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. Autoplay when autoplay is enabled, a suggested video. If youd asked me as a teenager whether i wanted to be billy fisher from the 1963 film billy liar, id have said no. The work has inspired and featured in a number of popular songs. 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. Billy liar on location leeds, bradford yorkshire film. Watch billy liar 1963 full movie free online streaming tubi. T his is john schlesingers freewheeling 1962 comedy, from the keith waterhousewillis hall script.
Aug 11, 2009 fifty years on, billy liar has not grown old. This film was selected by the artist genesis breyer porridge, whose exhibition try to altar everything closed august 1. Jan 10, 2010 billy liar was always a terrific film, but like so many of its kitchensink contemporaries saturday night and sunday morning, a kind of loving it has actually grown in substance and depth since. Billy is an idealistic young man who is trapped in a boring life. Billy decides to hand in his notice at shadrack and duxbury.
Why id like to be julie christie in billy liar film. Billy liar 1963 is probably the most fun of the new wave films. In the same way that many couples have what they refer to as our song, to me billy liar will always be our film. Filmed in 1962, this film captures a behind the scenes look at part of the making of the john schlesinger film, billy liar 1963. Billy liar 1963 movie clip open, good morning housewives. Komedie drama film geregisseerd door john schlesinger. Tom courtenay delivers a starmaking turn as william terrence fisher billy liar in one of the most memorable and universally acclaimed films. Billy liar was turned into a successful play in 1960, a film in 1963, and a musical in 1974. It is the film of my second and, thus far, most important love affair and every time i watch it i smile throughout because rachel seems to be there with me, so indelibly linked with the film is she. You gotta see it for ya self what else can i say about billy liar. Jul 23, 2014 why id like to be julie christie in billy liar. Which in the early 1960s is what most gay men and women experienced. Jul 09, 2001 janni, schlesinger, waterhouse and hall would follow this up with their film adaptation of billy liar.
Billy fisher tom courtenay is known to his bluecollar british mates as billy liar because of his vivid imagination. Billy liar 1963 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Oscars best picture winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comiccon sundance film festival toronto intl film festival awards central festival central all events. 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. Billy liar has the same smoggy industrial northern look that we find in schlesingers previous film, a kind of loving also written by waterhouse and. The intro sequence of liz as she walks along the streets of bradford is another highlight of the film, undescribable with words. To optimize your experience with your screen reading software, please use our website, which has the same tickets as our and websites. Marylebone station london even this film is not all the real north, though. Fifty years on, billy liar has not grown old books the. This film followed major successes by both its director, john schlesinger, who was coming off a kind of loving, and its star, tom courtenay, who had just established himself as a major actor with the loneliness of the long distance runner.
Julie christie is the handbagswinging charmer whose free spirit just might inspire billy to finally move out of his parents house. But in our heros rich imagination, he is a military conqueror, a debonair playboy, a brilliant novelist and more. 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. Janni, schlesinger, waterhouse and hall would follow this up with their film adaptation of billy liar. For the role of billy, a character that would be virtually owned by finney and courtenay, schlesinger chose the more introverted courtenay, who was about to emerge as a star with the release of tony richardsons loneliness of the long. 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. The legendary john schlesinger midnight cowboy helms one of the most memorable and universally acclaimed films of the 60s. May 04, 20 billy liar has the same smoggy industrial northern look that we find in schlesingers previous film, a kind of loving also written by waterhouse and hall, and andersons this sporting life 1963.
Billy liar is a compelling film for any male who ever had misgivings about his place in the world, and particularly for ambitious dreamers the kind whose dreams are not wellreceived by those around him. Tom courtenay delivers a starmaking turn as william terrence fisher billy liar in one of the most memorable and universally acclaimed films of the 60s. Billy liar on location leeds, bradford yorkshire film archive. Get youtube premium get youtube tv best of youtube music sports gaming movies tv shows news live fashion spotlight. Hampstead heath, hampstead, london, england, uk billy and liz walk past the ponds after leaving the dance hall. Billy liar was always a terrific film, but like so many of its kitchensink contemporaries saturday night and sunday morning, a kind of loving it has actually grown in substance and depth since. British filming locations for the movie billy liar 1963 including maps, screenshots, and other nearby film locations. With the theme written and sung by the excellent peter skellern, this was an update by the original scriptwriters of the 1960s film where billy was portrayed by tom courtney to the 1970s where the billy character is still fantasising about a possibly other more exciting existence. Billy is an undertakers clerk with an overactive fantasy life, to compensate for his dull provincial life. Unjustly forgotten comedy of the 70s which i remember being a big hit at the time. 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. Iconic images of julie christie as liz, swinging her handbag in the 1963 film billy liar, as billy tom courtenay and arthur rodney bewes. Still from the film version of billy liar, with leonard rossiter left and tom courtenay in the title role. Iconic images of julie christie as liz, swinging her handbag in the 1963 film billy liar, as billy tom courtenay and arthur rodney bewes look on.
Sep 22, 2008 trailer for the 1963 film billy liar dir. However, when a beautiful, freespirited old flame comes back to town, billy is given a chance to escape for real but. Billy liar is a 1959 novel by keith waterhouse, which was later adapted into a play, a film, a musical and a tv series. Oscars best picture winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comiccon sundance film festival toronto intl film. The film is populated with glorious british character studies by julie christie, leonard rossiter, and mona washbourne. Billy liar official trailer 50th anniversary edition youtube. Billy liar is a 1963 british blackandwhite cinemascope comedydrama film based on the 1959 novel by keith waterhouse.
It is perhaps best remembered as the film that crowned the imperial phase of julie christies career with an oscar, part of a golden run encompassing billy liar 1963, doctor zhivago 1967 and dont look now 1973, and lasted right up until shampoo and nashville 1975. 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. Billy liar is the chronicle of one decisive day in the life of its protagonist billy fisher. Billy fisher tom courtenay misses the train to london, which instead. Billy fisher is a lazy, wildly inventive and irresponsible clerk in a north country town, who defrauds his. 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. He has three girlfriends, his favourite of which tries to persuade him to go to london with her and start a new life.
I guess everyone was once a billy liar, or still has a billy liar in him or herself. I was not expecting anything remotely close to what i just saw in john schlesingers billy liar. I cannot remember the last time i watched a comedy, that featured jawdropping, blackandwhite cinematography. That creates great expectations, and billy liar lived up to them. Tom courtenay and julie christie in billy liar but all of billys fantasies are crushed like eggshells when we get right down to it. This will include my newest piece of the amazing billy liar, a. In spite of its bitter edge, billy liar is pure ambrosia. He periodically escapes the drudgery of his job at a funeral parlor by conjuring up impossible. Billy liar retrospective bradford yorkshire youtube. 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. Billy fisher lives with his parents and works for an undertaker.
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