Oscar-Winning Documentarian Frederick Wiseman Dies At 96

The celebrated director of “Titicut Follies” and dozens of other documentaries was known for in-depth, unadorned movies that showed a unique and revelatory history of American institutions.

NEW YORK (AP) — Frederick Wiseman, the celebrated director of “Titicut Follies” and dozens of other documentaries whose in-depth, unadorned movies comprised a unique and revelatory history of American institutions, died Monday at age 96.

The death was announced in a joint statement from his family and from his production company, Zipporah Films. Additional details were not immediately available.

“He will be deeply missed by his family, friends, colleagues, and the countless filmmakers and audiences around the world whose lives and perspectives were shaped by his unique vision,” the statement reads in part.

Among the world’s most admired and influential filmmakers, Wiseman won an honorary Academy Award in 2016 and completed more than 35 documentaries, some several hours long. With subjects ranging from a suburban high school to a horse race track, his work aired on public television, screened at retrospectives, was spotlighted in festivals and praised by critics and fellow directors. Wiseman was in his mid-30s before he made his first full-length movie, but was soon ranked with — and sometimes above — such celebrated peers as D.A. Pennebaker and Robert Drew for helping to establish the modern documentary as a vital and surprising art form.

Starting with “High School” and the scandalous “Titicut Follies,” he patented a seamless, affecting style, using a crew so tiny that Wiseman served as his own sound engineer. The results led to acclaim, amusement, head-shaking, finger-pointing and — with “Titicut Follies” — prolonged legal action.