Terence Davies, Director of Dramas Starring Cynthia Nixon & Gillian Anderson, Dies at 77

Terence Davies, the director of such sensitive autobiographical films as "Distant Voices, Still Lives" and a number of female-driven period pieces, has died after a short illness. He was 77.

His official Instagram announced Saturday, "It is with deep sadness that we announce the death of Terence Davies, who died peacefully at home after a short illness, today on 7th October 2023."

It included the Horace quote from antiquity, "Pulvis et Umbra Sumus," which means, "We are but dust and shadows," and the Christine Rossetti quote, “And if thou wilt, remember / And if thou wilt, forget.”

Born November 10, 1945, in Liverpool, England, he came to filmmaking while studying at the U.K.'s Coventry Drama School, where he completed the autobiographical short "Children" in 1976, followed by "Madonna and Child" (1980), and "Death and Transfiguration" (1983). He combined them into an anthology feature in 1983.

His debut features, "Distant Voices, Still Lives" (1988) and "The Long Day Closes" (1992), won international acclaim, establishing him as a deft auteur of historical dramas.

Davies referred to 1995's "The Neon Bible" as "transitional," following it with 2000's widely admired "The House of Mirth," anchored by a performance by Gillian Anderson.

After his 2008 "documentary collage" film "Of Time and the City," his "The Deep Blue Sea" (2011) starred Rachel Weisz and Tom Hiddleston.

"Sunset Song" (2015) had a quiet reception, but Davies had nearly the best reviews of his career with the Cynthia Nixon-led "A Quiet Passion" (2016), about poet Emily Dickinson.

He concluded his career with one of his most personal works, 2021's "Benediction," about bisexual British combat veteran and poet Siegfried Sassoon.