By 1973 Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton’s nine year marriage was coming to an end and both actors wanted to focus on their individual careers. Night Watch (1973) features one of Taylor’s few solo performances as an actress while she was married to Burton and it’s one of my favorite Elizabeth Taylor films from the 70s’ for multiple reasons. First and foremost, it’s a thriller and I love a good creepy thriller with an unexpected twist ending. The film also stars the gorgeous Laurence Harvey who had previously appeared with Taylor in the Oscar winning melodrama Butterfield 8 (1960) and I enjoy watching Taylor and Harvey together. Not only do they both provide some incredible eye-candy on screen, but I also think they have an interesting chemistry when they’re teamed-up. Taylor also delivers one of her most unusual and unexpected performances in Night Watch that clearly mocks some of her previous roles while playing smartly with audience expectations. And lastly, Night Watch evokes many of my favorite Alfred Hitchcock films.

The film was based on a play by Lucille Fletcher who made a name for herself writing suspenseful radio plays in the early forties such as The Hitch-Hiker (1941), which was originally performed by Orson Welles and The Campbell Playhouse and later turned into an episode of The Twilight Zone, as well as Sorry, Wrong Number (1946), which became an Oscar nominated film in 1947 directed by Anatole Litvak. Lucille Fletcher was married to the great film composer Bernard Herrmann, who also got his start working with Welles on classic films like Citizen Kane (1941) and The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) before he made an even bigger name for himself composing scores for popular Alfred Hitchcock thrillers like Vertigo (1958), North by Northwest (1959) and Psycho (1960). Although Lucille Fletcher and Bernard Herrmann divorced in 1948, it’s impossible to watch Night Watch and not be reminded of many of Hitchcock’s best films. The script seems to borrow a bit from Rebecca (1940), Suspicion (1941), Dial M for Murder (1954), Rear Window (1954) and Psycho (1960), while combing a few elements of Fletcher’s earlier plays.

Top: Elizabeth Taylor watches a murder take place
Middle: Taylor dreams of hospital morgues
Bottom: The corpse of Linda Hayden gets her kill face on*

In Night Watch Elizabeth Taylor plays a reclusive wealthy woman called Ellen Wheller who suspects that her current husband John (Laurence Harvey) and best friend Sarah (Billie Whitelaw) might be having an affair behind her back. Things take an odd turn one dark and stormy night when Taylor peers through a window and much like James Stewart in Hitchcock’s Rear Window, she thinks she’s seen a murder take place in an old abandoned house next to her own home. Since she’s prone to hysteria her husband doesn’t exactly believe her, but he reluctantly calls the police anyway. When the police finally arrive and search the house next door they find no evidence that a murder has happened there, but Taylor suspects that her neighbor (Robert Lang) might be involved and remains convinced that she’s seen a horrendous crime. Elizabeth Taylor’s character is also plagued by terrible nightmares involving her first husband (Kevin Colson) who was killed in a car crash that occurred when he was fooling around with a pretty young woman (Linda Hayden) while driving. Her continuous nightmares and concerns about her husband’s infidelity cause her a lot of anxiety and as the film progresses Taylor’s character tries to numb her emotional pain and strange visions with alcohol and numerous pills often administrated by her husband and friend. Are horrible crimes taking place in the old abandoned house next door or are they a figment of Elizabeth Taylor’s disturbed mind? Is Laurence Harvey trying to kill Taylor or drive her mad and take control of her fortune? The surprising answers to these questions are unveiled in the film’s shocking climax!

Warning - before you keep reading I suggest stopping here unless you’re familiar with the film because there are spoilers ahead and being aware of the film’s important plot twists before you have the opportunity to see Night Watch can definitely ruin the effectiveness of the film!

On the surface, the plot of Night Watch appears to be similar to many “women-in-peril” thrillers, but just when you assume you know the direction the film is taking, Night Watch explodes in a bloody finale that’s sure to leave a few viewers shocked. Instead of playing the typical female victim prone to hysteria, Taylor turns out to be a cold and calculating murderess who brutally kills her philandering husband and best friend before gracefully exiting the film in grand style.

Top: Elizabeth Taylor and Laurence Harvey
Bottom: Robert Lang and Billie Whitelaw

Night Watch was directed by the American director Brian G. Hutton whose other films include Where Eagles Dare (1968) with Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood, as well as Zee and Co. (1972) which also featured Elizabeth Taylor along with Michael Caine, Susannah York and Margaret Leighton (who was once married to Lawrence Harvey). With Night Watch, the director was able to create a suspenseful atmosphere and maintain it throughout the course of the film. Since the story takes place in London with a mostly British cast, the film is reminiscent of other great British thrillers released during the same period. The film also contains closeup shots of gloved hands and large kitchen knives that were commonly seen in numerous giallo films at the time. Hutton’s directing skills are really on display during Taylor’s extremely eerie and effective nightmare sequences, which are creatively shot with the help of the Oscar winning British cinematographer Billy Williams. The director manages to include some interesting visual clues that suggest that Elizabeth Taylor is controlling the events unfolding in the film. Taylor’s constantly seen playing with a puzzle and trying to fit the pieces together while the audience is left in the dark tripping over multiple red-herrings.

The Italian designer Valentino made all of Taylor’s outfits for the film and frankly I just get a big kick out seeing Taylor playing a crazy hard-drinking pill-popping woman wearing fabulous purple robes designed by Valentino. Thankfully she also gets to wear some low-key tailored Valentino fashions in the film as well. She was no longer the slender young woman seen in her earlier roles, but she still looks terrific in Night Watch in my opinion and manages to make the most of her role. Her performance is surprisingly nuanced and probably somewhat inspired by Anthony Perkins turn as Norman Bates in Hitchcock’s Psycho. Even the murders she commits in the film are slightly reminiscent of the way Bates killed his victims, but I’ve rarely seen any actor seem to have so much fun pretending to cut their co-stars’ throats. During the frantic murder scene at the end of the film Taylor looks utterly maniacal and plain frightening.

