Basic Training
A masterful documentary filmmaker, an outstanding observer, and a meticulous editor, Frederick Wiseman has scrutinized in detail, from one film to the next, the various institutions that govern our society. We pay homage to the filmmaker, who recently passed away, by screening the impressive Basic Training, which captures the training of U.S. Army soldiers at Fort Knox during the Vietnam War. Stanley Kubrick drew inspiration from it for his Full Metal Jacket, which will be screened during the second half of the evening.
Restored Version
Basic Training follows a company of draftees and enlisted men through the nine weeks of the basic training cycle. The varieties of training techniques used by the army in converting civilians to soldiers are illustrated in scenes of drills, M-16 and bayonet use, a gas chamber, mines, night crawls, an infiltration course and the many forms of ideological training familiar to millions of men and women who have served in the armed forces.
Frederick Wiseman
Frederick Wiseman was an American filmmaker, documentarian, theater director, editor, and actor. His work primarily explored American institutions. His most notable documentaries include Titicut Follies (1967), Hospital (1970), Welfare (1975), and In Jackson Heights (2015). His films were noted for their dramatic structure despite appearing to eschew narrative devices and for tackling social and economic issues in the United States.
