Jay Cocks

Writing

Jay Cocks

Born 1944-01-12

John C. "Jay" Cocks Jr. (born January 12, 1944) is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is a graduate of Kenyon College. Before shifting to screenplay writing, he was a critic for Time, Newsweek, and Rolling Stone, among other magazines.

Acting credits

Street Scenes 1970 poster
5.5

Two protest rallies against the Vietnam War that took place in May 1970: the Hard Hat Riot on Wall Street in New York City and Kent State/Cambodia Incursion Protest in Washington, D.C.

Street Scenes 1970

1970

Martin Scorsese Directs poster
9.0

Providing behind the scenes footage of the director on set with clips from his own films, Martin Scorsese Directs depicts to riveting effect the way Scorsese brings the written story to life on the big screen. Additional interviews with the likes of Joe Pesci, Harvey Keitel, Thelma Schoonmaker, the director’s own parents, and others build a perception of Scorsese that not everybody knows.

Martin Scorsese Directs

1990

A Moral Right: The Politics of Dirty Harry poster
4.5

Filmmakers, social scientists and authors take a provocative look at the moral, political and ethical themes of the Dirty Harry films.

A Moral Right: The Politics of Dirty Harry

2008

Martin Scorsese's Journey Into Silence poster
6.0

A behind-the-scenes documentary on the making of Martin Scorsese's "Silence."

Martin Scorsese's Journey Into Silence

2017

Full Metal Jacket: Between Good and Evil poster
4.3

Follow Stanley Kubrick as he creates his savage and brilliant Vietnam film, hewing closely to the theme that dominated his creative life for four decades - the duality of human nature. Poised between good and evil, mankind was, in Kubrick's view, a complex creature equally capable of unspeakable savagery and heart-melting tenderness. Full Metal Jacket would make his case in vivid, blood-soaked Technicolor. Through interviews with Kubrick's collaborators and cast members, including Vincent D'Onofrio, Lee Ermey and Adam Baldwin, this documentary reveals how Kubrick's brilliant visual sense, astute knowledge of human nature, and unique perspective on the duality of man came together to make Full Metal Jacket an unforgettable cinematic experience, taking its place in his "war trilogy" alongside cinematic landmarks Fear and Desire and Paths of Glory.

Full Metal Jacket: Between Good and Evil

2007

Standing on the Shoulders of Kubrick: The Legacy of 2001 poster
6.2

Stanley Kubrick's groundbreaking 2001: A Space Odyssey opened the door to all the films and filmmakers who followed it. Through interviews with directors such as George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Sydney Pollack - as well as special effects professionals and cultural historians - this documentary examines the legacy of Kubrick's masterpiece and its influence on science fiction films, special effects and world cinema.

Standing on the Shoulders of Kubrick: The Legacy of 2001

2007

The Craft of Dirty Harry poster
6.0

A look at the cinematographers, editors, musicians, production designers and other talent of the Dirty Harry series.

The Craft of Dirty Harry

2008

The Long Shadow of Dirty Harry poster
5.8

An in-depth look at Dirty Harry (1971), featuring interviews with such film artists as Michael Madsen, 'Hal Holbrook', John Milius, 'Shane Black' and John Badham.

The Long Shadow of Dirty Harry

2008

Innocence and Experience: The Making of 'The Age of Innocence' poster
7.0

A documentary about the making of director Martin Scorsese's 1993 film adaptation of Edith Wharton's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Age of Innocence. It features a conversation between Scorsese and the star of the film, Daniel Day Lewis, as well as rare behind-the-scenes footage.

Innocence and Experience: The Making of 'The Age of Innocence'

1993

The Business End: Violence in Cinema poster
8.0

An unflinching look at the ongoing debate on violence in movies and its effect on the audience.

