Billy Liar

DVD Rating: ***1/2

Reviewed by: Amber Wilkinson

Read Amber Wilkinson's film review of Billy Liar
Billy Liar
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The 10-minute bitesize extras on this beautifully restored 50th edition of Billy Liar - also available on Bluray - are eclectic and informative.

Remembering Billy Liar With Tom Courtenay And Helen Fraser does exactly what it says in the tin. Fraser recalls knowing "nothing about films really" before shooting it and talks about how it changed her life after she met her future husband, a sound man, on the set.

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Courtenay, meanwhile, remembers how emotional key scenes in the film were, adding, "It was so near my own experience".

Then it's the turn of younger generations to have their say. Richard Ayoade - whose Submarine protagonist Oliver Tate is a distant cousin of Billy - offers a sweet analysis that captures the spirit of what makes the film "so confident, exciting and fun". Then musician Bob Stanley - who used a sample from the film on his St Etienne track You're In A Bad Way - offers additional observations on the film's continued relevance.

Perhaps the most interesting addition, however, is A Look Through The Keith Waterhouse Archive With British Library Curator Zoe Wilcox. She takes a walk through the material that would become Billy Liar, including Waterhouse's memoir How To Live To Be 22 and The Woolen Bank Forgeries.

The package is completed by a stills gallery and trailer.

Reviewed on: 17 May 2013
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Billy Liar packshot
A young man who finds lies easier than the truth is torn between the present and a possible future.
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Product Code: OPTBD 2526

Region: 2

Ratio: 2.35:1

Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0

Extras: Interviews with Richard Ayoade and St Etienne's Bob Stanley. A Look Through The Leith Waterhouse Archive With British Library Curator Zoe Wilcox, Remembering Billy Liar With Tom Courtenay And Helen Fraser


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