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Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
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Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

1966
Drama
2h 11m
A night of fun and drinks for two college professors (one old, one new) and their wives turns into an emotional and psychological nightmare.

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

1966
Drama
2h 11m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 73.74% from 2082 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews

(2101)
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Rated 18 Mar 2009
3
28th
Life is hard when you're married apparently. Total bomb and supremely overrated. They never give you a reason to care and how can you? All the characters are idiots. Acting is good but the material sucks. I just hate when movies are obviously plays before they are converted to films, if you don't care about the characters then there is nothing left for you. No interesting shots, no cool editing, just idiots talking, talking, talking. God, they really talk a lot.
Rated 17 May 2008
95
94th
This is intense stuff, and I enjoyed it a lot. I can never tell which way I'm going to go on these high-octane chamber dramas with few characters. Some work, some don't. This one does. Even though the characters are completely unbelievable and the dialogue is far, far too witty and on-point that they could possibly be making it up on the spot, I really believed this film. By the end I cared deeply about what would happen to the characters. The main reason for that must be the excellent acting.
Rated 05 Feb 2007
93
98th
Amazing performances by all four leads make for an incredible movie about love, hate and dysfunctional relationships. It gets a little too absurd near the end but the acting is so flawless that you don't really care.
Rated 13 Sep 2009
100
96th
Combining the banal, the vulgar and the poetic for a masterwork screen adaptation of a fantastic play - clashing together the theatrical with the cinematic to bring on a style all of its own. Nothing can prepare you for the impact that comes in a nice sadistic package called "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?".
Rated 04 Jun 2009
92
98th
I can't say anymore about the performances in this film..it has all been said. I cannot think of another film that literally made me tired. No, I was not about to fall asleep, rather it was a feeling of exhaustion. Martha and George get under your skin and take away your energy.
Rated 31 May 2009
90
97th
The brilliant screenplay and powerful acting make for one masterful movie.
Rated 08 Dec 2008
89
96th
The tight, razor sharp script full of incisive barbs and wry humor is wonderfully supported by remarkably rich and powerful performances by Taylor and Burton. Nichols' direction, while not as obviously brilliant as either the writing or acting, should not be overlooked, either: he captures the claustrophobic feel of the script wonderfully through his use of closeups and his remarkable manipulation of space (even the expansive lawn shrinks dramatically as Taylor appears in the background).
Rated 19 Apr 2008
96
95th
I'm ashamed it took me so long to see this masterpiece. This is a defining achievement for an actor's movie. The performances, in particular by Burton and Taylor are some of the best ever caught on film. This a twisted thrillride with mixed emotions and an unbelievably riveting look at a failing marriage. The problem is that it's so hard to sympathize with one character over the other, and that's what makes it so brilliant.
Rated 13 Sep 2007
95
98th
I fear how much of the emotion on screen stemmed from their real life marriage, Taylor and Burton realize their roles with horrifying accuracy.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
96
98th
A brutal, intense adaptation of Albee's brilliant play. When the film reaches its climax, we are as devastated by the events as the characters are. It's a terribly cynical look at marriage, and yet there's still a small ray of ambiguous hope at the end. Burton and Taylor are absolutely magnificent, Segal is fair, but Sandy Dennis isn't that hot. Perhaps it's just because her character is meant to be annoying, but her drunk acting (and this entire movie is drunk acting) doesn't ring true.
Rated 15 Dec 2006
95
97th
With outstanding performances by each actor and a very well adapted screenplay, this movie version of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf shows the aversion of reality and psychological complexity just as well as any stage performance could. It's like it was meant to be made this way, and Elizabeth Taylor was born for the role of Martha, the seductive and often scary wife of an overborne college professor. Awesome!
Rated 22 Jun 2022
95
94th
I loved this as a play when I saw it as an 18-yr-old. But then again, I didn't know what an associate professor of history was, or for that matter, what the emotional stakes were. Setting this in a house that looked real and lived in (rather than an expansive stage) makes everything more claustrophic and unsettling. The photography is amazing, and, now that I am older than Burton and Taylor were when they made this, I can say that I am astounded by the acting.
