Billy Liar

PG

Billy Fisher is a lazy, wildly inventive and irresponsible undertaker's clerk in a Yorkshire town. Unable to accept the drab reality of life, Billy escapes into a world of fantasy. But when he becomes engaged to two girls at the same time and invents a demand for his non-existent writing talents, his troubles become more complex. That is, until he meets Liz, an ex-girlfriend, who appreciates the creative instincts hidden behind his dreams.

Adapted from the original book (and successful stage adaptation) by Leeds' own Keith Waterhouse, Billy Liar celebrates Northern working life and dialects in a Britain on the cusp of the later 60's revolution in youth culture. Tom Courtenay gives an outstanding performance as the day-dreaming Billy alongside a wonderful Julie Christie as his ex-girlfriend, and the film has never looked as magnificent as it does in this new restoration. It's as funny and inventive as it is utterly heartbreaking.

Look out for iconic local filming locations like our very own Town Hall and Undercliffe Cemetery, Bradford, which give a very special glimpse into 1960s Yorkshire. 

Content guidance: this film contains blackface and sexism.