Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf
Some plays don't translate well to film, but this absolutely does. Both Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor are spectacular. George Segal and Sandy Dennis also do a commendable job sharing the screen which such powerhouses. This is Mike Nichols directorial debut, and I think best film. You can see a lot of the camera shots and mis en scene that would later be used to great effect in The Graduate. One can't help but wonder if Taylor and Burton's tumultuous marriage in real life was the source of their acting inspiration. Labels: Elizabeth Taylor, five stars, mike nichols, Richard Burton, Who's Afraid of Virgina Woolf
Really great dancing, not a great plot. Fred Astaire is a bit smug, and I suspect, just acting like himself. Ginger Rogers is divine, both coy and alluring in that wonderful old Hollywood way. I do wish there were more dancing routines with her it, solo or with Astaire. 
The more I watch Katherine Hepburn the more I can't help but love her, even given the idiotic role she plays here. Again, as in her other Cary Grant pairing on the AFI list Philadelphia Story, she plays a rich, spoiled heiress, but in this film she is more naive than entitled, and bratty. It was fun to see Grant in a more goofy role as the nerdy hapless Dr. David Huxley as opposed to his usual suave roles. This movie depends on a bit of slapstick, but the pace moves along at a decent clip, though the plot is brainless.
As an example of another New Hollywood Western, I did enjoy this, and almost gave it five stars, but it wasn't as tight a story or as lyrical as Bonnie & Clyde or The Searchers. For me, the timing of watching this as particularly apt, given I'm about to go to the Sundance Film Festival (named by Robert Redford for his character in the film). Steve McQueen was droll and fun to watch, but I didn't warm to Robert Redford's character.