Directing

Jim Brown

Born

1950-06-07 (76)

Place of birth

New York City, New York, USA

Known for

Directing

Credits

22 titles

Jim Brown is a four-time Emmy Award winning American director/producer known primarily for his work in musical documentaries. He heads Jim Brown Productions, LLC and Ginger Group Productions, Inc. He specializes in social, cultural and musical documentaries with an emphasis on how the power of music can create change. He has one of the largest archives of American folk and roots music from the last 4 decades of his life's work. Brown is a recently retired professor at New York University's Kanbar Institute of Film and Television at Tisch School of the Arts. He taught at New York University for 35+years. He is a member of the Directors Guild of America and a retired member of the Internatio…

Known for

Holly Near: Singing for Our Lives poster
2.7

A documentary revisiting the career of a feisty activist musician, who never quite achieved the same recognition as her similar contemporaries Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell. Experience the power of song in the struggle for equality through the story of feminist singer and activist Holly Near, who for the last 40 years has worked on global social justice coalition-building in the women’s and lesbian movements.

Holly Near: Singing for Our Lives

2019

Free to Rock poster
6.4

Rock & Roll spread the sound of freedom across the Iron Curtain and throughout Eastern Europe and the USSR, despite Communist attempts to outlaw it and to crush what they perceived was a contamination of their youth. Over the next thirty years, thousands of underground bands and millions of young fans who yearned for Western values helped fuel the nonvio- lent implosion of the Soviet regime. FREE TO ROCK features Presidents, diplomats, spies and rock stars from the West, the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe who reveal how Rock & Roll music was a contributing factor in ending the Cold

Free to Rock

2017

Woody Guthrie: Hard Travelin' poster
6.5

A warmhearted memorial to the folk singer whose songs galvanized organizers and guitar-pickers across the United States. Part biography, part travelogue and part hootenanny, it follows the singer's son, Arlo Guthrie, as he retraces his father's steps and collects reminiscences from his father's family, friends and musical partners.

Woody Guthrie: Hard Travelin'

1984

A Royal Grand Design poster
NR

An exclusive inside look at a secret project that King Charles III has been working on for over a decade - the purchase and ambitious restoration of Dumfries House, a rundown estate in one of the most deprived parts of the UK.

A Royal Grand Design

2022

The Weavers: Wasn't That a Time poster
7.8

Documentary about the blacklisted folk group The Weavers, and the events leading up to their triumphant return to Carnegie Hall.

The Weavers: Wasn't That a Time

1982

Mostly Sondheim poster
NR

Experience a truly memorable musical event as Broadway legend Barbara Cook, known for her starring roles in "The Music Man" and "She Loves Me," performs songs written and enjoyed by renowned composer Stephen Sondheim. In addition to singing Sondheim classics like "Everybody Says Don't" and "Send in the Clowns," Cook pays tribute to tunes Sondheim wished he had written, such as "I Got Lost in His Arms" and "The Trolley Song."

Mostly Sondheim

2003

Behind the camera

Holly Near: Singing for Our Lives poster
2.7

A documentary revisiting the career of a feisty activist musician, who never quite achieved the same recognition as her similar contemporaries Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell. Experience the power of song in the struggle for equality through the story of feminist singer and activist Holly Near, who for the last 40 years has worked on global social justice coalition-building in the women’s and lesbian movements.

Holly Near: Singing for Our Lives

2019

Holly Near: Singing for Our Lives poster
2.7

A documentary revisiting the career of a feisty activist musician, who never quite achieved the same recognition as her similar contemporaries Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell. Experience the power of song in the struggle for equality through the story of feminist singer and activist Holly Near, who for the last 40 years has worked on global social justice coalition-building in the women’s and lesbian movements.

Holly Near: Singing for Our Lives

2019

Free to Rock poster
6.4

Rock & Roll spread the sound of freedom across the Iron Curtain and throughout Eastern Europe and the USSR, despite Communist attempts to outlaw it and to crush what they perceived was a contamination of their youth. Over the next thirty years, thousands of underground bands and millions of young fans who yearned for Western values helped fuel the nonvio- lent implosion of the Soviet regime. FREE TO ROCK features Presidents, diplomats, spies and rock stars from the West, the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe who reveal how Rock & Roll music was a contributing factor in ending the Cold

Free to Rock

2017

Woody Guthrie: Hard Travelin' poster
6.5

A warmhearted memorial to the folk singer whose songs galvanized organizers and guitar-pickers across the United States. Part biography, part travelogue and part hootenanny, it follows the singer's son, Arlo Guthrie, as he retraces his father's steps and collects reminiscences from his father's family, friends and musical partners.

Woody Guthrie: Hard Travelin'

1984

A Royal Grand Design poster
NR

An exclusive inside look at a secret project that King Charles III has been working on for over a decade - the purchase and ambitious restoration of Dumfries House, a rundown estate in one of the most deprived parts of the UK.

A Royal Grand Design

2022

A Royal Grand Design poster
NR

An exclusive inside look at a secret project that King Charles III has been working on for over a decade - the purchase and ambitious restoration of Dumfries House, a rundown estate in one of the most deprived parts of the UK.

A Royal Grand Design

2022

The Weavers: Wasn't That a Time poster
7.8

Documentary about the blacklisted folk group The Weavers, and the events leading up to their triumphant return to Carnegie Hall.

