TSPDT

Key Production Country: USA
Key Genres: Drama, Comedy, Thriller, Comedy Drama, Crime, Dark Comedy, Mystery-Suspense, Family, Period Drama, Action-Adventure, Satire, Coming-of-Age
Key Collaborators: Stu Linder (Editor), Mark Johnson (Producer), Dustin Hoffman (Leading Actor), Peter Sova (Cinematographer), Norman Reynolds (Production Designer), Bruno Kirby (Character Actor), Robin Williams (Leading Actor), Robert De Niro (Leading Actor), Paul Attanasio (Screenwriter), Michael Crichton (Producer), Adam Greenberg (Cinematographer), Allen Daviau (Cinematographer)

"Levinson has demonstrated a talent for making commercially successful blockbusters, but in general his smaller, more personal films are the ones he will be best remembered for." - James M. Welsh (The Encyclopedia of Great Filmmakers, 2002)

"Overall, Levinson has managed a smart career. Almost all of his films are interesting, entertaining, and well worth watching, despite critical notices. His more personal films, such as Avalon and Liberty Heights, reflect intelligently on the immigrant experience in America. The more 'entertaining' films, such as Disclosure, have something to say. This was particularly true of Wag the Dog (1997), coscripted by playwright David Mamet." - The Encyclopedia of Hollywood, 2004

"One of America's most versatile filmmakers, Barry Levinson got into showbiz as a comedy writer, winning multiple Emmy Awards for The Carol Burnett Show (1967), and working with Mel Brooks on the scripts for Silent Movie (1976) and High Anxiety (1977). He made his debut as a writer and director with Diner (1982), an autobiographical movie set in Levinson's home town of Baltimore during the late 1950s… Like director Rob Reiner, Levinson has settled into high-profile Hollywood professionalism, but he has never quite relinquished his hustling roots. The personal project Toys (1992) is a fascinating fiasco, but the scurrilous political satire Wag the Dog (1997) is funny and pointed." - Kim Newman (501 Movie Directors, 2007)

"Barry Levinson is an American filmmaker best known for directing a variety of films that often explore political, societal, and familial themes. His works, which have garnered both commercial and critical success, notably include Diner, Rain Man, and Good Morning, Vietnam. These films are celebrated for their compelling narratives, distinctive character portrayals, and insightful commentary on the American experience." - Bronze Screen Dream

"Levinson's love of words, gags and anecdote is symptomatic of his origins as a writer; by the same token his films' visuals are often flat and banal. While he may need to develop his sense of plotting, his characters are credible, lively, and amusing in their unselfconscious displays of monomaniacal obsession and attachment to ephemera. An alternative to the current prevailing interest in mindless adventure and tepid remakes and sequels, his work - mature and offbeat - deserves attention." - Geoff Andrew (The Film Handbook, 1989)

"Barry Levinson has exhibited the courage to take risks turning out remarkably dissimilar movies on his own terms. Though perhaps closest to his autobiographical Baltimore trilogy (Diner, Tin Men, Avalon), he has scored huge hits with intimidating projects like Rain Man and Good Morning, Vietnam, and his few misses have not diminished his bankability." - The Hollywood.com Guide to Film Directors, 2004

"There are so many rules of filmmaking that ultimately don’t hold up that you suddenly sometimes go, Well, I don’t know. Somehow some things work. Intuitively, you think they’re right, and it seems to be the way to go, and other times, it’s not. I think it’s part of the nature of what we do, and that probably applies to any artistic endeavor. There are the rules, and then there are reasons why you break the rules." - Barry Levinson (MovieMaker, 2023)