Billy Elliot

"Inside every one of us is a special talent waiting to come out. The trick is finding it."

2000 1h 51m EN

🙌

7.6

BANGER

★7.6TMDB · 4,191

DramaComedyMusic

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

County Durham, England, 1984. The miners' strike has started and the police have started coming up from Bethnal Green, starting a class war with the lower classes suffering. Caught in the middle of the conflict is 11-year old Billy Elliot, who, after leaving his boxing club for the day, stumbles upon a ballet class and finds out that he's naturally talented. He practices with his teacher Mrs. Wilkinson for an upcoming audition in Newcastle-upon Tyne for the royal Ballet school in London.

“Inside every one of us is a special talent waiting to come out. The trick is finding it.”

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Cast

Jamie Bell
Billy Elliot
Gary Lewis
Jackie Elliot
Julie Walters
Mrs Wilkinson
Jean Heywood
Grandma
Jamie Draven
Tony Elliot
Stuart Wells
Michael Caffrey
Mike Elliot
George Watson
Billy Fane
Mr Braithwaite

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Stephen Daldry
Writers: Lee Hall
Languages: English
Countries: France, United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $109M — a 21.9× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

26 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: France, United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Stephen Daldry, shot by Brian Tufano. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Stephen Warbeck. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor John Wilson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Jamie Bell and Gary Lewis and Julie Walters carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Inside every one of us is a special talent waiting to come out. The trick is finding it.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Stephen Daldry directs. Brian Tufano behind the camera. Stephen Warbeck scores. John Wilson cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in France, United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Grossed $109M — a 21.9× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
226 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3International production across 3 countries: France, United Kingdom, United States of America.
4Directed by Stephen Daldry, shot by Brian Tufano. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Stephen Warbeck. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor John Wilson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Jamie Bell and Gary Lewis and Julie Walters carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Inside every one of us is a special talent waiting to come out. The trick is finding it.".
9IMDB entry: tt0249462 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 44 themes, including "dancing", "friendship", "dreams", "dancing class".

The technical file

Cinematography: Brian Tufano
Original score: Stephen Warbeck
Editing: John Wilson
Production design: Maria Djurkovic
Costume design: Stewart Meachem
Makeup / hair: Ivana Primorac
Sound: Mark Holding
Runtime: 111 min · 1h 51m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $5,000,000
Box office: $109,280,263
Return: 2186% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Billy Elliot (2000)

Awards

Silver nugget for the best foreign film
Amanda Award for Best Foreign Feature Film
BAFTA Award for Best British Film
National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Stephen Daldry

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2023-10-21
★ 8/10
I hadn't seen this film since it was released when it was shown recently as a part of the Glasgow Youth Film Festival. The fact that it was chosen by the kids of today in what would have been just as unlikely a setting for this film as the North of England speaks volumes as to it's effect on challenging and breaking the stereotypical moulds that the British working class in the early 1980s was steeped in. The sylph-like "Billy" (the hugely engaging Jamie Bell) goes to boxing class each week but is soon more preoccupied by the adjacent dancing class of the no-nonsense "Mrs. Wilkinson" (Julie Walters) who gradually lets him join in. He's a bit scared that his dad (Gary Lewis) and his wayward brother "Tony" (Jamie Draven) will find out so it has to all be a bit clandestine. It's only when his striking miner father finds out from the boxing coach that "Billy" is spending his 50p elsewhere that a confrontation ensues and the film steps up a gear. The characterisations are strong and are not frightened to evolve - but not in a simplistic A+B=C fashion. There are troubles and traumas - not least those faced by a father who struggles with his own emotions; is facing financial difficulties, a wayward older son and a younger one who wants to dance and hangs about with best pal "Michael" (another strong effort from Stuart Wells) who is quite clearly gay. Walters and Bell and Bell and Lewis work well together here; allowing the story to emerge naturally and energetically and as feel-good films go, this takes some beating. It's the ultimate "anyone can do" film that resonates as well now as it did then - only, maybe, the soundtrack needs a bit of updating! Great film this - and there's even a tiny bit of Adam Cooper at the end.

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