Of Time and the City
Of Time and the City is a 2008 British documentary collage film directed by Terence Davies.
Of Time and the City | |
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Directed by | Terence Davies |
Produced by | Solon Papadopoulos, Roy Boulter |
Written by | Terence Davies |
Music by | Ian Neil |
Cinematography | Tim Pollard |
Edited by | Liza Ryan-Carter |
Distributed by | British Film Institute |
Release date |
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Running time | 72 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
The film has Davies recalling his life growing up in Liverpool in the 1950s and 1960s, using newsreel and documentary footage supplemented by his own commentary voiceover and contemporaneous and classical music soundtracks.
The film premiered at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival where it received rave reviews.[1] Time Out said "The one truly great movie to emerge so far (from Cannes)..... this film is as personal, as universal in its relevance, and as gloriously cinematic as anything he has done"[1] and The Guardian called it "a British masterpiece, a brilliant assemblage of images that illuminate our past. Not only does it tug the heart-strings but it's also savagely funny."[1] BBC TV film critic Mark Kermode nominated it as the best overall film of 2008 on his "Kermode Awards" section of The Culture Show. In 2018 Kermode placed the film at number 1 in a list of his favourite films of the decade (2008-2018).[2] Duane Byrge from The Hollywood Reporter lauded the film as "poetically composed" and a "masterwork".[3]
Of Time and the City won Best Documentary in the Australian Film Critics Association awards for 2009.
References within the film
Poetry and literature
- A Shropshire Lad by A. E. Housman (opening narration, with the line "the land of lost content")
- "Ozymandias" by Percy Bysshe Shelley
- "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love" by Christopher Marlowe
- "The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd" by Sir Walter Raleigh
- Four Quartets by T.S. Eliot
- "Poem 301" by Emily Dickinson.
- Anton Chekhov
- James Joyce
Music
- Franz Liszt
- Gustav Mahler
- Dmitri Shostakovich
- Jean Sibelius
- Anton Bruckner
- The Protecting Veil by John Tavener
- "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" recorded by The Hollies used over images of the Korean War
- "The Folks Who Live on the Hill" performed by Peggy Lee whilst showing images of the newly erected tower blocks
- The Beatles[4]
- Elvis Presley
- Victor Sylvester
Fashion
Landmarks
- Liverpool Philharmonic Hall
- Aintree Racecourse
- Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King
- St. George's Hall, Liverpool
- Sefton Park
- Liverpool Stadium
- River Mersey
- Liverpool Exchange railway station
- New Brighton Tower
- Royal Liver Building
- Cunard Building
- Port of Liverpool Building
- Burbo Bank Offshore Wind Farm
Nearby locales
- Salford, Greater Manchester
- New Brighton, Merseyside
Regular events
- Guy Fawkes Night
- The Twelfth
- May Day
Sports
Celebrities
Scholars
Radio programmes
Religious leaders
- John Carmel Heenan
- Pope Pius XII
- Pope John XXIII
Historical figures
Reception
The film was almost universally acclaimed[7], with praise mostly focusing on its warmth and heartfelt approach. It holds a 95% 'certified fresh' critical score on Rotten Tomatoes based on 56 reviews.[8] On Metacritic, it holds an 81% critical score based on 9 reviews, indicating universal acclaim.[9]
It has been described as "a mesmerizing and eloquent essay" by Jonathan Rosenbaum of Chicago Reader,[10] "a warm and extremely thoughtful journey, with a deliberately bare-bones narrative" by Peter Hartlaub of the San Francisco Chronicle,[11] "a distinct pleasure to experience" by Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times,[12] "mesmerizing, visceral and heartfelt" by Geoff Pevere of the Toronto Star,[13] "a short, beautiful, characteristically sublime memory piece" by Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly,[14] "a wistful, funny, satirical, angry and forgiving portrait" by Sean Axmaker of Parallax View,[15] and "a visual poem" by Dennis Schwartz of Ozus' World Movie Reviews.[16] In 2018, Mark Kermode chose it as his favourite film of the last ten years.[17]
See also
- The Memories of Angels, a similarly constructed film about Montreal
References
- "Liverpool film portrait takes Cannes film festival by storm". Liverpool Daily Post. Retrieved 21 May 2008.
- "Have You Seen Mark Kermode's Favourite Films of the last Ten Years". HITC Culture. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
- Byrge, Duane (21 May 2008). "'Of Time and the City'". The Hollywood Reporter, The Daily from Cannes. Cannes (8): 10.
- The Guardian
- AV Club
- NPR
- BFI
- "Of Time and the City (2009)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
- "Of Time and the City Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
- Rosenbaum, Jonathan. "Of Time and the City". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
- Hartlaub, Peter (13 February 2009). "Movie review: Enjoy 'Of Time and the City'". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
- Turan, Kenneth (30 January 2009). "Review: 'Of Time and the City'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
- Pevere, Geoff (23 January 2009). "Of Time and the City: How Liverpool lost its groove". Toronto Star. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
- Schwarzbaum, Lisa (23 January 2009). "Of Time and the City". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
- Axmaker, Sean (12 May 2009). "Of Time and the City and Alexander Korda – DVDs for the week". Parallax View. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
- Schwartz, Dennis (26 March 2011). "Of Time and the City". Ozus' World Movie Reviews. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
- "Kermode Uncut: My Top Ten Films Of The Last Ten Years - Part Two". YouTube. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
External links
- Official website
- Of Time and the City on IMDb
- Full transcript at Oftimeandthecity.com