User reviews

WHOS's AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? is a drama film with the elements of black comedy, that on the violent and honest way indicates marital frustration and psyche, through the alcoholism, aging, cynicism and sterility. A dangerous double game becomes more intense and urgency with environmental changes. Simply, we are going through an intimate experience, which is seasoned with an excellent acting. The problem occurs in the moment, when we realize, how much is this experience, as a matter of fact, sincere and painful.

George, an associate history professor at a small New England college, and Martha, the daughter of the university president, live in an unstable and violent marriage. After they return home drunk from a party, Martha reveals she has invited a young married couple, whom she'd met at the party, for a drink. Their guests are Nick, a biology professor, and his wife, Honey. The hosts are engaged in a cruel verbal duel. The younger couple is first embarrassed and later enmeshed. After an evening of a sadistic, perversely hilarious and dangerous „clashes", a painful truth comes to the light.

Mr. Nichols keeping his camera close, so that, violent emotions, defeats and cramps on the faces of the actors come to the fore. The direction is excellent, because it is very difficult to draw the line between passion borders and boundaries of a nervous breakdown. The characters are lost in a futile and desperate struggle, which celebrates a kind of demonic love in an attempt to save a bad marriage.

The characterization is excellent and fully corresponds with sharp dialogues and gloomy atmosphere.

Elizabeth Taylor as Martha is definitely a major figure in this film with her acceptance of gray hair and her use of profanity. It is difficult to accept that such a beautiful face hides a violent and so crazed but again, fragile and deeply wounded character. Richard Burton as George is worthy as a her counterweight. He is not a victim, he is the husband who is tired of everything, while he tries to put all the things in the right place. The couple has offered an excellent performance.

George Segal as Nick is a young man who moves between confusion, arrogance and dominance in their relations. Sandy Dennis as Honey is his bland wife. She is not up to this unscrupulous game.

This is a brutal clash between unhappy spouses who move the boundaries of inhumanity, while they skillfully flee from the truth.

Edward Albee's award winning play, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf ran for 664 performances on Broadway and just closed down when this film version made its debut in 1966. The Broadway play was set entirely in the living room of George and Martha's home and starred Uta Hagen, Arthur Hill, Melinda Dillon, and George Grizzard. All eminently respectable players, but none of them exactly movie box office.

This film was destined to make money when the most publicized couple of the decade, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, chose it as a star vehicle for themselves. Of course what was not clear was how well a one stage play would adapt to film.

It adapted very well and went quite beyond one stage. The action of the film moved effortlessly to an all night diner at one point with some stops along the way. You'd hardly know the story as originally told only had one setting.

There's no real plot to it. For reasons I can't fathom this middle aged and bitter couple George and Martha have a younger couple, Nick and Honey, over to their house at two in the morning. I don't know about you, but I'm usually not my best at that time. Also they had just come from a party at Martha's father's house. Martha's dad is the president of a college and George teaches there. Nick and Honey are a newly hired professor and his wife.

The late night and the liquor bring out the worst in everybody. A whole lot of ugly truths get told.

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf was the summit of the professional team of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Playing against type, Elizabeth Taylor got her second Oscar the one she felt she earned. She always disparaged the one received for Butterfield 8 as it came on the heels of her well publicized pneumonia bout.

In fact all four members of the cast were nominated with Sandy Dennis winning Best Supporting Actress. Ironically Richard Burton didn't win, losing to Paul Scofield for A Man for All Seasons. I guess the Academy voters figured Burton would get another shot. He never brought home the big prize though.

George Segal usually gets overlooked. This film and Ship of Fools was the start of his long career, but no Oscar for him either.

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf is quite the indictment against marriage, especially after the love has died. It's far from the whole story of marriage. There are many who stay married longer than George and Martha and happily. But it wasn't in Edward Albee's life experience to draw from.

But this should be seen to see Liz and Dick at their very best.

An undisputed classic that chronicles every appalling moment of a drunken night in hell as middle-aged George and Martha tear each other, and their guest, to pieces.

Elizabeth Taylor proves categorically that she was a truly great actress. Her Oscar-winning performance as the psychologically tormented Martha is one of the greatest performances in the history of cinema. Taylor's imperceptible shifting from sadism to tenderness, from bullying condescension to exhausted vulnerability, is a masterclass in character building. Martha is a truly monstrous character, and yet Taylor is able to imbue her with sympathy, allowing you brief glimpses of the warm and lovable woman she could have been.

