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Who S Afraid Of Virginia Woolf | Actors/Actresses: - Richard Burton Quite likely the best acting ever in one film It's no small praise that Elizabeth Taylor's acting in this one at one time was taught in college acting classes, and she's at her best as Martha, the drunken, bawdy and disillusioned wife to then-husband Richard Burton's professionally and emotionally blunted college professor George. Together, Taylor and Burton subject two young neighbors, played stunningly by George Segal and Sandy Dennis, to a night of hell where the line between reality and vicious fantasy of cruel mind games isn't clearly drawn. Taylor, in a class all her own in this one, earned a second Oscar for her tour de force while looking every bit the deglamorized unfulfilled shell of a beauty goddess Martha undoubtedly was. Burton is as compelling in his viciousness that is George's life blood. He was Oscar-nominated as were Segal and Dennis with the latter winning Best Supporting Actress. Shot in black and white and centered in Martha and George's hell house, the intensity of the sense of being penned and the desire to run are urgent and, in the end, we leave George and Martha with a sigh of relief, hoping neverto return and a sense of pity for these two battered souls who, for whatever reason, gave up on life in favor of mutually assured destruction. Taylor is awesome: her performance her may well be the single best ever in cinematic history. AFIs Great Love Stories: #89 Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Edward Albee's "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" is one of the most important plays in the history of American Drama, representing a sort of merging of the psychological drama represented by Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller with the existential plays of Samuel Becket and Eugene Ionesco. After a faculty party George (Richard Burton) and Martha (Elizabeth Taylor) have invited a young professor, Nick (George Segal) and his wife Honey (Sandy Dennis), back for a few drinks. What happens is ironically described as fun and games, which end up airing everyone's dirty laundry in a compelling death spiral of brutal confrontations. All four players were nominated for Oscars, with both of the ladies winning in the finest ensemble performance since "Long Day's Journey Into Night." Burton lost to Paul Schofield in "A Man for All Seasons" and Segal to Walter Matthau in "The Fortune Cookie." Haskell Wexler also earned a richly deserved Oscar for Best Black-and-White Cinematography. I think this is clearly Elizabeth Taylor's best film performance (Burton's too). I remember someone asking Katharine Hepburn if she thought any other actress had ever shown a range comparable to herself and she mentioned Taylor. It makes sense. They have both done plays by William Shakespeare, Tennessee Williams, and Albee. Not even Meryl Streep can say that. The film does have one major problem, which Albee himself has repeatedly pointed out, namely, it was a mistake director Mike Nichols to let the two couples leave the house and go to a roadhouse in the middle of Act II. The play is a one set play, of course, and Albee consider the claustrophobia it produced part of its main effect. By getting them away from the house, or even having George and Nick have their big talk from Act III out in the backyard, the idea that Nick and Honey are trapped with no way out. But I think this is something that bothers people who have studied the play intimately more than fans of the cinema. Most Romantic Lines: Yeah, right. I think the nicest thing Martha says to George is "You make me puke," and the most famous line from the play, "What a dump," is taken from a Bette Davis movie (Yes, I know which one, but, no, I am not telling). If you like "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" then check out these other films on AFI's list: #84 "Double Indemnity" and #48 "Last Tango in Paris." Why? They are also tales of twisted love. The Atomic Bomb in Your Living Room The title of this film is derived from the classic childhood rhyme, "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" and is used to illustrate the immaturity of the characters and the fright of confrontation. The addition of "Virginia Woolf" into the title is not only a play on words, but a reference to the author's suicide - basically, the question asked is: who's afraid of going insane? Apparently everybody. "Woolf" is an emotional roller-coaster of a film. The premise is simple: Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor are husband and wife. Burton is a somewhat washed up University professor, and Taylor is the University president's daughter. They invite the new math professor and his squeaky, drunkard wife over for a few glasses, which quickly turns into a few bottles, which leads to an escalated, violent verbal assault on everything the four characters hold dear. Egos are shattered. Relationships are ruined. Children are murdered. By the end of the film, the actors sulk away to their dark corners, exhausted and fragile. The same happens to the audience. If there ever was a "draining" film, this one is it. You feel like you just watched your parents fight for a whole evening. You physically feel tired, upset, angry, sad ... just about every emotion exercised in the film is exercised on your well-being. "Woolf" is based on a play by Edward Albee, which takes place in the living room. Mike Nichols, in his stunning directorial debut, ventures only a few places other than the living room, knowing full-well that the powerhouse performances by Taylor and Burton especially (as well as the most convincing drunk ever played by Sandy Dennis) will keep the audience captivated. All dialogue in this film, save for two or three lines, are directly taken from the play. Albee said the added lines were "all garbage" - but you won't notice. This is arguably Nichols best film, and yes, I am including "The Graduate." The cinematography (glorious black ousands of miles away he may be on his particular vessel, would begin to howl... thus." Clearly, there was a need for a practical solution to t ommanding We n versions on DVD Buy Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  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