Rating: 
Summary: Lost for superlatives!
Review: There is little I can add to the reviews praising this masterpiece, except to suggest that it should be mandatory viewing for all budding filmmakers and actors.I have watched Virginia Woolf more times than I can count, and with every screening discover something new -- a gesture, a vocal inflection, a camera angle -- I hadn't noticed before. The dialogue is stunning, delivered by four actors who have never been better. The direction is unsurpassed in its invisibility; once you land in George and Martha's twisted little world, you're no longer watching a movie -- YOU ARE THERE, witnessing a slow-motion train wreck. And, as with any human disaster, you may be shocked by the hilarity you feel in the midst of such uncompromising horror... but you will be unable to look away. I find it unbelievable that anyone with an ounce of taste (or more than five minutes' life experience) would not be positively mesmerised by this film. Those who "don't get it" either have never known a George, a Martha, or their hapless guests, or instantly reject (and even develop a phobia toward) characters and situations that are much _too_ familiar for comfort. Or maybe the problem is that, nearly forty years later, audiences have grown so accustomed to movies that are nothing but a succession of explosions or cheap gags about sex with a fruit pie that films of true substance are beyond their comprehension -- much as a fine Cabernet would taste vile to the palate of one raised exclusively on Big Macs and Pixi Stix. But for those who enjoy movies that earn straight A's in every category of artistic and technical criteria, movies which work on a number of levels, and movies which will leave an indelible, permanent impression on one's mind, Who's Afraid of Virgina Woolf is required viewing.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant!!!
Review: This movie is not only shocking, violent, dysfuntional and maniacal, it is also hystericaly funny! The one-liners are great(both by Martha and George). Taylor is breathtakingly fantastic as Martha and Burton is great as George. It is one of my favorite movies not only because of the great acting but also because of the gripping story that it presents so well.
Rating: 
Summary: so so
Review: Some talent is on display here, but it is a grind after awhile, and it could only have been written by someone light in his loafers like Edward Albee. The bitter queen who resents heterosexuals, so portrays all heterosexual relationships as messed up.
Rating:
Summary: "Brilliant..."
Review: Intelligent, biting drama with Taylor and Burton as drunken, married couple who carry on in front of guests. Brilliantly written, filmed, with exquisite performances. Brilliant because it's honest... but brutally honest. Burton and Taylor have rarely been better.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't be Afraid of Virginia Woolf
Review: Over the past decade, society has returned to 'reality' television. Why, on COPS alone, one could watch an inebriated husband and wife duke it out, hurting each other - Totally robbed of privacy, we see the quarrelers cry when they are separated... Flashback to 1966' screen version of Edward Albee's play WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF and the viewer again intrudes into someone else's privacy. They see husband and wife team George (Burton) and Martha (Taylor) getting more and more drunk, often duking it out and hurting each other. The major difference between the COPS couple and the WOOLF couple is that alcohol in the COPS couple results in a 40 word vocabulary distorted by slurring and illogic. WOOLF Director Mike Nichols works with stark simplicity as his couple becomes more and more eloquent, the more they partake. VIRGINIA WOOLF's 21st century audience has a different perception of alcoholism then 1966. Within the first 5 minutes we now know this couple is mired in alcohol related problems... Not the 'pass out at HOOTERS' kind of problem either. With that knowledge, you are taken in much quicker into the cat and mouse game that the husband and wife play. Along for the ride is a young couple played by Sandy Dennis and George Segal. Albee created these 'normal' characters to bring the audience right into the story and it is frankly horrifying. With stunning performances, direction, cinematography and a gorgeous musical score, this is a wonderful film. However, the story itself does detract from the DVD rating. It is difficult to enjoy a 2 hour 10 minute film about four unlikable people. None have any redeeming qualities. The DVD has an okay transfer and the original mono doesn't warrant the stereo sound master.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful Domestic Drama -- Liz's Best Work Yet!
Review: Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in their reprising stage roles as middle aged couple consumed by never ending word battles and emotional torture they deliver to each other on a daily basis. Through the couple's chronic mutual abuses, the audience eventually learns of some of the "causes" behind all of the bitterness. -- Liz & Richard are superb in their roles, which both deserved to be honored with Oscars (Liz got her's, Richard again remained a nominee), but sadly they appeared to be "acting out" their true life marital problems, making their performances even more stunning. For both actors this film is their most critically acclaimed work and as a cinematic achievement "Who's Afraid Of Virginia Wolf" will always rank with the very best. -- Highly recommended! *****
Rating:
Summary: ' Virginia Woolf' has bark and bite.