None of the other actors in the film besides Laurence Harvey, Billie Whitelaw and Robert Lang get more than a few minutes of screen time, which is a shame. I really like the British actress Linda Hayden who’s appeared in some great British horror films and she’s wonderfully creepy in Night Watch, but she has no dialogue in the film and if you blink you just might miss her.

Elizabeth Taylor and Laurence Harvey become friends on the set of Butterfield 8 and remained close until his untimely death. Both actors were heavy drinkers and their careers were in decline when they decided to team up again and make Night Watch in late 1972. Taylor and Harvey ended up having such a terrific time on the set of the film together that they started making plans to co-star in another thriller in the near future, but unfortunately it never happened. Harvey was diagnosed with cancer during the making of Night Watch and it’s assumed that he was in considerable pain during filming. His performance here is rather low-key and seems to suggest that he wasn’t feeling his best, but he’s still very believable as Taylor’s neglectful husband. Sadly, Laurence Harvey died just three months after Night Watch was released.

Top: Taylor channeling the spirit of Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates
Middle: Billie Whitelaw suffers the same fate as Janet Leigh in Psycho
Bottom: Comparison shot of Janet Leigh from Psycho

Night Watch is currently only available as a poor quality pan and scan video at the moment and I’d really like to see Brian G. Hutton’s film get restored and released on DVD since it should definitely hold appeal for Elizabeth Taylor fans and anyone who enjoys unusual Hitchcock inspired thrillers. I’ve heard rumors that a PAL Region 2 DVD of Night Watch might be released later this year, but I haven’t been able to confirm it anywhere. If anyone else happens to know anything about the rumored PAL Region 2 DVD release of Night Watch, please let me know!

If you’d like to see more images from the film please see my Night Watch Flickr Gallery.

* Note: The term “kill face” was borrowed from Arbogast on Film.

Joseph Losey’s Boom! (1968) is one of the most famously criticized and misunderstood films from the late sixties. Its original $3.9 million dollar budget seemed to have ballooned into 10 million by the time shooting stopped and the money was mainly used to pay the million dollar salaries of the film’s two main stars (Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton), dress Elizabeth Taylor in her amazing Tiziani costumes (many designed by Karl Lagerfeld) and Bulgari jewelery, build a fabulous set and keep the Bloody Marys’ and champagne flowing from dawn to dusk. Critics by and large despised Boom! and many viewers walked out of the theater before the film had ended utterly perplexed by what they had just seen.

Boom! was an uneven European art film masquerading as a mainstream Hollywood movie and the general public just wasn’t interested. They wanted to see Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in more easily defined roles such as “tenacious slut” (Taylor) or “troubled saint” (Burton), and they longed for simpler drama with a basic narrative that was easy to follow. But by 1968 both Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton had grown weary of the typical roles Hollywood was offering them and they wanted to make more challenging films together. Boom! would turn out to be one of the most challenging films that the actors ever worked on, but it would also receive the worst reviews of their careers and mark what many consider to be the decline of one of Hollywood’s most glamorous couples. A shared addiction to alcohol and Taylor’s growing reliance on prescription drugs was starting to take its toll on the two actors and their very public marriage. The couple’s wealth, fame and glamorous lifestyle made Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton appear larger than life and at first glance unusual film projects like Doctor Faustus (1967) and Boom! appeared to be self-indulgent vanity projects made without much thought for the general movie-going audiences that had helped make them famous. Resentment seemed to be growing between the popular actors and their adoring fans, and critics were eager to take a swipe at Hollywood’s royal couple. Boom! became an easy target and it’s not too hard to see why.

Boom! was based on one of Tennessee Williams’ least accessible and most esoteric plays called The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore (originally published in 1963) and Williams was also responsible for the film’s script. After two failed Broadway runs of the play, Universal Studios still thought they could turn The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore into a hit film starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Both actors had appeared in financially successful film versions of other Tennessee Williams’ plays individually including, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Richard Brooks; 1956), Suddenly Last Summer (Joseph L. Mankiewicz; 1959) and The Night of the Iguana (John Huston; 1964) so Universal assumed the couple could turn The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore into a hit with their double star power. Taylor and Burton gladly accepted the exorbitant salaries Universal Studios offered them to star in Boom! and they looked forward to working on the project with exiled American director Joseph Losey. Losey had been making smart and successful films in Britain for years and the director seemed able to effortlessly move between dark psychological dramas with noir overtones such as The Servant (1963) and entertaining pop art extravagances like Modesty Blaise (1966). If Losey had been able to successfully mix multiple elements of his earlier films, as well as better manage his actors, the final results of Boom! may have been more rewarding. But I personally think it’s one of the director’s most fascinating and inspired efforts.

