''Primary'' is a 1960 American direct cinema

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

about the 1960 Democratic Party primary election in Wisconsin between John F. Kennedy and

Hubert Humphrey Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American pharmacist and politician who served as the 38th vice president of the United States from 1965 to 1969. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing ...

, part of their quest to be chosen as the

United States Democratic Party The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States. Founded in 1828, it was predominantly built by Martin Van Buren, who assembled a wide cadre of politicians in every state behind war hero And ...

's candidate for

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...

in the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

. Produced by

Robert Drew Robert Lincoln Drew (February 15, 1924 – July 30, 2014) was an American documentary filmmaker known as one of the pioneers—and sometimes called father—of cinéma vérité, or direct cinema, in the United States. Two of his films, ''Prim ...

and shot by

Richard Leacock Richard Leacock (18 July 192123 March 2011)
The Telegraph (Lon ...

D. A. Pennebaker Donn Alan Pennebaker (; July 15, 1925 – August 1, 2019) was an American documentary filmmaker and one of the pioneers of direct cinema. Performing arts and politics were his primary subjects. In 2013, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sci ...

Terence Macartney-Filgate Terence Macartney-Filgate (6 August 1924 – 11 July 2022) was a British-Canadian film director who directed, wrote, produced or shot more than 100 films in a career spanning more than 50 years. Early life Born in England, Macartney-Filgate l ...

, and

Albert Maysles Albert Maysles (November 26, 1926 – March 5, 2015) and his brother David Maysles (January 10, 1931 – January 3, 1987; ) were an American documentary filmmaking team known for their work in the Direct Cinema style. Their best-known films i ...

, the film was a breakthrough in documentary film style. Most importantly, through the use of mobile cameras and lighter sound equipment, the filmmakers were able to follow the candidates as they wound their way through cheering crowds, cram with them into cars and crowded hotel rooms, and hover around their faces as they awaited polling results. This resulted in a greater intimacy than was possible with the older, more classical techniques of documentary filmmaking, and it established what has since become the standard style of video reporting. In 1990, the film was selected for preservation in the United States

National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception ...

by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The libra ...

as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The

Academy Film Archive The Academy Film Archive is part of the Academy Foundation, established in 1944 with the purpose of organizing and overseeing the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ educational and cultural activities, including the preservation of m ...

preserved ''Primary'' in 1998. The film's importance in the evolution of documentary filmmaking was explored in the film '' Cinéma Vérité: Defining the Moment''.

References

External links

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Ann Hornaday, "The 34 best political movies ever made" ''The Washington Post'' Jan. 23, 2020)
ranked #4 Documentary films about elections in the United States Documentary films about John F. Kennedy United States National Film Registry films Hubert Humphrey 1960 documentary films 1960 films Black-and-white documentary films American documentary films Politics of Wisconsin Films shot in Wisconsin 1960 United States Democratic presidential primaries 1960 in Wisconsin Films directed by Robert Drew American black-and-white films Documentary films about Wisconsin 1960s English-language films 1960s American films {{poli-documentary-film-stub

See also

References

External links