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Billy Connolly’s Big Banana Feet at GFT

GFT screenings: Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 May 2024

Screening in selected cinemas in the UK and Ireland from 10 May 2024

BFI DVD/Blu-ray release and BFI Southbank Q&A screening on 20 May 2024

 BIG BANANA FEET (1976) is a fascinating and hilarious record of irrepressible Scottish comedian Billy Connolly on his 1975 Irish tour, a time when he was on the cusp of stardom at home and internationally and had just toured the UK. Re-discovered and newly restored by the BFI, it premiered at the Glasgow Film Festival on 3 March ahead of cinema screenings from 10 May and a BFI DVD/Blu-ray release on 20 May. Inspired by the fly-on-the-wall style of D.A. Pennebaker’s 1967 Bob Dylan documentary Don’t Look Back, director Murray Grigor and cinematographer David Peat capture Connolly at his beguiling best, as he charms the audience in Dublin and at his famous engagement at the ABC Cinema in Belfast during the Troubles.

Rarely seen since its original release, BIG BANANA FEET is restored by the BFI using two rare 16mm prints, one held by the Pacific Film Archive collection in the USA and the other rediscovered recently in a private collection. The work was undertaken in collaboration with Murray Grigor, Douglas Weir (BFI), the National Library of Scotland, University of California and R3Store Studios.

Featuring iconic stand-up material and songs, there are also behind-the-scenes glimpses of ‘the Big Yin’ on the road with his crew, relaxing back stage and meeting the press. The banana boots that gave the film its title first appeared in 1975. Made especially for Connolly by Glaswegian pop artist Edmund Smith, they became a regular fixture of his 70s shows and are now on display in the People’s Palace, Glasgow.

The DVD and Blu-ray, released together in a Dual Format Edition by the BFI on 20 May, will be packaged with a selection of extra features and an illustrated booklet. That evening at 6.10pm, the film will screen at BFI Southbank (NFT2), followed by a Q&A with director Murray Grigor and the BFI’s Douglas Weir.

 BIG BANANA FEET re-affirms the genius that has endeared Connolly to millions for many generations and made him one of Scotland’s most famous people in history; it’s a must-see, must-own record for all fans.

Buy tickets

GFT 12 Rose Street, G3 6RB

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