The film focuses on the last two days in the life of Flora ‘Sissy’ Goforth (Elizabeth Taylor). Mrs. Goforth is a wealthy, self-absorbed and terminally ill woman who has buried six husbands and is spending the summer at her isolated coastal villa dictating her sensational memoirs to her servant Miss Black (Johnna Simcus). Her health problems and tortured memories cause her to be in constant pain so she numbs herself with booze, pills, morphine and shots of vitamin B administrated by her doctor. With “Keep Off - Private Property” signs surrounding her property and a pack of vicious attack dogs controlled by an aggressive dwarf (Michael Dunn), Sissy Goforth assumes she won’t be bothered. But her isolated existence comes to an end when a handsome stranger named Chris Flanders (Richard Burton) unexpectedly arrives by boat. Chris is a poet who also makes modern Alexander Calder-style mobiles out of metal. These mobiles are designed to symbolize freedom and Sissy Goforth soon finds out that Chris has come to the island to free her from her shackled existence. After inviting her only close friend known as The Witch of Capri (played by celebrated playwright Noel Coward) for an unusual dinner of boiled “sea monster” and roasted pig, The Witch uses his powers of divination to inform Sissy Goforth that Chris Flanders is also known as the Angel of Death due to his uncanny ability to arrive at the home of wealthy women just as they’re about to die and relieve them of their valuable possessions. Even though Sissy Goforth is sexually attracted to Chris, she is deeply disturbed when she hears this news. She hasn’t finished her memoirs yet and she has no desire to leave the world and “go forth” into the great unknown, so she refuses to feed Chris and spends her last hours verbally sparring with him. This strange allegorical fable ends with Sissy Goforth drifting into oblivion as Chris guides her through her final moments and relieves her of her precious jewels, which he promptly throws into the sea.

Tennessee William’s script for Boom! is very similar to his original play The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore but the title was simplified by using a word that Richard Burton’s Angel of Death character utters every time he hears the waves crashing against the rocks below the cliff-side villa. He explains to Sissy Goforth at one point that “Boom!” is the sound of “the shock of each moment of still being alive” and it’s meant as a sort of wakeup call to get her to appreciate her final hours on earth. In some ways Boom! rehashes many of the topics found in Tennessee William’s previous work such as A Streetcar Named Desire and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, which explored the lives of sexually frustrated and isolated individuals, alcoholism and terminal disease, a fear of death and an inability to let go of the past. But Boom! is more of an allegorical fable that tackles Williams’ favorite themes in a more abstract and mythological way. It was also inspired by Japanese kabuki theatre and the structure of Boom! resembles traditional kabuki plays as re-imagined by Williams in the sixties.

The talented set designer and artist Richard MacDonald was hired to design the lavish set for Boom!, which was built in Italy on the beautiful Sardinian coast. McDonald had worked with Joseph Losey on many of his best films such as Eva (1962), The Servant (1963) and Modesty Blaise (1966) but his set design for Boom! would be one of his greatest creations. In a style that’s reminiscent of the magnificent modern structures designed by Le Corbusier, Richard MacDonald gave Sissy Goforth’s isolated summer home curving white walls, round windows and stark interiors framing numerous paintings and objects of art that often conveyed death. The structure is meant to symbolically represent the transitional state that Sissy Goforth has found herself in and it’s surrounded by giant rock sculptures that are similar to the ones found on Easter Island. Losey and the brilliant cinematographer Douglas Slocombe shot the film in spectacular Panavison, which captured every lush detail of the expansive set and gave the film an other-worldly look.

Joseph Losey is one of my favorite filmmakers and in Boom! he resurrects many of the elements that made his previous films so interesting while exploring some of his favorite themes involving alienation and the artificial superiority caused by class distinctions. Losey is truly a master of framing and composition, and in Boom! these skills are used to great effect in order to show the isolation faced by all the characters in such an expansive, yet claustrophobic space. Characters are seen peering through round windows and shot in distorted mirrors, which can represent a reflective moment or the distorted view that individuals often have of themselves and the world around them. Losey also uses sound very creatively in Boom! by having Sissy Goforth dictate her memoirs through the villa’s elaborate intercom system so they’re heard by her entire staff. She also occasionally controls the music heard in the film by turning the sound system on or off depending on her mood. When the camera zooms in on the sun or an electric light you can often hear a strange shimmering sound in the bacground. And the repetitive noise caused by the sea crashing against the rocks is obviously an important metaphor for the natural ebb and flow of life on the island, which is a small microcosm of the transitory world we all live in. John Barry is responsible for the film’s impressive soundtrack and it’s one of the British composer’s most experimental scores but he worked closely with Losey on the film and the director made many suggestions that were incorporated into the soundtrack.

Unfortunately, Losey’s focus on shooting the fabulous manufactured interiors designed for Boom! and perfectly framing all the drama and action made him very neglectful of his actors. Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Johanna Shimkus and Michael Dunn are all talented thespians and Taylor and Burton are able to deliver truly great performances but in Boom! they often seem lost and in need of direction. At least Noel Coward is very funny in his role and he may have been the only person on the set who completely understood the humor in William’s original script. It’s been assumed and confirmed by Losey himself, that the cast and crew were occasionally drunk from too much sea, sun, celebrity and booze during the filming of Boom! and it’s a shame that the director wasn’t able to gain more control over his cast but I’m sure Taylor and Burton were not very easy to manage at the time. On the other hand, Johanna Shimkus and Michael Dunn don’t fare any better so I’m inclined to blame the lackluster performances from all of the actors in the film on Losey’s direction. It’s unfortunate that the dark humor found in Tennessee Williams’ original play seems as if it’s occasionally suffocating under all the artistry of Losey’s elaborate production but at its best Boom! should make you laugh as well as think.

Elizabeth Taylor is the undeniable star of Boom! and the film spends most of its 110 minute running time focused on her. Since she looks fabulous in the film it’s easy to understand why. Taylor gives a completely over-the-top and scene-chewing performance in Boom! that must be seen to be believed but it’s also a rather daring role for an actress who was much younger then the character in Tennessee Williams’ original play. In one of the movies most unforgettable moments Taylor has a five minute long coughing attack and you can’t help but assume that she might actually be choking to death on the set or attempting to cough up an unwanted lung.

