Saul Zaentz (/ˈzænts/; February 28, 1921 – January 3, 2014) was an American film producer and former record company executive. He won the Academy Award for Best Picture three times and in 1996 was awarded the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award. Zaentz's film production career was marked by a dedication to the adaptation of the novel. A prolific reader, Zaentz typically did not produce original screenplays. His final production, Goya's Ghosts, was an exception, being an original story by Jean-Claude Carrièreand Miloš Forman. Description above from the Wikipedia article Saul Zaentz, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Read moreShow less
Biography from TMDB.
- February 28, 1921
- January 3, 2014 (aged 92)
- Passaic, New Jersey, USA
- Producer and actor
- 9 on MovieCove · 10 credits in all
What are Saul Zaentz's films like?
Across their 11 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Power and Society.
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 11
Light 3 · Serious 0 · Dark 8
A split, not a type: Grounded 6 · Stylized 5 · Heightened 0
A split, not a type: Gentle 3 · Charged 3 · Intense 5
Steady 4 · Shifting 6 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 8 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 0
Slow burn 7 · Even-paced 4 · Relentless 0
Casual 3 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 4
Easy watch 3 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 7
A split, not a type: Resolved 6 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 4
Moods and endings
- Happy1
- Bittersweet7
- Tragic1
- Ambiguous1
- 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 Saul Zaentz's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 3 of their 9 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Saul Zaentz'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
10 credits, 9 with a MovieCove page; 8 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Forging Through the Darkness: The Ralph Bakshi Vision for 'The Lord of the Rings' (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)
Goya's Ghosts(2006)
Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films
The English Patient(1996)
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films
The Mosquito Coast(1986)
Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films
Amadeus(1984)
Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films
The Lord of the Rings(1978)
Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films
Three Warriors(1977)
Midcredits score: 30th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films
Career shape
A full career of 10 titles from 1975 to 2010.
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 Saul Zaentz's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 73rd percentile, the median of all 9; across their 11 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 73rd percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up4
- 50th to 74th4
- 25th to 49th1
Shape of the crowd
5 of their 9 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved2
- Cult Classic1
- Crowd Pleaser5
- Mixed1
Reviewers score the acting 78/100 in their films, across 9 reviewed titles; fans 85, detractors 48. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
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 Saul Zaentz's work okay for kids?
Across up to 8 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore, sex & nudity 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 Saul Zaentz work with?
People who share at least 2 of Saul Zaentz's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Miloš Forman shares the most, 5.
Directors
- Miloš FormanShared titles: Milos Forman: Co te nezabije... (2009), Goya's Ghosts (2006), Completely Cuckoo (1997), Amadeus (1984), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)See all 5 shared titles with Miloš Forman
Writers
- Jean-Claude CarrièreShared titles: Milos Forman: Co te nezabije... (2009), Goya's Ghosts (2006), At Play in the Fields of the Lord (1991), The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988)See all 4 shared titles with Jean-Claude Carrière
Actors
- Louise FletcherShared titles: Milos Forman: Co te nezabije... (2009), Completely Cuckoo (1997), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)See all 3 shared titles with Louise Fletcher
- Christopher LloydShared titles: Completely Cuckoo (1997), Three Warriors (1977), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)See all 3 shared titles with Christopher Lloyd
- Michael DouglasShared titles: Milos Forman: Co te nezabije... (2009), Completely Cuckoo (1997), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)See all 3 shared titles with Michael Douglas
- F. Murray AbrahamShared titles: Milos Forman: Co te nezabije... (2009), Amadeus (1984)See all 2 shared titles with F. Murray Abraham
Cinematographers and editors
- John SealeShared titles: The English Patient (1996), The Mosquito Coast (1986)See all 2 shared titles with John Seale
- Walter MurchShared titles: The English Patient (1996), The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988)See all 2 shared titles with Walter Murch
Producers
- Paul ZaentzShared titles: Goya's Ghosts (2006), The English Patient (1996), At Play in the Fields of the Lord (1991), The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988)See all 4 shared titles with Paul Zaentz
- Bertil OhlssonShared titles: The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988), Amadeus (1984)See all 2 shared titles with Bertil Ohlsson
Mixed roles
- Ken KeseyShared titles: Completely Cuckoo (1997), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)See all 2 shared titles with Ken Kesey