Rated 05 Feb 2012
55
18th
Listening to despicable people drunkenly bicker for 2 hours is the only fair way to describe this movie. I recognize the quality in Taylor's performance, but that didn't make her annoying character any easier to tolerate (in fact it probably made it harder). This movie has a unique style and is well shot, but it's utterly obnoxious and relentlessly unpleasant.
Rated 01 Dec 2011
65
13th
The movie says everything, but none of it means anything. Do you want to watch an irrational couple argue pointlessly for two hours about the stupidest game ever?
Rated 26 Mar 2011
79
98th
Four people lie, yell, and drink a lot. Naturally, it's one of my favorite films.
Rated 06 Sep 2009
91
90th
An absolutely fantastic screenplay driven by incredible performances by Richard Burton, and Elizabeth Taylor. This look at a failing marriage is brilliant, although maybe taken to extreme levels. It is the ending, and that backstory that really clicked with me. It is more than just a story about a failing marriage, there are also psychological elements as well. And what is interesting about this film, is there is no side to pick, both are despicable characters, but are they for the right reason?
Rated 30 Aug 2008
100
97th
A staggering look at a dysfunctional marriage and how its problems begin to unravel and become some sort of a perverted social experiment. The actors are of course astonishing - even Sandy Dennis' somewhat dim character has enough layers and depth to explain her strange, childish behavior. Watching Virginia Woolfe is a haunting experience, reminiscent of, let's say, Rosemary's Baby. It is much more frightening than any of the modern crappy Hollywood horror.
Rated 19 Apr 2008
86
98th
This is one of the best smoking dialogue treats I've seen.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
85
89th
Quite possibly the best acting by an ensemble you'll see in your entire life, it's really amazing to see how all 4 are perfect in their roles, specially Taylor in the performance of her life.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
95
97th
It's only the film that started Mike Nichols' film career, got Elizabeth Taylor an Oscar, and changed the way people viewed obscenity in modern cinema. Why wasn't this on here until I searched for it?
Rated 22 Jan 2007
93
82nd
Fantastic by all four, and extremely funny and dramatic, often at the same time.
Rated 01 Aug 2019
95
96th
"She never cooks, she keeps a filthy house, and she talks profanely! She's the queen of the harpies!"
Rated 04 Jun 2015
80
57th
Lehman and Albee's script is extremely tight for the first two thirds of the film, but just as the movie begins to climax, it loses some of that glorious nuance in favor of broader theatrical notes that, while interesting, don't ring quite true to life.
Rated 22 Aug 2012
90
95th
It's always a huge risk to bring a masterful piece of drama to the screen, but thankfully Nichols took that risk. The script is adapted perfectly to capture the biting bickering and wicked humour. The cast are all excellent but it's Taylor who really stands out in her portrayal of a drunk.
Rated 07 Jul 2012
54
16th
Awful. I was wondering how long it could possible take for the film get to the point, until I realized that there wasn't any.
Rated 31 May 2012
80
77th
Never have I been so pleased to share absolutely no experiential reference with a film. It's quite marvellous, but it speaks with a language I gladly do not yet understand.
Rated 22 Mar 2012
93
97th
The dialogue is spectacular, it just flows from one screaming rant to a quiet monologue and then back to the ranting again and again. The four actors are all great in their roles, especially Taylor and Burton. What surprised me most about this film is it's striking cinematography. The framing, lighting, shadows and use of close-ups really make this a great looking movie, instead of just a boring flatly filmed play.
Rated 09 Nov 2011
95
99th
Quite possibly the greatest play of the 20th century, only enhanced by the transition to film. Liz Taylor and Richard Burton's interpretations of their characters are striking, unpredictable, and quite brilliant. They humanize them past the words. Sandy Dennis, too, is stellar in a thankless but pivotal role.
