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Paul Brill

Paul Brill

Composer · United States

Paul Brill's compositions for numerous award-winning films, TV series, NPR program themes, and several acclaimed CDs of original and innovative songwriting show that youthful adventures as an herbal smokes salesman, street performer, valet, corporate errand boy, and a marine biology instructor can serve the creative spirit well. Paul has received 3 Emmy Award nominations for his original scores for the films, "The Devil Came on Horseback," "Full Battle Rattle" and "The Trials of Darryl Hunt." Young American Recordings released the Hunt soundtrack, curated by Brill, featuring selections from his score and contributions by Andrew Bird, M. Ward, Dead Prez, Califone, and Mark Kozelek among many others. Paul won the first-ever Best Music Award from the International Documentary Association for his score for the film, "Better this World." Brill recently collaborated with Rock legends U2 on the HBO film, "Burma Soldier," composing a new string arrangement for an acoustic version of their classic song, "Walk On." His recent work includes the hit documentaries, Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work (IFC), the Emmy Award-winning Page One: Inside the NY Times (Magnolia), the Sundance Festival winning films, Gideon's Army, Trapped, and Love Free or Die, and the Emmy, DuPont and Peabody Award-winning, 6-hour PBS documentary, The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross, with noted historian Henry Louis Gates and additional musical contributions from Wynton Marsalis. He was nominated for a Golden Reel Award for his work on the hit Netflix docu-series, Bobby Kennedy for President, and he recently made his Off-Broadway debut, composing the score for Gabriel Jason Dean's Terminus, which featured stage legend Deirdre O'Connell and premiered to great acclaim at The New York Theatre Workshop, and his music was recently performed and featured by Phoenix Chamber Music Society.

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Biography from IMDb.

From
United States
Works as
Composer
Titles
47 on MovieCove · 65 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 156 days to Oct 27

What are Paul Brill's films like?

Across their 47 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Society and Power.

Themes

share of theme weight
Society
29%
Power
16%
Morality
15%
Self
12%
Ideas
11%
Survival
10%
Bonds
8%
Community19 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice13 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds7 titles, browse their movies with this themeOppression6 titles, browse their movies with this themeHope7 titles, browse their movies with this themeAmbition6 titles, browse their movies with this themeTrauma6 titles, browse their movies with this themeLegacy5 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 38 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 11 · Serious 12 · Dark 15

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

Grounded 37 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 0

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

Gentle 11 · Charged 18 · Intense 9

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

Steady 21 · Shifting 16 · Whiplash 1

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

Straight-faced 28 · Some laughs 7 · Funny 3

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 25 · Even-paced 13 · 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 11 · Engaged 23 · Full focus 4

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 13 · Affecting 11 · Heavy 14

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

Resolved 30 · Open-ended 6 · Ambiguous 2

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Contemplative
33
Tense
25
Hopeful
20
Melancholic
15
Dread
8
Other
24

How their films linger

Thought-provoking33 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful24 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteInfuriating8 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing8 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling8 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy4
  • Bittersweet22
  • Tragic1
  • Ambiguous18
  • Cyclical1
  • Other1

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 Paul Brill's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 36 of their 47 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (12).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Paul Brill'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

65 credits, 47 with a MovieCove page.

Career shape

A full career of 36 titles from 2001 to 2022.

Biggest box office

Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work (2010)

$2.9M worldwide

Highest rated

Marathon: The Patriots Day Bombing (2016)

Midcredits 94th

Most popular right now

Bobby Kennedy for President (2018)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Producing1 of 36: 0 only producing, 1 with another roleMusic34 of 36: 32 only music, 2 with another role · typical Midcredits score77thOther crew3 of 36: 2 only other crew, 1 with another role

By decade

2000s4 · crew2010s25 · crew2020s7 · 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 Paul Brill's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 76th percentile, the median of all 38; across their 38 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 76th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

76thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 38

Approval · how many liked their films

71stpercentile
Typical film, the median of 38

Reach · how many have seen their films

27thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 38

Midcredits score across 47 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up24
  • 50th to 74th9
  • 25th to 49th8
  • Below 25th6

Shape of the crowd

12 of their 47 titles are Mixed.

  • Universally Loved7
  • Divisive9
  • Cult Classic8
  • Crowd Pleaser11
  • Mixed12

Most divisive · composer

Rigged: The Voter Suppression Playbook (2019)

99th percentile spread · 61% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · composer

JFK: 3 Shots That Changed America (2009)

Midcredits 99th · 91% liked

Reviewers score the sound and music 52/100 in their films, across 12 reviewed titles; fans 67, detractors 45. The element that speaks to their work as a composer.

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 Paul Brill work with?

People who share at least 2 of Paul Brill's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Ricki Stern shares the most, 7.

Directors

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers

Mixed roles