
Directing
Terence Davies
Born 1945-11-10 · Liverpool, England, UK
Terence Davies (10 November 1945 — 7 October 2023) was an English writer-director and former novelist. As a filmmaker, Davies is noted for his recurring themes of emotional (and sometimes physical) endurance, the influence of memory on everyday life and the potentially crippling effects of dogmatic religiosity on the emotional life of individuals and societies. Stylistically, Davies' works are notable for their symmetrical compositions, "symphonic" structure and measured pace.
Acting credits
7.5Poet Emily Dickinson, pigeonholed as the strange recluse since her death, takes you on a journey through the seasons of her life amid 1800s New England.
My Letter to the World: A Journey Through the Life of Emily Dickinson
2017
6.3From the music of Uruguayan composer Florencia Di Concilio, English filmmaker Terence Davies does a cinematic reading of his own poem about his late sister, delivered over a single serene shot of the countryside near his home in Essex. This short film is part of the 2x25 Project of Film Fest Gent and the World Soundtrack Awards. The project commissioned 25 composers to compose a short piece of music, after which 25 filmmakers made short films that are the ultimate symbioses of music and cinematography, fitting completely within the DNA of the festival. The result: 25 exceptional films where the music inspired the form, narrative and texture.
Passing Time
2023
7.0Doris Day has often been dismissed as an actress and overlooked as a singer, despite career highs such as Calamity Jane and Pillow Talk. Covering her early years as a band singer, and her troubled private life, this documentary re-evaluates one of the screen's most enduring legends.
Doris Day: Virgin Territory
2007
An elegy to time and life, condensing Terence Davies' profoundly humane poetics into little more than one minute, enveloping the viewer in an atmosphere of light and (Davies' own) words.
But Why?
2021
NRProgram focuses on the lasting appeal and cinematic brilliance of The Ladykillers. Included in it are clips from interviews with broadcaster and author Stuart Maconie, film editor Catherine Shoard, actor and writer Reece Shearsmith, and author Ronald Harwood, amongst others.
Investigating The Ladykillers
2020
NRA documentary short in which Terence Davies talks about his life and his love for the arts in what turned out to be his final interview.
The Gates of Heaven
2025
7.1British director Terence Davies reflects on his birthplace of Liverpool - his memories of growing up there and how it has changed in the years since - in the process meditating on the internal struggles and conflicts that have wracked him throughout his life and the history of England during the second half of the 20th century.
Of Time and the City
2008
Behind the camera
6.3In early 20th century New York City, an impoverished socialite desperately seeks a suitable husband as she gradually finds herself betrayed by her friends and exiled from high society.
The House of Mirth
2000
6.3In early 20th century New York City, an impoverished socialite desperately seeks a suitable husband as she gradually finds herself betrayed by her friends and exiled from high society.
The House of Mirth
2000
6.2Poet Siegfried Sassoon survived the horrors of fighting in the First World War and was decorated for his bravery, but became a vocal critic of the government's continuation of the war when he returned from service. Adored by members of the aristocracy as well as stars of London's literary and stage world, he embarked on affairs with several men as he attempted to come to terms with his homosexuality.
Benediction
2021
6.2Poet Siegfried Sassoon survived the horrors of fighting in the First World War and was decorated for his bravery, but became a vocal critic of the government's continuation of the war when he returned from service. Adored by members of the aristocracy as well as stars of London's literary and stage world, he embarked on affairs with several men as he attempted to come to terms with his homosexuality.
Benediction
2021
6.0The story of American poet Emily Dickinson from her early days as a young schoolgirl to her later years as a reclusive, unrecognized artist.
A Quiet Passion
2016
6.0The story of American poet Emily Dickinson from her early days as a young schoolgirl to her later years as a reclusive, unrecognized artist.
A Quiet Passion
2016
5.9The wife of a British Judge is caught in a self-destructive love affair with a Royal Air Force pilot.
The Deep Blue Sea
2011
5.9The wife of a British Judge is caught in a self-destructive love affair with a Royal Air Force pilot.
