Frederick Wiseman

Hopefully I will get myself to a few of the screenings at the Film Center.

i've seen a lot of disturbing films, but titicut follies is the absolute most disturbing thing i have ever seen.

Actually seeing films there can be a frustrating experience, since they often have problems with the prints and projectors so you never quite know what (or how long) you're in for.

This is the company that distributes all of Wiseman's films on 16mm (and video as well); I believe it may be Wiseman's own.

Both were great movies, but pretty heavy viewing

I've seen High School 1 & 2 and loved them. I'm so ass-deep in documentary here that I don't even bother to check the rest out - maybe I'll do that this weekend.

Documentaries are extremely expensive to purchase - the Wiseman ones are about $400-500.

Any ?s about film / video buying, you can direct right here.

I was curious, though, about a comment made in the Chicago Reader review of High School (by Dave Kehr): that Wiseman's roving camera, with its "pointless" close-ups, obscured the social issues and was thus "intellectually dishonest." He claims that Wiseman later learned to tame his camera and developed into a better filmmaker. I can understand this point theoretically, but it seems harsh to apply to this example, which I don't think suffered for its camera-work. And doesn't this ignore the fact that Wiseman (or any documentarian) manipulates his films in myriad ways through editing?

I think it's careful to note that even though all documentarians manipulate their material via editing and other means, one shouldn't jump to the fashionable conclusion that all is subjective and there are no more or less truthful documentaries. Manipulations can be in the service of the truth or of lies.

Noël Carroll has a brilliant essay on this issue in a book entitled Post-Theory. I believe it's called something like "The Documentary Film and Postmodern Skepticism." Also worth reading on truth and form in the documentary is an essay in Gilberto Perez's The Material Ghost which touches on Robert Flaherty and Buñuel's Las Hurdes.

But I do agree with you about the potential of manipulation to serve truth. The reason I mentioned editing was merely to say that all movies are manipulated in some way, whereas Kehr seemed to be wary of manipulation period.

I'll have to check out the Carroll essay -- I generally enjoy his work, even when I disagree with him.

He said that most of his films are getting DVD releases over the next year, by the way.

Why didn't anyone tell me there was a new Wiseman movie out?

http://www.zipporah.com/calendar/press/7

STATE LEGISLATURE

A new documentary film by Frederick Wiseman

STATE LEGISLATURE shows the day-to-day activities of the Idaho Legislature, including committee meetings, debates of the House and Senate, informal discussions, meetings with lobbyists, constituents, the public and the press. The workings of a democratic government are not of interest solely to Americans, but, because so many countries in the world are currently trying to adopt a democratic form of government, the issues presented have relevance on a global scale. The film is an example of the achievements, values, constraints and limitations of the democratic process.

Just watched Public Housing - a revelation, honestly.

Anyone else have recommendations along this line? I added Robert Drew's Primary and Crisis to my queue; any other direct cinema types working today?

i saw meat MEAT once, about 25y ago, and still can remember images.

This has been going on here, gonna try to catch some:

http://www.moma.org/visit/calendar/films/1028

i was actually kinda disappointed when all of this guy's stuff became available because it meant having to sit down and watch it all, rather than just talking about how it was tragic that it wasn't in print.

how long's meat? i have a thing for les sang des betes

From whom is it available? the NYPL only holds VCs you have to watch IN the library!

last time i was at kim's they had a shelf of his stuff?

for purchase btw, not rental
seems like zipporah has put out pretty much all of them, $30 each - maybe a lil cheaper at kim's.

ah, I very seldom buy.

im guessing i shd go see Titicut Follies tonight if I'm not buying, then

if you're feeling long-ass documentary fatigue, you can use 'i'll see it on dvd' as the new 'i'll wait until it plays at the cinema'.

Boxing Gym is one of the best things I've seen this year tbh

There are a number of Wiseman films I love--Welfare and Near Death topping the list--but I didn't get much out of Boxing Gym. I just found that an inordinate amount of time was devoted to various people pummelling the practice bag.

Just watch The Store! Didn't realize it was going to be two hours long, but still really enjoyed it. Felt like I had spent the day at Neiman's but without having a nice shirt or shoes to show for it. I want to watch more docs like this.

i finally broke down and t0rr3nt3d a bundle of wiseman films... this stuff just isn't available ANYWHERE to buy or stream.
Already seen Boxing Gym, Missile and Zoo; all so very good. Now I have beat up copies of Public Housing, High School, State Legislature, Meat, Adjustment and Work, Essene, Juvenile Court, Law and Order, Primate, The Store, Hospital, Welfare, Blind, and Titticut Follies. Kinda excited.

u can buy them directly from his company fyi - http://www.zipporah.com/films

Hospital is on youtube in a high quality rip, in full.

