Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Starring:Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, George Segal, Sandy Dennis, Agnes Flanagan, Frank Flanagan
Director: Mike Nichols
Studio: Warner Home Video
Product Type: DVD

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A word of advice: If George (Richard Burton) and Martha (Elizabeth Taylor) ever ask you over for late-night cocktails--pass. On the other hand, if you have the opportunity to see Mike Nichols's scorching film version of Edward Albee's sensational play, don't miss it! Elegantly photographed in crisp black and white by the great Haskell Wexler, the play has been "opened up" for the screen by director Nichols (The Graduate, Primary Colors) and producer-writer Ernest Lehman (North by Northwest) without diluting its concentrated, claustrophobic power. Taylor has never been better or brasher as Martha, letting loose with all the fury of a drunken, frustrated academic's wife on one crazy Walpurgisnacht bender. Burton plays her husband, George, the ineffectual history prof married to the college president's daughter. And George Segal and Sandy Dennis are young, callow Nick and Honey, who have no idea what sort of mind-warping psychological games they're being drawn into. Among the most successful theatrical adaptations (artistically and popularly) ever brought to the screen. The entire principal cast was nominated for Oscars--and Taylor, Dennis, and cinematographer Wexler won. --Jim Emerson

Customer Reviews:

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?.......2007-07-02

An often agonizing, hilariously warped study of marital dysfunction, "Woolf" was the brainchild of first-time director Mike Nichols (who went on to make "The Graduate") and Ernest Lehman, who adapted Edward Albee's scabrous play. Nasty, vicious, and drenched in venomous wit, this is the ultimate Taylor-Burton collaboration, with plenty of ugly, soul-baring accusations to go around. Segal and Oscar winner Dennis make perfect counterpoints as the naïve young couple sucked into a nightmarish evening of "fun and games."

What's all the fuss about?..........2007-06-24

I don't understand why so many people enjoyed this film, or why Academy Awards were won. Taylor looked like she was acting all the way through this, and if you're going to win an Oscar, you have to make it look like you're NOT acting. Oh well....

This movie has a few really boring parts in it, and the 2-hour, 10 minute duration feels more like a year.

It's basically about a couple of self-destructive drunks (and they seem mentally ill too) who bring a young couple into their line of fire and air all their dirty laundry. The young couple learn a lot from these two, but I don't know what it is, as I couldn't even learn anything from it. I didn't understand whether they'd really had a son or not, and couldn't see a plot anywhere in this story.

I'll give it this much: There were some exciting scenes and good performances, but I wish I could've made sense out of it. This film is not something I would want to see again anytime soon.

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf/ .......2007-05-14

Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor deserve their accolades for their brilliant performance in this movie.

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?.......2007-05-09

The story was very harrowing and I found it quite difficult to sit through but the acting was absolutely brilliant and it was worth watching just for that. Not a movie I would watch more than once.

If You Give Metamorpho a Surprise Birthday Party-Please Don't Invite these People...........2007-02-24