Review: Of all the stage play adaptations that have been made this one is one of my top favorites. After many years it still holds up and has proven to be a stage and film classic. The story as many know concerns an old, alchoholic, and strange (to say the least) couple, Martha (Elizabeth Taylor) and George (Richard Burton) who invite a young couple over for a late night visit over drinks only to have the whole night become a nightmare, all orchestrated by Martha and George. The night changes all their lives forever. The adaptation of the play could not be better. It shows you how under certain circumstances the devil inside you can be unleashed. Martha and George take out their repressed feelings on their guests which in turn affects thier guests emotionally and along the way painful discoveries are made which are about themselves and who they are and about each other's personal lives. The dialogue is sardonic, witty at times, and by the standards of the time in which this movie came out it is daring and obscene at times. The characters are people who you might very well know in real life and they are very well drawn out. This movie is mainly character exposition and study. And the direction expands the play but keeps the intimate feeling of the stage play and it is directed with a kind of gritty realism in some parts. The black and white cinematography is great and it just enhances the mood and feeling of the movie. Had it been filmed in color i am not sure it would have had the complete impact it has. The acting is near flawless in this movie. Elizabeth Taylor deservedly won the oscar for her best performance. She exudes raw energy, vulnerability, rage and she is sardonic. She was laughed at when she said she would play the part. She had the last laugh. She dared to go dowdy and old for the part (in real life she was younger and slimer, here she is old and not eaxctly in great shape). Richard Burton shows repressed anger and sadness as George and he goes from showing it subtly to just screaming and acting it out( at one point he breaks a botttle of beer and nearly strangles someone to death). Sandy Dennis who won a best supporting actress oscar starts off as a mousy little woman to a woman who can barely control her emotions. George Segal's character is the only one who manages to maintain some sanity in this movie though he does go off the deep end at times too. He is righteous and a devil-may-care at once. This movie is an experience which will linger in your mind for a long time after and it requieres repeat viewings. This is a truely unique tour de force film experience. And it gives you an idea of how La Liz and her hubby Richard might have been behind closed doors since they too were on the bottle for a while.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant and Sophisticated!
Review: I absalutely loved this movie! I think it is one of the most complex copletely entertaining movies I have ever seen! This picture is a great example of actors at the top of their game, Liz Taylor and Richard Burton blew me away. For those who write bad reviews of this movie (for the most part) just don't get it. I will admit that this movie may be of little interest to those who just want the norm, but for those who love groundbreaking powerful movies, this is for you. The entire movie takes place over one night, so as it gets later and later the characters get more tired and more drunk, and you get more tired with them, you feel like your part of the movie, sitting in on one of the most fascinating marriages in cinema history. I would suggest this movie for anyone who wants to venture into old Hollywood great cinema pictures.
Rating:
Summary: Sad Sad Story
Review: My initial response to this film was total shock. I was amazed at the method of communication between the two. They are two miserable individuals who have become comfortable in a total failure of a marriage. The hate each other but are afraid to be apart. They have created a an imaginary child as a glue to somehow keep the marriage in tact ( the child being the sole reason for them to stay together). Unfortunate for both Martha and George, she shares with Honey, their young guest, the most sacred and fantical part of their marriage - the baby. She allowed someone else into their fantasy. This was the beginning of the end of their illusions. When George "killed" the baby, he infact, killed what was holding their marriage together... or did he? I felt very sad for the both of them. They represent to me, two miserable people are afraid of life and living.
Rating: 
Summary: whose afraid of Virginia Woolf
Review: I thought this was one of the worst movies I had ever had the misfortune to waste money on. It was very boring and all they did is argue throughout the whole part that I watched. I left in the middle of it. It amazes me that it could have won any awards. I can't believe Elizabeth Taylor would play in such a movie. Whoever gave it high acclaim has no taste. I have never watched it in its entirety and I never will. I don't enjoy watching 2 drunks fight, how can anyone else. It had no story line worth listening to.
| 
