Reviewed by Rhianna Pratchett
Stars Tom Courtenay, Julie Christie, Wilfred Pickles, Mona Washbourne, Finlay Currie
Written by Keith Waterhouse
UK certification PG | UK RRP £19.99
DVD Region 2 | Runtime 94 minutes
Directed by John Shlesinger
There’s something of Billy Fisher in all of us; the perpetually fantasist who daydreams their way out of the real world and into their own private one. No? Oh ... just me then.
In Billy Fisher’s (Courtenay) world, a kingdom he calls Ambrosia, he is king, general, president and all-round heroic stud. Back in the real world he’s an undertaker’s clerk, living with his 
folks, with a couple of whiny girlfriends on the go and a deep desire to become a script-writer in London. Unfortunately, well, he’s a bit crap, really. Certainly crap when it comes to dealing with real life. Even though Billy is loveable, you do spend most of the movie wanting to slap him upside the head. Although when he imagines gunning down his family, boss and girlfriends, you’re right there with him.
When he boards the train with the wild Julie Christie as Liz (wild in the sense that her hair hasn’t been backcombed to oblivion and she smokes) we’re desperate for him to make the final break, not so much from home to London, but from Ambrosia to the real world. Billy Liar is a very gentle look back at adolescence during the 60s — a time when an adolescent meant anyone under the edge of 35, who didn’t do their top button up. Nevertheless, it’s still pretty touching and ever so slightly depressing. Now we have things like Alpha Dog and Kidulthood, which makes you wonder how things can possibly get worse in another 50 years. One-way ticket to Ambrosia, please!
EXTRAS None