Yes People. I finally arrived to my castle in Scotland. Somewhere in Rhodes- but don't ask the address. It is reserved for only special people. Not that I am denying that you all aren't special. But, being inundated with tons of special requests is terribly hard -even for a reknown Seer (like myself!). I've had the chance to relax and watch a few videos that would relax my tired brain synapses. And I picked this one! I must have been crazy! But, not unlike the characters in this movie, believe me. Anyway, I have branched out to movie reviews and, after all, it is an art form like music- only more visual than audible. Needless to say-your Metamorpho has been well-versed in all the inner soul machinations. Thus, I take my crafty hand at reviewing this considerable movie.
I have been quite taken with it since it explores the human psychology in many vast and revealing ways. I seek answers. Why do people act the way they do? Certainly, we can all take behavior on a surface level only. But there is much, much more.
But first - let's talk about the acting here. It is perfect casting. Elizabeth Taylor has, absolutely, without a doubt, given one of the finest performances on screen ever. And, Richard Burton, is not far behind. With George Segal and Sandy Dennis completing the cast, it is about as perfect as it can be. Superb!
However, you must have alot of energy to view it because it will drain you. Why? Because the characters, George and Martha, who it seems are constantly at war, will exhaust you beyond your limitations. It is distasteful. It is crude. And, as your Metamorpho will testify, there really are people out there exactly like this.
There are many themes on display here. And, just like that miraculous onion universe - there are layers upon layers of revelations to discover. For the most part-on the surface - is the question of reality and truth. And how people make contracts to perserve their illusions to avoid reality.
It also makes the big statement of how we all hurt each other because of that illusion. How the illusion must be protected at all costs. .
But, in all this, it is revealing. It is a mirror to ourselves and begs us to answer within; how much of this are we complicit with? It is an examination- but also, an unveiling. And, those with introspection would be amazed at all the wealth that this movie contains.
I cannot reveal all the inner workings and levels that are within this movie. And, Edward Albee (the writer) has invented lines of sheer genius that, if you blink, and your ears don't hear for a second, you will miss entirely. So, BE AWARE my public!
The plot is so complicated that all I will give you is the scenario. George (Richard Burton) is an associate professor at a college. Martha (Elizabeth Taylor) is his wife and the daughter of the head of the college. They have constructed an illusion of having a son to make life more acceptable. But, this is a fantasy only between the two of them. And their bitterness surfaces at inopportune times. When Nick (George Segal) who is a new teacher of Biology and Honey (Sandy Dennis) are invited over after a college social gathering, the tension between George and Martha really starts to escalate. Why? Because the "pact" between George and Martha was broken because Martha spoke of their son to Honey. Information is gathered about the couple, then George and Martha include them in their illusion, turning Nick and Honey into victims as well. Understand, there are so many themes here and so many aspects to view this movie. The more you watch, the more layers of insight you are able to decipher.
In my mind, Edward Albee has created a masterpiece with this and should definitely be watched by those who seek to avoid illusion in their lives and those who need a mirror into their own lives. Absolutely superb. A dialogue and introspective movie which rates with the greatest.
I realize I have only touched on a very small part of this movie. But that only begs further examination on your part. Illusions are barriers, walls, if you will, to breaking through to reality and discovering your genuine own happiness in the world. But, like any other barriers in our lives, you can break them down and find a whole new world or richness within yourselves. That old adage is true. There definitely is a thin line between love and hate.
That is it for now. Your Seer always strives for true happiness in his life. This is a sacred right for me and everyone. Don't let anyone stand in your way for this quest because it is one of the very most important things in your lives. These characters deserve your understanding rather than derision. After all, it could be you.
Thank-you for listening. Now I am off to change the light bulbs in my library. I am currently reading a book and using only full moonlight doesn't cut it anymore. Wait! Is that Elizabeth Taylor on a broomstick, streaking across the sky? Or is it--illusion?

Who's Afraid of Metamorpho's spoof? - thumbs up- Metamorpho

Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton Film Collection (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf 2-Disc Special Edition / The Comedians / The Sandpiper / The V.I.P.s) 5 Disc Set

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Timeless, nostalgic film excellence
When they were good...they were very, very good....
Could have been packaged much better
Liz Taylor/Richard Burton Film Collection
A little overstimate

Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton Film Collection (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf 2-Disc Special Edition / The Comedians / The Sandpiper / The V.I.P.s) 5 Disc Set
Starring: Richard Burton , Elizabeth Taylor , Alec Guinness , Peter Ustinov , and Paul Ford
Director: Peter Glenville , Vincente Minnelli , and Anthony Asquith
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000I2JDFI
Release Date: 2006-12-05

Amazon.com

The British-born Elizabeth Taylor was the quintessential Hollywood screen goddess. The Welsh-born Richard Burton was one of the most compelling British actors of his generation. Together, they were a perfect storm of talent, glamour, and offscreen scandal, which made even their lesser films essential viewing for those fascinated by cinema's royal couple. This four-film set captures the prolific couple at the height of their 1960s heyday. The essential entry is Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1966), which earned Taylor an Academy Award, and launched the film directing career of Mike Nichols. This adaptation of Edward Albee's searing play was ahead of its time for its use of profanity, as chronicled in bonus featurettes on this two-disc Special Edition. Taylor and Burton star as the braying Martha, a college president's daughter, and her husband George, an associate history professor. An ambitious teacher (George Segal) and his mousy wife (a heartbreaking Sandy Dennis) arrive for an unforgettable night of such emasculating sport as "Humiliate the Host," "Get the Guests," and "Hump the Hostess." The V.I.P.s (1963) is a star-studded soap opera about a group of notables stranded at a fog-shrouded airport, each desperate to get off the ground. In addition to Orson Welles as a film director trying to stay one step ahead of the British tax man and Margaret Rutherford (who earned an Academy Award) as a financially strapped duchess, we have Taylor as the unhappy wife of magnate Burton, set to elope with a reformed (?) gigolo (Louis Jordan). The Sandpiper (1965) is one of those vaunted enjoyable "golden turkeys" that at least has the beautiful Big Sur coast and the Oscar-winning song "The Shadow of Your Smile" as consolation for the silly illicit romance between Taylor, an unconvincing bohemian artist, and Burton, the tortured Episcopalian reverend to whose school Taylor's illegitimate son has been sent. The Comedians (1967) is hardly a laughing matter. Graham Greene adapted his novel of upheaval in Papa Doc-run Haiti. You have to jump 40 years to Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie to find another couple with Taylor and Burton's wattage. This collection gives a time capsule glimpse at what all the fuss was about. --Donald Liebenson