His latest will be at the NYFF

http://www.filmlinc.com/films/on-sale/at-berkeley

opens in US Nov 8

Thought At Berkeley was very good. I don’t like every Wiseman film I see--found Boxing Gym a bore, didn’t care for his horse-racing film from the early ‘70s. But I’d put At Berkeley just a notch below Welfare and Near Death.

There’s so much that, unless you were taking notes for a review, it’s hard to summon everything afterwards. (The film runs four hours.) There was a point in the first half where I thought, “This is well made, no surprise, but it’s not the ‘70s anymore, and all those sequences of incredible tension and confrontation that would flare up all of a sudden in Welfare and Hospital, you’re just not going to have that here.” And you don’t; Wiseman never manufactures drama, so mostly it’s an endless procession of meetings and seminars. I don't think Mario Savio's even mentioned for the first couple of hours, and when he finally is, it's at a talk given inside something called the Free Speech Movement Cafe. But it did start to involve me more and more as it went along; the last hour, given over to a student protest/building-takeover concerning fees and other grievances, is not handled like you might expect (especially the resolution), and that’s the hour I’m mulling and puzzling over right now, in the best way possible. I do think Wiseman is editorializing there, but I also know my own personality and biases come into how I viewed his handling of the protest. Maybe he isn’t--I don’t know. From a review I found: “Has Frederick Wiseman, the patient filmmaker whose long documentaries listened to the voices of ordinary people in public housing and on welfare, gone over to the dark side of authority? He clearly gives credence to the Cal executives, but, as ever with Wiseman, he leaves plenty of footage with information that gives you a chance to make up your own mind.” Yes--people will see that hour different ways.

Not a great deal of humour, but three things did made me laugh. A couple of shots of a guy on a John Deere mowing the campus lawns--you need the set-up for that one. There’s one seminar where a white girl identifies herself as “squarely middle-class,” says her mom’s a teacher whose income is stagnant while her own fees go up, and the only support she can get are unsubsidized loans; she starts to cry, and the black girl beside her gives her a supportive “now, now” pat on the shoulder. I don’t think there was any intentional irony there, but I did laugh. And I found it funny when Robert Reich showed up halfway through to lead a class, sharing anecdotes from his Clinton days. There was a jarring disconnect between the world of a venerated documentarian and the much-despised political class. I figured that would be enough right there to ruin the film for some people, and that amused me.

From the same Indiewire review: "Another question: Based on the proportion of women filmed by Wiseman in At Berkeley, you might think that the student body was 80% female. That's more a question of taste than reporting chops. Remember, Wiseman is the first person to say he’s not objective. He clearly likes attractive women -- not a sin, even at 83."

Well, at 51, I wasn't immune. Especially noticed the girl to the immediate right of the Thoreau/Emerson lecturer, and Sofia in Reich's class. Shame on Wiseman, shame on me.

...

Welfare.

Frederick Wiseman’s Filmography Has Been Restored and is Coming to Theaters

Zipporah Films is pleased to announce that, for the first time, all Frederick Wiseman films are now available in digital formats. The process, which took nearly five years, involved the restoration and digitization of 33 Wiseman films from 1969 through 2006 that have not previously been available, except in film. Now 45 Wiseman films are available in digital formats, removing barriers so that these films can reach a wider audience, as many were only available in 16mm prior to the restoration.

I am enormously grateful to the individuals and organizations whose support made possible the digitizing and restoration of my films, which will now provide new access to the films. ~ Frederick Wiseman

This project involved the Library of Congress delivering the original 16mm negatives for 32 films and one 35mm negative for the narrative THE LAST LETTER along with the Harvard Film Archive sending the sound elements to DuArt Laboratory and then to Goldcrest Post Production, after the historic DuArt closed. The negatives were scanned, conformed, color graded and then matched with the original sound to create the 4K restored digital versions. Colorist, Jane Tolmachyov, who has worked with Wiseman for decades, handled all the grading, while Wiseman personally reviewed and approved all 33 films.

