TMMC Classic Collection - Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

In this installment of the TMMC Classic Collection, we visit the 1966 movie Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?  Starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, don't let this black and white movie fool you, it certainly stands up to, if not outweighs, any of its modern counterparts.  The movie was so edgy for its time, it's credited with being responsible for the creation of the MPAA rating system and theoretically is the first R rated movie of all time.  Based of Edward Albee's play of the same name, the film was nominated for a whopping 13 Oscars and deservedly won 5, including a Best Actress nod for Taylor.

Taylor and Burton (who at the time were husband and wife) play the fictitious couple George and Martha, and in a sick way are meant to be the modern versions of the first First Family.  I say in a sick way because George and Martha don't like each other...no, I take that back.  They hate each other.  So what makes the most sense when you hate your spouse and want to kill them?  Throw a party of course!  Because nothing says "this is going to be a hell of a night" more than being around a fighting couple.

The movie focuses on the never ending cocktail party from hell, an unforgettable night for its four participants.  George and Martha and their guests, a young couple and colleague of George's, spend a tormented night together that goes from bad to worse, as they peel away the layers of their marriages.  The poor young couple have no idea what they've gotten into as they blindly fall into the night's abyss.  It's a night filled with fury, lust, deceit and sadness, making the Real Housewives of Orange County look well adjusted.  And you have a front row seat for the fireworks!

Witty, sharp-tongued and psychological, the movie is fantastically quick paced at times, while quiet and contemplative at others.  And with enough hatred, physical and emotional abuse, it plays out like Precious for the upper white middle class; except all these actresses shave their legs.  Watching the movie is like watching a train gong down the track at break-neck speed, taking out people left and right, wrecking their lives along the way.

The fights go from the hilarious to the frightening very quickly, and you spend half the movie somewhere in between laughter and pity.  You learn these people are hurting under the surface deeper than you could've imagined.  At times you can't believe what you're watching, and when you consider that this came out in 1966 you can completely understand the controversy that surrounded it.  It truly must have turned American society upside down, showing a very ugly underbelly of marriage.

What makes this movie what it is, is the sublime acting from all four main actors, all of whom were nominated for Academy Awards for these roles.  It's Elizabeth Taylor at her finest, before she started howling at the moon (seriously folks, if you haven't seen the clip of her interview where she howls, you have to check it out now).   Her performance is remarkable and surpasses many of today's best actresses, drawing you into the movie within the first five minutes.   Also kudos for some really great camera work that mimicks the intensity of the scenes.

There's enough rich themes and material to keep you thinking and talking about the movie for hours.  My only problem with it is that it goes off the psychological, existential deep end at a point, which makes it a bit hard to follow by the conclusion.  Apparently, it's all just a metaphorical question of perception vs. reality - which was difficult to grasp, at least for me.  It's the only reason why I don't give the movie my highest rating.  Nonetheless, this is a fantastic departure from today's Blockbuster hits and deserves your attention.  So don't be afraid of this big, bad, black and white Woolf, and check out a movie well worth a DO A MATINEE! 

Click here for the trailer, but it really doesn't do the movie justice.