Joe Berlinger

Biography

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.

Directed

1. Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019) — Director
2. Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (2000) — Director
3. Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes (2019) — Director
4. Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel (2021) — Director
5. Conversations with a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes (2022) — Director
6. Metallica: Some Kind of Monster (2004) — Director
7. Conversations with a Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Tapes (2022) — Director
8. Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (1996) — Director
9. Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory (2012) — Director
10. Homicide: Life on the Street (1993) — Director
11. Paradise Lost 2: Revelations (2000) — Director
12. Crime Scene: The Times Square Killer (2021) — Director
13. Tony Robbins: I Am Not Your Guru (2016) — Director
14. Whitey: United States of America v. James J. Bulger (2014) — Director
15. Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street (2023) — Director
16. Hitler and the Nazis: Evil on Trial (2024) — Director
17. Brother's Keeper (1992) — Director
18. Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey (2024) — Director
19. Conversations with a Killer: The Son of Sam Tapes (2025) — Director
20. Paul Simon: Under African Skies (2012) — Director
21. Metallica: This Monster Lives (2014) — Director
22. Crude (2009) — Director
23. Confronting a Serial Killer (2021) — Director
24. imagine… (2003) — Director
25. American Playhouse (1982) — Director
26. Hank: 5 Years from the Brink (2013) — Director
27. Infrarouge (2006) — Director
28. Intent to Destroy: Death, Denial & Depiction (2017) — Director
29. Gray Matter (2004) — Director
30. Outrageous Taxi Stories (1989) — Director
31. We the Economy: 20 Short Films You Can't Afford to Miss (2014) — Director
32. Judgment Day: Should the Guilty Go Free (2003) — Director
33. 10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America (2006) — Director
34. Judgment Day: Prison or Parole? (2016) — Director
35. Ubah! (2015) — Director
36. Cold Blooded: The Clutter Family Murders (2018) — Director
37. The Longest Wave (2019) — Director
38. Fail-Safe — Director

Also appeared in

1. Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019) — Colorado Jailhouse Reporter
2. Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (2000) — Burkittsville Tourist
3. Devil's Knot (2013) — Very Special Appearance
4. Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (1996) — Self (voice)
5. Tony Robbins: I Am Not Your Guru (2016) — Self - Documentary Director
6. Gray Matter (2004) — Self
7. Lust for Fear - True Crime Fascination (2023) — Self