A long-lost Billy Connolly documentary has been unearthed and will be shown in selected cinemas in Britain and Ireland from Friday 10 May.
Big Banana Feet captures Billy on and off stage during his 1975 tour of Ireland, when he was on the brink of international stardom.
The British Film Institute, which restored the film, describes the film as a “captivating record” that is “inspired by the fly-on-the-wall style of DA Pennebaker’s Bob Dylan documentary Don’t Look Back.”
Directed by Murray Grigor and cinematographer David Peat, the film presents Connolly at his best: ‘using wit and charm to successfully navigate the political tensions of 1970s Dublin and Belfast.’
The rarely seen documentary was restored using rare 16mm prints: one was recovered from a private collection, while the other was held by the Pacific Film Archive Collection in the US.
A long-lost Billy Connolly documentary called Big Banana Feet has been unearthed and will be released in cinemas across the UK and Ireland from Friday 10 May.
Big Banana Feet was named as an ode to the famous iconic boots that the comedian would show off on stage (pictured in 1997). The documentary captures Billy on and off stage during his 1975 tour of Ireland, when he was on the cusp of international stardom
Big Banana Feet was named as an ode to the famous iconic boots that the comedian would show off on stage.
The documentary lasts one hour and 17 minutes and will be available in select cinemas from Friday 10 May 2024 – scroll down for the full list of locations.
The film will also be available to purchase on DVD and Blu-ray on May 20, 2024 for £16.99.
Nicknamed the Great Yin, [the big one] Connolly worked as a welder in the Glasgow shipyards before embarking on a career as a folk singer.
When he discovered that the audience enjoyed his between-song banter more than the songs themselves, he switched to comedy.
Throughout the 1970s, his anarchic and expletive-laden humor catapulted him to worldwide fame.
He later starred in a series of films and hosted a long list of TV shows.
Ten years ago he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, which means he no longer performs live, but in recent years he has successfully channeled his creativity into art.
Billy shared a health update with fans in February as he continues to battle the degenerative condition.
The documentary lasts one hour and 17 minutes and can be seen in selected cinemas from Friday, May 10, 2024
Filmmaker Murray Grigor, shot over a weekend with a handheld camera, based on DA Pennebaker’s iconic Bob Dylan rockumentary, Don’t Look Back
Ten years ago Billy was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease which means he no longer performs live, but in recent years he has successfully turned his creativity into art (pictured in 2019)
In February, he shared a health update with fans as he continues to battle Parkinson’s disease (pictured in 2022)
He told GB News: ‘Being unwell is strange. Everyone’s fine and there’s something that’s not right… you’re getting out of line.”
In a new interview conducted by his wife Pamela Stephenson, he has admitted that his balance is worsening – causing him to suffer what she described as ‘a couple of serious falls’.
Explaining how the disease crept up on him, he said: ‘It’s very difficult to see the progress exactly because a lot comes and goes.
‘Lately I have noticed a deterioration in my balance. That was never a problem before, but in the past year it has come and gone.
‘For some reason I thought it would go away, because a lot of symptoms have come and gone… just to defy the symptom seekers. The shaking is back again.’
With typical irreverence, Connolly compared the situation to a joke he told on stage as part of his routine.
He said: ‘It’s funny, that fall I got when I landed on my jaw reminded me of something I used to do on stage. I used to say, “I fell out of bed, but luckily my face broke my fall.”
He said: ‘It’s funny, that fall I got when I landed on my jaw reminded me of something I used to do on stage. I used to say, “I fell out of bed, but luckily my face broke my fall.”