Blu-ray Review: Night of the Iguana
The 1950’s and early sixties saw a surge of popularity around the work of Tennessee Williams. More than half of his plays were reproduced for the screen. His themes of sexuality, marital infidelity and mental illness, etc., were shocking but acceptable in this era of change in moral acceptability. Nonetheless, movies of the time could […]
Blu-ray Review: 1984 (Criterion Collection)
Michael Radford’s 1984 is a rather faithful retelling of George Orwell’s novel of the same name. Published in 1948, 1984 predicts the fall of Western Culture. In the year 1984, civilization has been decimated by war and civil unrest. Oceana is the last thriving totalitarian superstate in the world. Ruled by the Party under the […]
Blu-ray Review: Boom!
By 1968, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton were one of the most famous couples in the world, their glamorous lifestyle documented in newspapers and magazines. However, both were dealing with dimming film careers due to recent box office disappointment. Naturally, they hoped their latest big screen pairing would turn things around. Both had starred in […]
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Blu-ray)
Based on a 1962 play by Edward Albee, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is far less controversial now than it was when it first hit theater screens back in 1966. Even so, the uninhibited dialogue spewed forth by stars Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton still packs a punch. Made four years after they began an […]
Blu-ray Review: The Spy Who Came In From The Cold (Criterion Collection)
The anti-007 Bond movie, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold was one of the first to present espionage as something less than honorable and far from glamorous. Based on the John Le Carré novel—Le Carré is a former intelligence officer—casts Richard Burton as the tired, but determined Alec Leamas, a longtime field operative […]
Blu-ray Review: Cleopatra (1963)
For many moviegoers, Cleopatra (1963) has long been lauded for its undeniable kitsch value. It’s the most epic of Hollywood epics, got co-stars Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton entangled in one of the most talked about love affairs of the 20th century, and nearly bankrupt 20th Century Fox. Oddly enough, once you get past all […]
DVD Review: Liz & Dick
Liz & Dick is a hot mess of a little TV-movie. In the opening seconds, a “based on a true story” message flashes across the screen. However, the story told here—the tumultuous relationship of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton; largely focused on the 1960’s, in the years after they met on the set of 1963’s […]