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Of Time and the City

Play trailer Poster for Of Time and the City 2009 1h 12m Documentary Biography Play Trailer Watchlist
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93% Tomatometer 59 Reviews 68% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Terence Davies recalls his life growing up in Liverpool, England in the 1950s and 1960s using newsreel and documentary footage.
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Of Time and the City

Of Time and the City

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Critics Consensus

Terrence Davies' heartfelt, sometimes funny new feature documentary is part scrapbook, part confessional.

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Critics Reviews

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Richard Brody The New Yorker 10/05/2020
The pain of [Davies'] latter-day distance from his home town comes through poignantly. Go to Full Review Jonathan Rosenbaum Chicago Reader 12/16/2009
Terence Davies, England's greatest living filmmaker, has released only six features, and this one is his first documentary, a mesmerizing and eloquent essay about his native Liverpool. Go to Full Review Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times 06/18/2009
3.5/4
The film invites a reverie. It inspired thoughts of the transience of life. Go to Full Review David Walsh World Socialist Web Site 02/13/2021
This is a poetic version, but genuinely felt and elegantly expressed. Go to Full Review Mattie Lucas From the Front Row 07/07/2019
2/4
A pompous, ostentatious mishmash of artful lyricism and egotistical self-aggrandizement. Go to Full Review Derek Smith Tiny Mix Tapes 09/29/2015
3/5
If I seem overly harsh towards a film that I'm essentially recommending, it's only because I expect more from the director. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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11/26/2016 an elegiac tribute to the scruffy city best known for producing the Beatles. The director says early on that he didn't care for them, that he was more likely to listen to Bruchner. He also makes fun of the Church and is no fan of the monarchy, the Betsy and Phil club that paraded around in Cinderella carriages while a nation was on rations. He is not any fonder of the church which did not approve of his homosexuality. But he gives us a beautiful portrait of small children carefully dressed and bathed, tottering around the sooty streets and buildings, of the warm, welcoming pubs, of the hardworking Liverpudlians. Even if he didn't fit in there, this documentary makes it clear that he has a loving image of Liverpool in his heart. See more 09/21/2015 More a visual poem made up of angry indictments and cautious nostalgia than a traditional documentary, Of Time and the City captures the essence of a brief period of England that provided Davies with his formative years, a personal exhibition of scar tissue and sentiment. See more 02/24/2014 This a splendid short documentary film about one of my favourite places Liverpool. The music and poetry work perfectly and it is quite haunting at times. I only wish it could have been a bit longer. I want to see more films like this. See more 03/15/2013 A very irritatingly narrated Documentary on director Terence Davies & his Life & Love for Liverpool England. It had some great footage & somewhat interesting insight to Liverpool but the lack of any structure what so ever in this Documentary got to me. I found it over intellectual (or I wasn't smart enough to get it) & in many ways seemed rather dull. I found it irritating & glad when it was finished, however there are some gorgeous stills & footage of early Liverpool. See more 06/16/2012 Terence Davies speaks his mind over a Liverpool backdrop. Both time and city are featured heavily. See more 05/17/2012 Just a few too many shots of downtrodden old ladies, but the rest a thoughtful, funny, tragic delight. Was worth renting just to hear the narration about the royal family. See more Read all reviews
Of Time and the City

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Cast & Crew

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Terence Davies

Director

Terence Davies

Writer

Christopher Moll

Executive Producer

Lisa Marie Russo

Executive Producer

Roy Boulter

Producer

Sol Papadopoulos

Producer

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Of Time and the City

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Movie Info

Synopsis Terence Davies recalls his life growing up in Liverpool, England in the 1950s and 1960s using newsreel and documentary footage.
Director
Terence Davies
Producer
Roy Boulter, Sol Papadopoulos
Screenwriter
Terence Davies
Distributor
Strand Releasing
Genre
Documentary, Biography
Original Language
British English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jan 21, 2009, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 13, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$32.6K
Runtime
1h 12m
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