All Critics (40) British Film Institute, |, June 2, 2014 It is a joyous occasion, but through flashbacks it becomes clear that the family was not always happy. Davies intermingles and contrasts scenes like the family peacefully lighting candles in church with the brutal man beating his wife and terrorizing his young children. Coming Soon. She reads them and has to make sense of the chronology - and so must we? Tony and Maisie's memories, however, are more troubled. Distant Voices, Still Lives The lives of an English working-class family are told out of order in a free-associative manner. Distant Voices Still Lives (1988) Post-war working-class Liverpool life is impressionistically evoked in Terence Davies’ two-part film, by turns lyrical, humorous and horrific. | Top Critics (20) 1 hr 24 min. Was this review helpful to you? Don’t worry, it won’t take long. A great earlier performance from him here. 7 of 7 people found this review helpful. Davies intermingles and contrasts scenes like the family peacefully lighting candles in church with the brutal man beating his wife and terrorizing his young children. Get the freshest reviews, news, and more delivered right to your inbox! Your AMC Ticket Confirmation# can be found in your order confirmation email. Distant Voices, Still Lives. There are no approved quotes yet for this movie. Indeed.My continuing impression is that men of that era, not only in the UK and US as well as elsewhere, were really almost clinically unreflective in that they were so used to being tolerated and getting away with murder that they were nearly incapable of seeing themselves in anything resembling a true light.How women both sustained family life by themselves and because of their friendships with other women belies the fact that they felt powerless to change anything for the better, at least for more than five minutes.My fantasy is that it would be great for a lot of men of my generation (now 70) to be tied down with their mouths taped and their eyes propped open with toothpicks, if need be, and forced to watch this movie about forty times! Second viewing, last seen during its original U.S. theatrical release. The second part, "Still Lives", focuses on his children. Terence Davies's stunning debut feature film Distant Voices, Still Lives was instantly recognised as a masterpiece on its release in 1988 and the director hailed as one of Britain's most gifted and remarkable filmmakers. | Rating: 5/5 1. See the fabulous presenters and gracious winners at this year's Oscars. Just leave us a message here and we will work on getting you verified. |, May 20, 2020 A brilliant, emotional and powerful film full of great acting. Channel Four Films, August 30, 2018 Check out our editors' picks for the best movies and shows coming your way in May. Distant Voices, Still Lives. This film evokes the haunting quality ... See full summary ». DISTANT VOICES, STILL LIVES A film by Terence Davies. Use the HTML below. This Cannes Film Festival-winner tells the rich story of working-class life and loss, framed by love of music, in mid-20th century Liverpool, England. Distant Voices, Still Lives. Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Soon after, the family poses in a similar tableau, but for a happier occasion - Eileen's wedding. Instead, Distant Voices, Still Lives uses a variety of sourced music and specially recorded arrangements of songs, both used equally to evoke the era and the memories. A filmmaker looks at the history and transformation of his birthplace, Liverpool, England. Cinemark Winner of the International Critics' Prize, Cannes 1988. It is an incredible evocation of family life and even though at times it makes for hard viewing, this is a film that must be seen. We want to hear what you have to say but need to verify your email. The first part, "Distant Voices", focuses on the father's role in the family. The second half, ‘Still Lives,’ things become more lively with a more robust widow and plenty of pub sing-a-longs to all too familiar tunes like ‘Taking a Chance on Love,’ ‘Roll Out the Barrel’ and ‘Bye Bye Blackbird.’ Read critic reviews. |, September 6, 2018 The story of American poet Emily Dickinson from her early days as a young schoolgirl to her later years as a reclusive, unrecognized artist. (84) IMDb 7.4 1 h 23 min 1990 X-Ray PG-13. Cummins, I. A gripping and original piece of work, itself sure to be remembered as one of the finest films of the year. Verified reviews are considered more trustworthy by fellow moviegoers. Rewatched Aug 22, 2020. Don't have an account? Distant Voices, Still Lives, the movie that established director Terence Davies's reputation as a feature filmmaker, is currently in the midst of a revival run at Metrograph. For all the formal technique and the theatrically controlled tableaux, the drama is vividly present and alive. | Rotten (8). While relatives sing at her reception, Eileen hysterically grieves for her dad, and recalls happy times of her youth. The image is