This film is part of Rentals
Billy Liar
Tom Courtenay is the clerk whose overactive fantasies compensate for a dull provincial life, in this classic film from the British New Wave.
Director: John Schlesinger
Overview
The era of the British New Wave came of age with John Schlesinger’s comedy, one of the enduring films from the movement that crucially combines humour and literary pedigree with its ‘kitchen sink’ realism.
Tom Courtenay is Billy, an undertaker’s clerk with an overactive imagination who’s often lost in a world of Walter Mitty-esque fantasies. Julie Christie is the glamorous girlfriend who urges him to act on his dreams and leave dreary Yorkshire for a new life in London. Schlesinger’s affectionate portrait of an archetypal British character – the loveable loser unable to transcend his provincial life – is a key British film of the 1960s and was voted 76th in a BFI poll of the 100 best British films.
Contains mild language, a sex reference and fantasy violence
Related
The Crime is Mine The Crime is Mine
Thriller 2022 103 mins Director: François Ozon
François Ozon’s witty 1930s farce about a penniless actress who finds fame while on trial for murder, featuring a riotous performance from Isabelle Huppert.
Special People Special People
Comedy 2008 74 mins Director: Justin Edgar
Justin Edgar's pioneering feature comedy about a neurotic filmmaker enlisted to make a film with a class of wheelchair-users.
Timestalker Timestalker
Fantasy 2024 89 mins Director: Alice Lowe
What if unrequited love spanned the centuries? Alice Lowe's time-jumping fantasy rom-com is a colourful, darkly funny treat.
Night Courier (Mandoob) Night Courier (Mandoob)
Comedy 2023 112 mins Director: Ali Kalthami
A desperate delivery driver gets caught up in the dark underworld of Riyadh in Ali Kalthami’s gripping, pitch-black satire.
Seven Psychopaths Seven Psychopaths
Comedy 2012 110 mins Director: Martin McDonagh
Three Billboards' director Martin McDonagh spins an epic and twisted tale of pets and gangsters, with an all-star cast.
The Day Shall Come The Day Shall Come
Comedy 2019 88 mins Director: Christopher Morris
An impoverished Miami preacher is lured into terrorism by the FBI, in the latest explosive satire from comedy genius Chris Morris.
All Consuming Love All Consuming Love
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2011 9 mins Director: Louis Hudson
Kevin Eldon voices this oddball, award-winning animated short about a tiny middle-aged man who lives inside a stray cat.
The Battle of Algiers The Battle of Algiers
Drama 1966 121 mins Director: Gillo Pontecorvo
Gillo Pontecorvo’s masterpiece about the last years of French colonial rule in Algeria, seen from the perspective of both the revolutionaries and the French authorities.
Caravaggio Caravaggio
Biopic 1986 93 mins Director: Derek Jarman
Derek Jarman’s unique biopic of the 17th century Italian artist Michelangelo da Caravaggio is a powerful meditation on sexuality, criminality and art.
Daisies Daisies
Comedy 1966 73 mins Director: Věra Chytilová
Two self-confessed hedonists wreak wanton havoc in Věra Chytilová's visually spectacular neo-dadaist farce.
Island of the Hungry Ghosts Island of the Hungry Ghosts
Documentary 2018 98 mins Director: Gabrielle Brady
A therapist helps traumatised refugees detained on a remote island where powerful natural and tribal rituals prevail, in this extraordinary mix of fact and fiction.
Heathers Heathers
Comedy 1989 103 mins Director: Michael Lehmann
Winona Ryder and Christian Slater star in the endlessly quotable cult black comedy that subverted expectations of teen movies forever.
Summerland Summerland
Drama 2020 100 mins Director: Jessica Swale
Gemma Arterton stars in acclaimed theatre director Jessica Swale’s moving Second World War drama, as a woman rediscovering her ability to love.
Doctor Zhivago Doctor Zhivago
Drama 1965 200 mins Director: David Lean
An epic romance set against the backdrop of the Russian Revolution, David Lean’s Doctor Zhivago is one of cinema’s great love stories.
45 Years 45 Years
Drama 2015 95 mins Director: Andrew Haigh
One of the most acclaimed British features of recent years, starring Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay as a couple rocked by news from the past.
Darling Darling
Drama 1965 123 mins Director: John Schlesinger
Julie Christie stars in the quintessential swinging sixties film, as a young woman flitting nonchalantly through London's nightlife.
Doctor Zhivago Doctor Zhivago
Drama 1965 200 mins Director: David Lean
An epic romance set against the backdrop of the Russian Revolution, David Lean’s Doctor Zhivago is one of cinema’s great love stories.
Far from the Madding Crowd Far from the Madding Crowd
Period drama 1968 165 mins Director: John Schlesinger
Terence Stamp and Julie Christie star in the classic adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s tale of tragedy and passion.
The Gold Diggers The Gold Diggers
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1984 89 mins Director: Sally Potter
The ground-breaking first feature from Sally Potter (Orlando, Ginger and Rosa) is a key film in early 1980s feminist cinema.
Memoirs of a Survivor Memoirs of a Survivor
Science Fiction 1981 111 mins Director: David Gladwell
Julie Christie stars in an award-winning adaptation of Doris Lessing's famous dystopian novel.
Darling Darling
Drama 1965 123 mins Director: John Schlesinger
Julie Christie stars in the quintessential swinging sixties film, as a young woman flitting nonchalantly through London's nightlife.
A Kind of Loving A Kind of Loving
Drama 1962 113 mins Director: John Schlesinger
John Schlesinger makes his feature film debut with this adaptation of Stan Barstow’s novel about a factory worker (Alan Bates) and his complicated relationship to a typist (June Ritchie) who he doesn’t fully love.
Far from the Madding Crowd Far from the Madding Crowd
Period drama 1968 165 mins Director: John Schlesinger
Terence Stamp and Julie Christie star in the classic adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s tale of tragedy and passion.
William Tell William Tell
Action and Adventure 2024 133 mins Director: Nick Hamm
A peaceful huntsman is thrust into the heart of the resistance following an Austrian Empire invasion, in this gripping retelling of a timeless legend.
The Crime is Mine The Crime is Mine
Thriller 2022 103 mins Director: François Ozon
François Ozon’s witty 1930s farce about a penniless actress who finds fame while on trial for murder, featuring a riotous performance from Isabelle Huppert.
Barrio Boy Barrio Boy
Romance 2022 83 mins Director: Dennis Shinners
A Latino barber embarks on an erotically charged odyssey of self-discovery over one hot summer in Brooklyn.
Small Things Like These Small Things Like These
Drama 2024 99 mins Director: Tim Mielants
Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy delivers a stunning performance as a coal merchant who discovers horrific secrets about his local convent.