Billy Liar

Released Dec 16, 1963

1 hr. 38 min.

Comedy

Drama

List

95%

20 Reviews

Tomatometer

83%

2,500+ Ratings

Audience Score

A young Englishman dreams of escaping from his working class family and dead-end job as an undertaker's assistant. A number of indiscretions cause him to lie in order to avoid the penalties. His life turns into a mess and he has an opportunity to run away and leave it all behind.

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Audience Member

Billy is a compulsive liar and day dreamer. He also lives a bigger life than pretty much anyone so he's probably the real winner. A lovely film with a lot of heart and some funny moments. Enjoyed it

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/28/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Hugely influential and the movie's observations about a particular kind of lazy young male dreamer will be eternally relevant.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

Full Review

William L

Wonderfully imaginative, with a protagonist that is simultaneously empathetic and detestable. The main character's penchant for self-delusion, initially comical, is gradually revealed to be a debilitating personal fault, that dooms him to eternal dissatisfaction, and the conclusion is ultimately quite poignant. (4/5)

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/12/20

Full Review

Audience Member

Loved this movie. Hilarious at time and poignant at others - one of Julie Christie's best.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Ouch. It's hard to watch the selfishness of Billy. He's just so spoiled and trashy. Everyone has a little of that side to them, but Billy is 99% dirty devil and pretty much always listens to 'em.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/29/23

Full Review

s r

Quirky, but entertaining. A nice time capsule.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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John Schlesinger

Director

Tom Courtenay

Billy Fisher

Julie Christie

Liz

Wilfred Pickles

Geoffrey Fisher

Mona Washbourne

Actor

Ethel Griffies

Actor

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Peter Harcourt

Sight & Sound

Finally, of course, the film is Tom Courtenay's. In this, his finest part so far, no praise could be too much and yet all seems impossible.

Feb 11, 2020

Full Review

Ryan Gilbey

New Statesman

It's the director's most assured work, and it includes Courtenay's greatest performance. The young actor balances zestiness and frustration, levity and rage, and never soft-pedals his character's more unsympathetic tendencies.

May 31, 2013

Full Review

Empire Magazine

Rated: 4/5

Aug 17, 2007

Full Review

Penelope Gilliatt

Observer (UK)

There is nothing sentimental in the film, which is buoyantly accurate and finally very bitter. Tom Courtenay's gritty performance is one of the things that contribute to its seriousness: he's too good an actor to try to make a character sympathetic.

Mar 9, 2024

Full Review

Kat Halstead

Common Sense Media

Billy Liar takes what could be a wildly unlikable character and creates an antihero it's possible to root for, his frustration and rage making him more sympathetic than his selfish tendencies should allow.

Rated: 4/5

Sep 13, 2023

Full Review

Judith Crist

New York Herald Tribune

There's vigor, high comedy, dry wit, and subtlety in Billy Liar. And it presents to us an adolescent nonhero whose dreams, alas, are far more likable than his reality.

Aug 10, 2022

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Synopsis

A young Englishman dreams of escaping from his working class family and dead-end job as an undertaker's assistant. A number of indiscretions cause him to lie in order to avoid the penalties. His life turns into a mess and he has an opportunity to run away and leave it all behind.

Director: John Schlesinger
Screenwriter: Willis Hall, Willis Hall, Keith Waterhouse, Keith Waterhouse, Keith Waterhouse
Distributor: Continental Distributing Inc., Rialto Pictures
Production Co: Anglo-Amalgamated Productions, Vic Films
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 16, 1963, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 2, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $35.6K
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)