The role of Flora ‘Sissy’ Goforth struck a little too close to home for Elizabeth Taylor and she saw a lot of herself in the character. In the script Taylor is forced to talk on and on about Sissy Goforth’s numerous dead husbands, who were abusive and suffered from impotence (two things Taylor had experienced herself) as well as her “one true love” who had been an adventurous mountain climber that fell to his death. As much as Elizabeth Taylor deeply loved Richard Burton, she was also still troubled by the unexpected death of her previous husband Mike Todd. Mike Todd had been killed in a terrible plane crash years earlier but his death still bothered the actress. Many of Taylor’s monologues in the film were supposed to be humorous but when the director tried to get Taylor to lighten up and have more fun with her role, she would often become withdrawn or overact. Richard Burton told Joseph Losey later that Elizabeth had been haunted on the set of Boom! by the specter of Mike Todd, which could possibly explain the uncomfortable distance between Burton and Taylor that seems somewhat apparent in the film at times.

Richard Burton’s part was a lot less demanding and in some ways it resembled the role that Taylor previously had in his film version of Doctor Faustus. His character was actually a much younger man in the original play and Burton expressed concern about taking the role but he managed to make the most out of his part and the actor actually gives a very measured performance in the film. Burton’s Angel of Death doesn’t speak often but when he does his words are carefully chosen, even when he is arguing with Taylor’s character Sissy Goforth. One of Burton’s greatest gifts was his voice and it’s smartly used in the film as a tool to seduce Taylor’s character with. As mentioned above, Burton’s Angel of Death also repeats the phrase “Boom!” over and over, and in the end it is his booming voice that guides Sissy Goforth towards her death and into the great unknown.

Besides providing some unforgettable eye-candy, the costumes in Boom! add an important element to the film. Since the structure of the script and the original play resemble a modern take on traditional Japanese kabuki plays, Richard Burton’s Angel of Death is dressed in a black kimono throughout the film but instead of carrying a scythe, he carries a Japanese samurai sword. Elizabeth Taylor insisted that her own character be dressed in white and black flowing costumes throughout most of film, which were supposed to represent death shrouds. Taylor is also seen wearing an elaborate kabuki inspired costume during her memorable dinner scene with Noel Coward and she even pretends to act out a bit of kabuki theater after she’s had a few too many cocktails.

Even though Boom! has suffered from negative criticism since its original release, the film does have its defenders. Richard Burton believed that Elizabeth Taylor delivered one of her greatest performances in Boom! and Tennessee Williams thought that Boom! was “an artistic success” and he hoped that eventually it would “be received with acclaim.” The critic Andrew Sarris criticized what he thought were the film’s “metaphysical posturing and pretenses,” and the “tendency for nothing much to happen for the longest stretches” but he also complemented Joseph Losey’s skilled use of mise en scène and his ability to create “glamorous fantasy.” Boom! is also director John Waters’ favorite film and he has even championed it at universities. Waters’ considers Boom! to be the ultimate “failed art” film from the sixties. But even with its failings I think there is a lot to enjoy in Boom!

If you’re not interested in contemplating the larger ideas that Joseph Losey and his cast and crew were trying to communicate with Boom!, you can still enjoy the film purely for Elizabeth Taylor’s show-stopping performance, John Barry’s experimental score, Richard MacDonald’s stunning set designs and Taylor’s jaw-dropping wardrobe. Many people consider Boom! to be a “camp classic” and if the original humor of Williams’ script is lost on you, you might still discover plenty of laughs in Losey’s film.

Boom! is currently only available in widescreen on a PAL Region 2 DVD from the Dutch company De Filmfreak Distributie and it currently sells at Amazon for $28.99. You can also still find copies of the original Universal Studios video of Boom! selling at Amazon for ridiculous prices. Hopefully a Region 1 DVD of Boom! will be released in the future. If you’d like to see a clip from Boom! you can view one at the official De Filmfreak Distributie site linked below:

- Clip from Boom!

It’s taking me much longer than expected to write about some of my favorite Elizabeth Taylor films due to real world responsibilities and lack of free time, so my small Tribute to Taylor will be ongoing for at least another week. There are still three Taylor films I’d like to cover here. In the meantime, I’ve just learned that Elizabeth Taylor is currently in the hospital and not doing very well. Hopefully she’ll recover quickly since she seems to have an extremely strong constitution that has saved her from numerous brushes with death in the past.

In 1967 Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton were at the height of their shared fame following the success of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) and The Taming of the Shrew (1967). Both films were well received by critics and audiences loved seeing the two actors on screen together in fictional marriages that many assumed resembled their real-life marriage. There’s no doubt that the two actors brought some of their real-world experience to their roles but it became increasingly hard for the public to separate fact from fiction. Elizabeth Taylor had also become a target for critics and gossip columnists who insisted on labeling her a wanton woman and wicked home-wrecker, who had destroyed Richard Burton’s previous marriage and was damning the critically acclaimed stage actor to a decadent Hollywood life spent making movies and drinking too much.

