Review of Billy Elliot (Special Edition)

Introduction

Set during the miner`s strike of 1984 which proved to be a definitive moment in the history of both the country and union development Billy Elliott is the story of one child`s realization that he is different from those around him.

Forced to go to boxing lessons like his brother and father before him Billy proves incompetent. One day when the ballet class shares the gym because the hall is being used as a soup kitchen he finds himself fascinated with the process of the dance He joins in, shaky and embarrassed at first but the teacher Mrs Wilkinson insists he should return. Saving his 50 pence boxing money he uses it instead to learn the intricate and demanding moves of classical ballet.

One day his father discovers he has been missing his boxing and worse than that he is dancing! The unspoken fear that is son is homosexual makes him react violently against Billy`s desire to dance. When there is a chance of an audition with the Royal Ballet School Billy must chose between his old life and possible escape.

Made in 2000 this film has been reissued as a Special Edition because of the new show which recently opened in the West End. The show has lyrics by the screenwriter and music by Elton John It has already received rave reviews. New songs include the Elton John single Electricity and Merry Christmas Mrs Thatcher.

Video

The picture quality is good and there is a sensitive use of colour and location. The limited locations are used to excellent effect and the 1980`s is used almost as a historical setting marking the sharp divide between this as Billy`s past and his potential future.

Audio

The music was mostly selected by the screenwriter and proved to be one of the most expensive items in the budget. The majority is T-Rex but there are significant other tracks notably The Jam`s Town Called Malice and the Clash`s London Calling. The music is not surprisingly the emotional focus of the film and marks the movement from Billy`s wistful feeling of the something that is missing from his life to the dramatic and violent confrontations both within and outside the family.

The sound is presented in 5.0 and offers good coverage from all the speakers.

Features

The second disc contains all the special features broken down into subheadings.
The Special Edition DVD has 2 hours of new extras focusing on the Movie, the Music and the Musical.

There are 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. The soundtrack features bands such as T-Rex, The Clash and The Jam.
There is also footage from the auditions for Billy Elliot the Musical with music by Sir Elton John and a feature on the three boys who were selected to play Billy - James Lomas, Liam Mower and George Maguire.

Conclusion

A really enjoyable film this has an edge to it that other fairy tales go without. Setting the story of a would-be ballet dancer in the rather gritty and violent period of English history is a remarkable achievement. There is something of a nostalgic feel even though it is recent history. This was when men were men and real men were miners. Now everyone needs to be retrained and no-one gets to tick the mining box in the career aptitude test. Billy`s own walk to freedom is financed by the defeated miners as a community act. His friend Michael the cross-dressing misfit must make his own way. It`s his story as well as the children of the 1980`s who must re-learn their roles in Thatcher`s Britain.

With the excellent use of music and dance presented in the most expressive way this is really good value as a musical as well as a nod to the significant political and social shift in the 1980`s.