Real Talk: The Game-Changing Documentary Primary (1960)

So, you know how documentaries used to be kinda…stiff? Like, a narrator telling you everything and maybe some staged shots? Well, Primary, a flick from 1960, totally flipped the script. These guys – Robert Drew, Richard Leacock, D. A. Pennebaker, Terence Macartney-Filgate, and Albert Maysles – decided to get real real.

Primary 1960 Movie (Documentary): How They Pulled It Off?

Basically, these filmmakers were like, “Let’s just follow John F. Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey around during the 1960 Wisconsin primary and film what happens.” Sounds simple, right? But it was groundbreaking at the time.

Here’s the cool stuff they did:

No More Staging: They weren’t about to ask Kennedy to shake hands with a random person again “for the camera.” They just filmed him shaking hands with actual people. Wild, huh?

Small Moments, Big Impact: They focused on the little things – the look on Kennedy’s face after a tough question, the way Humphrey paced before a speech. This let you in on what it was like being those guys.

“Fly on the Wall” Vibe: They just hung back and let things unfold. No big interviews, no voice-overs telling you what to think. Just watching.

Super Immersive: The filmmakers got right in the thick of things. They weren’t passive observers; they were immersed in the candidates’ lives, documenting everything from public rallies to private moments.

Break the Rules: The filmmakers were like rebels with cameras, throwing out the old rulebook and creating a new one: no interviews, show the action, and don’t mess with what’s happening.

Why It Matters

Primary wasn’t just a movie; it was a game-changer.

Realness: It felt, well, real. You were seeing stuff happen as it happened, not some carefully constructed version of reality.

Think For Yourself: Because there was no narrator telling you who to root for, you got to make up your own mind about Kennedy and Humphrey. Pretty cool, huh?

Everything Changed: Seriously, this film influenced basically every documentary that came after it. The way video reporters do their thing now? Primary’s got a big part in that.

From Good to Great

After Primary, these guys got even better at this whole “observational cinema” thing. Primary leaned on visuals because the sound tech wasn’t great, but by Crisis, they had better audio and could capture clearer conversations.

The Bottom Line

Primary is a big deal because it showed that documentaries could be more than just lectures with pretty pictures. They could be a window into real life, unfiltered and raw. So, if you ever want to check out a doc that changed the game, give Primary a watch. It might surprise you how fresh it still feels.

If you want to know more about “Observational Filmmaking,” check this article.