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Dan Sallitt

Dan Sallitt

Writer, director, actor and editor · Born July 27, 1955 (71) · Pennsylvania, USA

Dan Sallitt is an American critic, screenwriter and film director known for his microbudget filmmaking and "cinephile" film criticism. Born on 27 July 1955 in Pennsylvania, Sallitt moved to Los Angeles in 1976 where he became first-string film critic of the Los Angeles Reader from 1983 to 1985. He has written film criticism for many outlets, including Slate, the Chicago Reader, MUBI.com, Masters of Cinema, and the Toronto Film Festival. He maintains the film blog Thanks for the Use of the Hall.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
July 27, 1955 (71)
From
Pennsylvania, USA
Works as
Writer, director, actor and editor
Titles
5 on MovieCove · 15 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 39 days to Oct 28Down 25% in 30 days

What are Dan Sallitt's films like?

Across a limited sample of 3 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Bonds.

Themes

share of theme weight
Self
44%
Bonds
38%
Survival
17%
Identity2 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 3 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

A split, not a type: Grounded 2 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 0

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

Gentle 2 · Charged 1 · Intense 0

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

Steady 3 · Shifting 0 · Whiplash 0

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

Straight-faced 3 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 0

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

Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 0 · 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 2 · Full focus 0

Open-ended: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their open-ended movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 0 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 1

Roles they play

1 analyzed role

Moods and endings

endings shown from 5 titles

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Melancholic
3
Contemplative
2
Tense
1
Bittersweet
1
Hopeful
1

How their films linger

Thought-provoking2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteWistful2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

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 Dan Sallitt's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 3 of their 5 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Dan Sallitt'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

15 credits, 5 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.

  • What Can't Be Mentioned (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2026)

    Director · Editor · Writer

  • This Closeness(2023)

    Thanks

    Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films

  • Red Giant (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)

    as Therapist

  • The Hardest Working Cat in Showbiz (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)

    Screenplay · as Self (voice)

  • Caterina (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)

    Director · Editor · Writer

  • Fourteen(2019)

    Director · Editor · Writer

    Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all films

  • Notes on an Appearance(2018)

    Actor

    Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films

  • Be My Baby (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)

    Creative Consultant

  • Hermia & Helena(2016)

    as Horace

    Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films

  • Ghost Phone (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)

    Creative Consultant

  • On Red River (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)

    Actor

  • The Unspeakable Act(2012)

    Director · Editor · Writer

    Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films

  • All the Ships at Sea (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)

    Director · Editor · Writer

  • Honeymoon (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)

    Director · Writer · as Mark

  • Polly Perverse Strikes Again! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)

    Director · Writer

Career shape

A full career of 15 titles from 1986 to 2026.

Biggest box office

Hermia & Helena (2016)

$44K worldwide

Highest rated

Fourteen (2019)

Midcredits 62nd

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting5 of 15: 4 only acting, 1 with another roleDirecting7 of 15: 0 only directing, 7 with another roleWriting8 of 15: 1 only writing, 7 with another roleEditing5 of 15: 0 only editing, 5 with another roleOther crew3 of 15: 3 only other crew, 0 with another role

15 titles, 7 with more than one role — writing and directing overlap on 7 of them.

By decade

1980s1 · crew1990s1 · 1 acting · 1 crew2000s1 · crew2010s8 · 3 acting · 5 crew2020s4 · 1 acting · 3 crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it.

How do Dan Sallitt's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 49th percentile, the median of all 5; across a limited sample of 3 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 56th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

56thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 3

Approval · how many liked their films

42ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 3

Reach · how many have seen their films

54thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 3

Midcredits score across 5 titles, by percentile

  • 50th to 74th2
  • 25th to 49th3

Shape of the crowd

3 of their 5 titles are Mixed.

  • Crowd Pleaser1
  • Broadly Agreed1
  • Mixed3

Most divisive · director, writer, editor

The Unspeakable Act (2012)

68th percentile spread · 30% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director, writer, editor

Fourteen (2019)

Midcredits 62nd · 57% liked

Reviewers score the dialogue 40/100 and the plot and story 38/100 in their films, across 3 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.

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 Dan Sallitt work with?

People who share at least 2 of Dan Sallitt's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Aundrea Fares shares the most, 2.

Actors

Producers