Primary
Primary
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53m
Directed by Robert Drew • 1960 • United States
Robert Drew’s groundbreaking 1960 film PRIMARY is one of the most important and influential documentaries in the history of the medium. A pioneering work in the documentary movement that came to be known as cinéma vérité, PRIMARY follows the young charismatic senator from Massachusetts, John F. Kennedy, as he goes head-to-head with established Minnesota senator Hubert Humphrey to win the Wisconsin presidential primary in April 1960.
Up Next in Primary
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PRIMARY Commentary
In 1961, radio broadcaster and film critic Gideon Bachmann interviewed Drew Associates members Robert Drew, Richard Leacock, and D. A. Pennebaker about the new form of documentary they were in the midst of creating. Presented here, as an audio commentary to the original cut of PRIMARY, is an edit...
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PRIMARY: The Richard Leacock Version
The hour-long PRIMARY was ahead of its time, and no broadcaster would touch it. After the possibility of the film’s being aired at a shorter length was raised, Robert Drew Associates team member Richard Leacock edited it down to a half hour overnight. Leacock and Drew were pleased with this new c...
