Model (film)

This article is about the 1981 documentary film by Frederick Wiseman. For the 2016 Danish film, see The Model (film). For other uses, see Model (disambiguation).
Model
Black and white poster with three women in fur coats
Theatrical release poster with models Apollonia van Ravenstein, Sara Kapp, and Pat Cleveland posing in furs
Directed byFrederick Wiseman
Produced byFrederick Wiseman
CinematographyJohn Davey[1]
Edited byFrederick Wiseman
Distributed byZipporah Films
Release date
  • September 16, 1981 (1981-09-16) (U.S.)
Running time
130 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Model[a] is a 1981 American documentary film directed by Frederick Wiseman.[3] The film examines the modeling industry in New York City.[4] It was Wiseman's ninth documentary for WNET, a New York PBS station.[5]

The film follows the Zoli modeling agency, owned by Zoltan "Zoli" Rendessy.[3][6] The film shows Zoli himself, his employees, models, clients, and photographers.[4]

Synopsis

Like all of Wiseman's films, Model has no narrator.[5] The film opens with a cityscape of lower Manhattan, showing the World Trade Center.[7] The film intercuts fashion sequences (runway shows, photo shoots, a pantyhose commercial),[5] Manhattan street scenes (roller skaters, an ambulance, "pedestrians who often look livelier than the models"[8]),[3][9] and shots of mannequins in store windows.[10]

The agency screens aspiring models and connects them with clients,[6] in the process reducing them to labels and stereotypes,[11] including the young executive, the all-American girl, the sophisticate, the streetsmart, and the Avon look.[12] Zoli tells one female aspirant who is 5 ft 6.5 in (168.9 cm) tall that the height is "too short for what we do... It's a problem," but in the following scene, a woman only 0.75 in (1.9 cm) taller is told, "I think we have some possibilities here."[13]

The film's longest sequence, running nearly 30 minutes, is the making of a television commercial for Evan-Picone pantyhose.[6][14] The director instructs the male and female model to run into each other repeatedly.[15] For the same commercial, model Apollonia van Ravenstein's leg is photographed over 79 takes to create a four-second "peacock effect."[14][16] The film shows the completed 30-second commercial.[10]

The film ends with an Oscar de la Renta runway show with twirling fashion models,[3][17] followed by a closing shot of the Manhattan skyline at night.[18]

Cast

Production

The film was shot in 1979 and 1980[13] on black-and-white film.[12] Wiseman selected the Zoli agency simply because "the idea of a model agency appealed to me ... and [Zoli] agreed."[19]

Wiseman did not research the modeling industry before filming, and described the editing process as discovery: "It is all a surprise since I know very little about the subject before I begin shooting. The idea is that the film should at least in part show what I learned as a consequence of the shoot and the long period of editing."[19]

Release

The film was broadcast on PBS on September 16, 1981.[3]

Reception

The film shows modeling as "monotonous, lacking autonomy, and devoid of internal satisfaction",[12] and as "a grind of rejections and retakes."[15] Novelist William T. Vollmann had expected the film to be glamorous and was surprised by its monotony.[15] The film examines how institutional routines become repetitive, drawing parallels to military operations.[20]

Model reflects Wiseman's increasing political consciousness,[21] contrasting the constructed imagery of advertising with the imperfections of the real world.[22] Before filming the pantyhose commercial, the New York City streets are cleaned.[23] Wiseman films another documentary crew shooting a shower interview with a male model,[24] revealing that the model is wearing underwear.[25] A street demonstration that appears to be a feminist protest is revealed to be the filming of a commercial.[26] The Zoli agency serves as a lens into the broader workings of advertising, marketing, and retail.[22]

Notes

  1. ^ The title references both the film's subject and Wiseman's template for filmmaking.[2]

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b Benson, Thomas W.; Anderson, Carolyn (Fall 1984). "The Rhetorical Structure of Frederick Wiseman's Model". Journal of Film and Video. 36 (4). University of Illinois Press: 30–40. JSTOR 20687633.
  2. ^ Grant 2023, p. 188.
  3. ^ a b c d e Slavitt, David R. (September 23, 1981). "Culture Note". The New Republic. Vol. 185, no. 12. p. 40.
  4. ^ a b Unger, Arthur (September 14, 1981). "'Model,' Fred Wiseman's Latest Documentary: In the End, Brilliant". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
  5. ^ a b c Shales, Tom (September 25, 1981). "Love It, Love It, Love That Face!". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
  6. ^ a b c Brody, Richard (April 17, 2017). "Model". The New Yorker. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
  7. ^ Grant 2023, p. 176.
  8. ^ Bender, Abbey (February 6, 2020). "A Classic Film Reminds Us That Modeling Is Labor". Hyperallergic. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
  9. ^ Armstrong 1983, pp. 5–6.
  10. ^ a b Armstrong 1983, p. 6.
  11. ^ Grant 2023, p. 181.
  12. ^ a b c Papson, Steve (August 1981). "Model". Humanity & Society. 5 (3): 278–281. doi:10.1177/016059768100500308.
  13. ^ a b c Joseph, Alex (2015). "Second Looks: Two Films about Fashion by Frederick Wiseman". Fashion Theory. 20 (1): 103–116. doi:10.1080/1362704X.2015.1078137.
  14. ^ a b Armstrong 1983, p. 7.
  15. ^ a b c Vollmann, William T. (2010). "In Memory of Us All: Some Scenes Out of Wiseman". Frederick Wiseman. New York: Museum of Modern Art. pp. 69–76. ISBN 978-0-87070-791-9.
  16. ^ a b Grant 2023, p. 211.
  17. ^ Grant 2023, p. 126.
  18. ^ Grant 2023, pp. 176–177.
  19. ^ a b Joseph, Alexander (December 2013). "Fashion Documents: Frederick Wiseman on His Sartorial Films". Vestoj. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
  20. ^ Grant 2023, p. 100.
  21. ^ Grant 2023, p. 166.
  22. ^ a b Grant 2023, p. 167.
  23. ^ Grant 2023, p. 177.
  24. ^ Armstrong 1983, p. 8.
  25. ^ Grant 2023, p. 191.
  26. ^ Grant 2023, p. 185.

Sources

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