Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (film)
"Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" is a 1966 film adaptation of the acclaimed Broadway play by Edward Albee, which explores the tumultuous and often confrontational relationship between a married couple, George and Martha, played by Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. The film was notable for its candid dialogue and intense emotional exchanges, challenging the conservative standards of the time set by the Motion Picture Production Code. Directed by Mike Nichols, known for his Broadway experience, the film was produced under the high-risk assumption that its quality could counteract potential censorship issues.
Despite attempts by the Production Code Administration to impose significant alterations due to its provocative content, Nichols maintained the integrity of Albee's original text, resulting in a film that pushed the boundaries of cinematic expression. The production attracted considerable attention, both for its star-studded cast and its controversial themes. Following its release, the film prompted a re-evaluation of film classification systems, ultimately leading to the implementation of a more liberal rating system in Hollywood. "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" remains a landmark in American cinema, recognized for its exploration of marital discontent and psychological complexity.
Subject Terms
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (film)
Type of work: Film
Released: 1966
Director: Mike Nichols (1931- )
Subject matter: Two married couples—university professors and their wives—share an evening together, during which they confront their hopes and illusions
Significance: Hollywood film whose frank language and adult themes made a major assault on the standards of the Motion Picture Production Code, leading to the formation of a classification system segmenting audiences by age
In 1963 Jack Warner bought the movie rights to Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, an award-winning Broadway play written by Edward Albee. Not unexpectedly, the Production Code Administration (PCA) found numerous violations of the profanity and obscenity sections of the rigid Motion Picture Production Code in the text of what was considered a ground-breaking play distinguished by the frankness and ferocity of its dialogue. The PCA recommended major alterations. Albee was unwilling to write substitute dialogue; screenwriter Ernest Lehman’s final draft of the screenplay closely resembled Albee’s original text. Warner, after exploring distribution channels outside PCA jurisdiction, decided that Warner Bros. would go forward with a high-visibility, high-cost production, gambling that such stakes would be advantageous for the studio in its inevitable confrontation with the PCA.
Although filmed on a closed set in an atmosphere of considerable secrecy, the production was surrounded by publicity, partly because of the casting of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in the leading roles as a volatile married couple whose verbal clashes drive the dramatic action. The film’s director, Hollywood newcomer Mike Nichols, came to the project with Broadway credentials and no allegiance to the PCA. Nichols did not shoot alternative scenes with diluted dialogue, so when the PCA saw the completed film and found it unacceptable in May, 1966, there was no choice but to proceed with the film virtually intact or abandon it altogether.
Warner Bros. made only two minor deletions of language deemed offensive by the PCA and then appealed the PCA decision to withhold its seal of approval. Studio executives argued that the high quality and $7.5-million cost of the production merited special consideration. When the National Catholic Office for Motion Pictures (formerly the Legion of Decency) awarded the film an A-IV rating (“morally unobjectionable for adults, with reservations”), even more pressure was put on the Motion Picture Association and its new president, Jack Valenti, to find some accommodation.
While waiting for reconsideration, Warner Bros. devised an advertising campaign for the film that mandated an “adults only” audience. Heretofore, movie producers and exhibitors had strongly opposed all classification systems, presuming them to be economically disadvantageous. When the board eventually relented and granted the studio a seal of approval for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, the public announcements treated the decision as an exception, but the handwriting was on the wall: Changes in demographics, audience taste, and the law, in addition to the competition of television, pointed to the economic necessity of a classification system for Hollywood movies. Immediately after the film’s release, the industry adopted a short-lived “revised code,” which was soon replaced, in 1968, by the first industry-sponsored classification system in movie history.