During the rush between Thanksgiving and Christmas, Neiman Marcus’s flagship store in Dallas is aglow with anticipation. Across departments—from designer fashion to household goods—sales training and executive meetings take place, coordinating the meticulous business of luxury retail.

Depicting department stores as the ultimate altar of consumerism, Frederick Wiseman’s transfixing documentary exposes America’s cultish devotion to brands. Next to our current age of cybershopping, these glitzy tableaux of in-person purchases and corporate rituals acquire a fabled, nostalgic sheen.