Movies by Director - Frederick Wiseman (47 [Missing: 46]) 
| Title | Year | Director | Genre | Rating | Runtime | Added |
|---|
| Titicut FolliesDocumentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman takes us inside the Massachusetts Correctional Institution Bridgewater where people stay trapped in their madness. | 1967 | Frederick Wiseman | Documentary | 7.7 (4.5K votes) | 84 | 20211228 |
| Titicut FolliesNA | 1967 | | | | | Not Available |
| High SchoolDocumentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman takes us inside Northeast High School as a fly on the wall to observe the teachers and how they interact with the students. | 1968 | Frederick Wiseman | Documentary | 7.6 (1.9K votes) | 75 | 20211228 |
| High SchoolNA | 1968 | | | | | Not Available |
| Law and OrderAlso known as The Greater Good, this series of vignettes focuses on the day-to-day work of Kansas City, Missouri police covers the range of circumstances they encounter and the variety of social roles they are asked to play. More tha | 1969 | Frederick Wiseman | Documentary | 7.7 (323 votes) | 81 | 20211228 |
| Law and OrderNA | 1969 | | | | | Not Available |
| HospitalDaily activities of the Metropolitan Hospital in New York City, with emphasis on the emergency ward and outpatient clinics. The cases depicted illustrate how medical expertise, availability of resources, organizational considerations | 1970 | Frederick Wiseman | Documentary | 8.0 (460 votes) | 84 | 20211228 |
| HospitalNA | 1970 | | | | | Not Available |
| Basic TrainingFrederick Wiseman observes basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky in the Vietnam era. Recruits are seen receiving instructions on everything from brushing their teeth to killing enemy soldiers in hand-to-hand combat. | 1971 | Frederick Wiseman | Documentary | 7.4 (212 votes) | 80 | 20211228 |
| Basic TrainingNA | 1971 | | | | | Not Available |
| EsseneDaily life in a Benedictine monastery. | 1972 | Frederick Wiseman | Documentary | 7.0 (172 votes) | 86 | 20211228 |
| EsseneNA | 1972 | | | | | Not Available |
| Juvenile CourtAn unobtrusive and naturalistic examination of the goings-on of a children's court, Memphis Juvenile Court 616. | 1973 | Frederick Wiseman | Documentary | 8.3 (240 votes) | 144 | 20211228 |
| Juvenile CourtNA | 1973 | | | | | Not Available |
| PrimateThis film casts a forensic observational eye over researchers working with primates. After a time watching it is possible to wonder which ones of these two sets of primates is the more strange. | 1974 | Frederick Wiseman | Documentary | 7.5 (220 votes) | 105 | 20211228 |
| PrimateNA | 1974 | | | | | Not Available |
| WelfareWELFARE shows the nature and complexity of the welfare system in sequences illustrating the staggering diversity of problems that constitute welfare: housing, unemployment, divorce, medical and psychiatric problems, abandoned and abu | 1975 | Frederick Wiseman | Documentary | 8.3 (449 votes) | 167 | 20211228 |
| WelfareNA | 1975 | | | | | Not Available |
| Meat mid 70's documentary that shows how livestock are raised, sold, and processed in the United States. | 1976 | Frederick Wiseman | Documentary | 7.5 (190 votes) | 112 | 20211228 |
| Meat NA | 1976 | | | | | Not Available |
| Canal ZoneOn the one hand, you have the Panamians, but Frederick Wiseman shows them as the Americans see them: from a distance. They are poor and of no particular interest to them even if Panama is THEIR country. But the Canal Zone belongs to | 1977 | Frederick Wiseman | Documentary | 7.5 (72 votes) | 174 | 20211228 |
| Canal ZoneNA | 1977 | | | | | Not Available |
| Sinai Field MissionFollows the station's technicians and officials through their routine activities amid the harsh landscape of the Sinai Peninsula, providing a glimpse into the daily practice of diplomacy. | 1978 | Frederick Wiseman | Documentary | 6.4 (75 votes) | 127 | 20211228 |
| Sinai Field MissionNA | 1978 | | | | | Not Available |
| ManoeuvreA group of volunteer American soldiers go to Germany to participate in a practice in combat maneuver tactics. | 1979 | Frederick Wiseman | Documentary | 7.0 (59 votes) | 115 | 20211228 |
| ManoeuvreNA | 1979 | | | | | Not Available |
