Frederick Wiseman
Frederick Wiseman is arguably the most prolific of all the Direct Cinema filmmakers from the United States. He graduated from law school and worked as a lawyer and professor at Boston University before he decided to become a filmmaker. He has made 41 films to date, and is still active. Wiseman emphasizes in his films the camera's observational role, the filmmaker’s invisibility, and the film’s impartiality. His ultimate goal was to unmask the reality of life and to change the viewer's perception of what is “normal.” Film critic and theorist Pauline Kael describes Wiseman’s style as so “simple and...basic that it’s like a rediscovery of what we know or should know... Wiseman extends our understanding of our common life.”(2) Michael J Arlen compared his concept to Vertov’s camera lens to look at “men without masks.”(3) His stylistic choices for this “unmasking” process included, for example, extreme close ups, tracking shots, and mimetic camera movement.
Major Films:
- Titicut Follies (1967)
- High School (1969)
- Welfare (1975)
- The Store (1983)
- Zoo (1993)
- Public Housing (1997)
- Domestic Violence (2002)
Notes:
(1) Monaco, Paul. The Sixties, 1960-1969. 8 Vol. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003; 2001. Print.
(2) Benson, Thomas W., and Carolyn Anderson. Reality Fictions :The Films of Frederick Wiseman. 2nd ed. Carbondale, Ill.: Southern Illinois University Press, 2002.
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Titicut Follies (1967)
This is Frederick Wiseman’s debut film. It is a black and white film revolving around the brutal treatment of mentally ill patients at the Bridgewater State Prison for the Criminally Insane. The film was shot over the course of four weeks in 1966. The Supreme Court of Massachusetts restricted the screening of the film to only professionals. This action provoked a national debate with regards to freedom of speech since It was the first (and the last) time in history of American cinema in which a film was censored and redistricted for “reasons other than obscenity or national security.”(1) It was only after two decades that the film was released for public screening. The film aesthetics perseveres most of the conventions of direct cinema documentaries, such as the non-staged and the non-constructed documentary.
Frederick Wiseman's Titicut Follies. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University
Press, 1991. Print.
- Notes:
Frederick Wiseman's Titicut Follies. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University
Press, 1991. Print.
- Director: Frederick Wiseman
- Company/Studio: Bridgewater Film Co Inc
- Year: 1967
- Online Links: Online Streaming
- Bibliography:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gdZNuVU42dY/TV7hmsVwSFI/AAAAAAAAAvA/4c7R9_ryAMk/s1600/25_Titicut_Follies.jpeg
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Law and Order (1969)
In this film, Frederick Wiseman continues his critical depiction of institutions of “discipline” in society. Here, Wiseman depicts everyday police activities and routines by following a police squad in a Kansas City neighborhood. Wiseman has claimed that his film shows “the day-to-day events that make up 99 per cent of their work.” He takes advantage of the mobility of new video-camera technologies to capture the most "instantaneous" moments that were otherwise impossible to capture with conventional celluloid film. The film contains many scenes that can be described as shocking and striking.
Lexington, Ky.: University Press of Kentucky, 1998. Print.
- Notes:
Lexington, Ky.: University Press of Kentucky, 1998. Print.
- Director: Frederick Wiseman
- Company/Studio: Osti Film
- Year: 1969