City Hall (2020)
81%RT Audience Score: 64%
Awards & Nominations: NA
Frederick Wiseman’s City Hall is a masterpiece of documentary filmmaking that showcases the inner workings of government institutions in a way that is both informative and entertaining. With a runtime of 4 1/2 hours, the film demands a certain level of commitment from its viewers, but the payoff is well worth it. Wiseman’s camera captures the daily grind of public servants with a hypnotic beauty that is both inspiring and humbling. The film is a reminder that government can work, and that the people who run it are dedicated to serving their communities. Wiseman has created a work of massive regional significance that will be remembered for years to come.
City Hall” is like watching a real-life version of “Parks and Recreation,” but without the wacky characters and absurd plotlines. Instead, it’s a fascinating look at how government can actually work when people are dedicated to serving their community. Sure, it’s a long movie, but it’s worth it to see the hard work and dedication that goes into managing a city. Plus, it’s a great reminder that politics doesn’t have to be all drama and scandal. Sometimes, it can be downright inspiring.
Production Company(ies)
Bold Films, Blumhouse Productions, Right of Way Films,
Distributor
NA
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Belt Parkway, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for language and some violence
Year of Release
1996
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:SDDS Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:NA
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:NA
Genre(s)
Documentary
Keyword(s)
documentary, local government, Boston, Frederick Wiseman, 4h 35m, reviewed by Jason Bailey, K Austin Collins, Mark Feeney, Kathleen Sachs, Josh Kupecki, Ann Hornaday, Jake Mulligan, Christopher Llewellyn Reed, M.G Mailloux, Jim Ross, Jennie Kermode, produced by Frederick Wiseman, directed by Frederick Wiseman, written by Frederick Wiseman, genre, box office performance, budget, MPAA rating, politics, public servants, institutions, history, community, Boston City Hall, local politics, government, political institutions, contemporary liberalism, US history, community role, strength, will, overcome, nuanced, hypnotically beautiful, subtly encouraging, demanding, rewarding, patient, observant, engrossing, insightful, gem, master documentarian, art of decency, process, required viewing, portrait, pandemic, regional significance, Herculean task, reality television, lack of reality television, community role, multiple interpretations, no end of insights
Worldwide gross: $20,340,204
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $38,824,273
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,448
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 4,233,836
US/Canada gross: $20,340,204
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $38,824,273
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,179
US/Canada opening weekend: $6,950,794
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $13,267,297
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 850
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $40,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $76,349,820
Production budget ranking: 548
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $41,114,378
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$78,639,925
ROI to date (est.): -67%
ROI ranking: 1,789
Director(s)
Frederick Wiseman
Writer(s)
NA
Producer(s)
NA
Film Festivals
Venice, Toronto
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
All Critics (64) | Top Critics (20) | Fresh (63) | Rotten (1)
A reminder that government, for all of its speed bumps and snags, can work. It can help. The people running it just have to want it to.
February 15, 2021 | Rating: A
Jason Bailey
The Playlist
TOP CRITIC
On its surface, in so many ways, City Hall could read as an endorsement. But politics aren’t that simple — and Wiseman’s movie most certainly isn’t, either.
November 13, 2020 | Rating: 4.5/5
K. Austin Collins
Rolling Stone
TOP CRITIC
What Frederick Wiseman has been doing for all these years and in all these films is trying to make art of decency and process. In the good ones, he’s succeeded. “City Hall” is one of the very good ones.
November 9, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4
Mark Feeney
Boston Globe
TOP CRITIC
Frederick Wiseman’s documentary offers a hopeful look at political institutions.
November 7, 2020 | Rating: 4/4
Kathleen Sachs
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
While the phrase “required viewing” gets thrown around a lot, I cannot think of another film that plainly and comprehensively lays bare the both the complex apparatus at work, and the people dedicated to serving its populace.
November 5, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
Josh Kupecki
Austin Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
At 4 1/2 hours, “City Hall” is a demanding film. But it rewards that commitment with an experience that is both hypnotically beautiful and subtly encouraging.
November 4, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4
Ann Hornaday
Washington Post
TOP CRITIC
Even just taken as a portrait of Boston in the midst of what’ll now forever be known as ‘the moment before the pandemic,’ it’s a work of massive regional significance.
August 6, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Jake Mulligan
Dig Boston
Whatever one’s political leanings … the spectacle of public servants at work proves profound, the hard labor of daily management a Herculean task of truly epic proportions.
June 10, 2021
Christopher Llewellyn Reed
Hammer to Nail
City Hall lacks that sort of nuanced, curious approach to its material, and in its absence, Wiseman doesn’t have much to offer beyond standard homage to contemporary liberalism.
June 5, 2021
M.G. Mailloux
In Review Online
“It shows how government should work [because] there is a lack of ‘reality television’ about it, [which US politics has had a feeling of for a while]. It gets across a sense of a community role extremely effectively.”
May 24, 2021
Jim Ross
Cinetopia
With City Hall, Wiseman has captured a moment in US history in a form that allows for multiple interpretations and no end of insights.
March 12, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Jennie Kermode
Eye for Film
Wiseman’s latest work is a muted love letter to Boston, its institutions and its history — but above all, the strength and will of its people to overcome.
March 8, 2021 | Rating: 5/5
Matthew Anderson
CineVue…
Plot
A young boy dies from a stray bullet during a shootout between a cop and mob family member who had previously been supiciously given probabtion, only to break its terms. New York’s Deputy Mayor, Kevin Calhoun starts digging for information.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Fresh Kernels doesn’t provide any goofy or funny comments about the film City Hall.
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