To celebrate the centenary of the BAFTA and OSCAR-winning director, John Schlesinger (Midnight Cowboy, Darling), STUDIOCANAL is proud to announce a brand-new 4K restoration of his British New Wave classic,Billy Liar.
The special 4K UHD collector’s Edition of the film will be released on August 3. The 2-disc set features the film on both UHD and Blu-ray with brand-new extras, a 64-page booklet, poster of the new artwork by Sam Smith plus calendar and will be the first time the film is available to own in 4K.
The World Premiere of the new restoration will take place at Cinema Rediscovered in Bristol on July 26. The film will be introduced on the day by Writer/Director/Actor Alice Lowe.
The newly-restored BILLY LIAR will play at selected cinemas from July 31 and will also form a major highlight of the ongoing UK-wide centenary project, The Consummate Professional: John Schlesinger at 100. Retrospectives of Schlesinger's films will feature as part of the regular Curzon Film Club strand across all Curzon cinema sites, culminating in screenings of BILLY LIAR in August.
Starring Tom Courtenay (King and Country, The Loneliness of the Long-distance Runner), Julie Christie (Far From The Madding Crowd, Darling) and Wilfred Pickles (The Family Way, ‘Dr Finlay’s Casebook’), Helen Fraser (The Birthday Party, Repulsion) and Mona Washbourne (My Fair Lady, The Bed Sitting Room), this comedy-drama made an instant star of Christie - a real feat considering she appears for only 12 minutes in the film.
Keith Waterhouse’s initially adapted his 1959 novel (inspired in part by James Thurber’s ‘Walter Mitty’ stories) for the stage before bringing it to the screen in 1963. Although Albert Finney originated the role of Billy on the West End stage, Schlesinger opted instead to cast Finney’s understudy, Tom Courtenay, for the film, believing his less imposing figure made him more convincing as a dreamer.
“One guy... Three girls... One ring!”
Going nowhere fast, Billy Fisher (Tom Courtenay), an incorrigible fantasizer, dreams incessantly of escaping his drab existence and humdrum routine work as an undertakers' clerk in Yorkshire. Seeking refuge from his working-class family and not one but two demanding fiancées in the imaginary country called Ambrosia, Billy finds himself cut off from reality. As Billy's fabrications grow increasingly wilder and problems start piling up, happy-go-lucky Liz (Julie Christie) enters the young day-dreamer's life, offering a way out of his mess. However, new beginnings are always scary, and Billy must make up his mind: it's either a fresh start in London or an endless beautiful lie in Ambrosia.
Widely regarded as one of the most memorable and universally acclaimed films of the 60s, this new restoration is the perfect way to revisit some of the best work carried out by one of Britain’s most cherished directors in his centennial year. A welcome addition to STUDIOCANAL’s Vintage Classic label.
EXTRAS MATERIAL
New Billy Liar: Alice Lowe and Danny Leigh in Conversation
New The More Things Change: Samira Ahmed on Billy Liar
Audio commentary with John Schlesinger, Tom Courtenay and Julie Christie*
Audio commentary by Kat Ellinger
Remembering Billy Liar with Tom Courtenay and Helen Fraser
Interview with Richard Ayoade
A look through the Keith Waterhouse Archive with British Library Curator Zoe Wilcox
Interview with Saint Etienne's Bob Stanley
Stills Gallery
Trailer
Runtime: 98 min / Cert: PG
* produced by the Criterion Collection. © 2001 The Criterion Collection
JOHN SCHLESINGER (1926-2003)
Born in London in 1926, John Schlesinger was one of the defining voices of post-war British cinema. A leading figure of the British New-Wave, his early features, including A Kind of Loving (1962) and Billy Liar (1963), combined realism, wit, and empathy and established his reputation as a vital director of the time.
Schlesinger quickly went on to international acclaim with films including Darling (1965), Far From the Madding Crowd (1967), and 1969’s ground-breaking Midnight Cowboy, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Director. His later work included Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971), The Day of the Locust (1975), and Marathon Man (1976). With a career that spanned four decades, Schlesinger helped redefine both British and American cinema and left behind a body of work notable for its humanity, ambition, and emotional honesty.
The following films directed by John Schlesinger are also available in the Vintage Classics Collection: A Kind of Loving (1962), Darling (1965) and Far From The Madding Crowd (1967),
THE RESTORATION
The 2026 restoration of Billy Liar was scanned in 4k 16bit by Silver Salt Restoration in the UK, from the original 35mm negative. Colour grading and restoration were completed by Silver Salt Restoration, who dedicated over 300 hours to manually clean and carefully remove sparkle, dirt and scratches, repair of missing frames and tears. This new restoration is presented in 4K UHD Dolby Vision.