A young englishman dreams of escaping from his working class family and deadend job as an undertakers assistant. Waterhouse was a bright, imaginative lad from leeds who worked in an undertakers after flunking the 11plus. Billy fisher is a lazy, irresponsible, underachieving undertakers assistant in provincial northern england. Ethel griffies, finlay currie, gwendolyn watts, helen fraser, julie christie, leonard rossiter, rodney bewes, george innes, leslie randall, patrick barr. This carnivalesque portrait of provincial italy during the fascist period, the most personal film from federico fellini, satirizes the directors youth.
The emerging new waves of mainland europe, an anarchic sense of humour and kitchen sink realism comingle to create an irrepressible touchstone of period british cinema which helped bring the swinging 60s to london. A number of indiscretions cause him to lie in order to avoid the penalties. Financial analysis of billy liar 1963 including budget, domestic and international box office gross, dvd and bluray sales reports, total earnings and profitability. Billy liar is an interesting component of the new wave in this respect in that it doesnt quite conform with the conventions of the pseudodocumentary style the genre is known for. Billy liar is black comedy at its best, and who could forget the 1963 film starring tom courteney and julie christie. John schlesingers billy liar has just entered the dvd market thanks to criterion. The youthful billy liar is a landmark classic due to an inspired combination of elements which feels very cutting edge. Tom courtenay gives a flawlessly nuanced performance as billy fisher, the underachieving undertakers assistant whose constant daydreams and. Tom courtenay stars as a north country walter mitty who gets tripped up by his fictions as he pines for an. Coop film editor roger cherrill original music richard rodney bennett writing credits willis hall, from their play, from the novel by keith waterhouse. Billy liar is a 1959 novel by keith waterhouse, which was later adapted into a play, a film, a musical and a tv series. Billy fisher, a cheerful twentysomething lad from yorkshire, is going to have a great future.
As is often the way with comedy, the provision of good jokes and laughter enables the audience to take on board difficult truths and complex ideas that. Billy liar on location leeds, bradford yorkshire film. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Against this pathetic profession he finds himself so bored silly that he daydreams constantly of a land where hes a military hero and ruler, and the two meet at random throughout the film. Billy liar is just one of the best films ive seen in some time. For now, he only has a small office position in his dull small city, but billy has already. Starring tom courtenay, wilfred pickles, mona washbourne, ethel griffies, finlay currie, gwendolyn watts, helen fraser, julie christie, leonard rossiter cinematography denys n.
Billy liar grew up in the underground punk rock scene, finding his fee. Marylebone station london even this film is not all the real north, though. Billy liar is based on thurbers walter mitty, the double lives of reality and a dream running concurrently. The work has inspired and featured in a number of popular songs. Billy has the bad habit of being a pathological liar and reverting to an imaginary world where he dreams he is the dictator of a fictional country. Directed by john schlesinger, it stars tom courtenay who had understudied albert finney in the west end theatre adaptation of the novel as billy, and julie christie as liz, one of his three girlfriends. This film gives an interesting look at the production of billy liar as portions of the leeds and bradford location shoots have been documented on this film. In this seminal british film of the late 50s billy. Billy liar 1963 watch on kanopy or streaming online reelgood. His life turns into a mess and he has an opportunity to run away and leave it all behind.
For billy, an energetic mind makes his life tolerable but wellnigh intolerable for all around him. Blylir1963 scanner internet archive html5 uploader 1. Directed by 1 writing credits 5 cast 50 produced by 2 music by 1 cinematography by 1 film editing by 1 casting by 1 art direction by 1 makeup department 2 production management 1 second unit director or assistant director 2. Billy liar is a 1963 british blackandwhite cinemascope comedydrama film based on the 1959 novel by keith waterhouse. Painful and hilariously funny in turn, this is also interesting as the role that made julie christie famous. A lazy, irresponsible young clerk sir tom courtenay in. Billy liar the 1963 movie, trailers, videos and more at yidio. Billy juggles his dream world of being the hero of the mythical country of ambrosia with the reality of being an undertakers clerk in yorkshire.
However, when a beautiful, freespirited old flame comes back to town, billy is given a chance to escape for real but. In a small northern town in the early 1960s, billy fisher escapes his humdrum life as an undertakers clerk via flights of fantasy, mostly set in his imaginary kingdom of ambrosia. The irony is, of course, that the only person billy is really deluding with his wild imaginings many of which feature him strafing members of his family with a machine gun is himself. Indeed, the opening sequence is an elaborate fantasy set entirely in the head of billy fisher, the lead character and titular liar. British filming locations for the movie billy liar 1963 including maps, screenshots, and other nearby film locations. Tom courtenay brings a jittery energy to billy fisher nicknamed billy liar by his chums because of his ability to spin a tall tale. The spirit of the swinging 60s is captured in christie, while courtenay brings a warmth and.
