list http://www.spout.com/ Recent community activity around Titicut Follies on Spout Copyright 2005-9 Spout, LLC Spout RSS http://www.spout.com/images/SpoutLogoRSS.jpg http://www.spout.com/ 136 30 http://www.spout.com/films/Titicut_Follies/96991/default.aspx Title: Titicut Follies
Year: 1967
Director: Frederick Wiseman
Plot: Frederick Wiseman made his documentary debut with this controversial 84-minute survey of conditions that existed during the mid-'60s at the State Prison for the Criminally Insane in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. Made in 1967, the film was subjected to a worldwide ban until 1992 because the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that it was an invasion of inmate privacy. The film goes behind the walls to show stark and graphic images exposing the treatment of inmates by guards, social workers, and psychiatrists. The title refers to a musical revue staged by inmates and guards. Richard Schickel, writing in Life, stated, "The repulsive reality revealed in Titicut Follies forces us to contemplate our capacity for callousness." The documentary was cited as the "Best Film Dealing with the Human Condition" at the 1967 Festival Dei Popoli (Florence) and also honored as the "Best Film" at the 1967 Mannheim International Filmweek. Robert Coles (The New Republic) wrote, "After a showing of Titicut Follies the mind does not dwell on the hospital's ancient and even laughable physical plant, or its pitiable social atmosphere. What sticks, what really hurts is the sight of human life made cheap and betrayed." The story behind the complicated legal issues raised by this film and the attempts to suppress it are detailed by Carolyn Anderson and Thomas W. Benson in their book, Documentary Dilemmas: Frederick Wiseman's "Titicut Follies" (Southern Illinois University Press, 1991). ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
Times Tagged: 6
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SpoutRating: 2
]]>Tue, 12 May 2009 04:03:08 GMTTiticut Follies1967Frederick Wiseman<a href="/players/P____77063/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Frederick Wiseman</a> made his documentary debut with this controversial 84-minute survey of conditions that existed during the mid-'60s at the State Prison for the Criminally Insane in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. Made in 1967, the film was subjected to a worldwide ban until 1992 because the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that it was an invasion of inmate privacy. The film goes behind the walls to show stark and graphic images exposing the treatment of inmates by guards, social workers, and psychiatrists. The title refers to a musical revue staged by inmates and guards. Richard Schickel, writing in Life, stated, "The repulsive reality revealed in Titicut Follies forces us to contemplate our capacity for callousness." The documentary was cited as the "Best Film Dealing with the Human Condition" at the 1967 Festival Dei Popoli (Florence) and also honored as the "Best Film" at the 1967 Mannheim International Filmweek. Robert Coles (The New Republic) wrote, "After a showing of Titicut Follies the mind does not dwell on the hospital's ancient and even laughable physical plant, or its pitiable social atmosphere. What sticks, what really hurts is the sight of human life made cheap and betrayed." The story behind the complicated legal issues raised by this film and the attempts to suppress it are detailed by Carolyn Anderson and Thomas W. Benson in their book, Documentary Dilemmas: Frederick Wiseman's "Titicut Follies" (Southern Illinois University Press, 1991). ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide6Taggedy Taggged (6-10)3212http://www.spout.com/images/no_image.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/Titicut_Follies/96991/default.aspxFilm http://www.spout.com/blogs/karina/archive/2008/4/17/27405.aspxPost By: Karina
Post To: Karina on SpoutBlog
Post Date: 4/17/2008 1:01:55 PM
Body: Alternative Reel recently placed Frederick Wiseman’s groundbreaking 1967 cinema verite doc Titicut Follies at the number 2 spot in their list of the Top Ten Banned Films of The 20th Century (what made number 1? Why, Cannibal Holocaust, of course!). The film, which offers a cold and often disturbing look at the lives anf treatment of criminally insane patients at a mental hospital inside a Massachusetts prison, was unavailable outside of educational use for 25 years, after the state Supreme Court declared it violated the patients’ rights to privacy. It’s now widely available––so widely available, in fact, that after about four seconds of digging, I found the film in its entirety on Google Video (see above). It’s an upload from a VHS tape, so it’s not perfect quality, but it’s adequate. For a wider screen, go directly to the Google Video page. More on Titicut Follies: Reverse Shot Senses of Cinema Bright Lights Film Journal Originally posted on:SpoutBlog » Karina Longworth
