Frederick Wisemanborn 1930

usually

Director

Popularity

0.2

Famous

Biography

Frederick Wiseman is an American filmmaker, documentarian, and theatre director. Documentarian Frederick Wiseman has been noted for his ability to capture the nuances of life in American institutions such as prisons, hospitals, welfare offices, and high schools. He started out in 1963 by producing a fictional feature film, The Cool World, an examination of the lives of Harlem teenagers. In the beginning, Wiseman was a staunch social reformist, and his films were calls for change. Titicut Follies, his first documentary, is an exposé of life in a prison for the criminally insane in Bridgewater, MA. It was controversial and left Wiseman with the reputation of being a muckraker. His four subsequent documentaries were all exposés of other tax-supported institutions designed to show the ineffectiveness of the bureaucracy that not only threatens to destroy them, but also dehumanizes the people they were meant to serve. Wiseman toned down his message and began focusing more on American culture to point out the symbolism of daily activities in his film Primate (1974). In the ‘80s, he began examining institutions as they relate to ideology. Unlike other documentaries, Wiseman’s work does not progress chronologically; rather, the segments are arranged thematically, like an essay, and are linked via rhetorical devices such as comparison and contrast to create a patterned structure. His films are never narrated, thereby forcing viewers to make connections between the sequences themselves. Wiseman has occasionally returned to fictional films, albeit in a non-fiction performance style, as with Seraphita’s Diary (1982) and La Derniere Lettre (2002).

Credits

Menus-Plaisirs, les Troisgros
Menus-Plaisirs, les Troisgros

2023

Documentary

Editor, Producer, Writer, Director

7.1
0.3
A Couple
A Couple

2022

Drama • History • Romance

Director, Editor, Writer

6.9
0.2
City Hall
City Hall

2020

Documentary

Director, Editor, Producer

6.4
0.3
Monrovia, Indiana
Monrovia, Indiana

2018

Documentary

Director, Producer, Editor, Sound

6.2
0.2
Ex Libris: The New York Public Library
Ex Libris: The New York Public Library

2017

Documentary

Director, Editor, Producer, Sound

6.4
0.8
In Jackson Heights
In Jackson Heights

2015

Documentary

Producer, Director, Sound Director, Editor

6.8
0.1
National Gallery
National Gallery

2014

Documentary

Director, Writer, Sound, Producer, Editor

7.4
0.4
At Berkeley
At Berkeley

2013

Documentary

Sound, Editor, Producer, Director

6.7
0.2
Crazy Horse
Crazy Horse

2011

Documentary

Editor, Producer, Director

6.6
0.6
Boxing Gym
Boxing Gym

2010

Documentary

Editor, Sound, Director

6.6
0.2
La Danse: The Paris Opera Ballet
La Danse: The Paris Opera Ballet

2009

Documentary

Director, Sound Director, Writer, Editor, Producer

7.5
0.3
Haiku
Haiku

2009

Director

5
0
State Legislature
State Legislature

2007

Documentary

Director, Editor, Producer

7.6
0.1
The Garden
The Garden

2005

Documentary

Director

8.5
0
Domestic Violence 2
Domestic Violence 2

2002

Documentary

Director, Editor, Producer

5.2
0.1
The Last Letter
The Last Letter

2002

Drama

Director, Writer

5.8
0.2
Domestic Violence
Domestic Violence

2001

Documentary

Director, Producer, Editor

6.4
0.1
Belfast, Maine
Belfast, Maine

1999

Documentary

Director, Producer, Editor

6.9
0.1
Public Housing
Public Housing

1997

Documentary

Director, Editor, Producer

7.3
0.2
La Comédie-Française ou L'amour joué
La Comédie-Française ou L'amour joué

1996

Documentary

Director, Producer, Editor

5.5
0.2
Ballet
Ballet

1995

Documentary

Director, Producer, Editor

7.6
0.2
High School II
High School II

1994

Documentary

Editor, Director

6.3
0.1
Zoo
Zoo

1993

Documentary

Sound, Director, Editor, Producer

7.2
0.2
Aspen
Aspen

1991

Documentary

Director, Producer, Editor

6.1
0.2
Central Park
Central Park

1990

Documentary

Director, Editor, Producer

7.4
0.3
Near Death
Near Death

1989

Documentary

Editor, Producer, Director

7
0.2
Missile
Missile

1988

Documentary

Director, Producer, Editor

6.5
0.1
Multi-Handicapped
Multi-Handicapped

1986

Documentary

Director, Producer, Editor

6
0.1
Adjustment & Work
Adjustment & Work

1986

Documentary

Director, Producer, Editor

6.5
0.1
Deaf
Deaf

1986

Documentary

Director, Editor, Producer

8.1
0.2
Blind
Blind

1986

Documentary

Director, Producer, Editor

6.6
0.2
Racetrack
Racetrack

1985

Documentary

Director, Producer, Editor

6
0.1
The Store
The Store

1983

Documentary

Director, Editor, Producer

6.2
0.1
Seraphita's Diary
Seraphita's Diary

1982

Drama

Director

5.5
0
Model
Model

1981

Documentary

Director, Producer, Editor

5.8
0.2
Manoeuvre
Manoeuvre

1979

Documentary

Director, Editor, Producer

6.7
0.1
Sinai Field Mission
Sinai Field Mission

1978

Documentary

Director, Editor, Producer

6.3
0.1
Canal Zone
Canal Zone

1977

Documentary

Director, Writer, Editor, Producer

6.9
0.1
Meat
Meat

1976

Documentary

Director, Producer, Editor

7.3
0.2
Welfare
Welfare

1975

Documentary

Director, Editor, Producer

7.1
0.4
Primate
Primate

1974

Documentary

Director, Producer, Editor

6.7
0.2
Juvenile Court
Juvenile Court

1973

Documentary

Director, Editor, Producer

7
0.1
Essene
Essene

1972

Documentary

Director, Writer, Editor, Producer

7.2
0.1
Basic Training
Basic Training

1971

Documentary

Director, Editor, Writer, Producer

6.6
0.1
I Miss Sonia Henie
I Miss Sonia Henie

1971

Comedy • Drama

Director

5.7
0.4
Hospital
Hospital

1970

Documentary

Director, Producer, Editor

6.5
0.5
High School
High School

1969

Documentary

Director, Editor, Producer, Writer

7.3
0.3
Law and Order
Law and Order

1969

Documentary

Director, Editor, Producer, Writer

6.9
0.2
Titicut Follies
Titicut Follies

1967

Documentary

Director, Writer, Producer, Editor

7.2
0.6
The Cool World
The Cool World

1963

Crime • Drama

Producer

5.4
0.3

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