Of Time and the City (2008)

A filmmaker looks at the history and transformation of his birthplace, Liverpool, England.

Director:

Terence Davies

Writer:

Terence Davies

Stars:

Terence Davies, George Harrison, Jack Hawkins

2 wins & 11 nominations.

Cast

Uncredited cast:
Terence Davies	...	Self - Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
George Harrison	...	Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Jack Hawkins	...	Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
John Lennon	...	Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Paul McCartney	...	Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Queen Elizabeth II	...	Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother	...	Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Ringo Starr	...	Self (archive footage) (uncredited)

Storyline

Terence Davies (1945- ), filmmaker and writer, takes us, sometimes obliquely, to his childhood and youth in Liverpool. He's born Catholic and poor; later he rejects religion. He discovers homo-eroticism, and it's tinged with Catholic guilt. Enjoying pop music gives way to a teenage love of Mahler and Wagner. Using archival footage, we take a ferry to a day on the beach. Postwar prosperity brings some positive change, but its concrete architecture is dispiriting. Contemporary colors and sights of children playing may balance out the presence of unemployment and persistent poverty. Davies' narration is a mix of his own reflections and the poems and prose of others.

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Plot Keywords:

liverpool england | england | mahler | beach | ferry | 

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Genres:

Documentary | Biography

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Mark Kermode listed this as his favourite film of the last decade.

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Connections

Referenced in The Film Review: Episode dated 31 October 2008 (2008)

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Soundtracks

Brahms Lullaby
Written by Johannes Brahms (uncredited)
Performed by Jennifer John (courtesy of Sense of Sound).

User Reviews

A trenchant, bitter, self serving, and self absorbed memoir.

This is, behind all the directorial flourishes, a view of working class Britain from above and beyond, and escaped. Davies' plummy voice tells us he has long departed from viewing his childhood home with any degree of warmth and instead drones on in sepulchurion disdain about the Church, his homosexual guilt, his artistic hauteur, as he hammers home, again and again from his dismal vantage point, an opinion complete in it's self absorption, self hate, projection, and most sadly heartlessness. C'mon Terry you must have had some mates, some fun, or at least some mentors who left you with some sense of the pulse of the place you grew up in!

Next up Blackpool and all it's masses awaiting intellectual dissecting by a dried up soul.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [France]

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 October 2008 (UK)

Also Known As:

Of Time and the City

Box Office

Budget:

$500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,595, 25 January 2009

Gross USA:

$32,677

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$523,417

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hurricane Films, Northwest Vision and Media, Digital Departures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

74 min

Color:

Color