Of Time and the City explained
Of Time and the City is a 2008 British documentary collage film directed by Terence Davies. 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 as part of the Special Screenings selection at 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 one in a list of his favourite films of the previous ten years (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. Following the success of the film, in 2010 the website People’s Stories: Liverpool Lives was launched with Heritage Lottery funding, created for Of Time and the City by producer Sol Papadopoulos and transmedia creator Krishna Stott. For the launch of the site the actors Jonathan Pryce, Alexei Sayle and Joe McGann contributed their own memories of the city.[4] [5]
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
- Felician Myrbach ("If Liverpool did not exist, it would have to be invented.")
- Ulysses by James Joyce ("As you are now we once were.")
- King James Bible - Psalm 107 ("They that go down to the sea in ships..."), Psalm 137 ("By the waters of Babylon, where we sat down..."), etc.
- The Condition of the Working Class in England by Friedrich Engels ("Removed from the sight of happier classes, poverty may struggle along as it can.")
- Crossing the Bar by Alfred, Lord Tennyson ("Twilight and evening bell, And after that the dark!")
- The Untold Want by Walt Whitman ("Now voyager go forth to seek and find.")
- Willem de Kooning ("The trouble with being poor is that it takes up all your time...")
- Alexander Chekhov ("The golden moments pass and leave no trace.")[6]
- Four Quartets by T.S. Eliot, especially "East Coker" and "Little Gidding".
- Cicero ("O tempora, O mores.")
- Poem 301 by Emily Dickinson.
- The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd by Sir Walter Raleigh
- Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich ("All manner of things will be well...")
- Hamlet by William Shakespeare ("Good night, ladies. Good night, sweet ladies...")
Music
Films
Fashion
Landmarks
Nearby locales
Regular events
Sports
Celebrities
Scholars
Radio programmes
Laws
Religious leaders
Historical figures
Contemporary
[9]
Reception
The film was widely acclaimed,[10] with praise mostly focusing on its warmth and heartfelt approach. It holds a 93% score on Rotten Tomatoes based on 59 critics’ reviews.[11] On Metacritic, it holds an 81% critical score based on nine reviews.[12]
It has been described as "a mesmerizing and eloquent essay" by Jonathan Rosenbaum of Chicago Reader,[13] "a warm and extremely thoughtful journey, with a deliberately bare-bones narrative" by Peter Hartlaub of the San Francisco Chronicle,[14] "a distinct pleasure to experience" by Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times,[15] "mesmerizing, visceral and heartfelt" by Geoff Pevere of the Toronto Star,[16] "a short, beautiful, characteristically sublime memory piece" by Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly,[17] "a wistful, funny, satirical, angry and forgiving portrait" by Sean Axmaker of Parallax View,[18] and "a visual poem" by Dennis Schwartz of Ozus' World Movie Reviews.[19] In 2018, Mark Kermode chose it as his favourite film of the last ten years.[20]
People’s Stories - Liverpool’s social history website
In 2010 - 'in response' to the film - the website People’s Stories: Liverpool Lives was launched.[21] With Heritage Lottery funding, the website was created for Of Time and the City producer Sol Papadopoulos by transmedia creator Krishna Stott.[22] Stott described the project as 'a community-based site of user generated content for Liverpudlians and the scouse diaspora'.[23] Actors Jonathan Pryce, Alexei Sayle and Joe McGann contributed their own memories of the city as part of the launch. The site was a place for members of the public to upload and share their stories, films, or photographs. Papadopoulos commented: 'We had Liverpudlians from all over the world wanting to tell their story, inspired by the way Terence had told his'.[24]
See also
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: Liverpool film portrait takes Cannes film festival by storm. Liverpool Daily Post. 21 May 2008.
- Web site: Have You Seen Mark Kermode's Favourite Films of the last Ten Years. HITC Culture. 7 January 2019.
- Byrge . Duane . Of Time and the City . The Hollywood Reporter, the Daily from Cannes . 8 . 10 . . 21 May 2008 .
- Web site: Mediography . . 6 December 2022 . Krishna Stott . Bellyfeel . 6 December 2022.
- News: A new website for Liverpool reminiscences is launched after the success of Terence Davies movie Of Time and the City. Jones. Catherine. Liverpool Echo. 6 December 2022.
- Web site: In search of lost time. Pevere. Geoff. Geoff Pevere. 23 January 2009. Toronto Star. 3 September 2020.
- Web site: Film review: Of Time and the City . 2008-10-31 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20221001154942/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/oct/31/of-time-and-the-city . 2022-10-01 . live .
- https://film.avclub.com/of-time-and-the-city-1798205536 AV Club
- Web site: Terence Davies, In Search Of Lost Liverpool . . https://web.archive.org/web/20230530041818/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99908948 . 2023-05-30 . live .
- https://www2.bfi.org.uk//blu-rays-dvds/time-and-city BFI
- Web site: Of Time and the City (2009). Rotten Tomatoes. 24 February 2019.
- Web site: Of Time and the City Reviews. Metacritic. 24 February 2019.
- News: Of Time and the City. Rosenbaum. Jonathan. Jonathan Rosenbaum. Chicago Reader. 24 February 2019.
- News: Movie review: Enjoy 'Of Time and the City'. Hartlaub. Peter. 13 February 2009. San Francisco Chronicle. 24 February 2019.
- News: Review: 'Of Time and the City'. Turan. Kenneth. Kenneth Turan. 30 January 2009. Los Angeles Times. 24 February 2019.
- News: Of Time and the City: How Liverpool lost its groove. Pevere. Geoff. Geoff Pevere. 23 January 2009. Toronto Star. 24 February 2019.
- Of Time and the City. Schwarzbaum. Lisa. Lisa Schwarzbaum. 23 January 2009. Entertainment Weekly. 24 February 2019.
- Web site: Of Time and the City and Alexander Korda – DVDs for the week. Axmaker. Sean. 12 May 2009. Parallax View. 24 February 2019.
- Web site: Of Time and the City. Schwartz. Dennis. Dennis Schwartz. 26 March 2011. Ozus' World Movie Reviews. 24 February 2019.
- Web site: Kermode Uncut: My Top Ten Films Of The Last Ten Years - Part Two . YouTube . 21 December 2018 . 10 August 2019.
- News: A new website for Liverpool reminiscences is launched after the success of Terence Davies movie Of Time and the City. Jones. Catherine. Liverpool Echo. 6 December 2022.
- Web site: Of Time and the City Presspack . . 6 December 2022 . Bellyfeel . 6 December 2022.
- Web site: Mediography . . 6 December 2022 . Krishna Stott . Bellyfeel . 6 December 2022.
- News: A new website for Liverpool reminiscences is launched after the success of Terence Davies movie Of Time and the City. Jones. Catherine. Liverpool Echo. 6 December 2022.