Billy Liar [Criterion Collection] (Widescreen)

DVD, 94 minutes, CRITERION

Billy Fisher (Tom Courtenay) is known to his blue-collar British mates as Billy Liar because of his vivid imagination. This film version of the Keith Waterhouse-Willis Hall stage play "visualizes" some of Billy's more outrageous fabrications. He periodically escapes the drudgery of his job at a funeral parlor by conjuring up impossible adventures, usually involving the conquest of women. In one of her first film roles, Julie Christie plays one of two "real" girls who wish that Billy would come down to earth and pop the question. Following this film adaptation, Billy Liar was transformed into a stage musical, and later resurfaced as a British TV series. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi. New widescreen digital transfer, enhanced for 16x9 televisions, Audio commentary featuring director John Schlesinger and actors Tom Courtenay and Julie Christie, Excerpts from "Northern Lights," an episode of the BBC series "Hollywood U.K.: British Cinema in the Sixties," hosted by Richard Lester, Original theatrical trailer, English subtitles, Optimal image quality: RSDL dual-layer edition. New widescreen digital transfer, enhanced for 16x9 televisions Audio commentary featuring director John Schlesinger and actors Tom Courtenay and Julie Christie Excerpts from "Northern Lights," an episode of the BBC series "Hollywood U.K.: British Cinema in the Sixties," hosted by Richard Lester Original theatrical trailer English subtitles Optimal image quality: RSDL dual-layer edition.