
Directing
Robert M. Young
Born — Died
1924-11-22 — 2024-02-06
Place of birth
New York City, New York, USA
Known for
Directing
Credits
40 titles
Robert Milton Young (November 22, 1924 – February 6, 2024) was an American film and television director, cinematographer, screenwriter, and producer. Young was considered a trailblazer in the independent filmmaking sector and for frequently casting Edward James Olmos in his movies, directing him in Alambrista! (1977), The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez (1982), Saving Grace (1986), Triumph of the Spirit (1989), Talent for the Game (1991), Roosters (1993), Slave of Dreams (1995), and Caught (1996). He produced Olmos's directorial debut, American Me (1992).
Known for
7.5During his 18 years in Folsom Prison, street-gang leader Santana rules over all the drug-and-murder activities behind bars. Upon his release, Santana goes back to his old neighborhood, intending to lead a peaceful, crime-free life. But his old gang buddies force him back into his old habits.
American Me
1992
6.2A woman escapes from the man who is about to rape her, but leaves her purse behind. Afraid that her attacker might come after her, she goes to the police, but with no proof of the incident, they can do nothing. In fact, the man does use the information in her bag and comes to her apartment with the intent of rape, but she sprays him in the face with insect repellent, and then holds him captive. She is then faced with deciding whether to go to the police who might not believe her and release him, or to kill him.
Extremities
1986
5.7A middle-aged couple has a drifter enter their lives. The fish-store owners find that the mysterious young man awakens the couple in ways they didn't expect. Things get tense when the drifter begins an affair with the woman of the house.
Caught
1996
6.5During World War II, Salamo Arouch, a passionate boxer, is arrested and sent to a concentration camp. Soon, he is forced to box against his fellow prisoners for the sake of entertainment.
Triumph of the Spirit
1989
8.0J. T. Gamble, a shy, withdrawn Harlem youngster, shows compassion and responsibility when he takes on the care of an old, one-eyed, badly injured alley cat days before Christmas and secretly nurses it back to health.
J.T.
1971
7.0In 1901, Mexican American farmer Gregorio Cortez is forced on the run from Texas Rangers, evading a massive manhunt on horseback for days following a heated misunderstanding leads to the death of a lawman.
The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez
1983
Behind the camera
7.5During his 18 years in Folsom Prison, street-gang leader Santana rules over all the drug-and-murder activities behind bars. Upon his release, Santana goes back to his old neighborhood, intending to lead a peaceful, crime-free life. But his old gang buddies force him back into his old habits.
American Me
1992
6.2A woman escapes from the man who is about to rape her, but leaves her purse behind. Afraid that her attacker might come after her, she goes to the police, but with no proof of the incident, they can do nothing. In fact, the man does use the information in her bag and comes to her apartment with the intent of rape, but she sprays him in the face with insect repellent, and then holds him captive. She is then faced with deciding whether to go to the police who might not believe her and release him, or to kill him.
Extremities
1986
5.7A middle-aged couple has a drifter enter their lives. The fish-store owners find that the mysterious young man awakens the couple in ways they didn't expect. Things get tense when the drifter begins an affair with the woman of the house.
Caught
1996
6.5During World War II, Salamo Arouch, a passionate boxer, is arrested and sent to a concentration camp. Soon, he is forced to box against his fellow prisoners for the sake of entertainment.
Triumph of the Spirit
1989
8.0J. T. Gamble, a shy, withdrawn Harlem youngster, shows compassion and responsibility when he takes on the care of an old, one-eyed, badly injured alley cat days before Christmas and secretly nurses it back to health.
J.T.
1971
7.0In 1901, Mexican American farmer Gregorio Cortez is forced on the run from Texas Rangers, evading a massive manhunt on horseback for days following a heated misunderstanding leads to the death of a lawman.
The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez
1983
7.0In 1901, Mexican American farmer Gregorio Cortez is forced on the run from Texas Rangers, evading a massive manhunt on horseback for days following a heated misunderstanding leads to the death of a lawman.
The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez
1983
5.9After the birth of his first child, Roberto, a young Mexican man, slips across the border into the United States. Seeking work to support his family back home, he finds that working hard is not enough.
Alambrista!
1977
5.9After the birth of his first child, Roberto, a young Mexican man, slips across the border into the United States. Seeking work to support his family back home, he finds that working hard is not enough.