an example of a ticket confirmation email that AMC sent you when you purchased your ticket. |, September 7, 2019 We want to hear what you have to say but need to verify your account. Directed by: Terence Davies. The second film in Terence Davies's autobiographical series is an impressionistic view of a working-class family in 1940s and 1950s Liverpool, based on Davies's own family. Title: As a result, the children have grown into unhappy adults, looking for love they didn't receive when they were young. |, November 1, 2018 Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. | Rating: 8/10 Distant Voices, Still Lives. . Get a sneak peek of the new version of this page. The beauty of the film lies in the deeply artistic composition of various shots, coupled with Davis' enduring compassion and understanding for the chararcters, especially the father played brilliantly by Pete Postlethwaite. Kwon drops and scatters the undated letters. |, October 30, 2019 While relatives sing at her reception, Eileen hysterically grieves for her dad, and recalls happy times of her youth. Distant Voices, Still Lives 1988 ★★★½ . He is best known as the writer and director of Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988), The Long Day Closes (1992) and The House of Mirth (2000) as well the collage film Of Time and the City (2008). Add the first question. Terence Davies' Distant Voices, Still Lives, a bleak, masterful portrayal of poverty and domestic violence set in 1940s Liverpool, brings back vivid memories for Beryl Bainbridge. View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 1988 Vinyl release of "Distant Voices, Still Lives" on Discogs. Bracingly original and beautifully composed. Three autobiographical short films made over seven years about a young gay man coming to terms with his Catholic schooling, his homosexuality and guilt, his parents and their deaths, despair and loneliness. DIRECTOR. | Rating: 2.5/4 | Rating: 3.5/4 Bracingly original and beautifully composed, Distant Voices, Still Lives is an invigorating period drama that finds director Terence Davies in peak form. The lives of an English working-class family are told out of order in a free-associative manner. Sign up here. Tweet Anonymous, This is an important film and evidently is regarded as such by many serious reviewers, so I watched it and found it sometimes very hard to sit through because it struck more than a few painful chords in my own memory of my family when I was growing up in the 40s and 50s. This 10-digit number is your confirmation number. This FAQ is empty. Terence Davies' 1988 debut Distant Voices, Still Lives, newly rereleased by Arrow Academy, deserves to be treasured as one of the great British films. Unique and highly recommended. A young British boy comes of age among his loving family and the austere Catholic Church as he realizes his love of cinema and his homosexuality. and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and Fandango. A terribly beautiful film... [that] makes one at times almost forget the simultaneously banal and and violent lives which the film remembers. By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie. The first half of the film, ‘Distant Voices’, is immersed in painful childhood memories of their dad and how stoical was their mum. While on a train, a teenage boy thinks about his life and the flamboyant aunt whose friendship acted as an emotional shield from his troubled family. Strange and stunning for a variety of reasons, Terence Davies created a masterpiece right out of the gate with his 1988 classic Distant Voices, Still Lives. | Rating: 4/5 The lives of an English working-class family are told out of order in a free-associative manner. The first part, 'Distant Voices', opens with grown siblings Eileen (Angela Walsh), Maisie (Lorraine Ashbourne) and Tony (Dean Williams), and their mother (Freda Dowie) arranged in mourning clothes before the photograph of their smiling father (Pete Postlethwaite). The plot involves a family wedding in working class Liverpool just after the second world war and the various episodes in the family's past dealing with their sometimes brutal and disturbed father. Copyright © Fandango. |, September 22, 2014 You're almost there! Davies's first two features, Distant Voices, Still Lives and The Long Day Closes, are autobiographical films set in Liverpool in the 1940s and 1950s. Soon after, the family poses in a similar tableau, but for a happier occasion - Eileen's wedding. A woman risks losing her chance of happiness with the only man she has ever loved. By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy Distant Voices, Still Lives. |, August 28, 2018 Sidney Poitier’s 7 Most Memorable Performances, All Harry Potter Movies Ranked Worst to Best by Tomatometer, Golden Tomato Awards: Best Movies & TV of 2020. They won't be able to see your review if you only submit your rating. DRAMA; Siblings Maisie (Lorraine Ashbourne) and Tony (Dean Williams), along with their