Richard Burton is equally magnificent as George; an ageing, failing college professor whose initial meekness gives way to a raging torment all of his own. His verbal sparring with Taylor, like two pit-bulls in the ring of an endless and bloody dogfight, has become legendary. Every word drips with malice and contempt, every sentence is designed to cut the deepest wound. At times, it becomes painful to watch, but like true train-wreck television, you cannot drag yourself away from the inevitably terrible conclusion.

Quite possibly, this is as close to perfect as movies can get; beautifully written dialogue, deeply complex characters, an evolving and suspenseful storyline, beautiful photography, and a wonderfully understated score by Alex North. Nominated for 13 Academy Awards in 1967, but lost out to A Man for All Seasons and Born Free to win only 5.

"Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" "I am."

This is still an exceptional film from the 1960s. Though some of the epithets are obviously softening much stronger words, the language is frank and brutal, Martha's bludgeoning body-blows balanced by George's icepick thrusts. Edward Lehman's respectful screenplay gently opens up Edward Albee's one-set play while keeping a certain claustrophobic atmosphere. Mike Nichols' first directing effort is stunning in its lack of artifice; rarely do you feel that the director has done much more than turn on the camera and watch four actors, all at the top of their game, tear into their roles. George Segal's work in this movie is criminally underrated, but his reactive work as studly, ultimately disappointing Nick should be mandatory study by all young actors. Sandy Dennis' fluttery turn as mousy, wifey Honey is powerful also; a lot more is going on than you might think. Richard Burton is staggering as George ("Georgie Porgie Put-upon Pie"), and his performance demonstrates the magic that he could bring to a worthy role. Elizabeth Taylor's work here still astounds. The physical transformation she undertook to become aging harpy Martha is amazing enough, but her performance seems to channel a hurricane's force and fury. By turns hilarious, maddening and then, at the end, exhausted and defeated yet again, Taylor demonstrates acting, particularly film acting, at its best. The film is by no means easy or "Hollywood" in feel-- the audience is as exhausted as the characters at the end. But this was a bracing, necessary antidote to the impossible ideal of marriage usually portrayed in the movies. A towering film.

Ailing couple George (Burton) and Martha (Taylor) invite a young couple over for a late-night drink - much to quiet and repressed George's annoyance - and what starts off as a twisted game by sultry Martha to annoy her husband and get her way with young stud Nick (George Segal) ends up in a horrific duel of wits.

Adapted from the play and boasting very few locations, "Virginia Woolf" is notable for many unsuspected reasons. Designed for the stage, the film makes the story uniquely cinematic and tense, amped up by stunning photography (in Black and White, a daring choice in 1966). The younger leads are superb, but Burton and Taylor still manage to walk away with film, giving stunning renditions of the world's most demented couple. They make the surreal dialogue hurt and touch in ways never thought possible.

Though there are countless reasons to recommend this jewel of a film, there are also reasons why one would wish to avoid it. This is the kind of film that makes you feel like having a showing (or a very concentrated drink) to wash away the grit and human evil and pain absorbed. You'll feel dirty, but in a way you'll also feel enlightened: that a small character film can carry more punch than any explosion-packed blockbuster out there is a thing of beauty indeed!

Who's afraid of Virgina Wolf? contains what I would call the most outstanding old school actor/audience experience I'ver ever seen. This movie is 131 minutes long and only contains 5 actors, on of which hardly gets any screen time and the two leading characters played by the famous couple Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor are on screen almost the whole time. Also this movie only contains a couple of locations so the whole project depends almost entirely on these two actors superb performance. The two of them fight almost the entire movie and it never gets boring for a second. Well, I gave this movie ten stars..... definitely a classic must see if you're interested in acting.

'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf' tells the story of two couples that are quite different at first sight - one used to each other for years, the other one rather freshly wed in comparison. Actually it doesn't tell their story, but it displays their relationships.

The film begins on a Sunday morning at 2 o'clock, right after a party, and ends just after the sun rises. In these few hours we get to know these four people better then we might possibly want.

George and Martha are the older couple. He is a history professor, she is the daughter of the head of the university. Their relationship seems to be from hell, full of mutual disgust and humiliation. Their guests are Nick and Honey. He is the new, ambitious biology professor, she is his naive young wive. As all these four characters are more or less drunk throughout the entire film, alcohol works as a catalyst, and we quickly see the different kind of character traits they have: George is a cynic, Martha loves to torment her husband, Nick is an opportunist and Honey is very much a stupid blonde.

