BILLY ELLIOT

Year: 2000
UK: UIP
Cast: Julie Walters, Jamie Bell, Jamie Draven, Gary Lewis, Jean Heywood, Stuart Wells, Nicola Blackwell, Adam Cooper, Mike Elliot
Director: Stephen Daldry
Country: UK
UK: 110 mins
USA Rated: R for language
UK Certificate: 15 for strong language
USA Release Date: 3 November 2000
USA Release Date: 13 October 2000 (Limited Release)
UK Release Date: 29 September 2000

Synopsis

The life of 11-year old Billy Elliot (Jamie Bell), a coal miner's son in Northern England, is forever changed one day when he stumbles upon a ballet class during his weekly boxing lesson. Before long he finds himself in dance, demonstrating the kind of raw talent seldom seen by the class's exacting instructor, Mrs. Wilkinson (Julie Walters).

But Billy must keep his participation in the class a secret from his widowed father (Gary Lewis) and overbearing brother (Jamie Draven), as both men are on strike from their jobs at the mine, and are struggling just to keep food on the table. Their pent up frustrations finally explode when they discover Billy has been squandering his boxing money on less than manly pursuits.

Banned from ballet, and troubled by the diminishing mental capacity of his grandmother (Jean Heywood), Billy finds solace with his school friend Michael (Stuart Wells) which deepens into a touching friendship. Meanwhile, Mrs. Wilkinson encourages Billy to try out for the Royal Ballet School in London, where he can refine his craft while escaping his oppressive surroundings.

But he is torn between his responsibility to his family and to the gift with which he has been blessed. For his overwhelming desire to dance is more than a means of self-expression. It is his passion, and it is his destiny.

The Special Edition 2 disc DVD includes 3 extended versions of selected scenes which include the boxing scene, the scene in the supermarket with Dad and Billy's brother, Tony and the arrival at The Royal Ballet School. The DVD also shows some of the scenes Stephen Daldry was not able to fit into the original film which are called Billy's Story, Tony's Story and Dad's Story. The 'Making of the Movie' feature has interviews with Jamie Bell, Julie Walters, Director - Stephen Daldry, Writer - Lee Hall and the film's producers Jon Finn and Greg Brenman.

Stephen Daldry discusses each piece of music featured in the movie and the reasons why those pieces of music were chosen. Some of the bands included on the soundtrack are T-Rex, The Clash and The Jam.

DVD EXTRAS

Widescreen 1.85:1 Anamorphic
Languages: English - Dolby Digital (5.1)
Subtitles: English for the hard of hearing
'The Real Billy Elliot Diaries' - featurette
'From Screen To Stage' - featurette
'Breaking Free' - making of with optional commentary
Deleted scenes
Extended scenes
'The Music' - 9 songs from the film with optional commentary
Footage of the Royal Variety performance with Elton John and the 3 boys cast for the stage show