
Directing
Joe Berlinger
Born 1961-10-30 · Boca Raton, Florida, USA
Joseph "Joe" Berlinger (born October 30, 1961) is an American documentary film-maker who, in collaboration with Bruce Sinofsky, has created such films as Paradise Lost about the West Memphis 3, Brother's Keeper, Some Kind of Monster, and Crude. In collaboration with journalist Greg Milner, Berlinger has also written a book called Metallica: This Monster Lives, which is about his journey from making the poorly received Blair Witch 2 to creating Some Kind of Monster with Metallica, one of the world's most famous metal bands. Berlinger has also worked in TV series such as Homicide: Life on the Street, D.C. and FanClub. The first movie Berlinger directed, in 1992, was the documentary My Brother's Keeper, which tells the story of Delbart Ward, an elderly man in Munnsville, New York, who was charged with second-degree murder following the death of his brother William. Chicago Tribune film critic Roger Ebert, in his review of the movie, called it "an extraordinary documentary about what happened next, as a town banded together to stop what folks saw as a miscarriage of justice." He graduated from Colgate University in 1983. He lives with his wife and daughters in New York.
Acting credits
7.0A chronicle of the crimes of Ted Bundy, from the perspective of his longtime girlfriend, Elizabeth Kloepfer, who refused to believe the truth about him for years.
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile
2019
4.3A group of college students decide to take part in a witch hunt tour inspired by a horror movie. As the adventure goes awry, the students realise that an evil being has followed them home.
Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2
2000
6.2The savage murders of three young children sparks a controversial trial of three teenagers accused of killing the kids as part of a satanic ritual.
Devil's Knot
2013
7.6A horrific triple child murder leads to an indictment and trial of three nonconformist boys based on questionable evidence.
Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills
1996
6.4Granted unprecedented access, director Berlinger captures renowned life and business strategist Tony Robbins behind the scenes of his mega seminar Date with Destiny, pulling back the curtain on this life-altering and controversial event, the zealous participants and the man himself.
Tony Robbins: I Am Not Your Guru
2016
7.0In the spring of 2002, filmmaker Joe Berlinger traveled to Vienna to witness the burial of the preserved brains of over 700 children killed at a Nazi "euthanasia" clinic. GRAY MATTER chronicles the filmmaker's personal journey as he searches for Dr. Heinrich Gross -- known as the "Austrian Dr. Mengele" -- who allegedly participated in these killings. Along the way Berlinger meets survivors of the clinic, as well as other remarkable individuals, who are confronting a nation that has only begun to grapple with its denial of this horrific legacy.
Gray Matter
2004
NRTrue crime formats are a guarantor for success for TV channels, publishers and radio stations. Whether fiction or documentary, every serial killer has their own movie on streaming providers. An interest in crime is part of human nature. The question "Who did it?" keeps the audience hooked to their screens or headphones. Fear and thrills provide an endorphin rush. True crime fans put themselves in the shoes of the investigators and empathize with the victims. They try to learn to arm themselves for their own lives in order to better recognize real dangers. Where does the hype around true crime come from?
Lust for Fear - True Crime Fascination
2023
Behind the camera
7.0A chronicle of the crimes of Ted Bundy, from the perspective of his longtime girlfriend, Elizabeth Kloepfer, who refused to believe the truth about him for years.
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile
2019
7.0A chronicle of the crimes of Ted Bundy, from the perspective of his longtime girlfriend, Elizabeth Kloepfer, who refused to believe the truth about him for years.
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile
2019
4.3A group of college students decide to take part in a witch hunt tour inspired by a horror movie. As the adventure goes awry, the students realise that an evil being has followed them home.
Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2
2000
4.3A group of college students decide to take part in a witch hunt tour inspired by a horror movie. As the adventure goes awry, the students realise that an evil being has followed them home.
Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2
2000
7.4A further investigation into the arrest of three teenagers convicted of killing three young boys in Arkansas who spent nearly 20 years in prison before being released after new DNA evidence indicated they may be innocent.
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
2012
7.4A further investigation into the arrest of three teenagers convicted of killing three young boys in Arkansas who spent nearly 20 years in prison before being released after new DNA evidence indicated they may be innocent.
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
2012
6.5The story of lawsuit by tens of thousands of Ecuadorans against Chevron over contamination of the Ecuadorean Amazon.
Crude
2009
6.5The story of lawsuit by tens of thousands of Ecuadorans against Chevron over contamination of the Ecuadorean Amazon.
Crude
2009
7.1After bassist Jason Newsted quits the band in 2001, heavy metal superstars Metallica realize that they need an intervention. In this revealing documentary, filmmakers follow the three rock stars as they hire a group therapist and grapple with 20 years of repressed anger and aggression. Between searching for a replacement bass player, creating a new album and confronting their personal demons, the band learns to open up in ways they never thought possible.
Metallica: Some Kind of Monster
2004
7.1After bassist Jason Newsted quits the band in 2001, heavy metal superstars Metallica realize that they need an intervention. In this revealing documentary, filmmakers follow the three rock stars as they hire a group therapist and grapple with 20 years of repressed anger and aggression. Between searching for a replacement bass player, creating a new album and confronting their personal demons, the band learns to open up in ways they never thought possible.
Metallica: Some Kind of Monster
2004
7.2Revisiting the 1994 Arkansas murder of three 8-year-old boys and the three teenagers convicted of the crime. A follow up to Paradise Lost, Revelations features new interviews with the convicted men, as well as with the original judge and police investigators.