Rated 23 Jul 2011
93
98th
A great masterpiece with stunning script and acting. Both Taylor and Burton were brilliant in the characters and Sandy brought a good facial acting. The viewer is tangling nicely between the truth and the fiction. For me the story was not about a grumbling marriage, but a couple who faced the scene/play perioidically. They were evidently in love though there was something underneath that made her eat him alive. The fear of truth.
Rated 27 Oct 2010
93
83rd
Just watched this for the first time. I finally understand why Elizabeth Taylor is such an icon. Weird and discomfiting. The drunk blonde girl really kept me on edge the whole time.
Rated 31 Jan 2010
40
28th
Great acting! BUT: This belongs in the theatre, with all the other overwrought, pretentious, actor-slash-self-indulgent crap that those kind of hell holes produce. There's nothing cinematic about this kammerspiel in which 'intelligent' people scream at each other for 2 hours, only to reveal a plot-twist that is God awfully stupid. If I could ever splice Christian Bale into any movie, I'd want him in that house going "I'll kick your ass if you don't shut up for a second!". Fucking ass.
Rated 09 Dec 2009
100
91st
A cinematic feast thanks to Nichols's astute debut as director; Taylor's towering portrayal as the foul-mouthed Martha (Academy Award); Burton's magnificent portrait of the tortured professor; Dennis's Oscar-winning performance as the nervous young wife.
Rated 13 May 2009
95
98th
extremely well-acted and a good script
Rated 22 Jul 2008
93
94th
This is just an incredibly well executed film. Sharp, witty dialogue that never feels 'real', but it all works perfectly here. Keeps you on the edge of your seat without needing any sort of action set-piece, just words.
Rated 02 Mar 2008
85
85th
One of the only movies (or plays, for that matter) that can make me nauseous yet leave me in ecstasy.
Rated 02 Jan 2008
96
99th
If you've just got engaged give this a miss otherwise this is spectacular. A loving, brutal, painful and disfunctional relationship between Taylor and Burton make this film as compelling as a car crash. You know you shouldn't watch but you've just got to. Brilliantly painful and funny in equal measures a tour de force from all four leads and a film you just have to see.
Rated 29 Aug 2007
65
47th
Edward Albee's only true mainstrean hit gets a straightforward adaptation by Nichols; the question is how long can you watch fireworks before they become boring. Liz and Dick certainly must have worked out some agressions on this picture, for all the good it did them.
Rated 06 Jul 2007
86
95th
A horrible, hate-filled nightmare. I can't stop watching.
Rated 18 Jun 2007
38
23rd
If there are two things I like about this movie, it's the premise and Richard Burton. But as was the case with 1962's A Long Day's Journey Into Night, I consider this another well-meaning movie adaptation of a lousy play. The dialogue is way too over-the-top and the characters wear their psychologies on their sleeves. It might have been good if it was layered and had subtlety, which would have lent more excitement to all the fighting.
Rated 20 Apr 2007
7
99th
The greatest romance ever put to film.
Rated 31 Mar 2007
90
86th
Wonderfully dark and disturbing drama. Those of you who think Liz and Dick were boring need to check this one out. Working-class families beat on each other physically; those higher in station beat on each other verbally and emotionally
Rated 20 Feb 2007
93
93rd
Tremendous performances, beautiful cinematography, outstanding dialogue, one truly intense experience.
Rated 06 May 2024
75
49th
Is there any other movie in history that both repels the viewer from drinking while also driving the viewer to it? I will grant that the film is well shot and acted. It's reminiscent of some of Bergman's sensibilities from this period and later as well. I suspect there was a time in my life when I would have sung this movie's praises to the heavens. However, at this point, I care so little for these characters, have so little invested in them, that by the time it gets to something real, I'm out.
Rated 21 Jan 2024
73
96th
Immaculate.
