Terence Davies’s sumptuous story of New York high society returns to UK cinemas this week. In our October 2000 issue, Philip Horne explored what made the film “an unpredictable, unformulaic success”.

Together with his long-term partner Flo Jacobs, Ken emerged as a towering figure of the post-war avant-garde, whose work straddled politics, play and illusions while pushing beyond the traditional ...