Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
Average Rating: 8.6/10
Reviews Counted: 32
Fresh: 31 | Rotten: 1
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: 6.6/10
Critic Reviews: 5
Fresh: 4 | Rotten: 1
No consensus yet.
liked it
Average Rating: 4.1/5
User Ratings: 20,229
Movie Info
"You are cordially invited to George and Martha's for an evening of fun and games." Thus read the ad copy for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, which in 1966 went farther than any previous big-studio film in its use of profanity and sexual implication. George (Richard Burton) is an alcoholic college professor; Martha (Oscar-winner Elizabeth Taylor) is his virago of a wife. George and Martha know just how to push each other's buttons, with George having a special advantage: he need only mention the
Jun 22, 1966 Wide
May 18, 1999
Warner Home Video
Watch It Now
Cast
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Elizabeth Taylor
Martha -
Richard Burton
George -
George Segal
Nick -
Sandy Dennis
Honey
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All Critics (32) | Top Critics (5) | Fresh (31) | Rotten (1) | DVD (10)
When Nichols finally settles down, it's almost too late.
Edward Albee's vitriolic stage portrayal of domestic blisslessness translated grainily and effectively to the screen.
And in its forthright dealing with the play, this becomes one of the most scathingly honest American films ever made.
Keen adaptation and handsome production by Ernest Lehman, outstanding direction by Mike Nichols in his feature debut, and four topflight performances score an artistic bullseye.
Top Critic'You have ugly talents,' George says, almost admiringly, to Martha. So does this movie.
"I am the earth mother, and you are all flops," Martha proclaims toward the end, and Taylor never had a line of dialogue that better suited her fighting maternal spirit.
A time capsule now of all that was considered controversial and gutsy in 1966.
A painful and compelling masterpiece.
If one examines Albee's The Zoo Story, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and Tiny Alice as three views of the struggle for faith and the Christ myth and its nuances, the plays, on a particular level, gain a substantial meaning.
Scathing scream of a black comedy that's based on a play by Edward Albee.
Director Nichols, in his auspicious Hollywood debut, and scripter Ernest Lehman smartly keep Albee's corrosively witty black comedy intact, allowing their ensmeble, including Liz Taylor, to dig deep and turn intensely entertaining performances.
Strong stuff, intensely watchable, but definitely not for children.
A merciless dissection of the intellectual's disease of ennui and gamesmanship.
Perfect.
One of the great directorial debuts in film history...
Great cast plus great script equals great movie! Liz and Dick at their best.
They [Taylor and Burton] spark, shock, hurt, and shout down everyone they love, but mostly each other in this groundbreaking look at lovers and other strangers.
Stunning film version of the Albee play.
It earns the hell that it puts us through by never compromising its vision of it.
Part nightmare, part psychotherapy, part docudrama, part cultural meta-narrative, part transcendent myth.
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), a famous and shocking black comedy, was based on Edward Albee's scandalous play (Ernest Lehman's screenplay
Audience Reviews for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Super Reviewer
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- George: Martha, will you show her where we keep the, er, euphemism? [meaning, the bathroom]
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- Martha: George and Martha; sad, sad, sad....
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- George: Yes dear, but you mustn't bray.
- Martha: I don't bray!
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- George: And that's how you play "Get the Guests."
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- Martha: I hope that was an empty bottle, George! You can't afford to waste good liquor, not on YOUR salary!
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Movie: ID: 18414 Title: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Release Date: 1966-06-22 00:00:00.0 MPAA: 4 Status: 1
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haven't seen 4 ever