Movies Like Billy Liar (1963)

Billy Liar is a 1963 comedy, drama, romance film from John Schlesinger with a MovieMagicScore of 6.8/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Room at the Top and Kes.

Comedy Drama Romance

Room at the Top

1958

An ambitious young accountant schemes to wed a wealthy factory owner's daughter, despite falling in love with a married older woman.

6.9

MagicScore

Kes

1970

Bullied at school and ignored and abused at home by his indifferent mother and older brother, Billy Casper, a 15-year-old working-class Yorkshire boy, tames and trains his pet kestrel falcon whom he names Kes. Helped and encouraged by his English teacher and his fellow students, Billy finally finds a positive purpose to his unhappy existence.

7.4

MagicScore

The Damned United

2009

Taking over Leeds United, Brian Clough's abrasive approach and his clear dislike of the players' dirty style of play make it certain there is going to be friction. Glimpses of his earlier career help explain both his hostility to previous manager Don Revie and how much he is missing right-hand man Peter Taylor.

7.2

MagicScore

This Sporting Life

1963

In Northern England in the early 1960s, Frank Machin is mean, tough and ambitious enough to become an immediate star in the rugby league team run by local employer Weaver.

7.0

MagicScore

Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1974

2009

Yorkshire, 1974. Fear, mistrust and institutionalised police corruption are running riot. Rookie journalist Eddie Dunford is determined to search for the truth in an increasingly complex maze of lies and deceit surrounding the police investigation into a series of child abductions. When young Clare Kemplay goes missing, Eddie and his colleague, Barry, persuade their editor to let them investigate links with two similar abductions that draw them into a deadly world of secrecy, intimidation, shocking revelations and police brutality.

6.7

MagicScore

Black Jack

1979

When honest young Tolly is forced on the run with ‘Black Jack’, a villainous ruffian, adventure and mishap are never far away. As the two enter a world of body-snatchers, private lunatic asylums, and traveling fairs they find friendship in the most unlikely places.

7.0

MagicScore

Brassed Off

1996

A Yorkshire coal mine is threatened with closure and the only hope is for the men to enter their Grimley Colliery Brass Band into a national competition. They believe they have no hope until Gloria appears carrying her Flugelhorn. At first mocked for being a woman, she soon becomes the only chance for the band to win.

7.0

MagicScore

Four Lions

2010

Four Lions tells the story of a group of British jihadists who push their abstract dreams of glory to the breaking point. As the wheels fly off, and their competing ideologies clash, what emerges is an emotionally engaging (and entirely plausible) farce.

6.9

MagicScore

Calendar Girls

2003

Members of a Yorkshire branch of the Women's Institute cause controversy when they pose nude for a charity calendar.

6.5

MagicScore

#10

Little Voice

1998

After the death of her father, Little Voice or LV becomes a virtual recluse, never going out and hardly ever saying a word. She just sits in her bedroom listening to her father's collection of old records of Shirley Bassey, Marilyn Monroe and various other famous female singers. But at night time, LV sings, imitating these great singers with surprising accuracy. One night she is overheard by one of her mother's boyfriends, who happens to be a talent agent. He manages to convince her that her talent is special and arranges for her to perform at the local night club, but several problems arise.

6.5

MagicScore

#11

My Summer of Love

2005

In the Yorkshire countryside, working-class tomboy Mona meets the exotic, pampered Tamsin. To seal their friendship, Mona introduces Tamsin to her born-again Christian brother and helps her spy on her adulterous father. Bound together by their secrets, the two girls see their friendship deepen and enter into dangerous waters.

6.1

MagicScore

#12

Rita, Sue and Bob Too

1987

Rita and Sue are two teenagers living on a run-down council estate in Bradford, who both share a job babysitting for Bob and Michelle's children. Whilst giving them a lift home one night, Bob decides to take Rita and Sue up to a deserted, country-side landscape. Clearly knowing what he has in mind, Rita and Sue are only too happy to oblige and both have a sexual encounter with him that becomes a regular occurrence.

6.1

MagicScore

#13

Threads

1984

Documentary style account of a nuclear holocaust and its effect on the working class city of Sheffield, England; and the eventual long run effects of nuclear war on civilization.

7.6

MagicScore

#14

Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit

2005

Cheese-loving eccentric Wallace and his cunning canine pal, Gromit, investigate a mystery in Nick Park's animated adventure, in which the lovable inventor and his intrepid pup run a business ridding the town of garden pests. Using only humane methods that turn their home into a halfway house for evicted vermin, the pair stumble upon a mystery involving a voracious vegetarian monster that threatens to ruin the annual veggie-growing contest.

7.1

MagicScore

#15

The Full Monty

1997

Sheffield, England. Gaz, a jobless steelworker in need of quick cash persuades his mates to bare it all in a one-night-only strip show.

7.0

MagicScore

#16

Chicken Run

2000

The creators of Wallace & Gromit bring you an exciting and original story about a group of chickens determined to fly the coop–even if they can’t fly! It’s hardly poultry in motion when Rocky attempts to teach Ginger and her feathered friends to fly…but, with teamwork, determination and a little bit o’ cluck, the fearless flock plots one last attempt in a spectacular bid for freedom.

6.8

MagicScore

#17

Wasteland

2012

A young man recently released from prison recruits his three best friends to rob the local drug kingpin who is responsible for his incarceration.

6.7

MagicScore

#18

The Railway Children

1970

After the enforced absence of their father, the three Waterbury children move with their mother to Yorkshire, where they find themselves involved in several unexpected dramas along the railway by their new home.

6.7

MagicScore

#19

The History Boys

2006

The story of an unruly class of bright, funny history students at a Yorkshire grammar school in pursuit of an undergraduate place at Oxford or Cambridge. Bounced between their maverick English master, a young and shrewd teacher hired to up their test scores, a grossly out-numbered history teacher, and a headmaster obsessed with results, the boys attempt to pass.

6.6

MagicScore

#20

A Private Function

1984

In the summer of 1947, Britain prepares to commemorate the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Phillip. To get around food-rationing laws, Dr. Charles Swaby, accountant Henry Allardyce and solicitor Frank Lockwood are fattening a black-market pig for the big day. Egged on by his wife, meek Gilbert Chilvers steals the swine, but the couple must conceal it from inspector Morris Wormold.

6.4

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Billy Liar?

The top films similar to Billy Liar by MovieMagicScore are Room at the Top (6.9), Kes (7.4), The Damned United (7.2). Each shares comedy/drama/romance themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Billy Liar worth watching?

Billy Liar holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.8/10 from 122 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is Billy Liar?

Billy Liar (1963) is a comedy, drama, romance film directed by John Schlesinger, starring Tom Courtenay, Julie Christie, Wilfred Pickles.

Where can I find more recommendations like Billy Liar?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more comedy recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like Room at the Top Movies like Kes Movies like The Damned United Movies like This Sporting Life Movies like Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1974 Movies like Black Jack

About movies like Billy Liar

This ranked list pairs Billy Liar (1963), a comedy and drama and romance film from John Schlesinger, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Tom Courtenay take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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