| ModelIn my entry on ""Juvenile Court"", I discussed the metaphorical use of a documentary subject. Should a subject reflect only itself, or can it be used to reflect a broader context?The issue of using events in documentary films to focus on broader events could be discussed further using Wiseman's film ""Model"" as an example. This film has been criticized for lacking the ""edge"" of Wiseman's earlier films, and indeed, there at first don't appear to be any stand out scenes that leap out at the viewer. One would have thought that with a subject such as the fashion industry, Wiseman would have a lot to say concerning class and culture. Upon closer inspection however, one can see details that reflect subtle comments about the subjects. The detachment from the subject could be a reflection of the coldness of the atmosphere.There are many examples of this. In his essay ""Wiseman's 'Model' and the Documentary Project"", Dan Armstrong writes: ""In sequence after sequence he shows us models at work, presenting themselves to the camera after being suitably dressed, painted combed, brushed, placed into a context, and moved about. They are, in effect, so many props, inanimate objects, mannequins to display the clothing and project 'personality.' In one revealing sequence, three French models get the pose 'right' only after following directions to 'ignore one another. Pretend you're mannequins in a Bloomingdale window.'""Armstrong goes on to talk of a scene where male models stand in the corner of a room during a party, in frozen mannequin poses, sometimes framing them between some of the 'beautiful' party-goers. Armstrong also mentions Wiseman's repeated use of mannequins, ""employing them as symbols of the commodified self, the individual as object and product of the market."" What should we make of Wiseman's detached view?Perhaps ultimately we should all judge for ourselves. Wiseman makes his films to try to bring a point across, but not force it. As Wiseman in a 2000 interview with ""Film Maker"" magazine put it: ""The notion that [my films] could be objective ? I don't know how to deal with that. Every aspect of filmmaking represents a choice, whether it's the choice of subject matter, the way it's shot the way it's edited, the length of the film, or the duration and order of the sequences?. So I've never been able to get involved in this objectivity business. But at the same time, the word I substitute for 'objective' is 'fair.' And again, that's totally subjective. But I mean fair in the sense that I try to be open to the experience I have in making the film?. I try not to impose my preconceived ideas onto the material.""We have here an example of a filmmaker whom although makes films with a certain goal, there is enough in them to suggest that he is aware of other opinions and regards them as well. As for whether his films are exploitative, it could be said that what a person brings to the film, his or her opinion about what they have seen, is entirely their own, and has nothing to do with Wiseman. Ultimately, it could be said that he just makes films, and despite what believes about what he has filmed, what is ethical, or what is unethical, is only what we agree, or disagree with. | 1981 | Frederick Wiseman | Documentary | 7.1 (149 votes) | 129 | 20211228 |
| ModelNA | 1981 | | | | | Not Available |
| Seraphita's DiaryThe story of a famous fashion model who, unable to cope with the fantasies and pressures her beauty induces in others, disappears. The film is a profile of her emotional life and contrasts the fantasies she creates in other people's | 1982 | Frederick Wiseman | Drama | 5.5 (26 votes) | 90 | 20211228 |
| Seraphita's DiaryNA | 1982 | | | | | Not Available |
| Store, TheA look at the employees and shoppers at the Neiman-Marcus department in Dallas, Texas during the holiday season. | 1983 | Frederick Wiseman | Documentary | 7.3 (268 votes) | 118 | 20211228 |
| Store, TheNA | 1983 | | | | | Not Available |
| RacetrackIt's been almost twenty years since I've seen this on PBS one night. As with most of Wiseman's films, it's so laid back into pure observation that you have no idea that in a few seconds you're going to see one of the most evocative sex scenes ever filmed. I won't ruin it for you, but don't watch this with teenagers present. Younger children won't be affected, they won't realize what's going on, but your teenager will be scarred for life. Remember, this is a documentary about a race track!It's too bad the Wiseman movies are so expensive to rent; a boxed set would be a welcome addition to my shelf of weird movies. And I'd love to see this one and High School again. | 1985 | Frederick Wiseman | Documentary | 6.8 (76 votes) | 114 | 20211228 |
