#documentary classics

Another reason to love the Cinema Eye Honors: Frederick Wiseman's landmark 1967 documentary Titicut Follies has been named the recipient of the 2012 Legacy Award, which will be presented to the filmmaker at the CEH awards ceremony on January 11. The difficult yet phenomenal film, which shows a graphic and disturbing look inside a Massachusetts hospital for the criminally insane, has only been available for public view since 1991. If you haven't seen this necessary work, there's a Stranger Than Fiction screening scheduled for January 17 in NYC.

Naming a Wiseman film as the latest Legacy honoree fits with Cinema Eye's goal of being an alternative for documentary fans who see the Academy Awards as insufficient in recognizing the nonfiction mode. Wiseman is constantly cited by critics as deserving of an Oscar, whether for one of his newer films or as a lifetime achievement honor. Wiseman does also have a new doc hitting theaters next month. Crazy Horse, a look inside the famed Paris cabaret theater, opens at NYC's Film Forum on January 18.

“It’s hard for me to believe that Titicut Follies was shot forty-six years ago,” said Wiseman in response to the announcement. “I’m thrilled to receive the Cinema Eye Legacy Award but it is tough for me to deal with the implications.”

I don't think we need to consider the honor as necessarily signifying lifetime achievement, not only because Wiseman is still a hard-working young man of 81, who continues to regularly work on and put out new films -- in the past few years he's been releasing one per year. Rather it's a way of recognizing one of the most significant films made by a living documentarian. Past Legacy Award recipients have been Albert Maysles, for Grey Gardens, and Ross McElwee, for Sherman's March.

Titicut Follies premiered at the New York Film Festival in 1967 before being removed from distribution by the State of Massachusetts for the sake of the subjects' privacy. In 1969 it was permitted to be shown as only an educational work for doctors, lawyers, social workers and others for whom it could be beneficial viewing. The privacy concern was determined obsolete twenty years ago, which allowed for public access.

Whether Wiseman's documenting led to it or not, the film does end with an ironically worded disclaimer stating that "changes and improvements" have been made at the hospital since Wiseman shot his footage. Either way, Titicut Follies is an exemplary film proving the importance of documentary, and it's terrific seeing the classic work recognized with such high regard.