Elizabeth Taylor And Richard Burton Film Collection DVD Credits:

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Elizabeth Taylor And Richard Burton Film Collection DVD Release Date: 5th December 2006

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Elizabeth Taylor And Richard Burton Film Collection DVD Review:

The collection only contains four films, but they are films which show Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor to be the king and queen on melodrama, over decades of filmmaking. The selection of films also have a strange preoccupation with adultery as a connection to love and melodrama, but this may be more of a sign of the times in which the films were made more than a reflection on the actors. Anyone who has ever watched even a scene of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? knows that these two actors perfected the battle of wits and wordplay, throwing remarks like daggers, but they show their softer side in films like The Sandpiper.

The Comedians (1967)
Based on the novel by Graham Greene, who also wrote the screenplay, The Comedians tells the somber tale of wicked dictatorship in Haiti under the rule of Papa Doc Duvalier. Richard Burton is a cynical hotel owner who gets caught up in a tangled web of political intrigue and Elizabeth Taylor is along as his German mistress married to a political figure. The melodrama can feel a bit slow at many points in the film, especially when the affair between the stars seems completely unrelated to any of the political storylines in the film. This makes for a forced sub-plot that fills in the lengthy film, but it is almost expected of the pair when they star in a film together. There is a vintage featurette on the DVD.

The Sandpiper (1965)
Another popular melodrama with the stars having an affair, but it is treated much more sensitively this time around without any political suspense to get in the way. Elizabeth Taylor is Laura Reynolds, a free-spirited artist raising her son on her own in Big Sur until he is sent to a private school run by Edward Hewitt (Richard Burton). He is married but this does not stop him from beginning an affair with the mother of his newest student. There is a lengthy dragged out bit of melodrama which doesn’t pay out to much in the end, but the scenery is much more pleasant to look at most of the film. The DVD contains two vintage featurettes about the film.

The V.I.P.s (1963
Although there is still an affair to be had, this time the tables are turned. Taylor is leaving her husband played by Burton to be with her lover in America, but the plane can’t leave because of fog, forcing the lovers to deal with the angry husband. It is a wonderful ensemble film as there are many other passengers with their own problems with a delayed flight. A filmmaker, played by Orson Welles, must leave to escape paying taxes, a troubled entrepreneur is in financial trouble and is too busy to notice his secretary is in love with him and a duchess is determined to fly for the first time in order to save her home.

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
This was director Mike Nichols’ first film, and it is based on the stage play by Edward Albee. Taking place in one evening, this is a sad and disturbing study of an extremely volatile couple, played by Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. He is a history professor at the local college and after a cocktail party his wife invites a young new professor and his wife over for drinks. The young couple are faced with more than they bargained for when the drink turns into endless drinks and a night filled with odd behavior. Taylor and Burton’s Martha and George are a dysfunctional couple that play mind games and games of wit with each other. They often lie to each other and their guests, making for an interesting and amazing evening. This is by far the best film in the collection and perhaps the best that the couple ever made together. The DVD is a two-disc special edition and contains a great commentary track with Mike Nichols and Steven Soderbergh. There is also a commentary track by Academy Award winning cinematographer Haskell Wexler, and a number of featurettes, interviews, and even a sandy Dennis screen test.

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Elizabeth Taylor And Richard Burton Film Collection DVD review written by: Ryan Izay