenica: Never Again? (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)

    Director

  • The Russian Newspaper Murders (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)

    as Narrator

  • My Life As A Spy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)

    Director

  • Star Wars Dreams (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)

    Director · Producer · Writer · as Narrator (voice)

  • A Very Modern Dictator: A Profile of Slobodan Milosevic (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)

    Director

  • Here is New York (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)

    Director

  • The Holocaust on Trial (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)

    Director · Writer

  • A Cry from the Grave (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)

    Director

  • Endurance(1998)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films

  • 444 Days (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)

    Director

  • Tony Bennett's New York (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)

    Director

  • Land of Dreams - Randy Newman's America (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)

    Director · Producer · Writer

  • The Last Soviet Citizen (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)

    Director · Writer

  • Dead Ahead: The Exxon Valdez Disaster(1992)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 52nd percentile of all films

  • The Tragedy of Flight 103: The Inside Story(1990)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films

  • Under the Sun (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)

    Show 1 episode · Director · Producer

  • The Lau of Malaita (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)

    Director

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

    Show 13 episodes · Director · Producer

  • Strike: The Birth of Solidarity (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1981)

    Director

  • Invasion (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1980)

    Director · Producer

  • Three Days in Szczecin (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1976)

    Director · Producer

  • Nova(1974)

    Show 2 episodes · Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all shows

  • The Stones in the Park (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)

    Director

  • ITV Playhouse (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)

    Show 1 episode · Director

  • World in Action (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1963)

    Show 7 episodes · Director · Actor

Career shape

A full career of 36 titles from 1963 to 2019.

Biggest box office

Endurance (1998)

$137K worldwide

Most popular right now

Dead Ahead: The Exxon Valdez Disaster (1992)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting3 of 36: 1 only acting, 2 with another roleDirecting34 of 36: 20 only directing, 14 with another role · typical Midcredits score76thWriting7 of 36: 0 only writing, 7 with another roleProducing9 of 36: 1 only producing, 8 with another role

36 titles, 14 with more than one role — directing and producing overlap on 8 of them.

By decade

1960s3 · 1 acting · 3 crew1970s2 · crew1980s5 · crew1990s8 · crew2000s10 · 2 acting · 9 crew2010s8 · 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 Leslie Woodhead's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 67th percentile, the median of all 6; across their 6 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 69th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

69thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 6

Approval · how many liked their films

64thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 6

Reach · how many have seen their films

30thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 6

Midcredits score across 7 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up3
  • 50th to 74th4

Shape of the crowd

4 of their 7 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved1
  • Crowd Pleaser4
  • Mixed2

Most divisive · director, writer

The Hunt for Bin Laden (2012)

70th percentile spread · 18% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director, writer

Nova (1974)

Midcredits 95th · 91% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 75/100 in their films, across 4 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 Leslie Woodhead work with?

People who share at least 2 of Leslie Woodhead's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Ian Meller shares the most, 2.

Composers and editors