Of course this was only half the story but unfortunately many people still think of Elizabeth Taylor as the woman who brought about Richard Burton’s downfall. And it’s not uncommon for critics to blame her for the couple’s many problems. The truth is that Richard Burton was a notorious drinker and womanizer long before he ever met Elizabeth Taylor on the set of Cleopatra (1963) and even if he hadn’t fallen in love with her, there’s a high probability that his previous marriage wouldn’t have lasted much longer. Burton had also been making films long before he met Taylor and the talented actor had expressed his desire to move away from stage acting and focus more on film acting. His high profile relationship with an award-winning star like Elizabeth Taylor gave Burton the opportunity to appear in better films and be more selective about the roles he took. Far from being the wretched shrew that so many critics and gossip columnists saw her as, Taylor was actually supportive of Burton’s stage work and used her Hollywood clout to help Burton gain more creative control over his acting career. Burton also encouraged Taylor’s stage acting because he thought she had the makings of a great actress who was capable of handling the classic plays that Burton had appeared in and had a deep affection for.

One of Richard Burton’s favorite classic plays was Christopher Marlowe’s The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, which tells the cautionary tale of a magician who sells his soul to the devil for more knowledge and power. For years Burton had longed to play Doctor Faustus and in 1966 he got the opportunity to in a Nevill Coghill directed production of the play that took place at the Oxford Playhouse in England. It also featured Elizabeth Taylor in the role of Helen of Troy. Taylor had previously appeared on stage in 1964 with Burton during a poetry reading where both actor’s read the work of various poets such as Robert Frost and Elizabeth Barrett Browning but Taylor’s non-speaking role as Helen of Troy in The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus would mark the first time that the actress would actually be acting on stage in front of a live audience.

Elizabeth Taylor & Richard Burton in the Oxford stage production of
The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus(1966)

Taylor was one of the highest paid actresses in Hollywood at the time and she averaged one million dollars a picture. Burton was making about $500,000 per film himself but both actors didn’t take any money for starring in the Oxford University stage production of The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus. Instead, the couple gave up their high salaries and all the money earned from ticket sales went to Oxford University for a studio-theatre extension, now known as the Burton-Taylor Rooms.

After the success of the Oxford production which played to a crammed full-house every night, Burton expressed interest in starring in a film version of Marlowe’s play and together with Taylor, the couple decided to finance a movie based on The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus called Doctor Faustus (1967). Burton would make his directorial debut with Doctor Faustus in association with Nevill Coghill, who had directed Burton and Taylor on the Oxford stage and Burton and Taylor would once again play the roles of Faustus and Helen. Co-director Nevill Coghill also wrote the film’s script.

Doctor Faustus (1967) was shot in three months in Rome and besides Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton; the entire cast consisted of undergraduates from the Oxford University Dramatic Society. The couple employed many of the talented people who they had met and worked with on the set of Cleopatra and The Taming of the Shrew to make Doctor Faustus, such as producer Richard McWhorter, art director Boris Juraga, set director Dario Simoni, set designer Italo Tomassi, special effects artist Augie Lohman and stylists such as Alexandre de Paris who had helped create Taylor’s dramatic look for Cleopatra. Together with the skilled international crew that included cinematographer Gábor Pogány, this group of creative people helped give Doctor Faustus an impressive look and stunning visual style even though most of the film was seemingly shot on rather small sets. Horror fans who enjoy Roger Corman’s Poe films, Hammer studio productions and Mario Bava’s Italian thrillers might be surprised by how much Burton’s Doctor Faustus seems to resemble horror films from the same period.

Although the script differs from the original play it still manages to follow Christopher Marlowe’s story somewhat faithfully. Nevill Coghill also smartly worked passages from some of Marlowe’s other plays such as The Jew of Malta and Tamburlaine into his script, which spices up the proceedings and gives the film a little more creative depth in my opinion.

Elizabeth Taylor’s performance as Helen of Troy is wordless but she still manages to make a big impact on screen. Burton’s love and affection for his wife comes through in every scene she appears in. Taylor floats through the film like a beautiful siren luring Faustus to his final doom. Through countless costume and makeup changes that would make Cleopatra envious, Taylor manages to give her silent role a quiet resonance that allows Burton’s Faustus to truly shine and take center stage. Elizabeth Taylor has expressed many times how in awe she was of Burton’s acting talents and she’s still deeply hurt that Hollywood never fully embraced or rewarded Burton during his lifetime. While watching Doctor Faustus again I was impressed with the way Taylor acted as a sort of lovely ornament in the film that was clearly made in an effort to let her much admired husband showcase his impressive acting abilities and creative skills as a co-director and producer.

Critics have naturally referred to Doctor Faustus as a “vanity project” for both Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. And there’s no getting around the fact that Burton’s dream of bringing Marlowe’s play to the screen was motivated by his personal desires and hopes, which Taylor completely supported. But I also think that a lot of care and thought went into the production and it’s clear that Burton had a sincere appreciation of Christopher Marlowe’s work, which should be obvious to anyone who’s seen the film. Burton clearly enjoyed playing Faustus and his magnificent booming voice gives a lot of weight to Marlowe’s classic play. As a matter of fact, in the book Constructing Christopher Marlowe author, performance critic and Professor Lois Potter mentions that the stage and film adaptation’s of The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus starring Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor did more for Marlowe’s fame than any other event during the last century.

Unfortunately film critics (who undoubtedly had very little experience with Marlowe’s original work) were not kind to the film. As a matter of fact, they were rather brutal in their harsh dismissal of Doctor Faustus. New York Times critic Renata Adler said of the film in 1968 after it debuted in America that it, “is of an awfulness that bends the mind” and, “one has the feeling that “Faustus” was shot mainly as a home movie for them (Burton and Taylor) to enjoy at home.” In the New Yorker Pauline Kael said that, “By the time Richard Burton was in a position to star in a movie of Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus, further dealing with the Devil probably had become anticlimactic” and claimed that it was, “the dullest episode in the Burton and Taylor great-lovers-of-history series that started with Cleopatra” while adding, “Burton gives a dead, muffled reading.” And last but not least, Judith Crist said, “It turns out to be the story of a man who sold his soul for Elizabeth Taylor.”