Rated 23 Feb 2023
89
90th
audiovisual 80 acting 100 overall feeling 88 avg 89
Rated 12 Apr 2022
94
99th
This blew me away. This might be one of the best acting I have seen in my adult age. The film is absolutely insane, and the plot is wonderfully twisted, yet revealed by end to have roots in something a lot more gentle, wrapped in pain. It doesn't slow down, not for a second. Until last 5 minutes. Cinematography is so well done - and the movie is 1966! Claustrophobic feeling of resentment and love simultaneously suffocates you right up to the end. It's a masterpiece, like it or not.
Rated 24 Nov 2021
45
34th
A very unpleasant movie with no real payoff. Initially rated it well because I thought I was “supposed to” like it, but finally broke free of the mind prison & realized I’m allowed to dislike it.
Rated 14 Sep 2021
59
30th
filmden bağımsız olarak; misafir sarışın genç hanfendi, hayatımda gördüğüm en rezalet yapmacık oyunculuklardan birine imza atıyor. onun olduğu sahneleri izlerken çok zorlandım.
Rated 07 Feb 2021
1
3rd
drivel.
Rated 27 May 2020
89
96th
A psychological horror show. The actors and the screenplay are aggressive and dynamic. It's the dinner party from hell and I love it.
Rated 19 Apr 2020
60
35th
We meet two people who so devoutly love each other -- but can't stand themselves -- that they spend their time playing sadistic mind games. But, oh, on this night, they involve two pretty innocent newlyweds, which makes for an incredibly awkward few hours. It's obviously based on a play, with the limited sets and characters. That doesn't matter, because you're keenly focused on Burton and Taylor, who seem to be made for this film. Another good film I hope I won't have to watch again.
Rated 18 Feb 2020
78
52nd
I spent much of the time lamenting Liz Taylor's entire appearance and Sandy Dennis' teeth. I kept wishing they would speed the story up and get to the ending.
Rated 25 Sep 2019
97
99th
The acting here is timeless; all four of them are so palpably unsettling. It's not easy to give meaning to characters like these that sound so absurd and drawn-out on paper. The more we get to know about their histories, the more real their neuroticism becomes (unlike, say, Beckett's Didi and Gogo or Pinter's Rose and Bert that stay somewhat more static). Side note: I don't think a cardigan has ever played this big a role in emasculating a history professor: Burton is im-fucking-peccable here.
Rated 05 Aug 2019
6
65th
Great acting of course,but just didn't find the characters interesting enough or dialogue deep enough to score it any higher
Rated 01 Aug 2019
80
74th
Extremely vicious and very uncomfortable to watch, but with just enough of a darkly comedic touch to keep it from becoming too much. This is basically "Mommy and daddy are fighting! - The Movie".
Rated 04 Jul 2019
55
10th
I don't get the praise for this movie and it's certainly not one of Nichols' better films (who BTW is one of my favorite directors). The film lacks subtlety in everything it does. The characters are over the top annoying and the situations are tedious. Yes the cast gives some great performances and the cinematography is rather good for a play adaptation, but as caiman put it "it's utterly obnoxious and relentlessly unpleasant". That's the bottom line, and for me there is no getting past it.
Rated 10 May 2019
80
67th
The pacing is weird and the drama is a bit too on the nose – no development in characters whatsoever. A solid movie nevertheless, very tense and exhausting – a great watch in spite of it's many flaws.
Rated 30 Apr 2019
85
90th
saldırıya uğramış hissini atmak biraz zor oluyor.
Rated 02 Apr 2019
81
68th
Really well directed, elevating the play into a unique and dreary film. It's just not the kind of film for me, with it being incredibly depressing with no real likable character.
Rated 18 Dec 2018
98
94th
Ahead of its time! Incredible performances by Burton and Taylor. Although I thought "The War of the Roses" was tops in portraying the deterioration of a marriage, this one takes the cake. A wild ride!
Rated 30 Nov 2018
80
81st
George: "You can sit around with the gin running out of your mouth; you can humiliate me; you can tear me to pieces all night, that's perfectly okay, that's all right."
Rated 21 Jun 2018
59
15th
I really don't like Nichols' play here...
