Review of Titicut Follies (1967) by Jamie F — 11 Apr 2011

Not Wiseman's best... at all. This is pretty disappointing actually, seeing how his films typically go above and beyond, and still have the ability to educate, enlighten or shock the audience with first person accounts despite their age.

Not so in Titicut Follies, no doubt his most well known piece. I think the film's hype and fame has much to do with its failure to meet expectations. Firstly, its popularity has caused vomit bags on every film website to spoil the content, and secondly, a lot can be inferred from the movie cover, spoiler-free summary, and infamy.

And additionally, this subject, despite still being cringe worthy and depressing, has been overdone and over analyzed in modern day psychiatry, leaving an obsolete film like this (Perhaps the kick starter for the mental hospital evalutations) in the dust.

So, while it's a controversial subject, one that's hard to look at, the expose format makes for mostly an uninteresting peer into the worldview at the time.