Frederick Wiseman

American filmmaker

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Last Updated: Jan 1, 2025 • Article History

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Born:: January 1, 1930, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. (age 95)

Notable Works:: “Basic Training”; “Central Park”; “City Hall”; “Hospital”; “In Jackson Heights”; “Juvenile Court”; “Monrovia, Indiana”; “Near Death”; “Primate”; “The Store”; “Titicut Follies”; “Welfare”

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Frederick Wiseman (born January 1, 1930, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.) is an American filmmaker noted for his documentaries that examine the functioning of American institutions. Wiseman was educated at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts (B.A., 1951), and at Yale Law School (L.L.B., 1954.). He practiced and taught law thereafter but remained indifferent to the subject, so in 1964 he produced director Shirley Clarke’s film adaptation of Warren Miller’s novel The Cool World. Deciding to direct, produce, and edit his own films from then on, Wiseman soon afterward completed his first major film, Titicut Follies (1967), an unflinching look at the conditions ...(100 of 343 words)

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