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Select media
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Stills must not be reproduced, copied or downloaded in any way.
Film details
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Featuring
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Director
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Countries
United Kingdom Federal Republic of Germany
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Year
1988
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Genres
Biopic Historical drama
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Type
Film
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Category
Fiction
Alternative titles
- Distant Voices Working
- Still Lives Working
- Entfernte Stimmen - Stilleben Alternative German
Introduction
“Davies’ film is thought to come under the heading of unfinished business. I disagree. The creative process involved in the reconstruction of an anguished past puts it to rest.”
Beryl Bainbridge, The Guardian, 2007
Despite having only a handful of credits to his name, Terence Davies is arguably the UK’s most accomplished film poet. These companion pieces, shot two years apart on tight budgets with BFI support, evoke his upbringing in Liverpool after the war in a working-class home dominated by the violence of his father, fearsomely played by then newcomer Pete Postlethwaite.
Davies achieves the rare feat of nostalgia without sentimentality, using dynamic lighting, a superb soundtrack and a fragmented structure to construct a distinctive drama suffused with both beauty and horror. From the home to the pub, the cinema to the beach, each locale suggests both charm and stifling limitation in a film that’s as concerned with the operation of memory as with its material setting.
The film Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955) can be glimpsed in the iconic movie-house scene. Davies revisited his Liverpool childhood in The Long Day Closes (1992).
Cast & Credits
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Cast
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Mrs Davies, the mother
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Tommy Davies, the father
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Eileen
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Tony
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Maisie
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Eileen as a child
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Tony as a child
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Maisie as a child
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Dave, Eileen's husband
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George, Maisie's husband
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Rose, Tony's wife
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Micky
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Red
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Jingles
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Les
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granny
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Aunty Nell
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baptismal priest
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Doreen
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Mr Spaull
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Margie
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Uncle Ted, Tommy's brother
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wedding priest
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military policeman
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military policeman
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registrar
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soldier
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barmaid
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licensee
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Rose's family
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Rose's family
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Rose's family
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Rose's family
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Credits
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Direction:
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Directed by
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1st Assistant Director [1985]
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1st Assistant Director [1987]
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1st Assistant Director [1987]
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2nd Assistant Director
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2nd Assistant Director
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Continuity
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Continuity
Production:
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©
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Production Company/Presents
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In association with
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In association with
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Presented in association with
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Executive Producer
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Producer
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Executive in Charge of Production
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Production Manager
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Production Manager
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Production Accountant
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Production Assistant
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Production Assistant
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Runner
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Runner
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Runner
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Runner
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Runner
Casting:
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Casting
Writing:
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Written by
Photography:
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Photography
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Photography
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Stunt Photography
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Camera Operator
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Focus Puller
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Stunt Focus Puller
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Clapper Loader
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Clapper Loader
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Stunt Clapper Loader
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Electrician
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Electrician
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Electrician
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Electrician
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Stunt Electrician
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Stunt Electrician
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Stunt Electrician
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Grip
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Grip
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Grip
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Grip
Stills:
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Stills Photographer
Special Effects:
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Special Effects
Editing:
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Editor
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Editing in collaboration with
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Editing in collaboration with
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Editing Assistant
Design:
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Art Director
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Art Director
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Assistant Art Director
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Assistant Art Director
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Scenic Artist
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Scenic Artist
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Scenic Artist
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Painter
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Standby Props
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Standby Props
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Construction
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Construction
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Construction
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Constructivist
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Constructivist
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Carpenter
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Carpenter
Costumes:
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Costume Designer
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Assistant Wardrobe
Make-up:
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Hair and Make-up
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Hair and Make-up
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Hair and Make-up
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Hair and Make-up
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Hair and Make-up
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Hair and Make-up
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Hair and Make-up
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Stunt Make-up
Titles:
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Titles
Film processing:
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Film Laboratory
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Lab Supervisor
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Lab Supervisor
Music:
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Harmonica [Musician]
Sound:
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Music Recording Engineer
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Music Recording Engineer
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Music Recording Engineer
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Sound Recordist
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Sound Recordist
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Boom Operator
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Boom Operator
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Sound Mixer
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Sound Mixer
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Sound Re-recorded at
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Sound Re-recorded at
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Dubbing Editor
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Assistant Dubbing Editor
Stunts:
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Stunt Co-ordinator
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Stuntman
Consultant:
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Camera Equipment
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Camera Equipment
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Camera Equipment
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Lighting Equipment
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Catering
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Set Meals
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Set Meals
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Set Meals
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With Special Thanks to
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With Special Thanks to
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With Special Thanks to
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With Special Thanks to
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With Special Thanks to
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With Special Thanks to
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With Special Thanks to
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With Special Thanks to
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With Special Thanks to
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With Special Thanks to
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With Special Thanks to
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With Special Thanks to
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With Special Thanks to
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With Special Thanks to
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With Special Thanks to
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With Special Thanks to
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With Special Thanks to
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With Special Thanks to
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With Special Thanks to
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With Special Thanks to
Publicity:
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Publicity
Miscellaneous:
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[Commentator on DVD]
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The Greatest Films of All Time 2012
Voted for by 11 critics and 1 director.