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Harley Cokeliss

Harley Cokeliss

Director and writer, also producer · Born February 11, 1945 (81) · San Diego, California, USA

Harley Cokeliss (born Harley Louis Cokliss, February 11, 1945) is an American director, writer and producer of film and television. Originally brought up in Chicago, he moved to Britain in 1966 to study at the London Film School, and spent the majority of his career in the UK. Cokeliss started making documentaries for British television in 1970, including the first filmed version of J. G. Ballard's story Crash!. Papers relating to the film Crash! are available at the British Library. Cokeliss's initial treatment and Ballard's draft script for Crash! are published in Crash: The Collector's Edition, ed. Chris Beckett. He returned to Chicago in 1972 to make a documentary about blues musicians in the city. Cokeliss later graduated to making feature films, serving as second unit director on The Empire Strikes Back before helming films like Battletruck, Black Moon Rising, and Malone. He wrote and directed the 1988 horror film Dream Demon. He has directed episodes of various television series, including The New Adventures of Robin Hood, CI5: The New Professionals, and Xena: Warrior Princess.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
February 11, 1945 (81)
From
San Diego, California, USA
Works as
Director and writer, also producer
Titles
12 on MovieCove · 23 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Official site (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 37 days to Oct 26Down 11% in 30 days

What are Harley Cokeliss' films like?

Across their 8 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Morality.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
25%
Morality
20%
Survival
19%
Power
17%
Self
16%
Society
3%
Justice4 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival3 titles, browse their movies with this themeFriendship2 titles, browse their movies with this themeMemory2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 8 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

A split, not a type: Grounded 5 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 2

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 1 · Charged 4 · Intense 3

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 2 · Shifting 6 · Whiplash 0

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 5 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 0

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 7 · Relentless 0

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 5 · Engaged 3 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 7 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
5
Thrilling
5
Warm
3
Joyful
2
Hopeful
2
Other
4

How their films linger

Feel-good4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy3
  • Bittersweet4
  • Ambiguous1

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Harley Cokeliss' films?

As of October 24, 2026, 8 of their 12 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (4).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Harley Cokeliss' titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

23 credits, 12 with a MovieCove page.

  • Paris Connections (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    Director

  • Love Lies Bleeding(2008)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films

  • An Angel for May(2002)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films

  • Pilgrim (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)

    Director · Producer · Screenplay

  • The Ruby Ring (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)

    Director

  • The New Adventures of Robin Hood (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)

    Show 3 episodes · Director

  • Xena: Warrior Princess(1995)

    Show 1 episode · Director

    Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all shows

  • Hercules: The Legendary Journeys(1995)

    Show 2 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 29th percentile of all shows

  • Hercules and the Lost Kingdom(1994)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films

  • Army of Darkness(1992)

    as Fake Shemp

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films

  • Dream Demon(1988)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films

  • Malone(1987)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films

  • Black Moon Rising(1986)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 24th percentile of all films

  • Battletruck(1982)

    Director · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 14th percentile of all films

  • Of Muppets & Men (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1981)

    Director

  • Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back(1980)

    Second Unit Director

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films

  • That Summer! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)

    Director

  • Penine Man (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1978)

    Director

  • Sense of Place (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1978)

    Show 1 episode · Director

  • The Glitterball(1977)

    Director · Original Story

    Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all films

  • The Battle of Billy's Pond (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1976)

    Director

  • Chicago Blues (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1972)

    Director

  • Crash! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1971)

    Director

Career shape

A full career of 22 titles from 1971 to 2010.

Biggest box office

Black Moon Rising (1986)

$6.6M worldwide

Highest rated

An Angel for May (2002)

Midcredits 76th

Most popular right now

Battletruck (1982)

Film career

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting1 of 22: 1 only acting, 0 with another roleDirecting20 of 22: 16 only directing, 4 with another role · typical Midcredits score35thWriting4 of 22: 0 only writing, 4 with another roleProducing1 of 22: 0 only producing, 1 with another roleOther crew1 of 22: 1 only other crew, 0 with another role

22 titles, 4 with more than one role — directing and writing overlap on 4 of them.

By decade

1970s7 · crew1980s6 · crew1990s6 · 1 acting · 5 crew2000s2 · crew2010s1 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Harley Cokeliss' films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 37th percentile, the median of all 10; across their 8 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 39th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

39thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 8

Approval · how many liked their films

30thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 8

Reach · how many have seen their films

70thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 8

Midcredits score across 12 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up3
  • 50th to 74th1
  • 25th to 49th6
  • Below 25th2

Shape of the crowd

None of their 12 titles divides audiences: 5 are Mixed.

  • Universally Loved2
  • Crowd Pleaser2
  • Broadly Agreed3
  • Mixed5

Most loved · actor

Army of Darkness (1992)

Midcredits 90th · 79% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 62/100 and the pacing 56/100 in their films, across 7 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Harley Cokeliss work with?

People who share at least 2 of Harley Cokeliss' MovieCove titles; Michael Abrams shares the most, 2.