Terence Davies, Esteemed British Director of ‘Distant Voices, Still Lives,’ Dies at 77

Michaela Zee
·3 min read
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Terence Davies, the British filmmaker known for “Distant Voices, Still Lives,” “The Deep Blue Sea” and “The Long Day Closes,” has died. He was 77.

The news of Davies’ death was shared on his official Instagram page: “It is with deep sadness that we announce the death of Terence Davies, who died peacefully at home after a short illness, today on 7th October 2023.”

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Davies was admired for his period films as well as his early autobiographical trilogy about growing up in Liverpool.

“Being in the past makes me feel safe because I understand that world,” he told the Guardian in 2022.

Though his films were widely recognized for their sensitive depictions of gay life, Catholicism and other frequent themes, they didn’t amass a huge number of awards, which he considered in his typically philosophical way. “It would have been nice to be acknowledged by Bafta. Again, there’s also part of me that thinks: isn’t it just vanity? If a film lives every time it’s seen, that’s the real reward,” he told the Guardian. “I think I’ve achieved what I set out to do.”

Born to a large Catholic family in Liverpool, Davies left school at 16 and worked for 10 years as a clerk before attending Coventry Drama School. His first short, “Children,” was autobiographical, and written while he was at school. He then attended the National Film School, where he made “Madonna and Child,” another autobiographical work about his years as a clerk.

The third film in the series, “Death and Transfiguration” was about him musing on the possible circumstances of his death. The three films are known as “The Terence Davies Trilogy.”

His first two features, 1998’s “Distant Voices, Still Lives” and 1992’s “The Long Day Closes,” again covered themes from his life, drawing acclaim and ranking high on lists of best British films.

For “The Neon Bible” in 1995, Davies adapted a novel by John Kennedy Toole, and it received a Bafta nomination for best British film. “The House of Mirth” was based on Edith Wharton’s novel, and Gillian Anderson was praised for her performance as socialite Lily Bart.

Unable to complete financing for his fifth feature “Sunset Song,” he produced two radio plays, “A Walk to the Paradise Garden” and an adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s “The Waves.”

Davies then turned to documentary with “Of Time and the City,” which premiered out of competition in Cannes in 2008 and drew widespread acclaim. The docu was a tribute to his native Liverpool, incorporating a wide range of literary, musical and film references.

“The Deep Blue Sea,” an adaptation of a play by Terence Rattigan, won the N.Y. Film Critics Circle award for Rachel Weisz, and again drew highly positive reviews.

In 2015 he was finally able to complete “Sunset Song” and followed with “A Quiet Passion,” about Emily Dickinson, and “Benediction,” about poet Siegfried Sassoon.

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