| RacetrackNA | 1985 | | | | | Not Available |
| Adjustment and WorkWork Makes Freedom"" - sign above Auschwitz entrance ""Adjustment and Work"" is a brutal documentary by Frederick Wiseman. The film opens with a series of establishing shots, perhaps designed to emphasise the banal sights and sounds which ""ordinary"" humans routinely overlook. We then nosedive into the walls of the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind. Here, handicapped men and women are taught to overcome or cope with their disabilities.The details Wiseman lingers on, however, paint a situation far more grotesque. At the Institute, we watch as handicapped men and women are categorised, processed, trained to use money and taught specific skills. The hope is that they might one day ""enter the workforce"". Once sufficiently ""adjusted"", their ""broken bodies"" are thus redefined as ""useful tools"". For most of the film, this is portrayed as an empowering transformation.By the film's second half, however, Wiseman has begun questioning notions of empowerment. Eventually it is revealed that those who are certified ""fit"" by the Institute get jobs performing mechanistic labour at factories making gear for the US Army. What's more, these factories have complex government contracts. Wiseman doesn't tell us how much this handicapped workforce is paid, but we know that the same system exists today, and that contemporary disabled workers are paid as little as 22 cents per hour, thanks to labour law loop holes. More specifically, these workers are exploited via a federal law called the Special Wage Certificate Program, which permits companies to obtain a certificate that allows them to hire disabled workers and pay less than the minimum wage. A 2006 study showed that Americans with disabilities made, on average, $0.60 cents per hour for their work. The justifications for such things are always the same: ""the market judges how much one should be paid"", ""these workers are not worth full pay"", ""if they were paid more they would not be hired"", ""if they were paid more they would lose state benefits"", ""they should be thankful for the work"", ""nobody else would hire them"" etc.""Adjustment and Work"" contains a number of powerful sequences. One of its best moments involves a blind man attempting to walk down a street, an ordinary task made Herculean by the man's plight. Another scene hints that a handicapped woman has been swindled out of her money. This is itself the crux of the film: compassion and exploitation often exist within a complex, almost intertwined relationship.Wiseman's films have always sought out segregated social spaces, typically occupied by persons classified as deviant (prisons, hospitals, charity networks, shelters, training centres). In the 1980s he embarked upon a series (""Deaf"", ""Blind"", ""Multi-handicapped"", ""Adjustment and Work"") which focused on America's disabled population. These are all films populated by individuals on the margins of capitalism, all of whom are subjected to regimes of power which cordon off the bodies of those who fail to adapt or ""adjust"". Only once the perfectible body is corrected, by teams of well-meaning professionals, therapists and administrators, is it then welcomed back into the fold. In these films, we see what amounts to a hegemonic aesthetic; blindness, mental retardation, deafness etc do not constitute the actual ""disability"". What matters is that one is adjusted to or for work. Only once the subject is ""corrected"", is it deemed ""normal"".""Adjustment and Work"" ends with workers and administrators discussing the fact that many handicapped workers have been taking ""sick leave"". The administrators suspect that the workers are faking illness to get out of work, but are also open to the possibility that the workers may ""genuinely be sick"". Several workers object to the notion that disabled persons are ""more sick than persons who are not handicapped"", and insist that ""the next generation of handicapped workers is simply lazy"". It's a hilarious sequence which not only taps into how completely these workers have been colonised (""We work therefore we are not disabled!"") but also the kind of lower and middle class bigotry which capitalism depends upon; the system pits the middle against the bottom, the bottom against the middle and both against the third world. Fittingly, Wiseman's next film was ""Missile"", a documentary about the ICBM crews tasked with nuking non-Americans.9/10 ? Slow but interesting. | 1986 | Frederick Wiseman | Documentary | 7.3 (60 votes) | 120 | 20211228 |
