Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
94%RT Audience Score: 91%
Awards & Nominations: Won 5 Oscars
22 wins & 28 nominations total
Led by a volcanic performance from Elizabeth Taylor, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a scathing adaptation of the Edward Albee play that serves as a brilliant calling card for debuting director Mike Nichols.
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a wild ride of a movie that will leave you feeling like you just got off a rollercoaster. Elizabeth Taylor is a force to be reckoned with as the drunken, foul-mouthed wife of a timid professor. The dialogue is sharp and biting, and the tension between the characters is palpable. It’s no wonder this film is considered a classic of American cinema. Plus, who doesn’t love watching Taylor and Burton go at it for hours?
Production Company(ies)
Warner Bros., Chenault Productions,
Distributor
Warner Bros., Warner Home Vídeo
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
Year of Release
1966
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Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:Mono
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:2h 9m
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Language(s):English, Latin, Spanish
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jun 22, 1966 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 5, 2006
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, George Segal, Sandy Dennis, Mike Nichols, Edward Albee, Ernest Lehman, Drama, Warner Bros., Warner Home Vídeo, Mono, 1966, 2h 9m, 95% Tomatometer, 91% Audience Score, Critics Consensus, reviewed by Kate Cameron, Andrew Sarris, James Powers, David Parkinson, Dave Kehr, Geoff Andrew, David Reddish, MPAA rating, scathing adaptation, volcanic performance, marital angst, verbal tirades, dysfunctional marriage, alcoholism, mind games, explosive performances, Academy Award, off-screen romance, expertly written, iconic status, quartet of finest performances, vitriolic honesty, legends
Worldwide gross: $28,005,068
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $289,822,296
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 522
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 31,605,485
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $7,500,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $77,616,923
Production budget ranking: 539
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $41,796,713
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $170,408,659
ROI to date (est.): 143%
ROI ranking: 785
Richard Burton – George
George Segal – Nick
Sandy Dennis – Honey
Agnes Flanagan – Roadhouse Waitress
Frank Flanagan – Roadhouse Manager
Director(s)
Mike Nichols
Writer(s)
Edward Albee, Ernest Lehman
Producer(s)
Ernest Lehman
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Won 5 Oscars
22 wins & 28 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
All Critics (44) | Top Critics (9) | Fresh (42) | Rotten (2)
[Taylor] is nothing less than brilliant as the shrewish, slovenly. blasphemous, frustrated, slightly wacky, alcoholic wife of a meek, unambitious assistant professor of history at a university, over which her father reigns as president.
March 10, 2015
Kate Cameron
New York Daily News
TOP CRITIC
Nichols has actually committed all the classic errors of the sophisticated stage director let loose on the unsophisticated movies. For starters, he has underestimated the power of the spoken word in his search for visual pyrotechnics.
March 10, 2015
Andrew Sarris
Village Voice
TOP CRITIC
The greatest credit for the implacable engagement that the film creates for its audience must go to the director, Mike Nichols. Nichols makes a stunning film bow with Virginia Woolf.
November 20, 2014
James Powers
Hollywood Reporter
TOP CRITIC
A time capsule now of all that was considered controversial and gutsy in 1966.
February 26, 2010 | Rating: 4/5
David Parkinson
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
When Nichols finally settles down, it’s almost too late.
June 28, 2007
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
Edward Albee’s vitriolic stage portrayal of domestic blisslessness translated grainily and effectively to the screen.
February 11, 2006
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf? presents marital dysfunction at its most cruel, and alcoholism at its most explosive. Albees dialogue guts as deep and hard as any barb in the history of the moviesor just about anywhere else.
March 20, 2022 | Rating: 3/4
David Reddish
Queerty
A rambunctious, wholly singular four-person show.
August 27, 2020 | Rating: 8/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? is easily the most sensational film of the year.
June 27, 2019
Wendy Michener
Maclean’s Magazine
One of the defining American films of the 1960s.
December 28, 2018 | Rating: 9/10
Nathanael Hood
The Retro Set
’60s drama about dysfunctional marriage has drinking, sex.
November 1, 2016 | Rating: 3/5
Barbara Shulgasser
Common Sense Media
I could watch Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton do this for hours.
September 19, 2016 | Rating: 3/4
Josh Larsen
LarsenOnFilm…
Plot
George (Richard Burton) and Martha (Dame Elizabeth Taylor) are a middle-aged married couple, whose charged relationship is defined by vitriolic verbal battles, which underlies what seems like an emotional dependence upon each other. This verbal abuse is fueled by an excessive consumption of alcohol. George being an associate history professor in a New Carthage university where Martha’s father is the President adds an extra dimension to their relationship. Late one Saturday evening after a faculty mixer, Martha invites Nick (George Segal) and Honey (Sandy Dennis), an ambitious young biology professor new to the university and his mousy wife, over for a nightcap. As the evening progresses, Nick and Honey, plied with more alcohol, get caught up in George and Martha’s games of needing to hurt each other and everyone around them. The ultimate abuse comes in the form of talk of George and Martha’s unseen sixteen-year-old son, whose birthday is the following day.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Elizabeth Taylor’s performance as Martha is described as “nothing less than brilliant” by critic Kate Cameron.
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