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Audience Rating: R (Restricted) Binding: DVD EAN: 5050582037272 Format: Anamorphic, NTSC Languages: Number Of Discs: 1 Region Code: 2 Theatrical Release Date: November 30, 2000 Editorial Review: Amazon.com: Foursquare in the gritty-but-heartwarming tradition of Brassed Off and The Full Monty comes Billy Elliot, the first film from noted British theatrical director Stephen Daldry. The setting is County Durham in 1984, and things "up north" are even grimmer than usual: the miners' strike is in full rancorous swing, and 11-year-old Billy's dad and older brother, miners both, are on the picket lines. Billy's got problems of his own. His dad has scraped together the fees to send him to boxing lessons, but Billy has discovered a different aptitude: a genius for ballet dancing. Since admitting to such an activity is tantamount, in this fiercely macho culture, to holding up a sign reading "I Am Gay," Billy keeps it quiet. But his teacher, Mrs. Wilkinson (Julie Walters, wearily undaunted), thinks he should audition for ballet school in London. Family ructions are inevitable. Daldry's film sidesteps some of the politics, both sexual and otherwise, but scores with its laconic dialogue (credit to screenwriter Lee Hall) and a cracking performance from newcomer Jamie Bell as Billy. His powerhouse dance routines, more Gene Kelly than Nureyev, carry an irresistible sense of exhilaration and self-discovery. Among a flawless supporting cast, Stuart Wells stands out as Billy's sweet gay friend Michael. And if the miners' strike serves largely as background color, the brief episode when visored and truncheon-wielding cops rampage through neat little terraced houses captures one of the most spiteful episodes in recent British history. --Philip Kemp Average Rating:
 Rating:  - An inspirational and heartwarming joy of a film...One of my friends recently told me that `Billy Elliot' was a solid A+ multiplied by one-thousand. That was enough to get me to search it out and watch it, since I had really up until that point heard very little about it at all. When I read the back of the DVD case this big smile forced itself onto my face, for `Billy Elliot' is just my kind of movie. Then I watched it, and while I don't know about the whole `multiplied by one-thousand' bit, I can truly say that `Billy Elliot' is a sold A+ and ... Read More Rating: - A Favorite movieThis movie is an uplifting movie - following a young man's travels through diversity - to his ultimate dream. Rating:  - 'JUST BECAUSE I LIKE BALLET, DOESN'T MEAN I'M A PUFF!"Interesting tale a young boy's desire to take ballet lessons, but avoid the stigma attached to it. I found this film to be very inspired with good performances all around. If I had one problem with this film, it was the thick accent spoken is tough to understand sometimes and I found myself straining to figure out what was being said in some instances. It's quirky and off beat and may enlighten some narrow minded people out there!........not everything is black and white :-) Rating: - Much Better Than ExpectedI spent 6 years in China, and every time an American film was "heartwarming" my students tripped all over themselves falling in love with it, while I fought the powerful urge to retch. With that out of the way, this heartwarming tale about a strained father-son relationship filled with "you don't understand me" is genuinely clever, witty, moving, brilliantly written and acted, and just damn funny in a number of places. "Coal miners on strike" gave me flashbacks to another ... Read More Rating: - Dancing machine"Billy Elliot" is a great film about an 11-year-old boy (Jamie Bell) who has an amazing talent for ballet dancing. Unfortunately for Billy, his coal-miner father (Gary Lewis) isn't exactly the type of man who appreciates the art of dance, and he insists that his son take boxing lessons instead. Unable to stifle his passion, Billy continues to train in secret with the help of his ballet teacher (Julie Walters). Eventually Billy has the opportunity to audition for a major dance academy, and his father ... Read More |
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