Beginning in the fall of 2024, the Wiseman films will be exhibited in retrospectives starting at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the American Cinematheque in Los Angeles and at Film at Lincoln Center in New York, in addition to many other exhibitions around the world. Also, the restored 4K version of LAW AND ORDER will premiere at Cannes Classics this month. The films are available for additional programming worldwide at Zipporah Films.

No one ever posted about this--wish I were there, I'd be all over it.

https://www.filmlinc.org/series/frederick-wiseman-an-american-institution/#films

I know! If I was there, I'd be all over it too. Ms T. is in NYC and managed to catch both Near Death and Central Park. At some point, I really want to see Near Death in a theater.

BTW, the American Cinematheque has been running this:
https://www.americancinematheque.com/series/frederick-wiseman-an-american-cinematheque-retrospective/

(probably going to see Public Housing this Sunday.)

Near Death is great, but I will always insist that Welfare stands above everything else.

There's room for more than one masterpiece. In Jackson Heights is every bit as crucial but for differing reasons.

I’ve now watched chronologically 36 of the 45 Frederick Wiseman documentary films that are available on Kanopy, the 34 ranging from 1967-2007 plus a couple of more recent ones. I have 9 films to go.

It has been a journey. There have been crazy revealing scenes and interesting moments in all of the films, even those I might have felt were tedious because it was hard for me to dig into their milieus.

He seems uniquely able to film a lot a close-ups from afar so that he doesn't disturb the real voices, the emotion, the transparency of the moments that are happening.

Even the most boring of his films have some great scenes, most recently for me in State Legislature (2007), a long film (3h 37m), but with an extended monologue which jokes about the limitations of government that makes a unique punning appeal to chemistry nerds, of which I am one (I will happily quote it if you want, but suspect nobody here would be interested). And it ends with an extended debate in the Idaho State Senate about whether or not they want to amend their constitution to define marriage as being only between a man and a woman

I am really looking forward to the next one, La Danse: The Paris Opera Ballet (2009)

His films are like intense travelogues. You are dragged into many different worlds

I watched La Danse: The Paris Opera Ballet from 2009. It was beautiful

Any notes on how the bougie Wiseman compares to the more institution-focused docs? I’m afraid to watch the Crazy Horse one bc I’m worried it will make me hate him for losing his way and winding up in Paris with exotic dancers.

I did not love the one about the restaurant but I didn’t hate it. I enjoyed The Store but that could have been bc 1) vintage footage and 2) not sex-related whatsoever

(At least not overtly — anyone can make a case for everything being sexualized if they put their mind to it)

I posted about this in the baseball-movies thread: he actually acted--along with Bill Lee, "the Spaceman"--in a somewhat acclaimed baseball film this year (which I unfortunately missed at a local rep). I don't think I spot him in the trailer, though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Q3qoQIIDgM

for me, seeing his films in order feels like an evolution

xxp What more institution-faced docs are there than his?

That’s not my question — please re-read!

Hidden in the announcement of a BFI Theatrical Retrospective:

At the same time, the BFI will release a 3-Disc Blu-ray Box Set containing TITICUT FOLLIES (1967), HIGH SCHOOL (1968), HOSPITAL (1970), JUVENILE COURT (1973) and WELFARE (1975). The set will include an illustrated booklet and exclusive special features.

https://theartsshelf.com/2025/08/29/bfi-announces-landmark-frederick-wiseman-retrospective-at-bfi-southbank/

I don't think I've ever mentioned that my DVD of Near Death is signed by Wiseman. Nothing commands big bucks on eBay like a five-hour documentary about people dying signed by the director.

Confirmation of the BFI set (and some other interesting British oddments):

https://www.bfi.org.uk/news/bfi-blu-rays-january-march-2026

Happy 96th birthday Fred!

Finally got around to Monrovia, Indiana a few days ago (using a friend's Kanopy account). Very much in line with all the other films of his I've seen from the last decade. I like them all to varying degrees, but don't find any of them as compelling as Welfare or Near Death. Actually would agree with both critics who are quoted on the film's Wikipedia page:

A.O. Scott of The New York Times praised the film, calling Wiseman "the greatest American poet" and noting that the release's proximity to the 2016 United States presidential election "is hardly an idle or random decision, and the unavoidable political implications of Monrovia, Indiana give its observations an undeniable urgency." I'm always seeing Trump where others don't, and the whole time I was watching Monrovia, I kept thinking that these genial, everyday people (to coin a phrase), going about their lives, are the same people who elected Trump (he won Indiana with 57%). At the same time: Mike D'Angelo of The A.V. Club criticized the film for not being directly political given its historical context, calling it "maddeningly evasive" and "so resolutely ordinary that it threatens to cross the line into outright dull." Meaning I agree with the second half of that--I don't fault it for not being directly political, that wouldn't be in keeping with Wiseman's approach at all, but for me it did often go right up to that line of dullness, which Welfare never does for even a minute.