Alambrista!
1977
5.5An aging rock star trying to put together a new album in the face of an indifferent record label and a talentless producer. At the same time, he's struggling to save his failing marriage.
One Trick Pony
1980
7.4Railroad laborer Duff Anderson struggles to maintain his dignity and marriage to a preacher's daughter in the racially segregated South.
Nothing But a Man
1964
7.4Railroad laborer Duff Anderson struggles to maintain his dignity and marriage to a preacher's daughter in the racially segregated South.
Nothing But a Man
1964
7.0Virgil Sweet is on the verge of losing his job as a talent scout with the California Angels when he discovers Sammy Bodeen, a country boy with no pro ball experience, but with a pitching arm no one has seen the like of.
Talent for the Game
1991
6.2Early IMAX documentary about the development of human flight.
To Fly!
1976
6.4Deadpan, small-time Kosher Nostra mobster Harry Plotnick goes meshugga when he gets into the catering biz with his ex-brother-in-law.
The Plot Against Harry
1971
7.5A doctor and a photo-journalist try to help famine victims in Africa.
We Are the Children
1987
6.4A newly-elected Pope Leo XIV finds himself accidentally locked out of the Vatican. Unknown to the outside world, he winds up in an impoverished Italian village, where his adventures ultimately teach the Pope and his new friends some important lessons about friendship and self-esteem. Written by Chris DeSantis
Saving Grace
1986
7.0In the land of Israel, Solomon (Jimmy Smits) is trying to figure out a way to become the world’s supplier of frankincense. He sends an envoy to the tiny country of Sheba to announce his intentions. The Queen of Sheba, Nikaule (Halle Berry), is outraged by Solomon’s greedy plan.
Solomon & Sheba
1995
9.0A comic story of three corporate drones trapped unaware in a decrepit and crumbling third world factory that's filled with corruption and deceit.
Human Error
2004
6.6A young man who is charged with child molestation is placed in New York City’s infamous Tombs prison. When the other inmates in his cell block find out what he is charged with, life becomes extremely difficult for him.
Short Eyes
1977
6.5This long-suppressed and controversial documentary was produced in 1961 for network television but never broadcast. Co-mingling cinema verité and narrative techniques, the film offers a sensitive but critical look at the slum called Cortile Cascino in the center of Palermo, Sicily where poverty and early death are constants and where the church and the Mafia compete for the inhabitants' fealty. The established church, largely ignoring the plight of its parishioners, nonetheless voices its outrage when a faith healer draws large crowds. The Mafia runs an illegal slaughterhouse and controls the concession to funerals but also distributes free food to the district's hungry residents. In the face of relentless adversity, the women provide the only stabilizing force. The neighborhood's despair is tragically foregrounded in a sequence depicting the burial of baby who died of malnutrition. The soundtrack is composed of comments by the people, recorded and translated by the filmmakers.
Cortile Cascino
1962
6.5This long-suppressed and controversial documentary was produced in 1961 for network television but never broadcast. Co-mingling cinema verité and narrative techniques, the film offers a sensitive but critical look at the slum called Cortile Cascino in the center of Palermo, Sicily where poverty and early death are constants and where the church and the Mafia compete for the inhabitants' fealty. The established church, largely ignoring the plight of its parishioners, nonetheless voices its outrage when a faith healer draws large crowds. The Mafia runs an illegal slaughterhouse and controls the concession to funerals but also distributes free food to the district's hungry residents. In the face of relentless adversity, the women provide the only stabilizing force. The neighborhood's despair is tragically foregrounded in a sequence depicting the burial of baby who died of malnutrition. The soundtrack is composed of comments by the people, recorded and translated by the filmmakers.
Cortile Cascino
1962
6.0Experience the world of the magnificent and rare Giant Panda as you travel back in time on an exciting expedition through the breathtaking splendor of 1936 China. Inspired by the true-life story of widowed New York socialite Ruth Harkness, a fiercely independent woman who dared to take up her late husband's expedition, journeying deep into the forests of China to study the Giant Panda.
China: The Panda Adventure
2001
7.0An authentic record of the life of the Netsilik Inuit of the Pelly Bay region of the Canadian Arctic during their last migratory camp. It shows the old Inuit culture and their complete adaptation to their environment.
