Celebrating Ireland and the Irish on screen.
THE YELLOW BITTERN: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF LIAM CLANCY - Irish Film Festival Boston
Somerville Theatre
Somerville, MA
Share this event:
Get Tickets
There are no active dates for this event.
Powered by  
 
Thank you for your support of the Irish Film Festival, Boston - "Celebrating the Past, Present and Future of Irish Cinema."


Event

THE YELLOW BITTERN: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF LIAM CLANCY - Irish Film Festival Boston
Drawing on unseen and behind-the-scenes footage of the band at their height as well as on Clancy's own personal archive, the film is a compelling look at an iconic and influential life lived to the full. But, this darkly revealing portrait also goes behind the mask of the performer and delves deep into the psyche of Liam Clancy as well as his troubled personal life where the excesses of rock-and-roll found their way in to the world of folk.

This intimate, confessional and highly cinematic film charts the remarkable rise to fame of these devil-may-care Irish singers, from their small-town beginnings in County Tipperary in Ireland to the folk hey-day of Greenwich Village in the Sixties where they absorbed black musical influences, played for JFK and out-sold the Beatles. The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem would go on to influence a host of popular artists from Bob Dylan and Pete Seeger to The Pogues, and become a powerful iconic presence on the Irish cultural map.

"I remember being over-whelmed...the songs that the Clancy Brothers sang came out ordinary life. The heartbreak, the fun, the foolishness, the tragedy, all tangled up together." -  Pete Seeger

They have garnered worldwide success and huge popular acclaim, but opinions are still divided about them. To many, they are the true embodiment of the Irish popular folksong tradition, while to others, they represent the worst excesses of stage-Irishness. Yet despite this, their songs remain our songs, the songs of a people, the inner soundtrack of a nation. But for all their fame, their story remains largely untold  or at least misrepresented. Many myths and legends have grown up around The Clancy Brothers, but the legend of Liam Clancy, the youngest, is perhaps the most potent of all.

FOLLOWED BY A SPECIAL RECEPTION & MUSICAL SESSION AT THE BURREN PUB, DAVIS SQUARE

Location

Somerville Theatre
55 Davis Square
Somerville, MA 02144
United States

Categories

Film

Kid Friendly: No
Dog Friendly: No
Non-Smoking: No
Wheelchair Accessible: No

Contact

Owner: Irish Film Festival Boston
On BPT Since: Jan 27, 2010
 
Irish Film Festival Boston
www.IrishFilmFestival.com


BIFF Productions, Inc. is a 501 (c) (3) Public Charity. All donations are tax deductible. Your funds ensure the continuance of the festival as well as related events and screenings throughout the year.