Philadelphia, Here I Come! (Blu-ray)
Directed by John Quested
Donal McCann
Set in playwright Brian Friel's (Dancing at Lughnasa, Faith Healer) mythical Ballybeg, Ireland, The American Film Theatre's Philadelphia, Here I Come! presents an ingenious glimpse into the stock-taking of young Gareth "Gar" O'Donnell on the eve of his emigration to America. Through the myriad preparations and good-byes that fill Gar's last day in Ireland, comes a powerful portrait of the public boasts and private doubts that bedevil him on the threshold of his journey to a new life in a new land.
Friel contrasts Gar's cloistered emotional life with his gregarious social persona by portraying him as two distinct characters, a public self (Donal McCann) and a private self (Des Cave). As public Gar energetically goes about his rounds, private Gar voices the anger, and sadness, "the loneliness, the groping," that has positioned him between a loveless youth and an unknown future. As the two sides of Gar spar over their shared past and we meet the people that have inclined him towards a two-faced life, the difference between emigration and exile begins to blur.
Gar's surrogate mother Madge (Siobhan McKenna, Doctor Zhivago), his speechless, affectionless father (Eamon Kelly), and most importantly Gar's ex-fiancée Kate (Fidelma Murphy) all provide inadvertent testimony to the fear and longing that have already separated Gar from his community, his family, his heart, and ultimately from himself. AFT's Philadelphia, Here I Come! is a soulful backward glance at a life as yet un-lived and a heart as yet un-loved on the threshold of escape to, "a vast restless place that doesn't give a damn about the past."
Blu-ray Extras Include:
Interview with Edie Landau / "Ely Landau: In Front of the Camera," a promotional film for the American Film Theatre / Gallery of trailers for the American Film Theatre
To read more about Kino Lorber Edu's terms of use and ordering information,
visit Kino Lorber Edu.
RT' @Under_Radar_Mag': Here are our thoughts on the 1986 thriller “Positive I.D.,” newly released via' @KinoLorber'. “An entertaining, even fas…
"If you have never owned The Producers on Blu-ray, this is the one to get. Kino's new 4K restoration blows the prev…' https://t.co/bYufMJHs2G'
RT' @Collider': 'Spaceballs' plays with previously established legacies, mythologies, and tropes in a 'Star Wars'-like universe, and ends up…
RT' @itismitchell': Living my best' @KinoLorber' life' https://t.co/8FeyQ1FQ6y'
@Abbie_Brander Hannibal, Mad Max, Spaceballs... The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is out later this month and will make four. :)
May the Schwartz be with you! Mel Brooks’s uproarious salute to science fiction SPACEBALLS is now out on 4K UHD Blu…' https://t.co/yLtN5qrLui'
"Jeffrey Wolf’s exceptional documentary Bill Traylor: Chasing Ghosts seeks to tells its subject’s story in a deeply…' https://t.co/9S8g5bC0LZ'
RT' @KLStudioClassic': Coming July 20th from Kino Lorber & Scorpion Releasing! The Time Guardian (1987) • Brand New HD Master from a 2K Scan…
RT' @CerealMidnight': Spaceballs is now available on 4K UHD from' @KinoLorber'! Have you seen the Cereal At Midnight video review, which was po…
RT' @ReasonIJumpFilm': #TheReasonIJump is now screening in (virtual) cinemas in the US, Canada, Croatia, Japan, Singapore, Serbia, and Sloven…
General Inquiries
333 W. 39th St., Ste. 503
New York, NY 10018
Tel. (800) 562-3330
Fax. (212) 714-0871
Press & Media
For publicity assistance and press inquiries please contact us by emailing dninh@kinolorber.com or calling 212-629-6880.
Educational
Please visit our educational site at www.KinoLorberEDU.com
For assistance with educational orders, please contact us at:
Phone:212-629-6880
Fax: 212-714-0871
email: edu@kinolorber.com