The Eskimo: Fight for Life
1970
7.0An authentic record of the life of the Netsilik Inuit of the Pelly Bay region of the Canadian Arctic during their last migratory camp. It shows the old Inuit culture and their complete adaptation to their environment.
The Eskimo: Fight for Life
1970
6.8Dominick and Eugene are twins, but Dominick is a little bit slow due do an accident in his youth. They live together, with Dominick working as garbage man to put Eugene through medical school. Their relationship becomes strained when Eugene must decide between his devotion to his brother, or his need to go away to complete his training. Things are also not helped by Dominick's co-worker, or Eugene's budding romance.
Dominick and Eugene
1988
NRThe true story of Sister Blandina Segale, a young and innocent nun sent by the Catholic Church to the western territories in 1872.
At the End of the Santa Fe Trail
2025
An investigative documentary on the Angolan conflict, filmed on location in Portuguese-controlled Africa by Robert M. Young and first broadcast in 1961. (Note: Originally broadcast as an episode of NBC’s White Paper series (1961), but listed separately due to its independent documentary production, hazardous field filming, major journalistic impact, and sustained scholarly treatment as a standalone documentary work.)
NBC White Paper: Angola – Journey to a War
1961
An investigative documentary on the Angolan conflict, filmed on location in Portuguese-controlled Africa by Robert M. Young and first broadcast in 1961. (Note: Originally broadcast as an episode of NBC’s White Paper series (1961), but listed separately due to its independent documentary production, hazardous field filming, major journalistic impact, and sustained scholarly treatment as a standalone documentary work.)
NBC White Paper: Angola – Journey to a War
1961
A late-spring sequence documenting domestic life, craft production, and a coordinated seal hunt on the sea ice.
Netsilik Eskimos, IV: Group Hunting on the Spring Ice
1967
Short film presented by the American Federation of Arts about the physics and characteristics of abstraction. Distorting physical items from science, nature, and intangible items in math and art can all be understood as abstraction. Abstract concepts in design, art, and language are shown.
Abstraction
1967
Short film presented by the American Federation of Arts about the physics and characteristics of abstraction. Distorting physical items from science, nature, and intangible items in math and art can all be understood as abstraction. Abstract concepts in design, art, and language are shown.
Abstraction
1967
4.9Two 12-year-olds, the products of Upper West Side broken homes, struggle to make sense of their parents lives and their own adolescent feelings.
Rich Kids
1979
4.2The Egyptian executioner's wife tries to seduce Hebrew slave Joseph to fulfill a dream they are experiencing simultaneously.
Slave of Dreams
1995
3.8Gallo Morales is the proud patriach returning home after a seven-year stint for manslaughter. Seeking to re-establish his legendary status as a champion breeder, he comes back for the rooster bred by his father. But it is Hector, his son who inherits the prize-winning bird and neither are about to give in. The fall-out from their conflict has consequences for the whole family, especially for Angela, the sensitive 14-year-old daughter unable to cope with the brutal world that surrounds her and her own emerging womanhood, despite the best efforts of Juana, her strong but long-suffering mother.
Roosters
1993
NRWilliam Kurelek's The Maze is a documentary film about the life of celebrated Canadian artist William Kurelek, "dramatically told through his paintings and his on-camera revelations." The film documents the artist's struggles with attempted suicide and what he called a "spiritual crisis."
The Maze
2011
Children of the Fields (1973), was produced for a television series on children sponsored by the Xerox Corporation and dealt with migrant farmworkers. To make it, Young immersed himself in the lives of Mexican American migrant laborers in the Southwest. He befriended the Galindo family—Polo; his wife, Lili; and their five young children—who all toiled in the fields. They agreed to permit Young to follow them during the harvesting season and to be the subjects of his film.
Children of the Fields
1973
A BAFTA award nominated underwater documentary exploring the life of the ocean-bed inhabitants off the Florida coast.
Secrets of the Reef
1956
A BAFTA award nominated underwater documentary exploring the life of the ocean-bed inhabitants off the Florida coast.
Secrets of the Reef
1956
NRSIT-IN (1960) is filmmaker Robert M. Young’ (Nothing But A aman, The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez) seminal documentary on how the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and Students of Fisk University desegregated the lunch counters in Nashville, TN.
Sit-In
1960
