Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)

A bitter aging couple with the help of alcohol, use a young couple to fuel anguish and emotional pain towards each other.

Director:

Mike Nichols

Writer:

Ernest Lehman (screenplay)

Stars:

Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, George Segal

Top 250 #195 | Won 5 Oscars. Another 19 wins & 18 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Elizabeth Taylor	...	Martha
Richard Burton	...	George
George Segal	...	Nick
Sandy Dennis	...	Honey

Storyline

George and Martha are a middle aged married couple, whose charged relationship is defined by vitriolic verbal battles, which underlies what seems like an emotional dependence upon each other. This verbal abuse is fueled by an excessive consumption of alcohol. George being an associate History professor in a New Carthage university where Martha's father is the President adds an extra dimension to their relationship. Late one Saturday evening after a faculty mixer, Martha invites Nick and Honey, an ambitious young Biology professor new to the university and his mousy wife, over for a nightcap. As the evening progresses, Nick and Honey, plied with more alcohol, get caught up in George and Martha's games of needing to hurt each other and everyone around them. The ultimate abuse comes in the form of talk of George and Martha's unseen sixteen year old son, whose birthday is the following day.

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Plot Keywords:

professor | alcohol | evening | guest | saturday | 

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Taglines:

You are cordially invited to George and Martha's for an evening of fun and games.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Latin Spanish

Release Date:

22 June 1966 (USA)

Also Known As:

Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Filming Locations:

Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$7,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros, Chenault Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

131 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In this film, Elizabeth Taylor does an exaggerated impression of Bette Davis saying a line from Beyond the Forest: "What a dump!" In an interview with Barbara Walters, Bette Davis said that in the film, she really did not deliver the line in such an exaggerated manner. She said it in a more subtle, low-key manner, but it has passed into legend that she said it the way Elizabeth Taylor's delivered it in this film. During the Barbara Walters interview, the clip of Bette Davis delivering the line from Beyond the Forest was shown to prove that Davis was correct. However, since people expected Bette Davis to deliver the line the way Elizabeth Taylor had, she always opened her in-person, one woman show by saying the line in a campy, exaggerated manner: "WHAT ... A... DUMP!!!". It always brought down the house. "I imitated the imitators", Davis said.

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Goofs

When Nick is talking to George by the swing, his necktie changes positions between shots (when he's on his back).

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Quotes

Honey: I dance like the wind.

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Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: Gamera vs. Guiron (1991)
Crow (as George): "Don't start with me, Martha."

User Reviews

Distilled Human Viciousness

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!