There’s
no question that the 1966 film adaptation of Edward Albee’s 1962 Tony-winning
play, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, is one of the most important and
influential motion pictures of the 1960s. It not only showcased four
superlative acting performances, a jaw-dropping impressive directorial debut
(by Mike Nichols), brilliant black and white cinematography and editing, but it
also changed the Hollywood movie industry.
By
the mid-60s, the archaic Production Code, which had been in force since July
1934, was in its death throes. When Otto Preminger began releasing titles in
the 1950s without the Production Code Seal of Approval (The Moon is Blue,
The Man with the Golden Arm, Anatomy of a Murder), he proved to
the powers-that-be that the Code was not infallible. Then along came such fare
as Psycho, Lolita, and The Pawnbroker in the early 60s, and
it was clear that the American public wanted to see more “adult†pictures.
The times-they-were-a-changing. By 1966, the Code was all but demolished, and
Jack Valenti was appointed the head of the MPAA. As Valenti states in one of
the documentary supplements on the Warner Archive Blu-ray release of Virginia
Woolf, he had already begun thinking about implementing the movie ratings
system (which would launch in late 1968) because he, too, felt that America
could handle subjects for mature audiences.
Albee’s
Broadway play was shocking for its language—curse words galore—and its frank
sexual implications. Its portrayal of a failed marriage perhaps mirrored many
such unions across middle-class USA, and this alone made the material
controversial. Jack Warner, in a canny move, must have seen the way of the future
and bought the film rights early on. It was another four years before the
picture was made, but he allowed it to be adapted faithfully, with most of the
dialogue intact, and with top-notch talent involved in every aspect of the
production.
The
great Ernest Lehman was hired to adapt the play, but he made it a condition of
his employment that he also be made producer. Warner agreed. Lehman wanted
Elizabeth Taylor to play Martha, and this casting choice raised eyebrows.
Taylor was 20 years too young and had so far not shown anything near the
dramatic chops required to play the demanding role. Taylor, in turn, insisted
that her husband at the time, Richard Burton, portray George. The two
supporting roles of Nick and Honey were filled out by George Segal and Sandy
Dennis (her second film appearance), and this quartet has proven to be one of
the most successful casting coups in cinema history.
George
and Martha are in their fifties—he an associate professor at a New England
college and she the daughter of the college president. Perhaps their marriage
was one of convenience and career-making years earlier, but now it is bitter,
cruel, and spiteful. One late night after a faculty party, they return home,
drunk, and Martha reveals she has invited another couple, Nick and Honey—he a young
and handsome professor at the college and she an introverted housewife—to stop
by for more drinks. Once the quartet is together, the games begin. These are
psychological battles of emotional will which begin between George and Martha,
but soon envelope Nick and Honey. Secrets emerge. Lives are shattered. The dark
underbelly of love and marriage is upended and revealed for all to see.
It
doesn’t sound like a good time at the movies, does it? Forget it! This is
riveting stuff. The acting alone is so astonishingly good that you will hang on
to every line of dialogue. Haskell Wexler’s Oscar-winning black and white cinematography
(the last year this category was utilized) brings the audience up close and
personal in such a way that the film version may very well be more effective
than the stage play. Virginia Woolf ended up being nominated for
thirteen Academy Awards and in every category for which it was eligible,
including Best Picture, Director, and Adapted Screenplay, and all four actors received
nods in their respective slots. Taylor and Dennis won in their categories
(Actress and Supporting Actress). The crime, however, is that Richard Burton
did not win. While Paul Scofield was brilliant in A Man for All Seasons,
Burton’s performance is generally considered by many critics to be the actor’s
career-best (all of the talking heads in the supplemental documentaries are of
this opinion, including Albee, critic Richard Schickel, and Wexler.)
The
Warner Archive Blu-ray is a port-over from the “Special Edition†2-disk
anniversary DVD that came out four years ago. The high definition remastering
looks gorgeous, and it comes with two audio commentaries: one with DP Wexler,
and the other with Nichols and filmmaker Steven Soderbergh. The extensive
supplements (not in high definition) include an hour long TV special from 1975
about Elizabeth Taylor’s career; a vintage interview with Nichols; Sandy
Dennis’ screen tests; two featurettes on the making of the film and its impact
on the industry; and the theatrical trailer.
Who’s
Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a powerful punch to the gut. It may be a rough ride,
but it’s a thoroughly engrossing one, and you’ll come out on the other side
enlightened. Highly recommended.
CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM THE CINEMA RETRO MOVIE STORE
