The film is 4.5 hours long, because the activities of City Hall are complicated. I felt I had an obligation, to the people who gave me permission to make the film, to adequately represent the complexity and diversity of their work. I think, as you see in CITY HALL, the employees of Boston City Hall are hardworking and devoted. They accept the responsibilities of their jobs and want to perform them appropriately and successfully.

When I started filming, I really didn't know much, if anything, about Boston City Hall, nor did I know anything about the politics. What I learned is what you see in the film.

I like to think, in making movies for 55 years, that I’ve learned something. Editing one of these movies is in large measure analyzing people's behavior because, unless I understand what’s going on in the sequence, I can’t make the decision as to whether or not I want to use it, or where to place it in the structure of the film.

If I haven't previously solved an editorial problem or a structural problem in a way that pleases me, I tend to remember that the next time I go out. I can avoid running into those same problems again, and am more likely to get the kind of shots and sound that I need.”

- Frederick Wiseman

Since 1967, Frederick Wiseman has directed 43 documentaries—dramatic, narrative films that seek to portray ordinary human experience in a wide variety of contemporary social institutions. His films include TITICUT FOLLIES, HIGH SCHOOL, WELFARE, JUVENILE COURT, BOXING GYM, LA DANSE, BALLET, LA COMEDIE FRANCAISE, CENTRAL PARK, and CRAZY HORSE.

Wiseman's work has been distributed in theatres and broadcast on television in many countries by his Cambridge, MA company, Zipporah Films www.zipporah.com