Requiem for Detroit?

There's a scary book called 'Blood River' about the collapse of civilisation in Congo; its most frightening moment is when the author tells of discovering the relics of a railway in the middle of a forest, as if it was ancient archaeology. Yet Julien Temple's documentary about Detroit shows us that the west should not necessarily be so smug. The rate at which nature is reclaiming the motor city from man is alarming; if you want to know how long humanity might survive some disaster that took the impetus out from the economy, the answer is apparently just a few decades. The cause in Detroit's case is as follows: the collapse of the U.S. car industry; the availability of land and of cars (increasingly built elsewhere) to facilitate commuting from outside the city limits; and a tax system that provides no breaks to depopulating communities. The film combines a concise history of the city with footage of its increasing dereliction and a soundtrack taken mainly from its rich musical history; except for some odd, intrusive sound effects, it's mostly excellent and gripping. But above all else, proof that one doesn't need to travel to Africa to witness the descent on man.

Detroit might be anywhere. A city built on promises and wealth from the powers that be that often shape countries. A city left bereft of wealth and promise by the people who created it not so long ago.

Temple's documentary is a strong message of what can happen should the worst happen. It reminded me of how reliant we are on the promises of big business and when the power goes out it might not come back on.

Having never been to Detroit I wondered how this once burgeoning city, like all cities, could fall and emerge in the modern world like a post-apocalypse disaster town, where anarchy ruled. The word 'apocolypse' comes from ancient Greek and it translates as 'rebirth' (sic) and anarchy in Detroit is not as bad as it seems to Temple, as the city can only pick itself up from rock bottom.

The documentary is solid and provides an insight into a city that is the butt of a lot of jokes in the US. This city is no joke if we take the future of capitalism seriously and Temple's Requiem For Detroit will be remembered as a non-sectarian view of capitalism gone awry.

I was hoping for some realistic ventures into sites that perhaps were no longer available to the general public.., or at least a realistic view of the abandoned sites within a thriving city..or EVEN a city in decay... ..Disappointed..I was trying to pay attention to what the residents/ historians had to share about Detroit, incl. General Motors, Cadillac, etc....

I found the film condescending with so many unnecessary/distracting sound effects & ridiculous song choices, eg: 'Dancing in the Street' during a riot, and the music kept changing throughout. I think it was an insensitive, poorly thought-out advent, after some quick something from someone close.

I don't recommend it for anyone wishing to learn something here.

Julien Temple's film about the construction and destruction of Detroit, America's fourth largest city, is a shocking and mind-blowing vision of Man's pursuit of Utopia - in partnership with the Devil. As with much of the American Dream the city was built on a greedy and sinister lie. Lured by the General Motors Company and the promise of work and housing and a regular salary on the production line, people flocked to Detroit from the 1920's onwards in their thousands - many were poor black country folk from the Deep South. Out of the prairie a vast factory was born with high rise buildings, grand houses, five- star hotels, stadiums and theatres, schools, churches, highways and fancy stores selling furs and diamonds. The ownership of a car became not just a dream but a necessity and thus the Consumer Society was born. Segregation was part of the plan and the black folk lived in an area named Black Bottom and the white folk lived as far away as possible. Temple has the facility to educate with images and does not use any political jargon or persuasion. He lets archive footage of the assembly line workers, the race riots of 1967, the huge-finned cars and the society functions speak for itself, and it sure does, with a vengeance. Detroit today is a shambolic ruin, crumbling, gaping, overgrown, broken and battered. It is hard not to believe that Hurricane Katrina has passed by here. The once orderly production like is just a track among columns stripped of copper by local people desperate to earn a few bucks. Trees grow from the fractured roofs of the stately old Department store and theatre. 50,000 homes have been destroyed and thousands remain burnt and vandalised carcasses. But, and this is the most extraordinary thing about the film, out of the ashes a Phoenix is rising. The local people are making a fresh start and some of these people as they talk honestly and with great dignity and wisdom, make one's heart soar and feel hope for mankind. If all the people in Detroit are as remarkable as those found by Temple then a truly wonderful thing will have come out of the dark and deadly times.

A driftless 'documentary' of the city of Detroit. Prepared to be bombarded with cheap sound effects throughout the film and a very roughly stitched together history. There are some wonderful interviews interspersed with old footage of car factories and the riots.

I suspect that the majority of the positive reviews don't know the history of the area very well. While it's not factually incorrect, it is so light on the details and motivations that surround the events that I couldn't recommend this to anyone.

I'm still looking for a more cohesive film that explores the history of Detroit. If you know of one please let me know.