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Of Time and the City
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Wikipedia article
'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 at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival where it received rave reviews. '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" 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." 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 ten years (2008-2018). Duane Byrge from 'The Hollywood Reporter' lauded the film as "poetically composed" and a "masterwork".
'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
* 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.")
* '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
* 'Hamlet' by William Shakespeare ("Good night, ladies. Good night, sweet ladies...")
Music
* Franz Liszt* 'The Protecting Veil' by John Tavener
* 'Hooray for Hollywood', song from the film Hollywood Hotel
* 'Dirty Old Town' performed by The Spinners (UK band)
* 'Keep The Home Fires Burning' (song)
* 'Still I Love Him (traditional)' (sung by a young girl)
* 'He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother' recorded by The Hollies used over images of the Korean War
* 'I was glad', heard during Elizabeth II's coronation ("Vivat Regina, Vivat Regina Elizabetha. Vivat! Vivat! Vivat!")
* 'The Folks Who Live on the Hill' performed by Peggy Lee whilst showing images of the newly erected tower blocks
* The Beatles[https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/oct/31/of-time-and-the-city The Guardian]
* 'Hippy Hippy Shake' performed by The Swinging Blue Jeans
* Elvis Presley
* Merseybeat
* Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson
* Alma Cogan
* Lita Roza
* Dickie Valentine
* Anton Bruckner
* Gustav Mahler
* Dmitri Shostakovich
* Jean Sibelius
* Jussi Bjrling
* Wilhelm Furtwngler
* Aleksandr Gauk
* Otto Klemperer
* Hans Knappertsbusch
* Robert Merrill
* Gheorghe Popescu Branesti
* Charles Munch
* Anneliese Rothenberger
* Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
* Amy Shuard
* 'The Pearl Fishers', opera by Georges Bizet
* Victor Sylvester
* 'Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam', Christian hymn
Films
* 'Singin' in the Rain'* 'Victim'
* 'Seven Brides for Seven Brothers'
* 'Young at Heart'
* 'All That Heaven Allows'
Fashion
* Coco Chanel* Elsa Schiaparelli
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
* Accrington Stanley F.C.* Sheffield F.C.
* Hamilton Academical F.C.
* Queen of the South F.C.
* Preston North End F.C.
* Blackpool F.C.
* Everton F.C.
* West Ham United F.C.
* Leicester City F.C.
* Leeds United A.F.C.
* Manchester United F.C.
* Grand National
Celebrities
* Kenneth Horne* Gene Kelly
* Dirk Bogarde[https://film.avclub.com/of-time-and-the-city-1798205536 AV Club]
* Bob Danvers-Walker
* Michael O'Hehir
* Peter O'Sullevan
* Bebe Daniels
* Ben Lyon
* Gregory Peck
* Greta Kukkonen
* Valerie Hobson
* John McCallum
* Margaret Lockwood
* Peter Sellers
* Lord Mayor of Birkenhead, Alderman Griffith Davies
* Petula Clark
* Lisa Daniely
* Christine Norden
* Richard Todd
* Jack Hawkins
* Paul Carpenter
Scholars
* Carl Jung* Friedrich Engels
Radio programmes
* Julian and SandyLaws
* Sexual Offences Act 1956Religious leaders
* John, Cardinal Heenan* Pope Pius XII
* Pope John XXIII
Historical figures
* William III of EnglandContemporary
* Hovis bread* Bakelite radio
[https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99908948 NPR]
Reception
The film was almost universally acclaimed,[https://www.bfi.org.uk/blu-rays-dvds/time-and-city BFI] 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. On Metacritic, it holds an 81% critical score based on 9 reviews, indicating universal acclaim.
It has been described as "a mesmerizing and eloquent essay" by Jonathan Rosenbaum of 'Chicago Reader', "a warm and extremely thoughtful journey, with a deliberately bare-bones narrative" by Peter Hartlaub of the 'San Francisco Chronicle', "a distinct pleasure to experience" by Kenneth Turan of the 'Los Angeles Times', "mesmerizing, visceral and heartfelt" by Geoff Pevere of the 'Toronto Star', "a short, beautiful, characteristically sublime memory piece" by Lisa Schwarzbaum of 'Entertainment Weekly', "a wistful, funny, satirical, angry and forgiving portrait" by Sean Axmaker of 'Parallax View', and "a visual poem" by Dennis Schwartz of 'Ozus' World Movie Reviews'. In 2018, Mark Kermode chose it as his favourite film of the last ten years.
See also
*'The Memories of Angels', a similarly constructed film about Montreal
References
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