Stream it now Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Reset Status Want to Watch Already Watched Don't Want to Watch

an excellent film and superb acting. Unfortunately such films are not for an average movie viewer

This movie is awesome. They don’t make those anymore. The acting is (as said so many times) magnificent. I just don’t get why Richard Burton didn’t win an Oscar for it – you can’t act any better…

From Elizabeth Taylor's scathing first line in the movie to the exhausting end as she battle it out with husband Richard Burton in an all-out war of words in front of their guests-- their vulgarity, games and manipulations-- in this exhilirating 1966 drama beautifully shot in black and white in Mike Nichols' directorial debut is one of those movies that captivates you from beginning to end...much like A Streetcar Named Desire did 15 years earlier with Vivien Leigh and Marlon Brando...and two years later with Katherine Hepburn and Peter O'Toole in The Lion in Winter...truly searing and memorable performances...and while the female leads in those movies walk away with the Oscars...sadly, however, their male counterparts all had walked empty-handed...just goes to show what the Oscars really are-- "What a dump!!"

I just watched the most wonderful film called Wonder Boys. A truly underrated film from Curtis Hanson. It is defiantly more character driven then plot driven. These characters just don't go through the motions. They make choices that affect their lives. Grady Tripp is at a crossroads in his life. The film says he lost everything and that is a good thing, because he found himself. Wonder Boys tells the tale of three men in transition. Crabtree who needs another successful book for his career. James Leer, who is the compulsive liar and is also the most talented writer in his class,. I wonder if I have the talent to write. I love this line" I mean Jesus, what is it with you Catholics." See the film and you will find out. It is a joy to watch that gets my highest recommendation.

Another film I watched yesterday was Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? I seem to have the theme of campus life. This is the complete opposite of Wonder Boys. Woolf is a trip into cinematic hell from which it is hard to recover. The revelation about the son is hard and shocking to sit through.

***.5/****

Pro: All acting. Cinematography. Directing. Dialogue. Adaptation. The finale. Good use of location.

Con: Can be stagnant at times.

Comments pending.

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
New Biology instructor Nick and his wife Honey visit the campus home of burned-out History professor George and his viperish wife Martha. Exchange of late-night pleasantries turns into an ugly battle of words between George and Martha who use their guests to cut each other more and more deeply.

The Wicker Man
Police Sgt. Howie, of the Scottish mainland, receives an anonymous letter from the offshore community of Summerisle, asking him to investigate the disappearance of a young girl there. He travels to the remote isle and discovers a secretive, tightly knit neo-pagan society. Being a devout (and rather self-righteous) Christian, he is shocked by the islanders' open sexuality and ritualistic devotion to the "old gods." As the mystery of the missing girl unravels, he begins to suspect that she is a victim of human sacrifice. In the film's chilling final sequence, the truth is revealed when Sgt. Howie meets the "wicker man."

DVD First Viewing, 6 Nichols films seen

Mike Nichols did a remarkable job bringing Edward Albee's Who's Afriad of Virgina Woolf? to the screen. It's a shame he couldn't do the same with Closer. Anyone who actually likes Closer should go back and watch Who's Afraid of Virgina Woolf? to see how a film should actually be made. Whassup!?

(I guess that was my sad attempt to "front")

Review of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)

I dunno why but I am focused on black & white movies lately.
Here's a quick list of what I have watched for the past weeks...

Fritz Lang's M:



What ever could be more terrifying than Bette Davis' singing on the beach at the end of this film??? :eek: The growing tension between the two sisters (and it is said to have been a real-life tension between Bette Davis & Joan Crawford) is the locomotive of this classic psychological thriller.