1966 Directed by Mike Nichols
Mike Nichols’ film from Edward Albee's play brought new themes to the film industry. Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton have never been more brilliant together as they portray an experienced married couple who love each other yet verbally attack one another when they see how boring their naïve newlywed guests have made their night.
"You're all flops. I am the Earth Mother and you are all flops."
my fav genre is upper class white people yelling at each other over nothing. i'm not being facetious or snarky -- it's genuinely so dramatic & fun!!! they never have to go that hard but they always do!!!
Absolutely relentless with its content, overflowing with charged emotions & sustaining its intensity from start to finish, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a tour-de-force of sublime direction, ingenious writing & explosive performances that takes hold of your attention with its armour-piercing dialogues & never lets go until the very end.
The story concerns George & Martha; a middle-aged married couple, whose relationship over the years has turned very bitter & volatile. The plot covers one late evening in their lives when Martha invites a young couple for drinks but this new couple only find themselves caught in the verbal battle between Martha & George which escalates under the influence of alcohol as the night progresses.
Directed by Mike Nichols, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is…
The adaptation of Edward Albee's theatre drama is a brutal, honest and unforgiving look at the breakdown of a marriage where the proverbial kid gloves are most definitely off. Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton bring what many suggest was their real-life marriage onto the screen, tearing absolute lumps out of each other with resentful delight.
In one sense, this could be the next instalment of Richard Linklater's romantic trilogy, at a time when both parties are weary of each other, drained by the mere sight of their partner when they open their eyes in the morning. From beginning to end we are bombarded with a litany of barbed insults in awe of this tennis match of hate slugging it out…
There is a scene late in this one where Taylor and Burton square off for a moment. Earlier, Taylor had mocked Burton by relating a tale in which he avoided a boxing match of sorts. In the scene where they square off, they have just gotten out of a car and are howling at each other. They declare "total war" on each other. And for a moment, everything is framed just so that it looks like they are about to begin a boxing match. This moment perfectly encapsulates the entire film. It is sheer combat.
There are lies within lies here. There are verbal barbs coated with affection and sweet kisses coated in poison. It is an impossible maze of…
when i said that i wanted to have kids, and you said you wanted me to have a vasectomy, what did i do? and then, when you said that you might want to have kids, and i wasn't so sure, who had the vasectomy reversed? and then when you said you definitely didn't want to have kids? who had it reversed back? SNIP SNAP! SNIP SNAP! SNIP SNAP! i did! you have NO idea the physical toll that three vasectomies have on a person!
"A drowning man takes down those nearest." - Martha
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a horror film, or at the very least, is more unsettling than most horror films out there. The monster of the film doesn't have sharp fangs or wield a chainsaw. It is not a boogeyman, at least in the conventional sense. The monster here is one that you can't shoot or wake up from. It is all too real. A loveless marriage and the monotony of life drowned out by a steady diet of alcohol and cigarettes. Inflicting pain onto others because you're tired of feeling it alone. Life sucks, and then you die.
The directorial debut of Mike Nichols (The man behind The Graduate,…
A towering achievement in filmed performance, one of the great directorial debuts of all time, and an essential demarcation, behind only “Bonnie and Clyde”, between the old Hollywood and the new.
A modern sensibility would be forgiven for thinking it overwrought and, in terms of the score used to underline certain moments, they might be right. But it still lives and breathes more than 50 years later as a raw, claustrophobic piece of artistry.
I was afraid of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? because I thought it would be a literary bore.
It's actually not literary at all. It's a well-shot and well-acted adaptation of a strong play. I felt that the story would've been even stronger without Martha and George's son: there was enough emotion there without this cheap attempt to be deep. Still, the good aspects more than carry the film.
Done with Humiliate the Host? Here's another fun game for you: pick your second-favorite character after Honey and say why. I've been playing the game since finishing the movie last night and have not come up with an answer yet!
I haven't seen this film in 6 years. God, how time flies. When I first saw this, 28 seemed a long ways off. Now, it's right where I am. God. God. God.
This movie is like crack. I assume that people who love Jerry Springer think it feels like this, but this is so much more.
There are few things I like more than a movie about people who hate love and love the game. Stab your guests. Stab your partner. Twist the knife. It's all part of the game.
Besides, it's so much better than fucking.
"A drowning man takes down those nearest." - Martha
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a horror film, or at the very least, is more unsettling than most horror films out there. The monster of the film doesn't have sharp fangs or wield a chainsaw. It is not a boogeyman, at least in the conventional sense. The monster here is one that you can't shoot or wake up from. It is all too real. A loveless marriage and the monotony of life drowned out by a steady diet of alcohol and cigarettes. Inflicting pain onto others because you're tired of feeling it alone. Life sucks, and then you die.
The directorial debut of Mike Nichols (The man behind The Graduate,…
Why are we even still trying to adapt plays into movies now that Mike Nichols isn't around to handle it?
"You're all flops. I am the Earth Mother and you are all flops."
I am not a monster!
Formally audacious and emotionally raw. Two powerhouse performances matched with an equally tremendous script. Get the alcohol. Slip into something a little more comfortable. Invite some vulnerable guests over. Throw resentment and anger into the mix and prepare for one hell of a night! This is all out war!
Like having a bomb strapped to your chest for two hours, never knowing when it's gonna blow. I love movies where actors are given the freedom to really go at the material without any inhibition or awareness of how "believable" it appears on screen. This is one of those movies.
PS: THIS WAS MIKE NICHOLS' DEBUT!! How the fuck does someone make something so bold and stylistically assured on their first fucking try??? I miss him every day.
had to go to a yoga class directly after watching this to try and get my zen back
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