| Adjustment and WorkNA | 1986 | | | | | Not Available |
| BlindShows the educational programs and daily life of students in kindergarten through the 12th grade at the Alabama School for the Blind. The School is organized around the effort to educate blind and visually impaired students to be in | 1987 | Frederick Wiseman | Documentary | 7.7 (108 votes) | 132 | 20211228 |
| BlindNA | 1987 | | | | | Not Available |
| DeafFind showtimes, watch trailers, browse photos, track your Watchlist and rate your favorite movies and TV shows on your phone or tablet! | 1986 | Frederick Wiseman | Documentary | 7.6 (59 votes) | 164 | 20211228 |
| DeafNA | 1986 | | | | | Not Available |
| Multi HandicappedFind showtimes, watch trailers, browse photos, track your Watchlist and rate your favorite movies and TV shows on your phone or tablet! | 1986 | Frederick Wiseman | Documentary | 6.7 (50 votes) | 126 | 20211228 |
| Multi HandicappedNA | 1986 | | | | | Not Available |
| MissileFollows the 4315th Training Squadron of the Strategic Air Command at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, where Air Force officers are trained to man the Launch Control Centers for the Minuteman Intercontinental Ballistic Missile | 1988 | Frederick Wiseman | Documentary | 7.1 (143 votes) | 115 | 20211228 |
| MissileNA | 1988 | | | | | Not Available |
| Central ParkNA | 1989 | | Documentary | | | Not Available |
| Near DeathRenowned documentarian Frederick Wiseman profiles the doctors, nurses, physicians, and patients at the Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, as he watches medical staff work around the clock trying to provide care and comfor | 1989 | Frederick Wiseman | Documentary | 8.3 (217 votes) | 358 | 20211228 |
| Near DeathNA | 1989 | | | | | Not Available |
| ZooThis documentary is interesting because it does not focus just on animals on cages but it also gives the point of view of the staff that are dedicated in keeping the animals with good health. there is no dialog in the movie but it is not necessary because the images that we see in this film are more than enough to understand what is going on in the film. this documentary shows very interesting situations that happen inside a zoo that we as visitors from the zoo are not allowed to see when we visit the zoo. we can see surgical procedures and even the procedure of an autopsy of a baby rhino. not forgetting we can see when the zoo keepers feed the animals. | 1993 | Frederick Wiseman | Documentary | 7.3 (112 votes) | 130 | 20211228 |
| ZooNA | 1993 | | | | | Not Available |
| High School IIFind showtimes, watch trailers, browse photos, track your Watchlist and rate your favorite movies and TV shows on your phone or tablet! | 1994 | Frederick Wiseman | Documentary | 7.4 (97 votes) | 220 | 20211228 |
| High School IINA | 1994 | | | | | Not Available |
| La Comédie-Française ou L'amour jouéLa Comédie-Française is the oldest continuous repertory company in the world, founded in Paris in the late 17th century. This is the first time a documentary film-maker has been allowed to look at all the aspects of the work of this | 1996 | Frederick Wiseman | Documentary | 6.7 (52 votes) | 223 | 20211228 |
| La Comédie-Française ou L'amour jouéNA | 1996 | | | | | Not Available |
| Public HousingRenowned documentarian Frederick Wiseman takes an intimate and nuanced look at the Ida B. Wells housing project in the south side of Chicago, Illinois. | 1997 | Frederick Wiseman | Documentary | 8.0 (245 votes) | 200 | 20211228 |
| Public HousingNA | 1997 | | | | | Not Available |
| AspenThe film documents the daily life and activities of the people who live, work, visit and play in Aspen, a town famous in the 19th century for silver mining and now known for its scenic splendor and fashionable people. | 1991 | Frederick Wiseman | Documentary | 6.9 (80 votes) | 146 | 20211228 |
| AspenNA | 1991 | | | | | Not Available |
| BalletNA | 1995 | | Documentary | | | Not Available |
