Primary (Documentary)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C     Extras: B     Film: B

 

 

Robert Drew’s Primary (1960) claims to be the first documentary with portable sync sound and that does seem to be the case.  Having John F. Kennedy as it subject makes it even more poignant, but he does not share the screen alone.  In a very impressive run for Kennedy’s money before that became far too literal in politics, Hubert Humphrey comes off as very impressive, going out of his way to reach the voters, talk to people, and talk the talk.

 

It is amazing how energetic he was, and how he could have nearly been the nominee.  However, we know better, and we can see how much harder the Kennedy road to the White House actually was.  The religious conflict also rears its ugly head in a much more powerful way than we are usually reminded of.  We also see how well Jackie Kennedy complemented and added class to JFK’s appearances.

 

Tons of footage was likely shot, and the choices made have great impact.  Once you watch for a while, you forget how old this documentary really is.  It is that well edited, the footage that well chosen.  The Library of Congress was correct in putting this film into its National Film Registry, and every future film and videomaker has got to make this must-see viewing.

 

The full frame 1.33 x 1 image is the same as the 16mm black and white frame, the way the film was originally shot, and shot by four cinematographers: Richard Leacock, Terrence McCartney Filgate, Albert Maysles, and D.A. Pennebaker.  There are not any distinguishable differences and the editing (which Drew managed) is the reason why.  Next time, they are really going to need to do a High Definition transfer, but this is more than adequate enough for a whole generation to rediscover a film that has been a long-buried treasure far too long.

 

The Dolby Digital 2.0 is average and listed as Stereo, though most of it is really monophonic, with the sound on all the older film footage being particularly limited in dynamic range.  If the material was taped on magnetic masters, these are all from optical tracks, and the compression shows.  In the later footage, there are brief stereo moments.

 

Extras include a text piece on Drew, about Drew, a gallery of other Docurama titles (some with trailers), a 27-minutes long The Originators (with a brief 1962 interview piece in monochrome, followed by a taped, color conference in 2003 about the state of news reporting today, among other things), 30/15 (Drew’s 1993 editing together the most poignant 15 minutes he could of his 30 years of filmmaking with brief overlap with the previous piece), and a strong, informative audio commentary by Drew and Leacock.  On the shorts, the transfer quality of the film segments are off of even older analog video masters than the feature, which have their softness.

 

One other comparison would be to this work versus the kinds of documentary work we see on TV today.  Voiceovers do not always need to be by name stars to keep the attention of the audience.  If anything anonymity is often a plus, because the right voice can keep things compelling while you pay attention to the voice (Joseph Julian in this case) and not know the face of the narrator.  I like that.  It becomes a metaphor.  Documentaries need to stick to the subject and not be distracted by theatrics.  That is yet another reason Primary is still a classic, even though it has been imitated endlessly.  Impressive!

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo