Of Time and the City

2008 "A love song and a eulogy"
7.2| 1h18m| NA| en| More Info
Released: 31 October 2008 Released
Producted By: Northwest Vision and Media
Country: United Kingdom
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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British director Terence Davies reflects on his birthplace of Liverpool - his memories of growing up there and how it has changed in the years since - in the process meditating on the internal struggles and conflicts that have wracked him throughout his life and the history of England during the second half of the 20th century.

Genre

Documentary

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Director

Terence Davies

Production Companies

Northwest Vision and Media

Of Time and the City Videos and Images
  • Top Credited Cast
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  • Crew
Terence Davies as Narrator (voice)

Of Time and the City Audience Reviews

Ceticultsot Beautiful, moving film.
Freaktana A Major Disappointment
Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.
Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.
Prismark10 Terence Davies used to be an actor and narrates this film as well as directing it. The film is a mixture of archive footage set with music, songs, poetry, speeches and narration, some of it set with a bombastic tone by Davies.The start is interesting as it reflects his childhood Liverpool, the post war years which also mirrors its industrial decline. You feel the power of the Catholic church and as Davies gets older his burgeoning feelings of homosexuality causes conflict with his religious belief and guilt for having feelings that would not only bring spiritual damnation but which was also illegal at a time he was growing up.Over time mores and laws change and his love of song and pop music gives way to a keen interest in classical music. As with these films where they use archive clips, your interest is not always sustained and the narrative focus is lost. Thankfully Davies does not emit faux nostalgia for The Beatles whose presence in clips is thankfully short but there is little about the rise of Liverpool football club from the 1960s which leads me to presume he does not like football or supports Everton!As an irregular visitor to Liverpool since the early 1970s when I was a kid, this is a city whose changes I have seen with my own eyes whether its been bad or good. As he reaches that time period I began to feel the Liverpool I remember and especially its agitation politics diverts from his vision of the city.Davies has no time for the Royal Family and the Pope but he is also starts distancing from his home city but what did he think about the mess of the 1980s and the rise of the Militant Tendency? Its something I wished that was dwelt on more but of course by that time he switched from acting and became a director and his life went on a different turn.
HerrDoktorMabuse Nice visuals, but tiresome, completely unoriginal commentary. The audience appeal of this movie is based on praising its viewers for their preconceptions. Church: Wrong and sick. Monarchy: Absurd. Liverpool: Victim. Pop culture: False consciousness.And was there an original word in the narration? Or was it copied out of secondary school literary anthologies? And how clever are witticisms like "born-again atheist" in the first place? The narrator comes off as a depressive version of Withnail's Uncle Monty, a tiresome old bore that will breathe his decaying pseudiness on you for hours if you don't have the courage to get up and leave.The movie I can ignore. I just hate to think of the millions who find this sort of thing bracing and imaginative.
christopher matthews after watching of time and city i couldn't help but be so proud of the city that my parents and grandparents had made carved a life for themselves in what was extremely hard times compared with today. I felt that the film brought out a sense of togetherness of the people who really had very little to share. There are not many cities in this country where there is heavy industry, docklands, rundown ares yet only a few miles from, what was then a vibrant seaside resort (new brighton)for the people of liverpool to get away from it all. I'm from liverpool but live on the wirral, but liverpool is my home and this masterpiece of film makes me very proud of my roots. It was a joy to watch. The major difference in today society is health and safety, but as you can see the children of the yester year are simply enjoying there self's.
bubsy-3 "Of time and the City" is a movie that begsto be shown in an art museum. It is a 71 minute experience ofvideos and photos accompanied by spoken prose, poetry, and musicof one man's experience of the transition of Liverpool. It is almosta documentary of sorts. Whatever it is, it is mesmerizing, absorbing, and truly magnificent. I honestly believe that this film will be part of many video displays in museums throughout the world. We first experience Liverpool early in the 20th century when the author is young then experience Liverpool throughout his childhood, his adolescent years, young adulthood, adulthood, and finally, the sadness of what once was in reminiscence.