mother (Freda Dowie), gather for their sister Eileen's (Angela Walsh) wedding. |. The second film in Terence Davies's autobiographical series ('Trilogy', 'The Long Day Closes') is an impressionistic view of a working-class family in 1940s and 1950s Liverpool, based on Davies's own family. Terence Davies (born 10 November 1945) is an English screenwriter, film director, novelist and actor. What keeps the movie going is the director's always distinctive, sometimes arresting style, and the earnest, authentic acting. Since that's not going to happen, all I can do is recommend that the peers of my generation at least consider watching it. Terence Davies - Wikipedia He is best known as the writer and director of Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988) and The Long Day Closes (1992) as well the collage film Of Time and the City (2008). Distant Voices, Still Lives is a far darker work than his subsequent The Long Day Closes, where he could freely, lyrically recall the burgeoning awareness of his homosexuality, his joy for cinema, or, simply, the stupefying play of light on a carpet. Forgot your password? Please enter your email address and we will email you a new password. The first part, 'Distant Voices', opens with grown siblings Eileen (Angela Walsh), Maisie (Lorraine Ashbourne) and Tony (Dean Williams), and their mother (Freda Dowie) arranged in mourning clothes before the photograph of their smiling father (Pete Postlethwaite). Distant Voices, Still Lives Synopsis: The second film in Terence Davies's autobiographical series ('Trilogy', 'The Long Day Closes') is an impressionistic view of a working-class family in 1940s and 1950s Liverpool, based on Davies's own family. It can only do us good! and the Terms and Policies, The first part, "Distant Voices", focuses on the father's role in the family. The story is told through memories and switches between childhood and adulthood. Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Coming Soon, Regal Music. Please reference “Error Code 2121” when contacting customer service. Just confirm how you got your ticket. Just as you think you have its moves all doped out, a scene of such shocking beauty flashes before you that it takes your breath away. Tony and Maisie's memories, however, are more troubled. “Distant Voices, Still Lives” Terence Davies’ masterpiece (and the best British film ever made ) excels on numerous levels: as an intimate investigation into the persistence of memory; as a comprehensive depiction of working-class life; as a dynamic tribute to cinema itself. Their father (Pete Postlethwaite) was physically abusive to his wife, and left the children emotionally traumatized. But that is precisely what Terence Davies delivers. View production, box office, & company info. Bracingly original and beautifully composed, Distant Voices, Still Lives is an invigorating period drama that finds director Terence Davies in peak form. One of the main features of the reform of the Mental Health Act (2007) was the introduction of Community Treatment Orders (CTOs). Terence Davies's autobiographical film of working-class life in 1940s/50s Liverpool. Pete Postlethwaite never made enough films for me. Drama. Regal (2010), "Distant voices, still lives: reflections on the impact of media reporting of the cases of Christopher Clunis and Ben Silcock", Ethnicity and Inequalities in … An earlier version of this article first appeared in Metro 116 (1998): 53–54.. A man with a boring lonely life remembers his childhood of bullying, Catholic school, and the death of his abusive father from illness. Even the movie's "smile though your heart is aching" optimism is depressing. "Distant Voices, Still Lives" is aesthetically distinguished by two radical choices that set it dramatically apart from other family-memory films of the era (John Boorman ’s "Hope and Glory" is an excellent concurrent example in the United Kingdom; while Ettore Scola ’s "The Family" and Barry Levinson ’s "Avalon " make for more sentimental evocations of similar themes of generational loss from other … It is a joyous occasion, but through flashbacks it becomes clear that the family was not always happy. A depressed man with a boring job cares for his aging mother, cruises for gay sex and guiltily confesses his sins in an entangled web of memory and despair. Terence Davis moving, harrowing and elegantly artistic masterpiece is one of the few Britsh films of recent years to embody a distinctly British identity. All rights reserved. In 'Still Lives', set (and filmed) two years later, the siblings are settled in life, ... Terence Davies to Direct Adaptation of Stefan Zweig’s The Post Office Girl, New to Streaming: Pretend It’s A City, Pieces of a Woman, Audrey & More, Pioneering LGBTQ Movies, Neil Jordan, Buster Keaton Make First Locarno Heritage Online Lineup, Beste utenlandske spillefilm (Amandaprisen), The Story of Film: An Odyssey: Fight the Power: Protest in Film. Cinemark Davies uses tableaux, long takes, meticulous reframing, impressive tracking shots, and visual poetics to create a shattered family portrait, reassembled through the dark corridors of memory. Loosely based on the director's own family and upbringing, Distant Voices, Still Lives presents an evocative account of working-class life in Liverpool, England during the 1940s and 50s. