THE LONG DAY CLOSES (Criterion, 1992) D: Terence Davies, w/ Leigh McCormack, Marjorie Yates. Rating: NNNNN DVD and Blu-ray package: NNNNN Rating: NNNNN
The Long Day Closes, Terence Davies’s portrait of himself as an 11-year-old boy in mid-50s working-class Liverpool, is pure audiovisual poetry. Every shot is emotionally resonant and alive with texture.
Life for Bud (Leigh McCormack) consists of a loving home with mother (Marjorie Yates) and teen siblings, movies where he finds beauty, and church, the site of awe and terror.
Bud is often alone, always watching the life around him and thinking or dreaming.
He doesn’t articulate his thoughts, but McCormack’s performance, the camera movement, music and snippets of movie dialogue make his interior landscape clear.
In the commentary and extended interview, Davies is explicit about recreating his memory of the past, not the past itself. He also has much to say about his life, working methods and philosophy of film. Taken with the producer and production designer interviews, the extras constitute a detailed portrait of the movie.
EXTRAS Commentary, TV interview, production designer interview, producer interview, essay booklet. English audio and subtitles.
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