My Netflix account is on hold and I can’t find it anywhere else. Got any links?
Afraid not, I have the DVD. You still have quite a while though?
Alright. I’ll look for it if it’s on DVD…… Good work.
I’m totally going to interfere in/ruin this conversation. Billy Liar is one of my favorites, I love the hell out of it, & that probably makes me sound more pathetic than I am.
Mr Bower, can you suggest where Charlie Bubbles can be seen?
Just put this in my queue, near the top. Is this a “Walter Mitty” sort of concept?
Sort of. Yes & no. Maybe a bit closer to the James Thurber story than the Danny Kaye movie.
Touki Bouki, available free here on theautuers last i checked, also has similarities.
I’ve only read the story, so that’s what I was going on. I didn’t know Touki Bouki went in that direction. Interesting.
@Geronimo Again, I caught Charlie Bubbles in DVD, so I don’t know where you’d be able to get hold of it, sorry. And loving this film isn’t pathetic, it’s a genuine classic.
I’m unfamiliar with Walter Mitty, although by reading the Wikipedia synopsis it sounds a little similar.
Well, I kind of saw structural similarities. I maybe shouldn’t have said that until the discussion, lest I warp pereception of two worthy films (or just look like an ass.)
I liked Charlie Bubbles more than Billy Liar. Billy’s fantasy scenes were stupid, but I loved Julie Christie, and Tom Courtenay was pretty good.
Josh Bower
John Schlesinger’s
Billy Liar
The British New Wave, or more specifically “Kitchen-Sink Drama” was a movement unfortunately dwarfed by the impact of the French New Wave, leaving many gems under-appreciated and almost ignored; Billy Liar is a brilliant example of the movement that portrayed life for how it was and shoved the North of England briefly into the international spotlight.
Written by the late, great Keith Waterhouse, who passed away only a couple of weeks ago, Billy Liar is a genuinely entertaining film that clashes the gritty backdrop of a 60’s industrial town with an overtly comic performance by the characterful Tom Courtenay. Beside a stellar cast, Courtenay shines in the role of Billy, but though it is a character based drama, the film comes together in so many other ways – the portrayal of the city is just as interesting as the characters, maybe because of the familiarity I share in that it is my hometown, but nonetheless it is fascinating to see the changes being made that left a huge impact on the whole of England.
The contrasts in the different parts of Billy’s life are beautifully presented by the changing surroundings, be it the drab and stale background of his dead end job in a funeral parlor, or the bright and open moorland on top of which Billy discards the calendars that have caused him so much aggravation.
Sticking to the STFC! ideal of brief discussion, I’ll wrap my thoughts up here and point out that Billy Liar is an enjoyable film that provides a good introduction to Kitchen-sink drama. I chose it not because it is my favourite film, far from it in fact, but I felt that this field of film has not yet had the full The Auteurs treatment it deserves.
I also feel the need to recommend Charlie Bubbles, which would be a good companion piece should you enjoy Billy Liar.
Discussion starts in earnest on the 26th