The Deep Blue Sea
2011
10.0A lyric documentary about home, time, memory and mortality, commissioned by the Centre Pompidou to accompany their retrospective of Terence Davies' work. Davies began to design this film based on his poems, but passed away before it could be realised. The film was produced posthumously according to Davies' instructions.
Home! Home!
2024
6.9Siblings Maisie and Tony, along with their mother, gather for their sister Eileen's wedding. It is a joyous occasion, but through flashbacks, it becomes clear that the family was not always happy. Their father was physically abusive to his wife and left the children emotionally traumatized. As a result, the children have grown into unhappy adults, looking for love they didn't receive when they were young.
Distant Voices, Still Lives
1988
6.9Siblings Maisie and Tony, along with their mother, gather for their sister Eileen's wedding. It is a joyous occasion, but through flashbacks, it becomes clear that the family was not always happy. Their father was physically abusive to his wife and left the children emotionally traumatized. As a result, the children have grown into unhappy adults, looking for love they didn't receive when they were young.
Distant Voices, Still Lives
1988
6.3From the music of Uruguayan composer Florencia Di Concilio, English filmmaker Terence Davies does a cinematic reading of his own poem about his late sister, delivered over a single serene shot of the countryside near his home in Essex. This short film is part of the 2x25 Project of Film Fest Gent and the World Soundtrack Awards. The project commissioned 25 composers to compose a short piece of music, after which 25 filmmakers made short films that are the ultimate symbioses of music and cinematography, fitting completely within the DNA of the festival. The result: 25 exceptional films where the music inspired the form, narrative and texture.
Passing Time
2023
6.3From the music of Uruguayan composer Florencia Di Concilio, English filmmaker Terence Davies does a cinematic reading of his own poem about his late sister, delivered over a single serene shot of the countryside near his home in Essex. This short film is part of the 2x25 Project of Film Fest Gent and the World Soundtrack Awards. The project commissioned 25 composers to compose a short piece of music, after which 25 filmmakers made short films that are the ultimate symbioses of music and cinematography, fitting completely within the DNA of the festival. The result: 25 exceptional films where the music inspired the form, narrative and texture.
Passing Time
2023
6.1During a train ride, a teenager recalls his upbringing in 1940s small-town Georgia and the events that have led to this point.
The Neon Bible
1995
6.1During a train ride, a teenager recalls his upbringing in 1940s small-town Georgia and the events that have led to this point.
The Neon Bible
1995
6.2The daughter of a Scottish farmer comes of age in the early 1900s.
Sunset Song
2015
6.2The daughter of a Scottish farmer comes of age in the early 1900s.
Sunset Song
2015
7.2Bud is a lonely and quiet boy whose moments of solace occur when he sits in rapture at the local cinema, watching towering and iconic figures on the movie screen. The movies give Bud the strength to get through another day as he deals with his oppressive school environment and his burgeoning homosexuality.
The Long Day Closes
1992
7.2Bud is a lonely and quiet boy whose moments of solace occur when he sits in rapture at the local cinema, watching towering and iconic figures on the movie screen. The movies give Bud the strength to get through another day as he deals with his oppressive school environment and his burgeoning homosexuality.
The Long Day Closes
1992
NRThe story of a coerced sexual encounter, told through a series of close-ups. A newly-discovered student film made by Terence Davies ca 1980, during his time at the National Film and Television School.
Boogie
1980
6.5In stark black and white, Terence Davies excavates the life of his fictional alter ego, Robert Tucker, in a narrative that slips between childhood, middle age and death, shaping the raw materials of his own life into a rich tapestry of experiences and impressions.
The Terence Davies Trilogy
1983
6.5In stark black and white, Terence Davies excavates the life of his fictional alter ego, Robert Tucker, in a narrative that slips between childhood, middle age and death, shaping the raw materials of his own life into a rich tapestry of experiences and impressions.
The Terence Davies Trilogy
1983
An elegy to time and life, condensing Terence Davies' profoundly humane poetics into little more than one minute, enveloping the viewer in an atmosphere of light and (Davies' own) words.
But Why?
2021
An elegy to time and life, condensing Terence Davies' profoundly humane poetics into little more than one minute, enveloping the viewer in an atmosphere of light and (Davies' own) words.
But Why?
2021