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Now 90, Frederick Wiseman is as vital and relevant as ever

JL;DR SUMMARY Frederick Wiseman, heralded as a pioneer in documentary filmmaking, is celebrated for his nearly six-decade exploration of American institutions through works such as "Titicut Follies" and "City Hall." A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

DocumentaryBostonAmerican InstitutionsBureaucracyFrederick WisemanCity HallInstitutional CritiqueMarty WalshNonfiction StorytellingFilmmaking Legend

Places mentioned

Boston, Massachusetts, United States
"A decent portion of the city of Boston seems to regard Marty Walsh as a hero."
Massachusetts, United States
"Wisemans earliest documentary, Titicut Follies (1967), a Muckraking study of a Massachusetts mental hospital, featured so many sadistic state employees that the state tried to get the film banned."
Monrovia, Indiana, United States
"Monrovia, Indiana."
Dorchester, Massachusetts, United States
"Late in the film, we see a lengthy community meeting held in Dorchester, one of the poorest and most racially diverse neighborhoods in Boston."
Stockholm, Sweden
"Not just because hes talented (no guarantee of Stockholm gold), but because his work seems to fit so well with the guilty dynamite moguls pet ideals: wide-hearted humanity, benefit to mankind, and so forth."

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Retrieved 2026-02-17 05:31:43 UTC
Curated 2026-02-17 08:30:55 UTC