1963
John Schlesinger
Tom Courtenay delivers a star-making turn as William Terrence Fisher (‘Billy Liar’) in one of the most memorable and universally acclaimed films of the 60s.
Running from an unsympathetic working-class family, a pair of demanding fiancées and an insecure job at an undertakers, Billy escapes, Walter Mitty-like, into a world of fantasy where he can realize his dream ambitions. As work and family pressures build to new intolerable levels, Liz (an early, charismatic turn from Julie Christie), enters his drab life and offers Billy the one real chance he’ll ever get to leave the past behind.
Scripted by Keith Waterhouse from his own novel, and sensitively directed by John Schlesinger (Midnight Cowboy), Billy Liar is one of the few comedies of the British New Wave, marrying visual and verbal wit with a rather poignant rumination on the futility of dreams.
Written By Keith Waterhouse, based on his novel
The 2026 restoration of BILLY LIAR involved a 4k 16 bit scan by Silver Salt – UK from the original 35mm negative.
Colour grading and restoration were completed by Silver Salt Restoration – UK, who dedicated over 350 hours to manually clean, carefully remove sparkle, dirt, scratches and correction of density fluctuation. Supervised by Jahanzeb Hayat for STUDIOCANAL.
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The actor, writer and comedian known for her roles in Black Mirror, Darkplace and co-writing and starring in Sightseers picks Don’t Look Now, The Elephant
The screenwriter and director of War on Everyone, The Guard and Cavalry picks Melody, That’ll Be The Day, A Kind of Loving, Billy Liar, Darling, Far From The Madding
The actor from The IT Crowd and Director and Writer of Submarine and The Double picks Billy Liar and The Third Man.
The director and writer known for Under the Skin, Birth and Sexy Beast picks Billy Liar.
The TV and radio broadcaster and film podcaster of Soundtracking with Edith Bowman picks The Man Who Fell To Earth, Don’t Look Now, The Elephant
The Oscar-winning director and long-time champion of British Cinema and film preservation guides us on a Journey through Vintage Classics