It’s easy to dismiss some of the negative criticism of the film as pure opinion without much substance, but it’s impossible to overlook some of the more pointed personal attacks that were aimed directly at Elizabeth Taylor. Both Kael and Crist were clearly comparing Taylor to the Devil and their cruelty is completely tasteless, catty and unprofessional, as well as utterly weightless when one considers the facts. Instead of making Doctor Faustus with Burton, Taylor could have spent her time earning a million dollar paycheck in Hollywood. Taylor clearly supported her husband’s creative desire to make the film and she lent her ample financial clout to the production. Unfortunately the criticism that would follow the rest of the film’s Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton made together would often take a similar direction.

Doctor Faustus is not a perfect film and I personally find it a bit too stagy at times for my own liking and occasionally slow-moving, which can be blamed on Marlowe’s original play as well as the script. But there’s also a lot to enjoy in the film and it’s a shame that the critical reception was so negative on its release. The special effects are very imaginative for the time and the film even employees stylish touches such as a split-screen to convey Faustus’ thoughts and highlight simultaneous actions by various characters. I would have liked to have seen Richard Burton go on to direct other films or at the very least co-direct. Doctor Faustus proves that he had some other talents besides acting and I think he could have successfully adapted other classic Elizabethan plays for film if he had been given the opportunity. I feel confident in saying that the negative criticism and lack of respect from Hollywood, which resulted in Burton never receiving an Oscar even though he was nominated seven times, deeply troubled him and did more harm to Richard Burton’s personal life and career than Elizabeth Taylor ever did.

The personal attacks on Elizabeth Taylor found in the criticisms of Doctor Faustus continue to haunt the film, even though the 2004 DVD release of the movie seemed to generate mostly positive reviews. In the following clip I came across on Youtube you can witness Elizabeth Taylor take on a group of journalists as they question Richard Burton about his career choices in relation to Doctor Faustus. Taylor had grown-up in the public eye and she had clearly grown weary of thoughtless attacking critics. Burton on the other hand is rather new to this kind of extreme critical attention and he remains calm and collected in the clip. He also seems to get a mild kick out of seeing his wife lash back at the reporters. To add insult to injury, the clip ends with blood-sucking gossip columnist Liz Smith rephrasing the personal attacks made above by critics like Kael and Crist when it’s merely hearsay, rumor and pure opinion based on very few actual facts.

Also worth a look is this brief hard-to-see clip shot in 1966 featuring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton leaving the Oxford Playhouse after the first stage production of Doctor Faustus while they’re being questioned by journalists about their performances.

If you enjoy classic Elizabethan drama or classic gothic horror from the sixties, I recommend giving the 1967 film version of Doctor Faustus a look. The film should also hold a lot of interest for fans of Cleopatra and The Taming of the Shrew since both films could be considered siblings to Doctor Faustus due to the fact that so many crew members worked with Taylor and Burton on all three productions.

If you would like to see more images from the film please see my Doctor Faustus Flickr Gallery.

She’s been married eight times to seven different men. She was condemned by the Vatican for her “erotic vagrancy.” She’s received two Academy Awards, four Golden Globes and one Razzie. She saved Montgomery Clift’s life in 1956. She’s given countless millions to charity. Andy Warhol turned her likeness into art and Mattel turned her likeness into a doll. Elizabeth Taylor is a true “Movie Star” and today the legendary actress is celebrating her 76th birthday.

Throughout the following week I’m going to be writing about a few of my favorite Elizabeth Taylor films made during the late sixties and early seventies. Taylor is undoubtedly one of cinema’s great beauties and her early work is often praised by critics who claim that Elizabeth Taylor’s acting talents peaked in 1966 when she made the award winning film Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? with her husband Richard Burton and director Mike Nichols. Contrary to popular critical opinion, I think some of Taylor’s most interesting roles can be found in the films she made between 1967-1975. During this period Elizabeth Taylor really matured as an actress and with Burton by her side, she was willing to take on risky roles in unusual films that were often financial failures and typically misunderstood and attacked by critics.

In the next week I hope to shine a little light on some of the lesser-known movies that Elizabeth Taylor made during this later period in her career when she seemed to use her age, experience, faults, quirks, addictions, inner turmoil and the passionate relationship she shared with fellow actor Richard Burton to inject her roles with an edgy over-the-top candor that I personally find fascinating to watch on screen.

Related Links:
- Elizabeth Taylor at IMDb
- Elizabeth Taylor at TCM
- Elizabeth Taylor at Wikipedia
- Elizabeth Taylor at Divas

Selecting my Favorite DVD Releases of 2006 was no easy task. As a matter of fact, I found it pretty impossible since there were so many great films released last year that I could easily compile a list of 50 impressive titles. Instead of limiting myself to 25 Favorite DVD Releases I’ve decided to share 30 Favorite DVD Releases of 2006 instead, but I’ll post my list in 3 parts over the next week.

The one thing all these films have in common is that they’re all official NTSC Region 1 DVDs and they were all originally released between 1960 and 1979.

Keep in mind that I don’t consider my list to feature what many might consider “the Best DVDs of 2006.” Instead, this list just contains 30 of my personal favorite DVD releases from last year and the numerical order means absolutely nothing except that I got the reviews written in the order that they appear.

