Review of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) by Nick M — 28 Apr 2012

It still amazes me that this masterpiece of a film is Mike Nichols' debut film. Yes, it was adapted originally from a play, which was also amazing and chilling, but mostly it's the superb performances, and the beautiful directing.

The two main attractions in the film are George and Martha who are a married couple that drink a lot. And when I say a lot I literally mean it, throughout the movie the drinking gets worse and worse, and somehow the amounts become larger.

Which is great because that's what makes the movie build up to it's intense and craziness! Martha is played by the superb Elizabeth Taylor, who shines and scares in this role how intensely she plays a drunk.

She has so many great yelling, insulting, and mean things to her husband, George throughout the film. George is played by the professional and interesting Richard Burton, who ironically, in reality, was married to Elizabeth Taylor for a small portion of time.

Let's hope they didn't behave like this. About 20 or 30 minutes into the film they invite a younger married couple over that are much more put together, that is until they get some alcohol in their system.

There are many scenes in the film that get so intense and insane that at times it gets awkward and uncomfortable to watch. But that's the effect of the film, some may strongly dislike and others may love it like myself.

Taylor is superb in her role as Martha, and this film shows why Taylor won and deserved so many of the oscars she won in the past and future, including the best actress award for this role. Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? is definitely not a film for everyone but it is for sure done well.