I might be wrong, but isn't there a scene at a fair a couple of hours into this, where all of a sudden there's shirts with insane republican slogans everywhere, and you realize what kind of people you've been watching?

There's very briefly some Republican signage at a county fair, and there's the one sequence with all those slogans, yes. But I don't think it's like it suddenly dawns on you that you've been watching people who largely voted for Trump--I thought about that right from the start. And nothing overtly political comes up in conversation even once.

Right. I remember one of the women from all the meetings standing with sunglasses, and she seems a lot more evil. I might be wrong :)

But yeah, it's Trump country all over. To me it seemed like a portrait of a city wide death cult. The scenes from the freemasons were incredible as well.

But I mean, I thought the strenght of it was how unpolitical the whole thing seemed. It's just nice people talking about parking, and we all know what they say when the camera is turned off...

rip

He was 96, grateful for the work he did

One of the most important bodies of work by anyone in any field

I wish he and Errol Morris could do more of their stand-up act

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVNsNBnxgSI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGciYPeSe1U

One of those "every time I open this thread I think..." revivals that finally had to be what I thought it was. RIP.

I need to slow down my brain enough that I feel ready to watch more of these films.

More or less did vital work right up till he died at 96; what more could you ask of life?

Very true. Life to the fullest indeed.

I used to walk by a poster of Wiseman, D A Pennebaker, Albert Maysles and Barbara Kopple all the time that was inside a computer lab, and it wasn't unusual to see any of those four presenting a screening around town. I used to think it was amazing that all four were alive and well and doing excellent work. And now there's only one left.

Frederick Wiseman changed the way we see the world.⁰⁰From the classrooms of High School to the corridors of Hospital, he turned his camera on the institutions that shape us — inviting us to look closer, sit longer & confront truth with empathy. ⁰⁰May his memory be a blessing.

— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) February 17, 2026

That's amazing--using your Twitter account to recognize a great unheralded artist.

(Maybe "underrecognized" would be more accurate.)

We got to meet him a couple of times. Always came away feeling like a better citizen of the world.

https://qc-ckb.s3.amazonaws.com/ilx/et_wiseman.jpg

was literally about to hit play on The Garden when i saw the news last night, eerie.

got to meet him at a screening of STATE LEGISLATURE in 2007, I remember thinking how lucky i was to be able to see what was sure to be one of his final films. since then he notched what, close to a dozen more?

We had lamented that there was only room for one more Wiseman DVD on our shelf and now we have an almost-full shelf. Of his work that I love, I love it very much. I never watched the Crazy Horse one admittedly because it was not something I was particularly interested in learning about the inner workings of. But the stuff I love, I love wholeheartedly. Domestic Violence (I and II) . Public Housing. Hospital. High School. (And High School II), Welfare. City Hall! Belfast, Main. Near Death. Multi-Handicapped. Lots more.

oops Maine

I started my journey with a pirated copy of Titicut Follies in 1999 (iirc?) and haven't really stopped

Til now I guess

The two I will go to first will be Public Housing, which I've never seen, and City Hall, which I got about an hour into a few years ago when our local library dropped Kanopy. Also, I've been dragging my heels on Eephus because of my general indifference to baseball movies, but I've got MUBI right now and will finally watch that.

RIP. Think I will watch "Welfare" sometime this week.

I started my journey with a pirated copy of Titicut Follies in 1999 (iirc?) and haven't really stopped

More or less where I started, but I did see Welfare in college and Missile on PBS when it first aired. Me and Ms. T got systematic and watched all 48 on the Letterboxd list a couple years ago - about one-third of which we saw in the theater. We're thinking of starting over again!

wow!

#marriagegoals

I think I’ve mentioned this before but we did the same! Not watching all in order but we saw some in the theater and some on dvd at home. The pirated copy of Titicut Follies was my first gift from my boo!! 🥰

We started watching ZOO last night and I promptly had a horrific nightmare. The stillborn rhinoceros autopsy did me in.