His maximal studies of US institutions such as welfare bureaucracy and an intensive care unit were packed with human detail and free from explicit commentary

Among the world's most admired and influential filmmakers, Wiseman won an honorary Academy Award in 2016 and completed more than 35 documentaries, some several hours long.

The celebrated director of “Titicut Follies” and dozens of other documentaries was known for in-depth, unadorned movies that showed a unique and revelatory history of American…