Customer Reviews:

Timeless, nostalgic film excellence.......2007-06-12

I can hardly say enough good about this boxed set -- there's not a clinker in the bunch. My two personal favorites are The V.I.P.s and The Comedians. The latter was Graham Greene's Opus magnus and Burton and Taylor pull it off with brilliance, finesse, and pure craft excellence. The story is generally about Papa Doc's reign of terror in Haiti (Burton owns a hotel there) and Taylor is an ambassador's wife whom, of course, has a torrid, running affair with Burton. There's a lot of action in this film, more than I ever expected. Honestly, I really love this film and watch it frequently. The V.I.P.s is bulging with major stars of the period, including Orson Wells, and the story is a good one -- Burton is a multi-millionaire whose wife (Taylor) is leaving him for a well-known gigilo.... sort of. Through a comedy of errors, Burton discovers his wife's treachery at the last minute before she can leave England and tries to win her back, at the airport and at a nearby hotel, (they get fogged in), over the next 12 hours. The viewer really cannot anticipate what is going to happen from one moment to the next. The cinematography is especially impressive and the numerous sub-plots are both amusing and dramatic. One of the most satisfying films I've ever seen, reminicent of "Hotel". I won't dwell on the remaining films of the set except to say that they're equally fine movies. These films represent some of Hollywood's finest moments. I cannot recommend the set highly enough, especially for hard-core film buffs.

When they were good...they were very, very good...........2007-05-12

As a great admirer of Richard Burton's filmwork, I snatched this set up immediately. All the films, save for Vicente Minnelli's "The Sandpiper" held my interest throughout, with "Virginia Woolf" and "The Comedians" (based on the Graham Greene novel) taking top honors.

"The VIPs" was a pleasant surprise as I was completely unfamilar with this Burton/Taylor venture. Supporting cast is excellent with Rod Taylor, Louis Jourdan (as Tayor's lover), and the unmistakably impressive Orson Welles, in a semi-comedic role opposite Elsa Martinelli.

Melodrama to be sure, but done with class, wit, and an engaging storyline that holds one's interest throughout its entire 119 minutes. It is amazing how some actors, like Burton and Taylor can take a relatively bit of fluff from Terrence Rattigan's screenplay, and transform it into something absorbing and grand.

What makes these films work? One would have to argue that the chemistry between Burton and Taylor in so many of their films was unmistakable; certainly Mike Nichol's "Virginia Woolf" is a masterpiece, but these are performers who have a intrinsic quality that is rarely seen in actors today--I think we would call it PRESENCE--players ultimately in command of their material and the roles they play who make acting seem effortless and entirely convincing. Burton is a master of roles. He can play the burnt-out professor in "Virginia Woolf" as well as a conflicted, upstanding minister and school headmaster whose life, contrained as his clerical collar, tempts an extramarital affair with the free-spirited mother (Taylor) of one of his students in "The Sandpiper."

The commentaries and extras on "Virginia Woolf" are both ample and exemplary, while shedding a new critical light on this classic play.

Could have been packaged much better.......2007-04-04

A nice collection, but rather cheaply presented. Slimline DVD cases without any booklets in them (not so much as even an insert) which i think is indicative of a lack of interest (in the name of costcutting) by warnervideo in making this DVD set the great package it could have been. It really is a slap in the face to open any dvd to find there is no supplemental reading booklet, and with a full-priced box set, you just don't expect (or i don't) that corners be cut when supplemental material on the high profile Burtons could have been unearthed and included.
The Vincente Minnelli directed 'The Sandpiper' visually is a gorgeous movie, as was every Minnelli film I've ever seen. What an artistic eye he possessed. Elizabeth is very good as the single mother bohemian artist.
'The V.I.P.s' is noteable for the early, excellent Maggie Smith performance as a secretary in love with her boss, played excellently by Rod Taylor. And Margaret Rutherford won the best supporting actress Oscar for this movie- Maggie Smith, Rod Taylor and Ruthersford really have the best roles in the picture. There's an unbelievable plotline that Elizabeth Taylor as 'Frances' is having an affair with Louis Jordan but has never had sex with him, it just doesn't play- especially as 'Frances' is planning to divorce her husband (Burton) for this man she's never even slept with. Burton does some fine and fierce acting; his line reading of 'Is he really all that much better than me" (in bed) to Taylor about his rival has a chilling intimacy that DOES ring true, unlike the chaste "affair" between 'Frances' and the worldly Jordan.
The classic ' Virginia Woolf' has been written about a lot by many, I have not much to add, just that the most impressive (to me) DVD extra is the stunning screentest of Sandy Dennis, even more impressive than her Oscar winning supporting performance in the movie.
I haven't finished watching the fourth movie, 'The Comedians' so can't really comment about it.
But I stand by my opinion that it is crummy to have no booklet, at roughly $50 for these 4 movies--it's just called for, to have it not appear as cheaply manufactured.

