They met on the set of the epic screen adaptation of "Cleopatra," and what followed was a case of life imitating art. The tempestuous relationship of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton followed closely that of the Queen of the Nile and her frisky Roman general.
A conceit of the film is that Taylor and Burton are reflecting on their own lives, describing them as if they were talking about one of the forty films they acted in together. Their analytical observations point to the combustible nature of the relationship and how, after multiple separations, they always returned to each other's arms.
As a star, Taylor always seemed to outshine the tippling Welshman. Even in this low-budget made-for-television film, the actress Lindsay Lohan steals the scenes from Grant Bowler, who makes a valiant stab at recreating one the stentorian voice of Burton. While Taylor won multiple Oscars, Burton was shut out, leading him deeper and deeper into the booze. Yet they were still one of the iconic film couples in the history of the cinema.
The film offers a good capsule of the stormy relationship, as well as the major Taylor-Burton film collaborations. One of the best scenes is that of Burton performing his famous Hamlet on Broadway and inviting Taylor to come up out of the audience to join him in a curtain call. The devoted brother of Burton, Ifor Jenkins, was admirably portrayed in the film, until his fateful fall down a set of stairs that left him crippled and resulted in a premature death.
The film sought to show how Taylor and Burton were constantly seeking to be "alone" and out of the limelight, which was something they could never avoid. The tragedy of Burton's descent into alcoholism was never completely conveyed in a film that is summed up best in the words of Taylor: "I love the man...end of story."
End of Story.
A conceit of the film is that Taylor and Burton are reflecting on their own lives, describing them as if they were talking about one of the forty films they acted in together. Their analytical observations point to the combustible nature of the relationship and how, after multiple separations, they always returned to each other's arms.
As a star, Taylor always seemed to outshine the tippling Welshman. Even in this low-budget made-for-television film, the actress Lindsay Lohan steals the scenes from Grant Bowler, who makes a valiant stab at recreating one the stentorian voice of Burton. While Taylor won multiple Oscars, Burton was shut out, leading him deeper and deeper into the booze. Yet they were still one of the iconic film couples in the history of the cinema.
The film offers a good capsule of the stormy relationship, as well as the major Taylor-Burton film collaborations. One of the best scenes is that of Burton performing his famous Hamlet on Broadway and inviting Taylor to come up out of the audience to join him in a curtain call. The devoted brother of Burton, Ifor Jenkins, was admirably portrayed in the film, until his fateful fall down a set of stairs that left him crippled and resulted in a premature death.
The film sought to show how Taylor and Burton were constantly seeking to be "alone" and out of the limelight, which was something they could never avoid. The tragedy of Burton's descent into alcoholism was never completely conveyed in a film that is summed up best in the words of Taylor: "I love the man...end of story."
End of Story.