The Homecoming [Blu-ray]

Director: Peter Hall Peter Hall

Overview

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.

Product Details

Release Date:	09/17/2019
UPC:	0738329239695
Original Release:	1973
Rating:	PG
Source:	Kino Classics
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Language:	English
Time:	1:54:00
Sales rank:	42,753

Special Features

Interview with cinematographer David Watkin; 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

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Cyril Cusack	Sam
Ian Holm	Lenny
Michael Jayston	Teddy
Vivien Merchant	Ruth
Terence Rigby	Joey
Paul Rogers	Max

Technical Credits

Peter Hall	Director
Ely A. Landau	Producer
Otto Plaschkes	Executive Producer

Editorial Reviews

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.