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Mood:
- HumorousOffbeatTouching
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Plot:
- Coming of AgeImaginary KingdomWorking ClassDull LifeImaginaryLove and RomanceSociety
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Genres:
- DramaComedy
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Place:
- EnglandEurope
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Praise:
- Critically Acclaimed
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Based on:
- Based on BookBased on Play
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Attitudes:
- Semi SeriousRealistic
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Billy Liar, 1963
English
UK
Profile of Billy Liar
Billy Liar can be described as offbeat, touching, and humorous. The plot revolves around a humdrum life, the working class, and an imaginary kingdom. The main genres are drama and comedy. In approach, Billy Liar is realistic. It is located in England. It is adapted from a play and based on a book. Billy Liar has received attention for being critically acclaimed.
Summary of Billy Liar
Billy Liar was an immediate sensation as first a novel, then a hit play--both written by Keith Waterhouse, who also served as screenwriter on the film. Director John Schlesinger's screen version was a British landmark in the fertile cinema of the late 1950s and early '60s, and launched the career of Julie Christie, who plays Liz, one of Billy's flames. A young Englishman named Billy Fisher (Tom Courtenay) dreams of escaping from his dull working-class family and his dead-end job as an undertaker's assistant. In constant conflict with his parents and with the many women with whom he is romantically involved (he is engaged to two), Billy regularly escapes into a rich fantasy world. Sometimes he imagines himself to be the powerful dictator of a small country. In another fantasy, he wants to become the scriptwriter for a popular comedian on television. Unfortunately, he often blurs the line between fantasy and reality, which is exactly the reason that everybody calls him "Billy Liar."
Details
| Language: | English |
| Country: | UK |
| Release date: | 16 December 1963 |
| Runtime: | 98 min |
Cast and Crew
as William Terrence 'Billy' Fisher
as Liz
Photos
Critics Reviews
Variety
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- by: Staff (not credited)
The New York Times
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- by: Dana Stevens
