Citizen Jane: Battle for the City

2017

92 mins

Poster for Citizen Jane: Battle for the City

Directed by Matt Tyrnauer
95%
69%
Documentary

Documentary on author and activist Jane Jacobs and her fight to preserve New York's historic neighbourhoods in the 1960s.

"New York... More

Documentary on author and activist Jane Jacobs and her fight to preserve New York's historic neighbourhoods in the 1960s.

"New York powerbroker and developer Robert Moses intended to gut New York City and construct superhighways and high-rise housing. Jane Jacobs led a grass-roots campaign to thwart his plans to demolish historic buildings and plough an expressway right through Lower Manhattan. It was an all-out fight for the future of her city. Jacobs, author of 'The Death and Life of Great American Cities', had a vision of urban life that involved people, neighbourhoods and heritage. Moses, on the other hand, dreamt of concrete and skyscrapers. Director Matt Tyrnauer (Valentino: The Last Emperor) has fashioned a captivating documentary of this David-and-Goliath encounter..." (Sydney Film Festival)

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Where to watch Citizen Jane: Battle for the City

Citizen Jane: Battle for the City is available to stream... More in the United Kingdom now on Amazon Video and Apple TV Store and Google TV and YouTube.

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Citizen Jane: Battle for the City | Ratings & Reviews

95_%57 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes® rating
69_%955 reviews
Audience score rating

"A fascinating documentary captures the showdown, half a century ago, between the activist Jane Jacobs and the Trumpian urban planner Robert Moses: a fight for the future of New York."

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Variety

"Wry but not dry, its nimble use of archive footage and chewy interviews expands the film into a thoughtful examination of what (and who) cities are for."

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Total Film

"Citizen Jane takes on an invigourating richness as it delves into issues of sexism (Jacobs, a respected journalist, was often painted by her foes as an angry mother), economic despair and the complex idea of the "master builder.""

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Time Out

"Only intermittently stimulating."

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The New York Times

"[A] bracing, invigorating documentary."

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The Guardian

"Anyone seeking a demonstration of how completely orthodoxy and heresy can change places need look no further than the brisk documentary "Citizen Jane: Battle for the City.""

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