30 FAVORITE DVD RELEASES OF 2006!

Ganja & Hess
1. Ganja & Hess: The Complete Edition (Image)
When I stuck Ganja & Hess (1973) into my DVD player last year I didn’t know what to expect. I had never seen the film before and only read brief reviews where the movie was simply called “an odd blaxploitation horror flick.” Well, imagine my surprise when I discovered that it didn’t resemble any horror film I had ever seen with the exception of George Romero’s Martin (1977) which was made some 4 years after Ganja & Hess. Ganja & Hess manages to mix African mythology and modern vampirism into a fascinating and original story. The performances by Duane Jones and Marlene Clark are both really terrific in the movie and Bill Gunn’s impressive directing is especially noteworthy. Also worth a mention is the wonderful soundtrack by Sam Waymon which adds lots of depth to the film. Ganja & Hess is simply one of the most thoughtful and interesting horror films I’ve seen in years and this beautifully presented DVD from Image Entertainment was a real treat. The DVD also comes with some terrific extras including The Blood of the Thing featurette as well as a copy of the original screenplay by Bill Gunn and a great article by Tim Lucas & David Walker which sheds a lot of light on this excellent film.

The Red Queen Kills 7 Times
2. Emilio Miraglia Killer Queen Box Set (NoShame)
This great double DVD set contains The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave (La Notte che Evelyn uscì dalla tomba, 1971) and The Red Queen Kills 7 Times (La Dama rossa uccide sette volte, 1972) which are both directed by Emilio Miraglia. These stylish gothic giallo films are a terrific treat for the eyes and ears! I had never seen The Red Queen Kills 7 Times before, but The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave is probably familiar to a lot of Eurohorror fans like myself since it was easily available in various edited forms on VHS as well as DVD, but the quality was always lackluster. In contrast, both DVDs in this set are presented in widescreen for the first time and contain loads of wonderful extras including interviews with the cast and crew of both films, a nice 20-page booklet and postcards featuring lobby card art. The Box Set even comes with a fun Red Queen Figure that you can display. The casts of both films are great, but Barbara Bouchet is espically memorable as Kitty in The Red Queen Kills 7 Times and the talented Italian composer Bruno Nicolai created the terrific soundtracks for both films. Overall this is a really nice homage to an under-appreciated filmmaker who passed away much to early. NoShame’s great DVD Box Set left me wishing Miraglia had lived longer and made more films.

Reflections In A Golden Eye
3. The Marlon Brando Collection (Warner Home Video)
This terrific DVD Box Set from Warner contains five of Brando’s films which have never been available on DVD before. I think The Teahouse of the August Moon (1956) is the weakest film in the lot and it’s a bit embarrassing to watch Brando pretend to be Japanese so I can’t recommend it and The Formula (1980) is a somewhat forgettable film with an interesting plot costarring George C. Scott, who gets much more screen time than Brando. Thankfully the other three films in this set more then make up for the previous two mentioned. In the Joseph L. Mankiewicz film Julius Caesar (1953) Brando gives an impressive and Oscar nominated performance as Marc Antony, but my two favorite films in this set happen to have both been made in the 1960s so that’s why this collection made my list. In Mutiny on the Bounty (1962) Brando gives a noteworthy and underrated performance as the troubled Fletcher Christian and the two disc DVD presentation of Mutiny on the Bounty is really impressive. It comes with no less then 5 special featurettes, as well as a Brando trailer gallery and alternative footage that was not seen during the films theatrical release. Last but not least is John Huston’s remarkable and under-appreciated film Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967) which has long been one of my favorite Brando films (as well as one of my favorite John Huston films!) and it’s presented in its’ original “golden color treatment” for the first time since it’s theatrical release. Huston’s addition of a golden hue to the film gives it a more surreal quality which I think adds another dimension to the movie. Brando is terrific as the sexually confused Major Weldon Penderton and Elizabeth Taylor is totally over-the-top as his frustrated wife. Together they’re lots of fun to watch, but their relationship in the movie is also abusive and disturbing. Julie Harris is really memorable in the film and gives one of the best performances of her career as the deeply troubled wife of Brain Keith. Reflections in a Golden Eye also comes with some fascinating behind-the-scenes footage which John Huston fans shouldn’t miss. Even though only three of the five movies presented in this collection are truly noteworthy, this is still a great treat for Brando fans as well as John Huston fans like myself since the Warner release of Reflection in a Golden Eye is only available in this collection.

Female Prisoner #701 Scorpion: Beast Stable
4. Female Prisoner #701 Scorpion: Beast Stable (Tokyo Shock / Media Blasters)
Having loved the previous two Female Prisoner Scorpion movies, I was really looking forward to the release of this film on DVD which is the third of the series and I was not disappointed. Female Prisoner #701 Scorpion: Beast Stable (Joshuu Sasori: Kemono-beya, 1973) quickly became my favorite movie in the Female Prisoner Scorpion series because of all the complex issues it dares to deal with including incest, abortion and prostitution. The movie is also beautifully shot by talented director Shunya Ito and features one of the greatest openings of any movie I’ve ever seen. Star Meiko Kaji gives another sensational and intense performance as tough girl Sasori, but this time she’s out of jail and battling cops as well as pimps. Yayoi Watanabe is also very memorable in her role as the tormented Yuki. The DVD comes with few extras, but the movie looks terrific and it’s great to see Media Blasters releasing so many previously hard-to-find Japanese films.

Beyond the Valley of the Dolls
5. Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (20th Century Fox)
I wrote about the DVD release of Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970) last year so I won’t bother going over it again, but this DVD was a real treat for Russ Meyer fans like myself and it came with lots of terrific bonus material.

