| Of Time and the City | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Terence Davies |
| Written by | Terence Davies |
| Produced by | Solon Papadopoulos, Roy Boulter |
| Cinematography | Tim Pollard |
| Edited by | Liza Ryan-Carter |
| Music by | Ian Neil |
| Distributed by | British Film Institute |
Release dates |
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Running time | 72 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
Of Time and the City is a 2008 British documentary collage film directed by Terence Davies. The film has Davies recalling his life growing up in Liverpool in the 1950s and 1960s, using newsreel and documentary footage supplemented by his own commentary voiceover and contemporaneous and classical music soundtracks.
The film premiered as part of the Special Screenings selection at 2008 Cannes Film Festival where it received rave reviews.[1] Time Out said "The one truly great movie to emerge so far (from Cannes)..... this film is as personal, as universal in its relevance, and as gloriously cinematic as anything he has done"[1] and The Guardian called it "a British masterpiece, a brilliant assemblage of images that illuminate our past. Not only does it tug the heart-strings but it's also savagely funny."[1] BBC TV film critic Mark Kermode nominated it as the best overall film of 2008 on his "Kermode Awards" section of The Culture Show. In 2018 Kermode placed the film at number one in a list of his favourite films of the previous ten years (2008-2018).[2] Duane Byrge from The Hollywood Reporter lauded the film as "poetically composed" and a "masterwork".[3]
Of Time and the City won Best Documentary in the Australian Film Critics Association awards for 2009. Following the success of the film, in 2010 the website People’s Stories: Liverpool Lives was launched with Heritage Lottery funding, created for Of Time and the City by producer Sol Papadopoulos and transmedia creator Krishna Stott. For the launch of the site the actors Jonathan Pryce, Alexei Sayle and Joe McGann contributed their own memories of the city.[4][5]
- ^ a b c "Liverpool film portrait takes Cannes film festival by storm". Liverpool Daily Post. Retrieved 21 May 2008.
- ^ "Have You Seen Mark Kermode's Favourite Films of the last Ten Years". HITC Culture. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
- ^ Byrge, Duane (21 May 2008). "Of Time and the City". The Hollywood Reporter, the Daily from Cannes (8). Cannes: 10.
- ^ "Mediography". Krishna Stott. Bellyfeel. 6 December 2022. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
- ^ Jones, Catherine. "A new website for Liverpool reminiscences is launched after the success of Terence Davies movie Of Time and the City". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 6 December 2022.