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Billy Elliot
2000
Features the films BILLY ELLIOT and SIXTY SIX, which both chronicle an adolescent boy's difficulties with his family.In BILLY ELLIOT, the titular character (Jamie Bell) is an 11-year-old boy living in north-east England in the mid-1980s. While his gruff father and brother are taking part in a massive coal miners strike, Billy .. Read more
| Starring | Jamie Bell, Julie Walters, Gary Lewis, Jamie Draven |
|---|---|
| Director | Stephen Daldry |
| Genres | Comedy, Drama |
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Billy Elliot
Features the films BILLY ELLIOT and SIXTY SIX, which both chronicle an adolescent boy's difficulties with his family.
In BILLY ELLIOT, the titular character (Jamie Bell) is an 11-year-old boy living in north-east England in the mid-1980s. While his gruff father and brother are taking part in a massive coal miners strike, Billy goes to boxing lessons and furtively plays his dead mother's piano out of loneliness. One day Billy notices a ballet class nearby. Intrigued, he begins practicing and taking lessons from Mrs. Wilkinson (Julie Walters), a tough-minded teacher. Billy begins to fall in love with ballet but keeps his lessons a secret from his family, who struggle to put food on the table while the strike drags on. When his father finally learns the truth, a family crisis erupts, and Billy struggles to prove that dancing is more than just a hobby--it's his dream.
SIXTY SIX is set in the summer of 1966 and England is swept by World Cup fever. 12-year-old Bernie Reuben is also excited but for a different reason. He is looking forward to his Bar Mitzvah, the day when he becomes a man. However, the 1966 World Cup Final is scheduled for the very day of his Bar Mitzvah, leading to the possibility of a complete disaster for Bernie.
| Starring | Jamie Bell, Julie Walters, Gary Lewis, Jamie Draven, Jean Heywood, Stuart Wells, Nicola Blackwell |
|---|---|
| Director | Stephen Daldry |
| Studio | UCA |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 46 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Comedy, Drama |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Subtitles | DVD: English |
| Released | DVD: 11 Aug 2003 Production year: 2000 |
| Format | DVD |
Billy Elliot (2000)
Or you can rent each disc individually:
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Critics' reviews (6)
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Stage director Stephen Daldry's debut feature is an amiable study of daring to be different in the face of intractable tradition. Comparisons with Brassed Off and Kes come to mind, but the decision to set the story of an 11-year-old north-easterner's bid to become a ballet dancer against the backdrop of the 1984 miners' strike has more emotional resonance than social relevance. It's the heart, not the conscience, that Daldry is keenest to tweak, and he succeeds triumphantly, thanks largely to Jamie Bell's eager performance in the title role (for which he won a Bafta), and the marvellous supporting turns from Gary Lewis as the lad's reactionary dad and Julie Walters as his chain-smoking dance instructor.
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"...If Dickens had written FLASHDANCE after seeing THE FULL MONTY, it probably would have come out something like this infectious, feel-good bundle of ambition in the face of adversity..." -- 3.5 out of 4 stars
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Most helpful member's review
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12 out of 22 people found this review helpful
Oh dear, another British "Classic"! Grim, tough northerners, thinly disguised left wing political comment, talented kid wins through despite the odds - oh yes, Dad is a miner, the family care for nana who is senile - it is sooo heavy handed, so done before (and better!) and of course "The Guardian" thinks it's wonderful ... Enuff said!
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Most recent members' review
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1 out of 1 person found this review helpful
A genuinly heartwarming film. I also liked the book of the film, by Melvin Burgess, which I read before I was old enough to see it.
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News and features
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Billy Elliot heading back to the big screen?
- 08 Jun 2009
Sir Elton John is in talks to take Billy Elliot back to the big screen. John wrote the music for the theatre adaptation of the 2000 movie, which was written by Lee Hall and directed by Stephen Daldry. Now the trio want to take the story about a young ballet dancer full circle by re-making the movie as a musical. Speaking after the Broadway adaptation of Billy Elliot The Musical scooped ten Tony Awards on Sunday (07Jun09), Hall revealed, "We've been talking about making the musical back into a... Read more
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Billy Elliot
Features the films BILLY ELLIOT and SIXTY SIX, which both chronicle an adolescent boy's difficulties with his family.
In BILLY ELLIOT, the titular character (Jamie Bell) is an 11-year-old boy living in north-east England in the mid-1980s. While his gruff father and brother are taking part in a ...
-