---
name: "Phil Alden Robinson"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/phil-alden-robinson"
fi1m_id: "phil-alden-robinson"
imdb_id: "nm0004675"
tmdb_id: 23968
wikidata_id: "Q1387617"
roles: ["Director"]
born: "1 March 1950"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 3
average_fi1m_score: 85
average_as: "director"
average_over: 3
updated: "2026-09-17T15:42:26.620970+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Phil Alden Robinson

## Identity

Phil Alden Robinson

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/phil-alden-robinson
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** phil-alden-robinson
- **IMDb ID:** nm0004675
- **TMDB ID:** 23968
- **Wikidata ID:** Q1387617
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Alden_Robinson, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1387617, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004675/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/23968

Director. Born 1 March 1950 in Long Beach, New York, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Director
- **Born:** 1 March 1950, Long Beach, New York, USA
- **Active:** 1989–2009
- **Also known as:** Jack T.D. Robinson , Phil Robinson, Chris Reese
- **Primetime Emmy Awards:** 1 Emmy (1 won)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 85, as director, over 3 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 83 (1), 2000s 86 (2)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 85 to 80 across 3 titles
- **Score spread:** 3 at 80+, 0 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 3, Fantasy 1, Sport 1, War & Politics 1
- **Screen time:** 2 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $84m across 1 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Alden_Robinson, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1387617, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004675/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/23968

## Streaming the US now

- **HBO Max:** [*Band of Brothers*](https://film.one/tv/band-of-brothers.md) (89)
- **Paramount+:** [*The Good Wife*](https://film.one/tv/the-good-wife.md) (84)
- **AMC+:** [*Field of Dreams*](https://film.one/film/field-of-dreams.md) (83)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Phil Alden Robinson

> Phil Alden Robinson gives ensembles room to matter, and we value his patient interest in people. His warmth is an asset, though it can be a questionable fit for stories that need to feel dangerous.

In *Band of Brothers* (2001), the men of Easy Company are given time to become people worth following. Damian Lewis anchors the ensemble without making the company feel incidental. We were moved by the series’ patient attention to these men; it earns our concern rather than demanding it with action alone. Phil Alden Robinson directed the opening episode, and the emphasis on a group is a useful starting point for his work.

After his directing debut, *In the Mood* (1987), his breakthrough came with *Field of Dreams* (1989), which he adapted from W.P. Kinsella’s novel. *Sneakers* (1992), another film he both wrote and directed, put his interest in ensembles into a heist thriller. The television film *Freedom Song* (2000) and *Band of Brothers* followed before his return to features with *The Sum of All Fears* (2002). These changes of genre did not require him to abandon his interest in how people deal with one another.

That consistency is appealing, but it has a limit. Robinson has acknowledged his tendency to bring softness to material, a pertinent concern for the Tom Clancy adaptation *The Sum of All Fears*. A thriller needs its danger to feel credible, and sympathy for the people involved will not do that job on its own. His preference for sharing a story among actors is more persuasive: it gives relationships enough importance to compete with the demands of the plot.

*Band of Brothers* is where our recommendation is firmest, though it would be wrong to credit Robinson with the achievement of the entire series. It sustains its ensemble across ten episodes, with occasional overstatement in the action and music our chief reservation. That reservation matters because the quieter attention to character is already doing the work. Begin there for the company, and allow the series the time it needs.

## Biography

Phil Alden Robinson is an American film and television director and screenwriter. He was born on 1 March 1950 in Long Beach, New York, and graduated from Union College with a degree in political science.

Robinson began his career writing for television series including Trapper John, M.D. before moving into feature films. He wrote the screenplays for All of Me (1984) and Rhinestone (1984), and made his directorial debut with In the Mood (1987). He is known for directing and writing Field of Dreams (1989) and Sneakers (1992), and for directing The Sum of All Fears (2002). He directed one episode of the miniseries Band of Brothers (2001) and the television film Freedom Song (2000). He also created the series The Good Fight (2017–2022).

Robinson received an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay for Field of Dreams. For his work on Band of Brothers he shared a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries or Movie.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (3)

- *The Good Wife* (2009), Fi1m 84, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-good-wife.md)
- *Band of Brothers* (2001), Fi1m 89, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/band-of-brothers.md)
- *Field of Dreams* (1989), Fi1m 83, Director, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/field-of-dreams.md)

## Complete filmography (21)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *The Good Fight* (2017), series, Writer, Creator
- *The Angriest Man in Brooklyn* (2014), Director
- *The Good Wife* (2009), series, Director — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-good-wife.md)
- *The Sum of All Fears* (2002), Director
- *All the Queen's Men* (2001), Executive Producer
- *Band of Brothers* (2001), series, Director — Fi1m 89, [page](https://film.one/tv/band-of-brothers.md)
- *Freedom Song* (2000), Executive Producer, Director, Writer
- *FernGully 2: The Magical Rescue* (1998), as Father (voice)
- *The Chamber* (1996), Screenplay
- *Relentless IV: Ashes to Ashes* (1994), Characters
- *Relentless 3* (1993), Characters
- *Sneakers* (1992), Director, Screenplay
- *Dead On: Relentless II* (1992), Characters
- *Ghost Dad* (1990), Screenplay
- *Relentless* (1989), Writer
- *Field of Dreams* (1989), Director, Screenplay — Fi1m 83, [page](https://film.one/film/field-of-dreams.md)
- *In the Mood* (1987), Director, Screenplay, Story
- *George Burns Comedy Week* (1985), series, Director
- *All of Me* (1984), Screenplay, Associate Producer
- *Rhinestone* (1984), Screenplay, Screenstory
- *The Oscars* (1953), series, Writer

## Gallery

- ![Phil Alden Robinson](https://film.one/media/person/63411/gallery-9959d25753a4.jpg) Phil Alden Robinson — Image via TMDB
- ![Phil Alden Robinson](https://film.one/media/person/63411/gallery-6f94dfb22202.jpg) Phil Alden Robinson — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 1 nominated

- 1990: Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay (nominated), for *Field of Dreams*

### Primetime Emmy Awards — 1 won

- 2002: Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special (won), for *Band of Brothers*

### Other awards — 0 won, 1 nominated

- Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screenplay 1985: Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screenplay (nominated), for *Rhinestone*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/phil-alden-robinson