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Peter. Coming Soon. Genres: Drama, Coming-of-Age. Full Review Maximilian Von Thun CineVue Your Ticket Confirmation # is located under the header in your email that reads "Your Ticket Reservation Details". Rated the #24 best film of 1988, and #1503 in the greatest all-time movies (according to RYM users). Distant Voices contains some of the most beautiful, poetic filmmaking in British cinema. The second part, "Still Lives", focuses on his children. A Cuban man cycles through his opinions and memories as the threat of foreign invasion intensifies and the rest of his family moves to Miami. CTOs represent a fundamental shift in the rights of people with severe mental health problems, who have been detained in hospital under section 3 MHA and subsequently discharged. The saddest part of Distant Voices/Still Lives is that we come away understanding no more than we did before about the inner workings of this and similar families. The percentage of Approved Tomatometer Critics who have given this movie a positive review. The percentage of users who rated this 3.5 stars or higher. |, June 2, 2014 Distant Voices, Still Lives is a far darker work than his subsequent The Long Day Closes, where he could freely, lyrically recall the burgeoning awareness of his homosexuality, his joy for cinema, or, simply, the stupefying play of light on a carpet. This item:Distant Voices, Still Lives (Special Edition) [Blu-ray] by Pete Postlethwaite Blu-ray $27.99 Only 19 left in stock (more on the way). (1988). With an unfailing eye for place, décor, costume, and gesture, the director glides his camera through tangles of memories to evoke joys and horrors with a similar sense of wonder. Coming Soon. | Fresh (32) Distant Voices, Still Lives - Trailer (English) - Moviepilot auf Dailymotion ansehen Mike D'Angelo’s review published on Letterboxd: 70/100. The daughter of a Scottish farmer comes of age in the early 1900s. Kwon returns to Seoul from the mountains and is given a packet of letters from Mori back from Japan to propose to her. Just below that it reads "Ticket Confirmation#:" followed by a 10-digit number. Starring: Lorraine Ashbourne, Freda Dowie, Pete Postlethwaite. Terence Davies' 1988 debut Distant Voices, Still Lives, newly rereleased by Arrow Academy, deserves to be treasured as one of the great British films. Distant Voices, Still Lives 1988 Directed by Terence Davies The second film in Terence Davies’s autobiographical series (along with “Trilogy” and “The Long Day Closes”) is an impressionistic view of a working-class family in 1940s and 1950s Liverpool, based on Davies’s own family. The second film in Terence Davies's autobiographical series ('Trilogy', 'The Long Day Closes') is an impressionistic view of a working-class family in 1940s and 1950s Liverpool, based on Davies's own family. When a forty-four-year-old man makes a movie about his family and friends sitting around singing old tunes, you certainly don't expect an unforgettable amalgam of humor and heartbreak. Siblings Maisie (Lorraine Ashbourne) and Tony (Dean Williams), along with their mother (Freda Dowie), gather for their sister Eileen's (Angela Walsh) wedding. |, June 2, 2014 We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future. Written by Review by Mike D'Angelo Pro. Interwoven memories: a boy's Catholic childhood, in middle-age caring for his beloved dying mother, and in old age dying alone in a hospital. Winner of the International Critics' Prize at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival, Terence Davies' feature debut heralded one of Britain's finest filmmaking talents. Check out the full list of winners. Please click the link below to receive your verification email. Set in "a world before Elvis, in a Liverpool before the Beatles", Terence Davies' film "Distant Voices, Still Lives" is an elegiac and intensely autobiographical meditation on a post-war working-class childhood. Looking for more? PG-13. Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. The call for the introduction of CTOs or similar legislation has been a feature … Distant Voices, Still Lives combines the social concerns of much British cinema (in this case, life in a working-class Liverpool Catholic family) with formal and existential preoccupations more readily associated with European art cinema: an emphasis on the personal and on sexual or religious themes, for example, as well as narrative ambiguity and a distinctive visual style. Viewing, last seen during its original U.S. theatrical release, itself sure to be remembered as one the... 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