The two relationships deserve closer examination: We wonder why Martha and George married in the first place. They keep swearing at each other. Martha can't stop humiliating George, when they are alone as well as when Nick and Honey are there. Maybe there is still a rest of love in them, but there mutual respect has vanished completely. And then there is the strange story of their son, who is supposed to visit on his birthday. They way George and Martha talk about him make us feel that there is something peculiar about him. At the end we get to know more about him, and we can only guess how important the son is for their relationship.

Nick and Honey, on the other hand, seem to be quite the opposite. But, being used as weapons by the older couple, we see that their relationship isn't as perfect as it seems to be, either. Nick didn't marry Honey because he loved her, but because he thought she was pregnant and because of her money. And when Martha tries to seduce him to tease George, he plays the game with her, always in mind that this woman's father is the head of the university. Honey, on the other hand, is much more emotional than her husband, but she also is the most passive character, and the one most affected by the alcohol.

Mike Nichols assembled an outstanding cast for his film. Casting Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton as Martha and George is a stroke of genius - not only are they terrific actors, but it also heats the imagination of the viewer how much their real-life-marriage resembled the relationship they had in this film. Elizabeth Taylor outshines her co-stars a little. Never was she any better than in this one; although her character is the meanest in the film, she manages that we still feel compassion for her at the end. But Richard Burton, George Segal and especially Sandy Dennis deliver memorable performances, too.

'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf' succeeds at something rather difficult: It makes us care for characters we wouldn't want to have anything to do with in real life. And although it actually consist of nothing but four people talking for two hours, it never bored us for a second.

Simply put, this is one of my favourite films of all time. Great acting, great writing and great camerawork make this close to cinematic perfection. Liz Taylor and Richard Burton give the performances of their lives. Sandy Dennis also shines in an early-ish role. It's a dramatic film, but the wicked humour that permeates the film is absolutely devastating, and I mean that in the best possible way. Many moments in the film I find myself laughing only to think, "Should I be laughing at this." Certainly the film is loaded with uncomfortable moments, enhanced by the camerawork replete with uneasy close-ups. Most of all, this film shows how a lot can be accomplished with just a little: a cast of four and minimal scenery changes. "Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf" has become an absolute icon of American cinema. If you haven't seen it, what are you waiting for?

If you had any remaining doubts about the direction that cinema was taking in the '60s, you need only watch Mike Nichols's first two movies. "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and "The Graduate" both belie the image of the wholesome family. The former, however, is actually a little more extreme. Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor make your blood freeze as couple George and Martha, who use their guests (George Segal and Sandy Dennis) as conduits to vent their hostility towards each other. Seriously, this is one REALLY intense movie.

I wouldn't go so far as to call it a masterpiece. There's something a little jarring about people who spend all day drinking and verbally attacking each other. Even so, you really have to admire the acting and the content (which was basically R-rated in that era). Therefore, I recommend the movie, just as long as you understand that this is NOT a film for the fainthearted.

In the fall of 1962, Edward Albee's play "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" opened on Broadway. The piece deals with a middle-aged academic couple, Martha and George, and their bitter and frustrating relationship. The play was selected for the 1963 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, but the award's advisory board (the trustees of Columbia University) objected to its profanity and sexual themes. As a result, no Pulitzer Prize was awarded in that category that year.

Not surprisingly, several major Hollywood studios began to show interest in the red-hot material. So, in 1966, Warner Brothers bought the movie rights to Albee's play for $500,000. The studio had envisioned Bette Davis and James Mason in the lead roles, but the film's new producer, Ernest Lehman, had other ideas. At this time, Elizabeth Taylor was the world's leading female star, and Lehman only wanted the best. The fact that Mrs Taylor was significantly younger than "Martha" in the play apparently didn't bother the producer.

Elizabeth Taylor's contract stipulated that she had the right to choose director, co-star, camera operator, hairdressers and costume designers. In addition, she was guaranteed a salary of $1.1 million, plus 10 per cent of the gross. Since James Mason declined the role of the abusive professor, Mrs. Taylor's real-life hubby, Richard Burton, was hired to play her spouse instead. Then, the film was shot on a closed set at the Warner Brother's studio in Burbank.

Before the film's premiere, Ernest Lehman was forced to contact the Motion Picture Association of America. He needed their approval of the piece's strong themes and vulgar language. The studio also put a special warning at the start of the movie. But it was worth it. "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" became a big success at the box office. The film was also nominated for thirteen Oscars, of which Elizabeth Taylor took home one for her performance in the lead role.

