When we talk about the Great American Filmmakers, there are some names that simply demand to be mentioned. Names like Martin Scorsese, Stanley Kubrick, or David Lynch: those artists whose coruscating command over the medium has made them globally, lastingly famous. And then there are names like Frederick Wiseman.
It’s no mystery why the prolific 96-year-old filmmaker has never had even a morsel of the mainstream recognition afforded to his peers, though many of those who have watched his work agree that his place in the canon is undeniable. For one thing, he almost exclusively makes documentaries, a mode of filmmaking that’s hardly packing out the multiplexes. Even within the world of documentaries, though, he remains a more obscure figure than, say, Ken Burns, Michael Moore, or even Asif Kapadia.
