Review of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) by Craig T — 05 Mar 2012

For years I have heard about this Virginia Woolf film that I "must see" and was told "it's a masterpiece". I have a wife and I have a career like everybody else. Therefore, so many films, so little time is the basis of my excuse (as of today there are 318 titles on my list to see). For now, I am taking aim at many films that have eluded me from the 1960's. Virginia Woolf was high on the 60's titles and now I understand why Mike Nichol's film is hailed as a masterpiece. About 20 minutes into it thought, how is this film going to run for over 2 hours? Well, about 30 minutes into it, all questions or earthly concerns died. My house could have caught fire and I would have went up in smoke staring at Elizabeth Taylor tormenting Richard Burton in her drunken rage. I immediately took notice of how well it was shot and focused on the careful angles and closes ups. This is 60's filmmaking at its very best! A Man For All Seasons has much to live up to now.

Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton stumble home from a party one night and are just about too drunk to stand. Once home and ready to call it a night, Burton is informed that Taylor has invited a young couple over for a nightcap. Although angry at the inconvenience, he straightens up a bit and prepares to entertain his guests (George Segal and Sandy Dennis). Once, the guests arrive, the tension boils over and bitter anger erupts almost immediately. Taylor reveals a never before seen viciousness that simply must be seen. Burton is electrifying as he meekly dismisses Taylor's verbal assaults but he soon shows how quickly he can rip someone to shreds with careful words of his own. Segal and Dennis soon play into the warfare taking as many hits as Burton or Taylor, however, this young couple may very well be a suitable match for the evening.

Honestly, I have never seen this much liquor intake in one single film. I seriously cannot recall a film with more copious amounts of hard liquor consumption. By the end of the picture my throat felt vodka burnt and my breath tasted like an ashtray. The story is mean and unforgiving but at the same time flawless in execution, just like the cast. These actors go for the throat in every scene for the entire running time. Ernest Lehman must be praised for his Oscar nominated screenplay because without this element of genius, this film would have been a different story for the actors to carry. Taylor is brilliant in her delivery and is one of the cruelest characters I've ever seen. Bravo for one of the greatest female performances in motion picture history! Meanwhile, I have been very interested in Burton since I saw Equus, and now I know I must see more of his work. Here, he intelligently defends himself, yet also has a keen style for inflicting pain on others in his path. The supporting cast, Segal and Dennis, earn their status among two villainous roles. They add much flavor to the main course in this banquet of insanity. How did I miss, this for so long? I must say, it is just unlike anything else I've ever seen and can't classify it with any other body of work. Period. (A+).