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City Hall

Play trailer Poster for City Hall 2020 4h 35m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
98% Tomatometer 64 Reviews 67% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
Filmmaker Frederick Wiseman examines the rich history of Boston City Hall.
City Hall

What to Know

Critics Consensus

A glimpse of local government at work that's as patiently observant as it is engrossing, City Hall adds another insightful gem to master documentarian Frederick Wiseman's filmography.

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Critics Reviews

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Jason Bailey The Playlist A reminder that government, for all of its speed bumps and snags, can work. It can help. The people running it just have to want it to. Rated: A Feb 15, 2021 Full Review K. Austin Collins Rolling Stone On its surface, in so many ways, City Hall could read as an endorsement. But politics aren't that simple -- and Wiseman's movie most certainly isn't, either. Rated: 4.5/5 Nov 13, 2020 Full Review Mark Feeney Boston Globe What Frederick Wiseman has been doing for all these years and in all these films is trying to make art of decency and process. In the good ones, he's succeeded. "City Hall" is one of the very good ones. Rated: 3.5/4 Nov 9, 2020 Full Review Jake Mulligan Dig Boston Even just taken as a portrait of Boston in the midst of what'll now forever be known as 'the moment before the pandemic,' it's a work of massive regional significance. Rated: 4/5 Aug 6, 2021 Full Review Christopher Llewellyn Reed Hammer to Nail Whatever one's political leanings ... the spectacle of public servants at work proves profound, the hard labor of daily management a Herculean task of truly epic proportions. Jun 10, 2021 Full Review M.G. Mailloux In Review Online City Hall lacks that sort of nuanced, curious approach to its material, and in its absence, Wiseman doesn't have much to offer beyond standard homage to contemporary liberalism. Jun 5, 2021 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member Dreadful documentary, it's 4 hours of watching the mayor and his assistants doing what they are supposed to do "working" for a salary. Critics always praise the worst documentaries and movies, always! no matter what. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 02/03/23 Full Review david f A great, long look at that civic institution had by every town, big and small. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews
City Hall

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Cast & Crew

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Frederick Wiseman

Director

Karen Konicek

Producer

Frederick Wiseman

Producer

Sally Jo Fifer

Executive Producer

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City Hall

City Hall (2020) City Hall (2020) City Hall (2020) City Hall (2020) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Filmmaker Frederick Wiseman examines the rich history of Boston City Hall.
Director
Frederick Wiseman
Producer
Karen Konicek, Frederick Wiseman
Production Co
ITVS International, Puritan Pictures, Ford Foundation - Just Films, Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) [us]
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Runtime
4h 35m