Watch billy liar 1963 full movie free online streaming. Bored by his job as a lowly clerk for an undertaker, billy. Billy liar 1963 schlesinger made his name with this classic kitchen sink comedy. Julie christie is the handbagswinging charmer whose free spirit just might inspire billy to finally move out of his parents house. Billy liar 1963 billed as a gay movie by tcm when they played this in 2017, and the basis for that is fair enoughdirector john schlesinger was openly gay, and the feeling of this film is very much about being an outsider to a larger culture. His constant daydreams and truthdeficient stories are the cause of his emotionally immature decisions which alienate friends and family, earning him the nickname billy liar. Brand new fulllength some legacy available internationally via red scare industries. Anonymous favorite favorite favorite favorite february 8, 2019 subject. Fascinating opening title sequence from john schlesingers billy liar, 1963, starring tom courtenay, built around a radio program godfrey winn the dj and shot primarily around bradford, west yorkshire, england view the tcmdb entry for billy liar 1963. Tom courtenay gives what has to be one of my favorite screen performances and julie christie is in less than ten minutes of the film and somehow completely steals it by being everything and more as the most desirable woman in any movie. Vintage northern kitchen sink drama based on keith waterhouses popular book. What marine recruits go through in boot camp earning the title making marines on parris island duration. An undertakers clerk slips in and out of a walter mittystyle fantasy world to escape the drudgery of life in a northern town.
Hiding his unmailed calendars from his parents mona washbourne, wilfred pickles, billy tom courtenay imagines himself a crusading writer undercover in prison, emerging from the real wormwood scrubs, london to universal acclaim, in john schlesingers billy liar, 1963. With tom courtenay, julie christie, wilfred pickles, mona washbourne. Which in the early 1960s is what most gay men and women experienced. Download billy liar 1963 yify torrent for 720p mp4 movie. Billy fisher isnt even an undertaker hes an undertakers assistant. Billy liar is the chronicle of one decisive day in the life of its protagonist billy fisher. Even more accomplished was billy liar 1963, based on a novel and play by keith waterhouse. Problems arise when he gets his fantasies mixed up with reality. One of its prominent members was john schlesinger, a young director whose 1962 film a kind of lovingstarring alan bates, was a hit. This often very funny film follows the fortune of a young yorkshire funeralhome worker played by tom courtenay who relies on his elaborate fantasy life to escape from the drudgery of his job. Schlesinger and his producer joseph janni had recently acquired the rights. Billy liar 1963 tom courtenay as billy fisher imdb.
Billy liar is unalbe to cope with life, clashes horribly with his father, hates his job, is engaged to two girls, but actually loves a third julie christie, and retreats into fantasy whenever reality becomes too threatening. Italy 29 august 1963 venice film festival uk 16 september 1963. He works in a tedious job in an undertakers office with a permanently uptight employer, dates a soppy girl who fails to satisfy him emotionally or physically and lives with his parents and grandmother who stifle his personality. When billy liarwas released in 1963, it was part of the socalled british new wave, a movement spanning the 1960s in which many british films achieved critical and commercial success abroad. Tom courtenay, wilfred pickles, mona washbourne other stars. The semicomical story is about william fisher, a workingclass 19yearold living with his parents in the fictional town of stradhoughton in yorkshire. Billy fisher lives with his parents and works for an undertaker. Filmed in 1962, this film captures a behind the scenes look at part of the making of the john schlesinger film, billy liar 1963. The final scene, supposedly set on central station, bradford, with liz leaving for the big city, filmed in the capital itself, ironically, on london s marylebone station. Tom courtenay gives a flawlessly nuanced performance as billy fisher, the underachieving undertakers assistant whose constant daydreams and truthdeficient stories earn him the nickname billy liar. But in our heros rich imagination, he is a military conqueror, a debonair playboy, a brilliant novelist and more. The criterion collection presents billy liar 1963 do you mean youve been lying to me billy. A lazy, irresponsible young clerk sir tom courtenay in provincial northern england lives in his own fantasy world and makes emotionally immature decisions as he alienates friends and family. John schlesingers billy liar 1963 is playing july 16 august 15, 2017 in the united states as part of the series john schlesingers first masterpieces.