Sadly Over-hyped

A Brilliant Conflict

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

It's kind of fascinating to me that so many reviewers consider this a masterpiece. I am not a dullard as far as quality films go, and I will agree that from a technical filming standpoint, as well as for several of the characters portrayed, the film is in an award-worthy class. But there is no sense (for me) of this film actually going anywhere; I mean, taking the viewer anywhere. It is a series of mood scenes, perhaps remarkable as such, but I want more from a film. I look for story and movement and a fulfillment of arrival, none of which did I find in this film. Yes, it might be considered poetry on film . . . but there is much poetry that I cannot live with for the same reason: that it paints pictures without going anywhere.One thing further to be said is that it documents a mid-century English childhood, which is necessarily limited in its universality. I was personally appalled at what a young British boy had to live through, in that time and place. Having grown up in America just a decade earlier, I can authoritatively say that the contrast is immense. I cannot help wondering if this contrast has had some effect on those reviewing the film so favorably. In other words, could there be a tendency to judge the film entirely on its 'filmic magic' (which I acknowledge is there) and completely ignore its lack of relevance to the nature of one's actual recalled experience?

A stunning exercise in pure cinema. This is the third and final part of his autobiographical Childhood Trilogy. He uses very a very stylized presentation of snippets of memory (Proust-like) overlaid with snips of movie soundtracks and songs to evoke the emotional content of coming to terms with himself in a loving family (at last). If you have seen Visions of Light, this is what it was all about. There is not a wasted frame in this film. Beautifully conceived jump shots, sound over lays and an overhead tracking jump shot that is simply amazing. If you a looking for a plot line or "story telling" you will not find it here. If you are looking for amazingly true and honest cinema that is like moving frames of Vermeer, this is for you.

This quiet, thoughtful gem of a movie depicts the life of a boy and his family in the north of England in the mid 1950s. It reflects, perhaps, the childhood of the filmmaker, Terence Davies, and the importance that movies can have on one's development. The sounds and images of the film are stunning. They include Nat King Cole's "Stardust Memories;" an audio excerpt from "The Ladykillers" -- "Mrs. Wilberforce, I understand you have rooms to let...;" -- and a lengthy scene consisting of an overhead tracking shot -- kids in school, church, and the cinema. The audio for that scene is the song "Tammy," sung by Debbie Reynolds."The Long Day Closes" depicts in a particularly effective and evocative way, the cinema as a place of worship and a source of inspiration.

This was, without a doubt, the most boring movie I ever saw, and that includes Shanghai Surprise and Maid in Manhattan. I think this film is supposed to be deep and meaningful, but it is basically a plot-less slice of life. It drags, and drags, and drags. I had no idea why I was watching it. There was no plot! It was stultifying! Don't watch it!