Rated 17 Jun 2018
100
92nd
Masterpiece! Tense, good actor play and incredible dialogues
Rated 05 Mar 2018
86
94th
Bloodsport
Rated 28 May 2017
84
85th
Pretty hard movie to watch, but very potent.
Rated 10 Apr 2017
30
7th
Burton and Taylor take turns being despicable to each other and their guests (who don't just leave for some reason) as they drift in and out of levels of drunkenness that's based less on how much they've drank and more on if they need to have a long dialogue or not. I don't like them at all and I don't care about their games regarding who can be shittier to the other. Another movie I don't understand the praise for.
Rated 10 Oct 2016
75
85th
Middle age and its Discontents. Nichols' auspicious debut is a relic of a bygone era, a somewhat tragic reminder of a time when intense and serious psychological dramas were sold to a mass audience. Taylor and Burton are spectacular as an almost comically dysfunctional couple whose marriage is held together by spit, teetering on the edge of oblivion. The dialogue is sharp and cutting, and Nichols-Wexler effectively translate a claustrophobic chamber piece into pure cinematographic form.
Rated 22 Jul 2016
89
94th
There's a good reason this movie is so famous.
Rated 29 May 2016
82
87th
Virtuoso stuff, a tad long, but I should have been in a fresher state of mind.
Rated 13 Mar 2016
91
98th
Mesmerising performances from Burton and Taylor.
Rated 26 Nov 2015
78
67th
Years of secrecy and regret bubble to the surface in a night of alcohol-fueled hysteria, its uncompromising close-ups becoming a visual parallel to the emotional suffocation all four major players attempt to escape from. Probably the best "drunk acting" I've ever seen in a film.
Rated 02 Sep 2015
100
99th
Martha and George seem playful on the outside. When you are invited into their home, you realize that they are a dysfunctional, married partners and seem hell-bent on ruining the others reputation, disregarding their younger guests. Toward the end of the movie, you start to see that their spite/affection IS their idea of playful. The acting has to be some of the finest portrayed on screen.
Rated 30 Aug 2015
80
80th
Who's Afraid of Virgina Woolf? attempts to capture and satirize the struggles of its generation by putting a complacent middle-aged couple in the presence of another younger that's heading down the same road. The results are drunkenly explosive, and the film makes history by coinciding its themes of adult sociology with the similar stranglehold of film censorship. What we have here is a rare classic that captures its time and culture so directly that the lingers of it can still be felt in ours.
Rated 02 Aug 2015
90
94th
Dialogue as dance, and dance as dialogue.
Rated 03 Dec 2014
90
96th
(2nd viewing)
Rated 22 Nov 2014
99
96th
A near perfect version of my favorite play. A loss of some quiet minimalism is almost made up for by a great sense of energy. RIP Mike Nichols.
Rated 16 Apr 2014
85
93rd
A bloody feast of bitterness, wit, alcohol and pure cinematic -oh, theatrical as well- excitement. What a script and what a cast -Burton and especially Taylor were savage and stupendous.
Rated 01 Apr 2014
40
32nd
Just how much living hell does it take to make a classic? This is an uncomfortable examination of a toxic relationship that is destructive and combative. Two people so thoroughly sick of themselves and each other that they sink into a world of near constant tormenting. Their venomous sparing is exhausting. I can't imagine a worse way to live. Perhaps that's the point.
Rated 11 Feb 2014
85
97th
brilliant
Rated 05 Feb 2014
75
51st
Given it's restricted setting, the acting is concentrated down into some highly impressive performances, along with a highly volatile and endless stream of abuse and hatred flung between these characters. This lasts just about the whole movie and gets pretty tedious at times, especially when Elizabeth Taylor is off-screen. For a film about married people hating each other, it's pretty good, but not one of the best.
Rated 20 Jan 2014
80
80th
Better than scenes from a marriage
Rated 21 Aug 2013
77
75th
Often brilliantly done, but at some point you really start wondering if all of us, viewers included, wouldn't be better off just leaving each other alone. Plus I honestly don't care for Sandy Dennis' sugar-high performance.