I Love You, Alice B. Toklas
6. I Love You, Alice B. Toklas! (Warner Home Video)
Peter Sellers made a lot of great comedies in the 60s and I happen to think that I Love You, Alice B. Toklas! (1968) is one of his best. Thankfully for Sellers fans like myself, Warner decided to release this movie on DVD last year for the first time and the widescreen print looks fabulous. Modern critics love to slap criticism on comedies like this using words like “dated”, “politically incorrect”, “sappy”, etc. which really just show how limited their ability to see anything made before 1980 is. I Love You, Alice B. Toklas! naturally shows some age and may look a bit worn out around the edges, but if you watch the film while keeping in mind it was a satirical comedy made in 1968 and written by the same guys (Paul Mazursky & Larry Tucker) who created and wrote for The Monkees TV show, you might lighten up a bit and actually enjoy a few laughs while watching this fun film. Sellers puts on a passable American accent and plays an uptight lawyer who’s pressured into marriage by his conventional girlfriend of many years. When he suddenly falls for another free spirited girl called Nancy (Leigh Taylor-Young) he decides to leave his previous life behind and plunge head first into the “counter culture” of 1968. In turn he finds himself in all sorts of silly situations, but there’s also a dark edge to some of the comedy at times which I appreciate. The DVD doesn’t come with any extras except the original theatrical trailer, but it’s great to see these kinds of comedies, which are so often ignored by critics, finding their way onto DVD and presented in widescreen. Warner should be commended for digging deep into their vaults last year and releasing so many great old films on DVD. A lot of terrific Warner DVDs found their way onto my list of favorite 2006 releases.

Don’t Deliver Us From Evil
7. Don’t Deliver Us From Evil (Mondo Macabro)
Long before Peter Jackson dazzled audiences with his impressive film Heavenly Creatures (1994) that dealt directly with the infamous Parker-Hulme murder, French director Joel Seria was exploring the same topic in his debut feature Don’t Deliver Us From Evil (Mais ne nous délivrez pas du mal, 1971) which is one of the most fascinating films I saw last year. Don’t Deliver Us From Evil was banned in France on it’s initial release and it’s easy to see why the film disturbed so many viewers in 1971. Don’t Deliver Us From Evil is not easy viewing and I really commend Mondo Macabro for continuing to release previously little known and under-appreciated as well as controversial movies like this one. In some ways Don’t Deliver Us From Evil reminded me a little of Lopez Moctezuma’s Alucarda (1975) since both films deal with two sexually naive young girls dabbling in satanism who come to similar ends, but Don’t Deliver Us From Evil takes a much more transgressive approach to the subject matter. Director Joel Seria conjures up some impressive imagery in this film and the young French actress Jeanne Goupil is absolutely captivating in her role as the complicated Anne. The DVD looks terrific and also comes with some great bonus material including interviews with the director and the films star.

Jigoku
8. Jigoku (Criterion)
Jigoku (1960) is a unusual Japanese horror film that explores the definition of hell as it’s envisioned in the Buddhist scriptures and this is the first time this classic film has been released on DVD in the US. Influential director Nobuo Nakagawa does a fantastic job of evoking the tortures of his imagined hell with creative set designs and great use of color. The entire cast is memorable, but Yoichi Numata really stands out as the “evil” Tamura and Shigeru Amachi is great as the tortured Shiro. The talented Japanese composer Michiaki Watanabe created a really memorable score for the film as well. This Criterion release features some great bonus material including a new documentary called Building the Inferno and the picture quality of the DVD is fantastic. Jigoku starts off rather slowly, but it builds to a spectacular conclusion filled with amazing imagery that will stick with viewers long after the movie has ended.

The Magus
9. The Magus (20th Century Fox)
Lots of negative criticism has been heaped on The Magus (1968) but when I watched this film for the first time last month I found it really entertaining and engaging. Michael Caine plays a roguish English teacher who avoids a developing romance with the lovely Anna Karina by taking a teaching post in Greece. He is soon drawn into a strange game involving magic and greek mythology with a mysterious Greek island inhabitant played by Anthony Quinn who uses Candice Bergen as bait. Michael Caine looked terrific in 1968 and I enjoyed watching him roam around Greece. The film is filled with some really striking imagery and I thought the love scenes between Caine & Karina had plenty of sparks. In contrast Candice seemed a bit uncomfortable in her role, but you can forgive her since she looks great and seems to be having fun as does Quinn. The Magus also contains a nice soundtrack by the great British composer John Dankworth. The film is based on John Fowles’ book of the same name and he also wrote the screenplay. The DVD comes with an interesting featurette about John Fowles as well as a theatrical trailer and I thought the widescreen print looked great.

Death Walks on High Heels
10. The Luciano Ercoli’s Death Box Set (NoShame)
This is another great Box Set released by NoShame last year that really impressed me and contains Death Walks on High Heels (La Morte cammina con i tacchi alti, 1971) and Death Walks at Midnight (La Morte accarezza a mezzanotte, 1972). NoShame has released some terrific and hard-to-find films in recent years and last year they really went the extra mile for giallo fans like myself by releasing this great DVD set as well as the Emilio Miraglia Killer Queen Box Set. Both films in the The Luciano Ercoli’s Death Box Set offer unusual takes on the giallo formula and star the talented and beautiful Nieves Navarro who was married to director Luciano Ercoli and made three films with him. Ercoli had a great eye for detail and his entertaining movies show a lot of imagination and creativity. The Box Set comes with plenty of great bonus materials such as a very nice collectible booklet and a terrific CD featuring the music of the talented composer Stelvio Cipriani who has scored many giallo thrillers, including Death Walks on High Heels. I really hope that NoShame will offer more great Box Sets like this in the future.

20 More DVD reviews to come soon!