Buy Of Time and the City on DVD

Of Time and the City

DVD

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$25.99 (7% off)
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Synopsis

Acclaimed director Terence Davies’ nostalgic ode to Liverpool -— the city of his birth -— is an exquisitely assembled tiny jewel.

Review

Davies’ highly personal work is actually more poem than traditional film. In it, he reflects upon his early life in the tenements of Liverpool -- an iconic port town in England, where he lived as the youngest of ten children in a strict Roman Catholic household from his birth after WWII until his departure in the mid 1970s. Davis (his own voice-over narration) reminisces about his early love of cinema, his burgeoning acceptance of his homosexuality, and his personal relationships with his family and hometown in this seamlessly woven documentary comprised of meticulously chosen found footage, emotionally charged music (including works by Mahler, Sibelius, The Hollies, The Spinners, and Peggy Lee), old radio shows, evocative literary quotes and references. In looking at Liverpool through Davies’ eyes, the city takes on a mythic quality. When we see it fall on economic hard times, it’s heartbreaking. Davies is known for being a filmmaker who only selects projects that are close to his heart, and this is no exception.

-- Jennifer Steinberg

Product Format Information

DVD : $25.99

Availability: Usually ships in
5-10 days
Region Code: 1
UPC: 712267281329
Catalog #: DV2803742

Studio : Strand Releasing

Languages: English (Primary)
Aspect Ratio: Widescreen
Features:
Interview(s): with Terence Davies
Featurette: On the Set with Terence Davies; In the Editing Room with Terence Davies
Original theatrical trailer

Keywords

Biographical/Autobiographical, British, UK, Gay Male, Gay/Lesbian

Genres

Documentary, International

Customer Reviews

A Eulogy and a Love Song

Anos Lassen wrote on 02/27/2009:

“Of Time and the City”
A Eulogy and a Love Song
Amos Lassen
“Of Time and the City” is director Terence Davies’s love song and eulogy to Liverpool, England, his birthplace. But it is also more than that; it is his response to the memory, reflection and experience of losing his sense of place as things change and time marches on. This is a personal film as Davies goes back to his youth and he remembers what Liverpool was like after World War II. Davies was raised in working class Liverpool and suffered from guilt about his homosexuality.
In the film, Davies satirizes Liverpool in its aspirations of being what it isn’t and shows us how vulgar he feels the architecture is. He gives us Britain of the 1950’s with kids playing outside and trips to the seashore. We see footage of run down houses and of the Korean War but overall this is a look at failed urban development set to music and undeniably sentimental. Life, loss and Liverpool are the focus of this poetic documentary.
The film is a bit difficult to describe but it is beautiful to watch. It is an essay put on film which is a look at memory. Almost 80% of the film comes from archival sources and Davies has labored to pick out the most effective of these. His eye is exceptional and his ear mixes sound to the shots we see.
Davies very obviously loves Liverpool and misses the Liverpool that was. He also is angry about what went on in his life there. He openly gives us his resentments and his anger. He tells us his rage over being raised Catholic and of organized religion. He doesn’t like the monarchy either. He speaks openly about the treatment of gays and the laws against them in England. However, upon else, the film shows how Liverpool molded him and we see how lucky we are to have him.
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