Liz Taylor/Richard Burton Film Collection.......2007-03-14

Received it very fast and well happy with them, haven't looked at all of them yet but very happy with the ones I have watched. Would recommend this collection for any Liz Taylor fans

A little overstimate.......2007-02-13

Taylor is a star, a great star like Sophia Loren but, for exemple, "The Comedians" is boring. The best is somewhere, and with Losey she was geatest, but "Who's afraid" rest a good performance and a great melo. Burton as the theatrical presence.

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Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
What's all the fuss about?...
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf/
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
If You Give Metamorpho a Surprise Birthday Party-Please Don't Invite these People....

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Starring: Elizabeth Taylor , Richard Burton , George Segal , Sandy Dennis , and Agnes Flanagan
Director: Mike Nichols
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: 0790732254
Release Date: 1997-10-01

Amazon.com

After his successful direction of the Broadway hits Barefoot in the Park and The Odd Couple, Mike Nichols made his filmmaking debut with this outstanding and still-powerful screen adaptation (by Ernest Lehman) of Edward Albee's taboo-shattering play. In their fourth film together (and by far their finest), Richard Burton and Oscar winner Elizabeth Taylor play a New England couple whose marriage hangs by a thin thread of self-deception, vicious verbal jousting, and embittered mutual need. George Segal and Sandy Dennis (who also won an Oscar) play the younger, unsuspecting couple who awkwardly witness the devastating rivalry of their hosts. Handling adult themes with intelligence and forceful dramatic impact, this was the film that finally shattered Hollywood's self-censoring Production Code with commercially successful results. The DVD features an insightful commentary track by Haskell Wexler, whose black-and-white cinematography deservedly won an Academy Award. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?.......2007-07-02

What's all the fuss about?..........2007-06-24

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf/ .......2007-05-14

Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor deserve their accolades for their brilliant performance in this movie.

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?.......2007-05-09

The story was very harrowing and I found it quite difficult to sit through but the acting was absolutely brilliant and it was worth watching just for that. Not a movie I would watch more than once.

If You Give Metamorpho a Surprise Birthday Party-Please Don't Invite these People...........2007-02-24

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? 2 Disc DVD Special Edition Authentic Region 1 From Warner Brothers Starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton

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Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? 2 Disc DVD Special Edition Authentic Region 1 From Warner Brothers Starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton

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Product Features:

Starring: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton
Director: Mike Nichols
Genre: Drama
Format: Widescreen
Awards: Academy Award® Winner

ASIN: B000M51M64

Product Description

On a serene New England campus, an emasculated professor (Richard Burton) and his rancorous wife (Elizabeth Taylor, who racked up a Best Actress Oscar) turn an evening of cocktails into an unrelenting onslaught of wrenching disclosures and bellowed epithets. Soon the couple's guests -- a junior professor (George Segal) and his colorless wife (Sandy Dennis) -- get sucked into the vortex of the warring duo's unbounded fury and endless antipathy.

Charlie Rose with Mike Nichols (April 28, 1998)

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Charlie Rose with Mike Nichols (April 28, 1998)

Manufacturer: Charlie Rose
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Description

Mike Nichols, known for directing The Graduate and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, engages in a conversation staged at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in which he discusses his flight from Nazi Germany at a young age, his experiences with various actors, the work of other directors, and his new movie, Primary Colors.

Charlie Rose with Ephraim Sneh; Agnes Jaoui; Edward Albee (March 20, 2001)

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Charlie Rose with Ephraim Sneh; Agnes Jaoui; Edward Albee (March 20, 2001)

Manufacturer: Charlie Rose, Inc.
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Description

Ephraim Sneh, Israeli minister of transportation, discusses Ariel Sharon's landslide victory in February and looks ahead to the next stage of negotiations with the Palestinian leadership. Then, French filmmaker and actress Agnes Jaoui talks about her directorial debut in The Taste of Others. Finally, an interview with the playwright Edward Albee on the Broadway production of his latest work, The Play About the Baby.

A Streetcar Named Desire / Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

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A Streetcar Named Desire / Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Starring: Vivien Leigh , Marlon Brando , Kim Hunter , Karl Malden , and Rudy Bond
Director: Elia Kazan , and Mike Nichols
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
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Binding: DVD

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