Rated 13 Jul 2013
94
99th
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a captivating rollercoaster of emotions and biting wit. Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton sizzle in this adaptation of Edward Albee's play, delivering a powerful exploration of love and marriage's darker corners. A must-see for fans of masterful acting and thought-provoking drama.
Rated 19 Jun 2013
79
86th
The first minutes seemed clumsy at first but then it quickly becomes very intense.
Rated 12 Mar 2013
85
80th
There's a lot of stuff about the fear of facing reality (hence the title). It is also a film that, in a strange way, is about love. Richard Burton's and Elizabeth Taylor's performances are both incredible bringing a real intensity to the film whilst also making the film, particularly the first half an hour or so, really funny.
Rated 04 Feb 2013
92
97th
Drunk is fun! This has given me some ideas for my next party.
Rated 06 Jan 2013
88
82nd
An amazingly good film about amazingly irritating people attempting to verbally destroy each other.
Rated 03 Jan 2013
89
92nd
The whole credited cast is superb, as is the script.
Rated 19 Dec 2012
91
97th
I've been watching a lot of pre-70s films lately, but this is probably the most well-acted of any of the films I've watched. All 4 actors deserve high praise. Films like this are the reason I love performance driven dramas.
Rated 10 Aug 2012
88
79th
Netflix
Rated 13 Jul 2012
94
90th
This film's screenplay is so razor sharp it will fucking cut you if you're not careful. Tons of praise goes to the actors - praise they're still getting while they rest in peace - but that it's Nichols' debut is mind-blowing. Auspicious first films of this caliber only happen once in a blue moon, but they're joyful. To think this could have been filmed like on stage, but instead the cinematography paints the mood with clever lighting and techniques. Simply engrossing.
Rated 11 Jul 2012
90
97th
Awkwwaarrrddddd. A Gorgeous looking film weighed down by tons of derision in always-loaded dialogue that just beats you down from start to finish. Also, Liz Taylor tears it up with with one of the best performances I've ever seen...elegant, trashy, domineering, fragile, drunk...
Rated 10 Jun 2012
40
4th
Boring, idiotic, too theatrical and too much yelling.
Rated 28 Apr 2012
20
4th
gercek ve gercek olmayan, evli cift, kari koca, alkol, misafir, diyalog, bir evde tamamlanan film (iki sahne haric), masrafsiz film, diyalog, konusma, (neden cekilmis, ne gerek varmis... zor bitirdim)
Rated 29 Feb 2012
90
74th
It feels exactly like a drunken allnighter, with the yelling at everyone possibly around, to the overstaying of welcomes, to the sheer display of retardation when the mind wanders, to the insulting of things that would normally be impolite when not behind a person's back. At the end, you will definitely feel just as exhausted and scared as the characters are. Manages to do alot with a little, and amazing acting from all involved despite the most ridiculous and showboaty dialogue possible.
Rated 20 Feb 2012
33
3rd
Absolutely zero cinematic quality to this. They should have just performed this on a stage and filmed it with a stationary camera. I'd complain about the story, but I didn't notice one.
Rated 22 Jan 2012
91
86th
probably some of the best acting ever. Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton are amazing. hands down.
Rated 19 Jan 2012
75
81st
Elizabeth Taylor was fantastic and I can see why she received such acclaim for this role. Richard Burton was equally impressive, I thought. IIt was brilliantly written and Mike Nichols' direction was astounding when you consider it was his first film. A truly great movie with many layers and fascinating undertones.
Rated 14 Jan 2012
70
56th
I watched this movie and kept waiting for Elizabeth Taylor to turn into a werewolf but it never happened :(
Rated 22 Dec 2011
89
95th
Although I like the play better this is still a great movie. Elizabeth Taylor is outstanding in this role. The writing of course is amazing and you just can't stop watching these characters do horrible things to each other.

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