]]>Thu, 17 Apr 2008 17:01:55 GMTKarinaKarina on SpoutBlog4/17/2008 1:01:55 PM Alternative Reel recently placed Frederick Wiseman’s groundbreaking 1967 cinema verite doc Titicut Follies at the number 2 spot in their list of the Top Ten Banned Films of The 20th Century (what made number 1? Why, Cannibal Holocaust, of course!). The film, which offers a cold and often disturbing look at the lives anf treatment of criminally insane patients at a mental hospital inside a Massachusetts prison, was unavailable outside of educational use for 25 years, after the state Supreme Court declared it violated the patients’ rights to privacy. It’s now widely available––so widely available, in fact, that after about four seconds of digging, I found the film in its entirety on Google Video (see above). It’s an upload from a VHS tape, so it’s not perfect quality, but it’s adequate. For a wider screen, go directly to the Google Video page. More on Titicut Follies: Reverse Shot Senses of Cinema Bright Lights Film Journal Originally posted on:SpoutBlog » Karina Longworth http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/4/17/27404.aspxPost By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 4/17/2008 1:01:44 PM
Body: Alternative Reel recently placed Frederick Wiseman’s groundbreaking 1967 cinema verite doc Titicut Follies at the number 2 spot in their list of the Top Ten Banned Films of The 20th Century (what made number 1? Why, Cannibal Holocaust, of course!). The film, which offers a cold and often disturbing look at the lives anf treatment of criminally insane patients at a mental hospital inside a Massachusetts prison, was unavailable outside of educational use for 25 years, after the state Supreme Court declared it violated the patients’ rights to privacy. It’s now widely available––so widely available, in fact, that after about four seconds of digging, I found the film in its entirety on Google Video (see above). It’s an upload from a VHS tape, so it’s not perfect quality, but it’s adequate. For a wider screen, go directly to the Google Video page. More on Titicut Follies: Reverse Shot Senses of Cinema Bright Lights Film Journal Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Thu, 17 Apr 2008 17:01:44 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com4/17/2008 1:01:44 PM Alternative Reel recently placed Frederick Wiseman’s groundbreaking 1967 cinema verite doc Titicut Follies at the number 2 spot in their list of the Top Ten Banned Films of The 20th Century (what made number 1? Why, Cannibal Holocaust, of course!). The film, which offers a cold and often disturbing look at the lives anf treatment of criminally insane patients at a mental hospital inside a Massachusetts prison, was unavailable outside of educational use for 25 years, after the state Supreme Court declared it violated the patients’ rights to privacy. It’s now widely available––so widely available, in fact, that after about four seconds of digging, I found the film in its entirety on Google Video (see above). It’s an upload from a VHS tape, so it’s not perfect quality, but it’s adequate. For a wider screen, go directly to the Google Video page. More on Titicut Follies: Reverse Shot Senses of Cinema Bright Lights Film Journal Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/blogs/the_documentary-79/archive/2006/4/27/998.aspxPost By: paul
Post To: The Documentary
Post Date: 4/28/2006 9:58:56 AM
Body: Well, first off the category of documentary is probably more diverse than narrative. There are so many ways of executing a documentary and, subsequently, so many arguments for what qualifies as documentary.Cinema verite (sometimes called "direct cinema") is actually an approach that attempts to address what we're talking about in the conversation about Michael Moore. Basically, cinema verite tries to bring more honesty to documentary.The Maysles brothers (Salesman) and Frederick Wiseman (Titicut Follies) are canonical examples of this approach. In essence, the filmmaker(s) roll their camera and capture what happens with as minimal intrusion as possible. Of course, the mere presence of a camera changes the way people behave. Wiseman's solution for this when he filmed Titicut Follies in a mental hospital was to show up everyday with his camera for months until the patients and the staff grew used to his presence and started to behave as they would if he weren't there. The results are shocking. When I watched Titicut Follies, the experience changed the way I think about film. I defy anybody to watch that documentary and not be completely blown away. It's rather hard to find, though. You're best shot is to search large metropolitan or university libraries.
]]>Fri, 28 Apr 2006 13:58:56 GMTpaulThe Documentary4/28/2006 9:58:56 AMWell, first off the category of documentary is probably more diverse than narrative. There are so many ways of executing a documentary and, subsequently, so many arguments for what qualifies as documentary.Cinema verite (sometimes called "direct cinema") is actually an approach that attempts to address what we're talking about in the conversation about Michael Moore. Basically, cinema verite tries to bring more honesty to documentary.The Maysles brothers (Salesman) and Frederick Wiseman (Titicut Follies) are canonical examples of this approach. In essence, the filmmaker(s) roll their camera and capture what happens with as minimal intrusion as possible. Of course, the mere presence of a camera changes the way people behave. Wiseman's solution for this when he filmed Titicut Follies in a mental hospital was to show up everyday with his camera for months until the patients and the staff grew used to his presence and started to behave as they would if he weren't there. The results are shocking. When I watched Titicut Follies, the experience changed the way I think about film. I defy anybody to watch that documentary and not be completely blown away. It's rather hard to find, though. You're best shot is to search large metropolitan or university libraries. http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/masterpiece/MemberTagFilms.aspxmasterpiece
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