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Product Description
Terence Davies' ode to his native Liverpool has wowed audiences and critics alike after being hailed as the highlight of the Cannes Film Festival where it received its premiere. This is a spectacular return to form by Davies, long-hailed as one of Britains greatest filmmakers. Of Time and the City is an illuminating and heartfelt work, powerfully evoking life in post-war Britain while exploring the nature of love, memory, and the toll that the passing years takes on the cities and communities that we cherish. This is no simple documentary; it is an entrancing piece of autobiographical cinema that reaches far beyond the city in which it is set, weaving a rich tapestry from archive and contemporary footage, music, voice, literary quotation, personal reminiscence and wickedly funny observation.
Extra Features:
- The making of Of Time and the City (2009): in new interviews, Terence Davies and the film's producers and archive producer discuss the making of the film and the inspirations behind it.
- Listen to Britain (Humphrey Jennings, Stuart McAllister,1942): the classic wartime documentary which helped inspire Of * Time and the City, presented with a personal introduction by Terence Davies.
- Q&A with Terence Davies at Cambridge Arts Picturehouse.
- Original trailer.
- Illustrated booklet featuring essays, credits and biography.
- Dolby Digital audio (320kbps)
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
59 of 62 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
My father wanted to see this, partly because he was born and bred in Liverppol and now lives near Chester, but partly because it has had some excellent reviews in the media. I was happy to go along for the ride.
The film is peppered with poetry and quotations, and they are all appropriate for the footage at that moment, whether you know the lines or not. The narration is rich and the voice has real resonance. The music is varied - rock, ballads, classical - and again, whether it is to your taste or not, it is all appropriate for the footage being shown.
There is humour, there is some bitterness about the difference between the rich and the poor, and there is great sadness for what has been lost forever. In fact, the overwhelming impression is a sense of huge loss in the face of decay. I am not usually one for tears in cinemas, but in the tiny cinema of Theatr Clwyd half of the audience was struggling to dig out tissues, and at one point I was one of them. The sense of vibrancy and hope fading into depression and decay was almost too much to bear.
But there really is humour. One of my favourite jokes is far too rude to repeat here, but the dryness in some cases and the outright vigour in others had the audience laughing as well as crying.
If you are offended by a negative attitude to religion or the monarchy this may be something you will need to bear in mind. But there are no digs at politics or any focus on street violence, both obvious targets to create an impact with an audience.
There is nothing artificial about the ending. There is no false sense of hope for a future which is, if one is being realistic, completely uncertain. There are shots of modern life, people of all ages being both false and natural in different activities, but there are no predictions and there is nothing that lifts the overall sense of loss, occasional anger, and regret.
It is the only film that I have ever attended at which the audience sat motionless, with the theatre lights all fully illuminated, until the very end of the credits. There was a real sense that something remarkable had just happened and that it would be uncivil to stand and leave before the text had trailed away.
My father and I went to a nearby pub afterwards for a meal and spent the entire time talking about the film. Laugh or cry, it is an amazing and never to be missed experience. I have it on pre-order.
The film is peppered with poetry and quotations, and they are all appropriate for the footage at that moment, whether you know the lines or not. The narration is rich and the voice has real resonance. The music is varied - rock, ballads, classical - and again, whether it is to your taste or not, it is all appropriate for the footage being shown.
There is humour, there is some bitterness about the difference between the rich and the poor, and there is great sadness for what has been lost forever. In fact, the overwhelming impression is a sense of huge loss in the face of decay. I am not usually one for tears in cinemas, but in the tiny cinema of Theatr Clwyd half of the audience was struggling to dig out tissues, and at one point I was one of them. The sense of vibrancy and hope fading into depression and decay was almost too much to bear.
But there really is humour. One of my favourite jokes is far too rude to repeat here, but the dryness in some cases and the outright vigour in others had the audience laughing as well as crying.
If you are offended by a negative attitude to religion or the monarchy this may be something you will need to bear in mind. But there are no digs at politics or any focus on street violence, both obvious targets to create an impact with an audience.
There is nothing artificial about the ending. There is no false sense of hope for a future which is, if one is being realistic, completely uncertain. There are shots of modern life, people of all ages being both false and natural in different activities, but there are no predictions and there is nothing that lifts the overall sense of loss, occasional anger, and regret.
It is the only film that I have ever attended at which the audience sat motionless, with the theatre lights all fully illuminated, until the very end of the credits. There was a real sense that something remarkable had just happened and that it would be uncivil to stand and leave before the text had trailed away.
My father and I went to a nearby pub afterwards for a meal and spent the entire time talking about the film. Laugh or cry, it is an amazing and never to be missed experience. I have it on pre-order.
