Homecoming

UPC: 738329028824

Studio: Kino

MPAA Rating: PG   Contains:[Questionable for Children]

Summary: In The Homecoming, adapted from the play by Harold Pinter, Michael Jayston brings his wife Vivien Merchant home to visit his long-estranged family. Jayston's father Paul Rogers is a washout, his uncle Cyril Cusack is on the edge of senility, and his brothers Ian Holm and Terence Rigby are, respectively, a slimy pimp and a brutish boxer. The sparser the dialogue, the thicker the tension in the air. Though British in origin, The Homecoming was presented as part of the American Film Theatre series. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Category: Drama

Awards: Best Picture – National Board of Review

Features: An interview with cinematographer David Watkin
Theatrical trailer
"Harold Pinter and The Homecoming," an essay by Michael Feingold, Chief Theatre Critic, The Village Voice
The AFT cinebill for The Homecoming
Stills gallery
An interview with Edie Landau, Executive in Charge, the American Film Theatre
Ely Landau: In Front of the Camera - AFT promotional reel, 1974
The American Film Theatre trailer gallery - includes a complete list of the AFT films
The American Film Theatre scrapbook
Enhanced for 16x9 TVs

Homecoming

Format: DVD

Release Date: 07/22/2003

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Theatre Wide-Screen

Runtime: 114 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English

Chapters: Side #1 --
1. A House in London [7:34]
2. "Hello, Uncle Sam!" [6:44]
3. A Late Arrival [13:15]
4. A Sleepless Night [7:19]
5. Proposals & Questions [11:19]
6. Good Morning? [9:11]
7. "The Whole Family Together" [9:00]
8. "Being and Not Being" [12:38]
9. Intellectual Equilibrium [10:07]
10. "She's a Tease" [8:58]
11. Sharing Ruth [6:52]
12. A Workable Arrangement [10:43]

Craig Butler

Probably the finest of the American Film Theatre productions of the '70s, The Homecoming is a bleakly comic, brutal, and undeniably powerful adaptation of the Harold Pinter stage classic. Pinter, of course, is essentially known for two things -- his famous pauses and his ambiguity of meaning. Both are present in Homecoming, but it's important to point out that "ambiguity of meaning" does not mean "ambiguity of emotion." The viewer may have to guess a bit at meaning (as he does in life), but the emotions that these characters feel are crystal clear and presented in all their roaring power. The family in Homecoming are all prisoners -- of their feelings, their relationships, their resentments and their pasts. They wail, they flail, they tear, they argue, they scream, they laugh, they mock, they suppress -- all in a vain attempt to escape, not realizing that they lack the one thing that would allow them to escape -- the will and the courage to face the unknown. Director Peter Hall has masterfully captured all of the pain and humor in the text, creating a claustrophobic cinematic prison that forces the viewer to be not only in the same room as these people but practically sitting on their laps. Hall's work is incredibly assured, with hardly a false step throughout. The same can be said of the incredible cast, each one of which mines every last inch of their characters and creates unforgettable portraits that make the viewer flinch and laugh at the same time. Homecoming is a textbook lesson in how to bring Pinter to the screen without diluting his effectiveness -- and perhaps even heightening it. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Terence Rigby  Actor 
Cyril Cusack  Actor 
Michael Jayston  Actor 
Ian Holm  Actor 
Vivien Merchant  Actor 
Paul Rogers  Actor 
Mort Abrahams  Executive Producer 
Ely Landau  Producer 
Harold Pinter  Screenwriter 
Otto Plaschkes  Executive Producer 
Otto Plaschkes  Producer 
Henry T. Weinstein  Producer 
Peter Hall  Director 

Country: USA