# Can anyone ID this documentary / series of documentaries? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 21, 2012, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-id-this-documentary-series-of-documentaries/632150 "2012-08-21T08:08:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-id-this-documentary-series-of-documentaries/632150/1 "2012-08-21T08:08:00Z")
Back in the mid- to late-nineties or possibly early 2000s on PBS (would have been either WNET-13 i or WLIW-21 in here NY), I remember seeing a documentary, or perhaps a few of them, by a director whose name I unfortunately can’t remember. Yeah, I know, that’s real helpful, huh? Okay, more details: The hallmark of these films was that the director would basically set up a group of cameras throughout a U.S. town, IIRC either rural, remote (e.g. up in Maine or New Hampshire), or perhaps one dominated by a single industry (such as coal mining or textile mills) – and basically just shoot God-only-knows how many hours of film to produce a multi-hour documentary without any voiceover or narrative. It was basically similar to a bird’s eye view of life in this particular town, except not bird’s eye, more like… mailbox’s eye. I seem to recall this director did a few of these films, and I also remember that despite the utter lack of a particular POV (aside from whatever the director chose to include in the film, which obviously did impose somewhat of a narrative or perspective), the unvarnished, simple story of life in this town was fascinating. For a while I thought I might be thinking of David Sutherland, director of _The Farmer’s Wife_ and _The Country Boys_ for _Frontline_. I’m watching the latter on PBS’s website now for the first time; the _Farmer’s Wife_ doc isn’t available, unfortunately, but it was incredibly powerful tale about the hardships of a smallish farm relying on bank loans that always seemed to be coming due, and a wife’s attempt to keep the family fed and together while the husband seemed – IIRC – always reaching too far for his abilities or past their means. But Sutherland does impose narrative and does interview his subjects, so as much as I love his work, he’s not the guy I’m thinking of. The doc might have shown up on _Frontline_, like the Sutherland films, but all I remember is watching it late at night, mesmerized by the tiny day to day moments of a town very far removed from my own urban and suburban experiences. Does anyone know whom I mean? ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-id-this-documentary-series-of-documentaries/632150/2 "2015-08-31T08:43:48Z")
I’m raising this post from the dead because I realized I never _did_ get an answer to it. Maybe three years later someone will know/recognize the documentarian’s style? _Edited to add:_ I just noticed the timestamps and dates of both posts. I see that in three years, my ridiculous insomniac hours haven’t changed! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-id-this-documentary-series-of-documentaries/632150/3 "2015-08-31T12:15:23Z")
I don’t know the specific one you are looking for, sorry, but in addition to Frontline, PBS has another documentary series called POV and this may have been part of that. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-id-this-documentary-series-of-documentaries/632150/4 "2015-08-31T12:59:13Z")
[Frederick Wiseman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Wiseman), perhaps? ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-id-this-documentary-series-of-documentaries/632150/5 "2015-09-01T05:36:19Z")
Oh my gosh, I think that’s him! I’m guessing the films I saw were _Aspen_ and especially _Belfast, Maine_, both of which were made for PBS. _Belfast_ was from 1999, so that would pinpoint the time accurately. Plus I remember the locale being somewhat hard-up, financially, and I don’t think _Aspen_ sounds right for that! Of course it doesn’t look as if either are particularly easy to find, but I’ll try my darnedest. I didn’t realize Wiseman was the man behind _Titicut Follies_, which I’ve heard of but haven’t seen. And people say zombie threads are useless! Thank you, thank you, _thank you_, **Dewey Finn**! ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-id-this-documentary-series-of-documentaries/632150/6 "2015-09-01T11:01:00Z")
You’re welcome. Your description sounded like [cinéma vérité](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cin%C3%A9ma_v%C3%A9rit%C3%A9) and he was famous for his use of the technique (although I don’t think I’ve ever seen any of his movies). ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2024, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-id-this-documentary-series-of-documentaries/632150/7 "2024-04-03T23:19:31Z")
Bumping a zombie: This thread popped up while I was posting something else, and this does indeed sound like the work of Frederick Wiseman. His docos generally have extremely long running times (“Belfast, Maine” was about 3 1/2 hours, and a more recent one called “Berkeley” was over 4 hours) and are best watched in segments. “Titicut Follies” is more of a standard running time, around 1 1/2 hours, and it may be on YouTube.