| Belfast, MaineShot in Frederick Wiseman's trademark blank style - no narration, no music, and minimal editing - this four hour documentary follows a cross-section of the small Maine city's workers, from lobstermen and tugboat operators working the | 1999 | Frederick Wiseman | Documentary | 8.3 (256 votes) | 245 | 20211228 |
| Belfast, MaineNA | 1999 | | | | | Not Available |
| Domestic ViolenceRenowned documentarian Frederick Wiseman turns his observational camera on The Spring, a Florida shelter for battered women and children. For one-hundred and ninety-six minutes, Wiseman profiles the women and children that have been | 2001 | Frederick Wiseman | Documentary | 7.9 (285 votes) | 196 | 20211228 |
| Domestic ViolenceNA | 2001 | | | | | Not Available |
| Domestic Violence 2The opening scene in this film is of an arrest in Hillsborough County Florida where a woman has scratched her husband while he was trying to restrain her from getting back in her car and leaving after an argument. The officers explai | 2002 | Frederick Wiseman | Documentary | 7.5 (100 votes) | 160 | 20211228 |
| Domestic Violence 2NA | 2002 | | | | | Not Available |
| Last Letter [La dernière lettre], TheLocked away in the Jewish ghetto of an occupied Ukrainian town in 1941, a mother revisits her life in a last letter to her son. | 2002 | Frederick Wiseman | Drama | 6.7 (164 votes) | 61 | 20211228 |
| Last Letter [La dernière lettre], TheNA | 2002 | | | | | Not Available |
| The GardenNA | 2005 | | Documentary | | | Not Available |
| State LegislatureThe day-to-day activities of the Idaho Legislature during an entire session. | 2007 | Frederick Wiseman | Documentary | 7.7 (130 votes) | 217 | 20211228 |
| State LegislatureNA | 2007 | | | | | Not Available |
| City HallNA | 2020 | | Documentary | | | Not Available |
| La danseThe film follows the production of seven ballets by the Paris Opera Ballet. | 2009 | Frederick Wiseman | Documentary | 7.2 (643 votes) | 159 | 20211228 |
| La danseNA | 2009 | | | | | Not Available |
| Boxing GymExplores the world of a boxing gym in Austin, Texas, dwelling on the discipline of training as people from all walks of life aspire to reach their personal best. | 2010 | Frederick Wiseman | Documentary | 6.9 (514 votes) | 91 | 20211228 |
| Boxing GymNA | 2010 | | | | | Not Available |
| Crazy HorseA look inside Paris' Crazy Horse, a club that boasts the greatest and most chic nude dancing in the world. | 2011 | Frederick Wiseman | Documentary | 6.4 (808 votes) | 134 | 20211228 |
| Crazy HorseNA | 2011 | | | | | Not Available |
| Couple, A [Un couple]The film follows a long-term relationship between a man and a woman. The man is Leo Tolstoy. The woman is his wife, Sophia. | 2022 | Frederick Wiseman | Drama | 5.3 (138 votes) | 63 | 20231116 |
| Menus-Plaisirs - Les TroisgrosA 93-year-old director embeds inside a French restaurant that's held three Michelin stars for more than 50 years. | 2023 | Frederick Wiseman | Documentary | 7.9 (231 votes) | 240 | 20240303 |
| Menus-Plaisirs - Les TroisgrosNA | 2023 | | | | | Not Available |
| At BerkeleyThe University of California at Berkeley, the oldest and most prestigious member of a ten campus public education system, is also one of the finest research and teaching facilities in the world. The film, At Berkeley, shows the major | 2013 | Frederick Wiseman | Documentary | 7.3 (642 votes) | 244 | 20211228 |
| At BerkeleyNA | 2013 | | | | | Not Available |
| National GalleryA documentary that goes inside one of the great museums of the world: The National Gallery in London. | 2014 | Frederick Wiseman | Documentary | 7.3 (1.5K votes) | 180 | 20211228 |
| National GalleryNA | 2014 | | | | | Not Available |
| In Jackson HeightsJackson Heights, Queens is one of the most culturally diverse communities in the US where 167 languages are spoken. IN JACKSON HEIGHTS explores the conflict between maintaining ties to old traditions and adapting to American values. | 2015 | Frederick Wiseman | Documentary | 7.2 (632 votes) | 190 | 20211228 |
| In Jackson HeightsNA | 2015 | | | | | Not Available |
| Ex Libris The New York Public LibraryA look within the walls of the New York Public Library. | 2017 | Frederick Wiseman | Documentary | 7.4 (1.2K votes) | 197 | 20211228 |
| Ex Libris The New York Public LibraryNA | 2017 | | | | | Not Available |
| Monrovia, IndianaNA | 2018 | | Documentary | | | Not Available |