About this Event
THE LONG DAY CLOSES (Terence Davies, 1992, 85 min, 35mm from Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research)
With his second feature film THE LONG DAY CLOSES, ciné-memoirist Terence Davies reconjures the rainswept, working-class Liverpool of his youth via an evocative mélange of memories both personal and cultural – popular music and films, burgeoning sexuality, religious shame, family holiday traditions. An exceptionally nuanced coming-of-age film, THE LONG DAY CLOSES is also one of the most vibrantly emotive films ever made about loving the movies, offering nostalgic recreations of the life-changing matinee picture shows of Davies’ childhood with the swooning immediacy of Classic Hollywood. Yet THE LONG DAY CLOSES also speaks to the medium’s potential for expressive reinvention, with a formal bravura – described by Nick Davis as a blend of “diaphanous montage, sustained shots, virtuoso camera movements, and complex collages of song and sound”– that makes for arresting, timeless cinema.
Special guest Davis (Associate Professor of English, Northwestern) will introduce THE LONG DAY CLOSES, exploring the film's place in 1990s queer cinema and looking closely at the film’s distinctive style.
THE LONG DAY CLOSES is the first of three Fall 2026 screenings presented in partnership with the Chicago International Film Festival, where Davies’ first short film, CHILDREN, premiered at the 1976 edition of the festival and won a Bronze Hugo. The OutLook program at this year’s Chicago International Film Festival (October 14-25) builds on the festival's six-decade legacy as a home for queer cinematic voices, from Terence Davies to Stephen Winter. Block Cinema is pleased to partner with Chicago International on two weeks of programs celebrating the intergenerational history of queer film, including THE LONG DAY CLOSES, PORTRAIT OF JASON, and JASON AND SHIRLEY REVISITED with director Stephen Winter in attendance.
About the guest
Nick Davis is Associate Professor of English, Gender & Sexuality Studies, and Radio/TV/Film at Northwestern University, where his research and teaching focus on commercial narrative cinema around the world, most often from feminist and LGBTQ angles of analysis. He also convenes a monthly lecture series around Chicago called Digging Deeper into Movies, in partnership with the Chicago Film Festival, was a longtime Contributing Editor at Film Comment magazine, and has published film reviews for nearly 25 years at Nick-Davis.com.
Event venue & nearby stays
Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, 40 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston, United States
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