In Praise of Great Films - Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)

Third in a series.

When we wrote recently about the movie Hud, a reference was made to Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and its status as a "groundbreaking" film. What qualifies it as groundbreaking?

For starters, it was the first widely distributed film with "name" actors to contain a ton of profanity, along with very adult themes. The production codes which had ruled the movie industry since the 1930s were finally being brought down (and soon to be replaced by the MPAA and its rating system, which is still in place today). Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? utilized what at the time were shocking words in its dialogue.

But there is much more to this film than its profanity. It is a splendid example of a group of extremely talented individuals coming together to create something great. The movie's director was a then unknown 35-year-old Mike Nichols, who at the time had never made a film in his life. Imagine a studio today entrusting a major film with some of the biggest stars on earth to someone who had never directed a movie before. Nichols was nominated for an Oscar for the movie, and he wasn't the only one.

In all, the film earned an astounding 13 Academy Award nominations, with five wins. Included in the win column were Haskell Wexler's fabulous black-and-white cinematography, as well as art direction and costume design and two acting categories.

Speaking of acting, another amazing thing about this movie is the fact that its entire credited cast was nominated for Oscars. That's right: every single member of the cast was nominated. Elizabeth Taylor for best actress, Richard Burton for best actor, George Segal for best supporting actor, Sandy Dennis for best supporting actress (Taylor and Dennis won).

As one watches Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, it becomes apparent that the flick plays out like ... well, a play. Of course it does. That's because it was a play before it was a movie. The play was penned by Edward Albee; the screenplay was by the great Ernest Lehman, who was also nominated for Hello, Dolly!, West Side Story, North by Northwest and Sabrina (although he never won).

I was 12 when this movie was released and didn't see it then. I watched it in early adulthood, and while I was amazed by the artistry involved, I realized I never could have handled it as a kid. This movie is as inappropriate for children now as it was in 1966. Its characters are vile, weak, abusive, obscene, horrid people who play creepy mind games and inflict psychological damage on those who share space with them.

This isn't a movie for everyone. Black-and-white, no happy endings, cruel dialogue and not a single character you can sympathize with. Yet it stands as an American classic.

Oh, and did I mention that the entire cast was Oscar-nominated?