Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
Mike Nichols' landmark drama unleashes Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in one of cinema's most ferociously intimate portraits of a marriage in ruins.
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? - Movie Information
- Original Title: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
- Release Year: 1966
- Directed by: Mike Nichols
- Type: Movie
- Genres: Drama
- Runtime: 2h 11m
- Original Language: English
- Spoken Languages: English, Latin
- Release Date (Theatrical): June 22, 1966 (Sweden - 15), June 22, 1966 (United States), March 12, 1967 (United Kingdom - 12), December 16, 1966 (Germany - 18), February 15, 1967 (France - 12), June 27, 1966 (Australia - M), April 14, 1968 (Spain)
- Alternative Titles: 누가 버지니아 울프를 두려워하랴 (KR), 谁怕弗吉尼亚·沃尔夫 (CN)
- Production Companies: Chenault Productions, Warner Bros. Pictures
- Production Countries: United States of America
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? - Plot
A history professor and his wife entertain a young couple who are new to the university's faculty. As the drinks flow, secrets come to light, and the middle-aged couple unload onto their guests the full force of the bitterness, dysfunction, and animosity that defines their marriage.
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? - Trailer
See the tension unfold in the official trailer for this landmark 1966 drama:
You are cordially invited to George and Martha's for an evening of fun and games
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Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? - Cast & Crew
Director(s)
- Mike Nichols
Main Cast
- Elizabeth Taylor
- Richard Burton
- George Segal
- Sandy Dennis
- Agnes Flanagan
- Frank Flanagan
Writers
- Ernest Lehman
Producers
- Ernest Lehman
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? - FAQs
What is Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? about?
The film follows George and Martha, a middle-aged couple whose marriage is a battlefield of resentment and cruelty. When a younger couple joins them for late-night drinks, the evening spirals into a brutal unraveling of secrets, illusions, and raw emotional violence. It's a masterclass in psychological drama.
Who are George and Martha's imaginary son?
George and Martha have invented a fictional son as a shared psychological crutch — a private fantasy that holds their marriage together. When George destroys this illusion by announcing the “son's death,” it's the film's most devastating moment, stripping away the last defense keeping Martha from total collapse.
Where can you stream Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf??
You can rent or buy Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? on Amazon Video, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, and Spectrum On Demand. It's widely available across digital platforms, so finding a way to watch it shouldn't be a problem.
Is Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? based on a true story?
Not directly, but Edward Albee's 1962 play — which the film adapts — drew on real observations of academic life and troubled marriages. Some scholars believe the fictional couple was inspired by a real pair Albee knew. The emotional truth, however, feels utterly universal and uncomfortably real.
Who are the main actors in the film?
Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton — who were married to each other at the time — play Martha and George with ferocious intensity. George Segal and Sandy Dennis round out the four-person cast as the younger couple drawn into the chaos. All four received Oscar nominations for their performances.
Did Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? win any awards?
Absolutely. The film earned 13 Academy Award nominations — a record at the time for a single film — and won five, including Best Actress for Elizabeth Taylor and Best Supporting Actress for Sandy Dennis. Haskell Wexler also won for his stunning black-and-white cinematography.
Why was Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? controversial in 1966?
The film pushed hard against the boundaries of Hollywood's Production Code with its raw language, sexual frankness, and unrelenting emotional brutality. Warner Bros. released it with an adults-only restriction — a bold move that helped pave the way for the modern MPAA rating system introduced two years later.
Where was Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? filmed?
Principal photography took place largely on studio sets at Warner Bros. in Burbank, California, designed to evoke a New England university town. Some exterior shots were filmed on location in Massachusetts. Haskell Wexler's high-contrast black-and-white photography gives every frame a claustrophobic, theatrical intensity.
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