46 of 53 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I love the city of Liverpool, and made the choice to move here last year. When I saw this film, it just reaffirmed how right this decision was.
Liverpool has been long underrated, ridiculed and misunderstood, despite having one of the richest cultural heritages of anywhere in the world (where else do you think MERSEYbeat music came from?!) and some of the most incredible people as its inhabitants, as well as being the world's first real modern trading port with its series of docks and warehouses and sadly being heavily involved in the slave trade.
Liverpool and its people have so many diversities; there are so many people of so many backgrounds here; rich and poor, young and old, and from all over the world.
The film investigates these people, and gives voices to those who are usually silenced; nobody speaks bar Terrence Davies but he eloquently and movingly tells their stories with a mixture of modern and old footage. I found it humbling to watch and made me proud to be a part of such a beautiful and rich (in the sense of love and culture) city. It is not all seriousness, there are some humourouse and rather rude moments!!
Recommended to anyone with even a passing interest in the city of Liverpool and to educate those with a bad impression of what was the European Capital Of Culture last year. Also, big congratulations to both Terrence Davies and Roy Boulter for their hard work in piecing this together; a huge amount of work and research went into the conception and production of this film.
Liverpool has been long underrated, ridiculed and misunderstood, despite having one of the richest cultural heritages of anywhere in the world (where else do you think MERSEYbeat music came from?!) and some of the most incredible people as its inhabitants, as well as being the world's first real modern trading port with its series of docks and warehouses and sadly being heavily involved in the slave trade.
Liverpool and its people have so many diversities; there are so many people of so many backgrounds here; rich and poor, young and old, and from all over the world.
The film investigates these people, and gives voices to those who are usually silenced; nobody speaks bar Terrence Davies but he eloquently and movingly tells their stories with a mixture of modern and old footage. I found it humbling to watch and made me proud to be a part of such a beautiful and rich (in the sense of love and culture) city. It is not all seriousness, there are some humourouse and rather rude moments!!
Recommended to anyone with even a passing interest in the city of Liverpool and to educate those with a bad impression of what was the European Capital Of Culture last year. Also, big congratulations to both Terrence Davies and Roy Boulter for their hard work in piecing this together; a huge amount of work and research went into the conception and production of this film.
23 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Terence Davies has made a wonderful, evocative film about his childhood.
I loved it. It made me laugh and cry and I wondered if it made a difference to me because I come from Liverpool too but I really don't think this is the case.
It's the marvellous writing that makes this poem to childhood so special.
I loved it. It made me laugh and cry and I wondered if it made a difference to me because I come from Liverpool too but I really don't think this is the case.
It's the marvellous writing that makes this poem to childhood so special.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Deeply disappointing
I am a great fan of Terence Davies as a director and of 'Distant Voices, Still Lives' and 'The Long Day Closes' in particular. Read more
Published 17 days ago by Peter Manning
awful
I bought this dvd, based upon all the 5 star reviews. I was expecting archive footage of Liverpool alongside authentic memories by the people them selves. How wrong I was. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Dave
Atmospheric
The first time I saw 'Of Time and the City' I had no idea what to expect as I went with friends who had booked the tickets. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Bedtime reader
Atmospheric beyond belief!
Much about this film has been said, but the visuals and the exceptional choice of music make this one of the most moving documentaries I've seen. Outstanding!
Published 4 months ago by D. Burgess-joyce
Of Time And The City [DVD] [2008]
It's very good, my Father was born there and seeing the Overhead Railway working was a great scene. My Father went to work in Liverpool Docks (Garston) when he was 14 years old... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Kevin Pople
Welcome to our world
Utterly compelling. Seeing and hearing and listening to the parent past. For the first time. The architecture of decay and children play. Surpassed. Read more
Published 8 months ago by W. Rodick
Sweet and Sour
Immerses and captivates.It is much more than a chronicle of transitional times in a once great city. Terence Davies was part of the city. Read more
Published 10 months ago by K. T. Cunningham
'Down and out in Paris and London' for the 20th century
The Terence Davies documentary Of Time and the City that received heaps of praise at the Cannes Film Festival is as good as the plaudits suggest. Read more
Published 17 months ago by D. J. Andrews
The Soul Of A Great City
Although this is 'A film by Terence Davies' which is both 'a love song and a eulogy', its chief merit is the superb archive material which accounts for some 85% of the total... Read more
Published 17 months ago by M. J. Nelson
Memories of far off days
A very powerful memory of a time gone by, the rose tinted memories replaced in the monochrome of its reality. Sad but fond memories.
Published 17 months ago by Long time away
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