death of an icon

it was duly noted, and sadly observed, onthe death of the great icon elizabeth taylor yesterday. she was an eyeful, and something very special. but for me the real money was when she and richard burton were together both in life and in film. quite honestly i am a rabid admirer of burton and went thru a very heavy burton phase once upon a time, watching as many films i could that starred and/or featured the great actor.

my burton obsession led me to the movie who's afraid of virginia woolf [1966]. i read the albee play before seeing the movie, as i think most english majors do, and heard nothing but accolades for mike nichols' adaptation. not only did the film star richard burton, but it also featured george segal, sandy dennis [a very much under appreciated actor], and elizabeth taylor. absent was the usual hollywood glamor and instead we are witness to a beat down.

trailblazing some call the movie. others find it liberating both for the theater and for cinema. i can't argue with that, but for me this film is a hard slog to sit thru. expertly crafted as a movie with a top-notch cast it is the subject that i really have litle stomach for. of course it was brave for the very beautiful taylor and the dashing burton to take on these roles as a married couple locked into an eternal war with each other. there may even be a sliver of love displayed at the end of the film when both leads turn a bit tender. but for the duration of the run-time all there is rancor, anger, and a self-destructive rage that can't be appeased.

that's the point of the matter both for albee and nichols. for me as the viewer i can better spend my time doing any thing else than watching two fairly privileged characters boil in self-righteous anger. i want to scream at the screen, get a fucking divorce you losers! life's too short for their explosions. i suppose i need to meet the movie on its own turf and take it on its own terms. that's what art does, i think, make you live outside of yourself while being yourself. but this crazy punch in the gut is an exercise in narcissism, after all we are witness to a couple who, in my eyes, have a very pampered life, but would rather bitch and blame each other for their failures.

i do recall the reason for their anger underlying their made-up world to cover that void in their lives. still, the script is, to my ears, too shrill and ultimately the characters are unlikeable. but in my loathing for this movie i will admit that it is an astonishing piece of cinema. taylor showed the world some serious acting chops, and burton is astonishing. the world is a poorer place without elizabeth taylor. she was a star unlike any other and was i think sui generis. we shall not see her like again.