The Weavers: Wasn't That a Time

1982

Mostly Sondheim poster
NR

Experience a truly memorable musical event as Broadway legend Barbara Cook, known for her starring roles in "The Music Man" and "She Loves Me," performs songs written and enjoyed by renowned composer Stephen Sondheim. In addition to singing Sondheim classics like "Everybody Says Don't" and "Send in the Clowns," Cook pays tribute to tunes Sondheim wished he had written, such as "I Got Lost in His Arms" and "The Trolley Song."

Mostly Sondheim

2003

Mostly Sondheim poster
NR

Experience a truly memorable musical event as Broadway legend Barbara Cook, known for her starring roles in "The Music Man" and "She Loves Me," performs songs written and enjoyed by renowned composer Stephen Sondheim. In addition to singing Sondheim classics like "Everybody Says Don't" and "Send in the Clowns," Cook pays tribute to tunes Sondheim wished he had written, such as "I Got Lost in His Arms" and "The Trolley Song."

Mostly Sondheim

2003

A Vision Shared: A Tribute to Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly poster
7.0

Folkways: A Vision Shared--A Tribute To Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly pays stunning tribute to two legends of folk and blues. Narrated by Robbie Robertson, this documentary features performances by John Mellencamp, Bruce Springsteen, Pete Seeger and U2.

A Vision Shared: A Tribute to Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly

1988

A Vision Shared: A Tribute to Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly poster
7.0

Folkways: A Vision Shared--A Tribute To Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly pays stunning tribute to two legends of folk and blues. Narrated by Robbie Robertson, this documentary features performances by John Mellencamp, Bruce Springsteen, Pete Seeger and U2.

A Vision Shared: A Tribute to Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly

1988

In the Hank Williams Tradition poster
NR

This program traces Hank Williams' incredible life story through rare film clips, and revealing interviews with his friends and fellow performers such as Roy Acuff, Minnie Pearl and Chet Atkins. Included are performances of many of Hank's greatest songs by today's top country music recording artists who also tell how Hank Williams inspired their career.

In the Hank Williams Tradition

1989

We Shall Overcome poster
7.0

A documentary on the iconic song "We Shall Overcome" and its important legacy in the American Civil Rights movement, echoing all over the world as a recognizable song of struggle against social injustices. Singers and activists talk about its origins, used during a workers strike in the mid 1940's, and how the lyrics and its significance slightly changed in the next decades.

We Shall Overcome

1989

Isn't This a Time! A Tribute Concert for Harold Leventhal poster
7.0

In September of 2004 at the Toronto Film Festival, the Weavers sang together for possibly the last time.

Isn't This a Time! A Tribute Concert for Harold Leventhal

2004

Isn't This a Time! A Tribute Concert for Harold Leventhal poster
7.0

In September of 2004 at the Toronto Film Festival, the Weavers sang together for possibly the last time.

Isn't This a Time! A Tribute Concert for Harold Leventhal

2004

Billy Joel: A Matter of Trust - The Bridge to Russia poster
8.5

In 1987, Billy Joel took his family, his music and his concert show to the former Soviet Union. This feature-length documentary film looks back at the triumphs and difficulties encountered in creating the first fully staged rock 'n' roll show in the USSR. Directed by Emmy(R)-winning documentarian, Jim Brown.

Billy Joel: A Matter of Trust - The Bridge to Russia

2014

Woody Guthrie All-Star Tribute Concert 1970 poster
NR

In 1970, three years following his death from Huntington’s disease, an all-star cast of musicians gathered at Los Angeles, CA’s Hollywood Bowl to pay homage to iconic folk songwriter Woody Guthrie. Although the concert was a one-night-only event , four-time Emmy Award-winner Jim Brown filmed the historic Woody Guthrie All-Star Tribute Concert 1970, which included performances by Arlo Guthrie, Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, Country Joe McDonald, Odetta, Richie Havens, Ramblin’ Jack Elliot, Earl Robinson, and The Band, along with narration by actors Will Geer and Peter Fonda.

Woody Guthrie All-Star Tribute Concert 1970

2019

Pete Seeger: The Power of Song poster
7.0

Interviews, archival footage and home movies are used to illustrate a social history of folk artist and activist Pete Seeger.

Pete Seeger: The Power of Song

2007

Pete Seeger: The Power of Song poster
7.0

Interviews, archival footage and home movies are used to illustrate a social history of folk artist and activist Pete Seeger.

Pete Seeger: The Power of Song

2007

Peter, Paul & Mary: Carry It On poster
8.2

In this DVD release of their PBS-TV special "Carry It On", the trio recalls the beginnings of the cultural revolution of the '60's, when music emerged as a unifying force amidst the turbulent currents of social change. Carefully chosen archival footage traces the group's phenomenal career, as a musical and personal story is told through selected concert and interview segments.

Peter, Paul & Mary: Carry It On

2004

The Highwaymen: Friends Till the End poster
NR

An oral history of the Mount Rushmore of Country Music: Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson. Interviews with the men who make the music and the story of their friendships.

The Highwaymen: Friends Till the End

2016

The Singing Kettle: World Tour poster
NR

Cilla, Artie and Gary invite kids of all ages to join them on a tour of the world, care of Kettle International Airways.

The Singing Kettle: World Tour

1994