The Business End: Violence in Cinema

2008

Movies Are My Life poster
6.8

The very first full-length documentary on Scorsese offers an invaluable look at how he was perceived by his colleagues, and himself, in 1977. Catching Scorsese while he was in post-production on New York, New York and editing The Last Waltz, British filmmaker Peter Hayden gets the manically hyper Scorsese to comment on his youth, his relation to his lead characters, the making of Mean Streets and most importantly, his approach to direction. The doc doesn’t quite move at the pace of Scorsese’s revved-up speed-talking, but it does offer some real insight into his productivity in the 1970s, thanks to an impressive array of talking heads. Included are Scorsese’s collaborators Jay Cocks, Mardik Martin, Brian De Palma, Steven Prince (who co-produced this doc), and his mentor John Cassavetes. Also the performers, who discuss his working methods in detail — Jodie Foster, Liza Minnelli, and, of course, Robert De Niro.

Movies Are My Life

1988

The Scorsese Machine poster
8.0

Amazing documentary shows rarely seen side of a master director. 1990 was a very good year for Martin Scorsese. After making a diverse group of films in the 80s, he reunited with Robert DeNiro for "Goodfellas" and later that year shot a segment for "New York Stories", an anthology film of three shorts by Scorsese, Woody Allen, and Francis Ford Coppola. During the editing, the French documentary series "Cinéma, de notre temps" filmed a documentary on the director, and it's a fascinating glimpse into his life, personality, and working habits as he edits his short with long-time collaborator Thelma Schoonmaker.

The Scorsese Machine

1990

An American Named Kazan poster
6.0

Elia Kazan represented the American dream. An immigrant who came without anything and who became the Prince of Hollywood and Broadway after World War II. Actor, theater director, filmmaker, writer, he is the founder of Actor’s Studio, a collaborator of Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams, and a director who discovered Marlon Brando and James Dean.

An American Named Kazan

2019

No artwork available
NR

In this 2018 Criterion Collection program, screenwriter Jay Cocks and film critic Farran Smith Nehme discuss the adaptation for the film version of 'The Heiress' (1949) of the 1947 play by Ruth and Augustus Goetz, which was itself inspired by the 1880 Henry James novel 'Washington Square'.

Jay Cocks and Farran Smith Nehme on 'The Heiress'

2019

Behind the camera

Gangs of New York poster
7.3

In early 1860s New York, Irish immigrant Amsterdam Vallon is released from prison and returns to the Five Points, seeking revenge against his father's killer, William Cutting, a powerful anti-immigrant gang leader. He knows that revenge can only be attained by infiltrating Cutting's inner circle. Vallon's journey becomes a fight for personal survival and to find a place for the Irish people.

Gangs of New York

2002

A Complete Unknown poster
7.1

New York, early 1960s. Against the backdrop of a vibrant music scene and tumultuous cultural upheaval, an enigmatic 19-year-old from Minnesota arrives in the West Village with his guitar and revolutionary talent, destined to change the course of American music.

A Complete Unknown

2024

The Last Temptation of Christ poster
7.2

Jesus, a humble Judean carpenter beginning to see that he is the son of God, is drawn into revolutionary action against the Roman occupiers by Judas -- despite his protestations that love, not violence, is the path to salvation. The burden of being the savior of mankind torments Jesus throughout his life, leading him to doubt.

The Last Temptation of Christ

1988

Silence poster
7.1

In the 17th century, two Portuguese Jesuit priests travel to Japan in an attempt to locate their mentor, who is rumored to have committed apostasy, and to propagate Catholicism.

Silence

2016

The Age of Innocence poster
7.0

In 19th century New York high society, a young lawyer falls in love with a woman separated from her husband, while he is engaged to the woman's cousin.

The Age of Innocence

1993

Strange Days poster
7.0

In the last days of 1999, ex-cop turned street hustler Lenny Nero receives a disc which contains the memories of the murder of a prostitute. With the help of bodyguard Mace, he starts to investigate and is pulled deeper and deeper in a whirl of murder, blackmail and intrigue.

Strange Days

1995

De-Lovely poster
6.1

From Paris to Venice to Broadway to Hollywood, the lives of Cole Porter and his wife, Linda Lee Thomas were never less than glamorous and wildly unconventional. And though Cole's thirst for life strained their marriage, Linda never stopped being his muse, inspiring some of the greatest songs of the twentieth century.

De-Lovely

2004

Made in Milan poster
6.1

As he prepares for a show, fashion designer Giorgio Armani discusses his principles of fashion, his family history and the city of Milan.

Made in Milan

1990