''Primary'' is a 1960 American

direct cinema Direct cinema is a documentary genre that originated between 1958 and 1962—principally in Quebec and the United States—and was developed in France by Jean Rouch. It is a cinematic practice employing lightweight portable filming equipment, han ...

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

about the 1960 Democratic Party primary election in Wisconsin between

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

and

Hubert Humphrey Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American politician who served from 1965 to 1969 as the 38th vice president of the United States. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing Minnesota from 19 ...

, part of their quest to be chosen as the

United States Democratic Party The Democratic Party is a Centre-left politics, center-left political parties in the United States, political party in the United States. One of the Major party, major parties of the U.S., it was founded in 1828, making it the world's oldes ...

'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. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

in the

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

Production

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, ''Primar ...

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 in ...

, 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.

Legacy

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 (library and archival science), preservation, each selected for its cultural, historical, and aestheti ...

by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

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 mot ...

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

*
''A Primary on the Horizon'' - essay at The Criterion Collection
{{Authority control 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 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 English-language documentary films Political history of Wisconsin

Production

Legacy

See also

References

External links