Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes

Extremely well done. Taylor had a very strange life, and she reveals a perhaps surprising self-awareness and keen understanding of her own nature. The more I learn about the real Elizabeth Taylor, the more I wish I had known her.

The best of the “secret celebrity tapes” docos to emerge in recent years finds Taylor in very relaxed, candid form, telling some illuminating tales from behind the curtain without ever seeming bitchy, and never dragging the film into exploitation territory. The true star that emerges here is Mike Todd, who genuinely seems the perfectly jovial and fierce match for our Liz, making his death hit that much harder than in other accounts. A warm and loving tribute to a still underrated performer.