In 1966 the world was introduced to a new and great talent, a man named Mike Nichols. He started here... with
Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?
the film of the great Edward Albee play. And dare I say, he made it better. In fact, there's really not much I can say about this film... it really speaks all for its self. But I will try.
Every day is a struggle... in marriage, in love, in life. Sometimes, just to continue on, just to keep surviving, people can transform their worlds. Just in their head. But that new perspective can affect oh so much. So when it all becomes a game how does one play with another? Where can a fantasized relationship end up? Will the love really be there if the two in question no longer know how to play by the rules? How does one even lose such a game?
*Of course, it is sad to see passion laid to rest, and I want to take this moment to say farewell to Elizabeth Taylor who tore up the screen and showed us what we can accomplish without inhibitions. And while I'll remember her for just a few performances, her credits are massive in their splendor and their grace. With Richard Burton gone so many years ago it's tragic to rewatch this film and feel such epic pain. The hope of course is that in real life they were far happier people... yeah, they must have been. This is a spiraling entry, but I am truly choked up. We grow relationships with the people we see on screen and when they're gone... well that's it. No more fun times with Liz. No more Angela or Katharina or Cleopatra or Leslie. And no more Martha. I will miss her.*
The pure malice of this film is enough to rock generations. It was a classic when it debuted, it is a classic now, and it will certainly be a classic in another hundred years.
- Merian C. Cooper +
- Frank Capra
- Stanley Donen
- Terry Gilliam
- Jim Henson
You got it, not just re: the film, but Liz's career and the effect it has on us, even those who've only seen a handful of her work.
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