Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
For directing (this) his first film Mike Nichols earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Director. In fact virtually everyone involved in this essential drama including each of its credited actors received an Oscar nomination. Lead Elizabeth Taylor (BUtterfield 8 (1960)) won her second statuette on the last of her five Best Actress nominations and Sandy Dennis took home the gold for Supporting Actress (the only time she was ever nominated); Richard Burton and George Segal were nominated in the Best and Supporting Actor categories respectively. For Burton it marked the fourth of his seven (six for Best Actor one for Supporting) unrewarded nominations whereas it’s Segal’s only nomination to date. Additionally the film’s B&W Art Direction-Set Decoration Cinematography (Haskell Wexler’s first nomination and first of two Oscars) and Costume Design (the last of Irene Sharaff’s five Oscars on sixteen nominations) won Academy Awards. Editor Sam O’Steen received the first of his three unrewarded nominations George Groves (Sayonara (1957) & My Fair Lady (1964)) earned the last of his eight Sound nominations Alex North’s Score was nominated and first time producer writer Ernest Lehman (West Side Story (1961)) received two nominations – Best Picture and Screenplay which he adapted from Edward Albee’s Tony Award winning play. #89 on AFI’s 100 Greatest Love Stories list. Added to the National Film Registry in 2013.
Martha (Taylor) and George (Burton) are far from an ideal married couple they pick at each other incessantly as they loudly argue and fight over anything and everything as the alcohol flows. She is the daughter of the president of the college that employs her boozing history professor husband which is obviously one source of conflict (and his emasculation). They wear their past (together) and their emotions on their sleeves for all to see including in front of a young faculty couple Nick (Segal) and Honey (Dennis) who they’ve invited home after a campus party. As the four drink the night away George and Martha’s secrets (especially one about “their son”) are painfully relived such that Nick and Honey get drawn in; they then focus on their own past and shortcomings promptly some uncomfortable revelations for themselves.
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