Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)

Description[from Freebase]

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a 1966 film adaptation of the play of the same name by Edward Albee. It was the first film directed by Mike Nichols, and starred Elizabeth Taylor as Martha and Richard Burton as George, with George Segal as Nick and Sandy Dennis as Honey. The film version differs slightly from the play. The play features only four characters, while in the film there are two other minor characters — the host of a roadhouse who appears briefly and says a few lines, and his wife, who serves a tray of drinks and leaves silently. (They were played by the film's gaffer, Frank Flanagan, and his wife Agnes Flanagan.) In the play, each scene takes place entirely in Martha and George's house. In the film, one scene takes place at the roadhouse, one in George and Martha's yard, and one in their car. Despite these minor variations, however, the film is extremely faithful to the play. The filmmakers used the original play as the screenplay and, aside from toning down some of the profanity slightly — Martha's "Screw you!" (which, in the 2005 Broadway revival, is "Fuck you!") becomes "God damn you!" — virtually all of the original dialogue remains intact.

Review

One of the great directorial debuts in film history came from Mike Nichols, in this 1966 firestorm of emotion, a faithful adaptation of Edward Albee's famous play. Two college professors (Richard Burton and George Segal) meet for drinks with their wives (Liz Taylor and Sandy Dennis). Over the course of the evening, secrets come out and scandals erupt. The real-life husband and wife team of Burton and Taylor own this show, but Dennis also won an Oscar (one of 5 wins) in what has become a watershed film that broke down walls of profanity and vitriol.
by Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com
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Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?