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a brilliant movie in all departments. The cinematography and production values are very pleasing to the eye, and Alex North's music is excellent. The dialogue is simply wonderful, both juicy and malicious, and the story is compelling, with well-observed psychological and social pointers, and intelligently constructed and paced. The film is brilliantly directed by Mike Nichols, who successfully manages to prevent the characters fall into caricature. The acting drives the movie, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton both give I feel career-best performances and exude a great chemistry. All in all, just brilliant and worth watching for the two leads. 10/10 Bethany Cox

The games people play. Throughout this entire film (based on an intense play by Edward Albee), we are never sure what the truth is. George and Martha have a marriage made in hell. They have an intense hatred of one another fueled by years of disappointment. Then again, perhaps this is how they express their love. Enter Sandy Dennis and George Segal who believe they are attending a quiet evening with an again professor and his wife. They are soon drawn into the clutches of these two. Elizabeth Taylor, with weight packed on to do the role, and Richard Burton, two cinema icons, strut their stuff, leading the poor souls who have wandered into the web with tales and sparks and deception. Dennis is a mousy little thing who tries to cope, but we can see her eroding each minute she is in this hornet's nest. This is one of America's great stage plays and the movie really does it justice. Was Taylor a great actress. You bet she was. And Burton. Oh yeah!

This is one of the most powerfully written and acted movies I have ever seen. I was emotionally drained at the end and could not imagine how actors could have done this on Broadway night after night. The terrible verbal inhumanities Taylor and Burton inflicted on each other were done so well, one never knew what was truth and what was game. A must see if you can handle such a well acted but emotionally traumatic film.

ABSOLUTE TEN !! This is a masterpiece and it is mandatory that you watch it. If you are an adult (not for children) and have not seen this movie, please reward yourself and rent or buy the movie. Like Jonah and the great whale, you too will be swallowed, but into the overwhelming emotions of this very very great screenplay. The movie was shot in B&W with a small cast of actors, but who notices? Burton and Taylor at their absolute B-E-S-T. Like a bug-light draws moths, you will be dragged into this one.

The movie represents the story of two married people who have the problem with their mind. After they got drunk, they talked a lot about their stories that are nondiegetic elements. Beside,they spoke very sarcastically because of the effect of alcohol. In the scene that he took the gun and wanted to shoot his wife is exciting; the director select the low background music with low amplitude that is opposite with the high loudness of conversation because the director tries to imply that the people in conversation were focusing on their talking. In addition, the director uses camera to zoom in her face and switch back to the shot of shooting. Furthermore, almost every scene is photographed in the building, so the director uses medium long shot and medium close-up shot to run the movie more smooth. In the dancing scene, the audience also sees the example of Dutch-angle shot. Finally, the scene that she left her husband; the director put the next shot(flashback) by using face out and face in the previous shot that increases the continuity between two shots.

...add the catalysers youth and alcohol and wait for the sky to fall down. Seldom will you encounter such overwhelmingly magnificent performances as those found here - quite literally, breathtaking and unsurpassed.

"G**d**n you!" That is one of the first lines of the film, and to me that line sums up the entire marriage between George and Martha. The marital relationship between these two extremely damaged individuals is falling apart, it's in complete shreds, all they do all the time is verbally abuse one another and find ways to insult the other in deep painful ways. Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton both absolutely BLEW me away with their volcanic performances! Especially Taylor, she is just absolutely scathing, she will tear George down with one sentence and not even think twice about it. And Burton brings this deeply wounded, distant and washed up quality to his character, and it all works so well. The supporting actors do well too, course they are overshadowed by Taylor and Burton, but that's expected. The script is powerful and RAW. Oh my goodness this is by far one of the rawest films I've ever seen. The writing leaves no stone unturned when it shows the relationship these spouses have. All the hostility and deep rooted pain is out in the open for any and all to see. This movie is a superb example of perfect acting, masterful writing and the talent for showing a stripped down, completely raw/transparent relationship between characters. 9/10.

The movie is about a couple that doesn't have a clue how to live. I got sick about their fighting and bickering, yelling, crying, and laughing. I was not able to relate to any of their feelings, and therefore was lost throughout the movie.

This is a movie I will not watch again. The characters are utmost annoying and incomprehensible. All throughout the movie I asked myself why they behave that way, and why isn't the guest couple leaving!

If I was the biologist invited to this party, I swear I would have left in less than 5 minutes.

Summary: This movie sucked. I admit I watched it to the end, but only because it got such high acclaim. I'm clueless why...