Paradise Lost 2: Revelations
2000
7.2Revisiting the 1994 Arkansas murder of three 8-year-old boys and the three teenagers convicted of the crime. A follow up to Paradise Lost, Revelations features new interviews with the convicted men, as well as with the original judge and police investigators.
Paradise Lost 2: Revelations
2000
7.6A horrific triple child murder leads to an indictment and trial of three nonconformist boys based on questionable evidence.
Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills
1996
7.6A horrific triple child murder leads to an indictment and trial of three nonconformist boys based on questionable evidence.
Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills
1996
7.1Paul Simon returns to South Africa to explore the incredible journey of his historic Graceland album, including the political backlash he received for allegedly breaking the UN cultural boycott of South Africa designed to end the Apartheid regime. On the 25th anniversary of Paul Simon's GRACELAND, acclaimed documentary filmmaker Joe Berlinger offers a glimpse at the controversy surrounding the decision to record the album in South Africa despite a UN boycott of the nation, which was aimed at ending apartheid. In the run-up to an eagerly anticipated reunion concert, Simon, Quincy Jones, Peter Gabriel, David Byrne, Harry Belafonte, Paul McCartney and others reflect on the decision to record with local artists in South Africa, and the cultural impact of the album that delivered such hits as "I Know What I Know" and "You Can Call Me Al."
Paul Simon: Under African Skies
2012
6.4Granted unprecedented access, director Berlinger captures renowned life and business strategist Tony Robbins behind the scenes of his mega seminar Date with Destiny, pulling back the curtain on this life-altering and controversial event, the zealous participants and the man himself.
Tony Robbins: I Am Not Your Guru
2016
6.4Granted unprecedented access, director Berlinger captures renowned life and business strategist Tony Robbins behind the scenes of his mega seminar Date with Destiny, pulling back the curtain on this life-altering and controversial event, the zealous participants and the man himself.
Tony Robbins: I Am Not Your Guru
2016
7.0In the spring of 2002, filmmaker Joe Berlinger traveled to Vienna to witness the burial of the preserved brains of over 700 children killed at a Nazi "euthanasia" clinic. GRAY MATTER chronicles the filmmaker's personal journey as he searches for Dr. Heinrich Gross -- known as the "Austrian Dr. Mengele" -- who allegedly participated in these killings. Along the way Berlinger meets survivors of the clinic, as well as other remarkable individuals, who are confronting a nation that has only begun to grapple with its denial of this horrific legacy.
Gray Matter
2004
7.0In the spring of 2002, filmmaker Joe Berlinger traveled to Vienna to witness the burial of the preserved brains of over 700 children killed at a Nazi "euthanasia" clinic. GRAY MATTER chronicles the filmmaker's personal journey as he searches for Dr. Heinrich Gross -- known as the "Austrian Dr. Mengele" -- who allegedly participated in these killings. Along the way Berlinger meets survivors of the clinic, as well as other remarkable individuals, who are confronting a nation that has only begun to grapple with its denial of this horrific legacy.
Gray Matter
2004
NROscar-nominated filmmaker Joe Berlinger travels the globe with legendary windsurfer and pioneering waterman Robby Naish, a 24-time world champion whose quest to master the world's longest waves unexpectedly reveals his vulnerabilities as a competitor, mentor and father. THE LONGEST WAVE transcends the action sports genre by capturing obstacles outside of the legendary athlete's professional life in an intimate, cinéma-vérité style, revealing Naish balancing the pursuit of excellence at sea with the demands of life's complications on land.
The Longest Wave
2019
NROscar-nominated filmmaker Joe Berlinger travels the globe with legendary windsurfer and pioneering waterman Robby Naish, a 24-time world champion whose quest to master the world's longest waves unexpectedly reveals his vulnerabilities as a competitor, mentor and father. THE LONGEST WAVE transcends the action sports genre by capturing obstacles outside of the legendary athlete's professional life in an intimate, cinéma-vérité style, revealing Naish balancing the pursuit of excellence at sea with the demands of life's complications on land.
The Longest Wave
2019
NROscar-nominated filmmaker Joe Berlinger travels the globe with legendary windsurfer and pioneering waterman Robby Naish, a 24-time world champion whose quest to master the world's longest waves unexpectedly reveals his vulnerabilities as a competitor, mentor and father. THE LONGEST WAVE transcends the action sports genre by capturing obstacles outside of the legendary athlete's professional life in an intimate, cinéma-vérité style, revealing Naish balancing the pursuit of excellence at sea with the demands of life's complications on land.
The Longest Wave
2019
6.4A documentary that captures the sensational trial of infamous gangster James 'Whitey' Bulger, using the legal proceedings as a springboard to explore allegations of corruption within the highest levels of law enforcement. Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Joe Berlinger examines Bulger's relationship with the FBI and Department of Justice that allowed him to reign over a criminal empire in Boston for decades.
Whitey: United States of America v. James J. Bulger
2014
6.4A documentary that captures the sensational trial of infamous gangster James 'Whitey' Bulger, using the legal proceedings as a springboard to explore allegations of corruption within the highest levels of law enforcement. Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Joe Berlinger examines Bulger's relationship with the FBI and Department of Justice that allowed him to reign over a criminal empire in Boston for decades.
Whitey: United States of America v. James J. Bulger
2014