IMDb RATING
6.4/10
2.6K
YOUR RATING
Legendary acting duo and married couple Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor prepare for a 1983 theatrical production of the play "Private Lives."Legendary acting duo and married couple Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor prepare for a 1983 theatrical production of the play "Private Lives."Legendary acting duo and married couple Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor prepare for a 1983 theatrical production of the play "Private Lives."
- Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy
- 2 wins & 17 nominations total
Jessica Jones
- ASM
- (as Jess Doherty)
Martin T. Sherman
- Reporter
- (as Martin T Sherman)
Hannah Blamires
- Reporter
- (uncredited)
Chris Cowlin
- Reporter
- (uncredited)
Sophie Karl
- Journalist
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaRobert Hardy, a veteran character actor and an old friend of Burton, described West's performance as "hopeless," saying he "wasn't tough enough, he wasn't dangerous enough, he wasn't Welsh enough." However, he appreciated Bonham-Carter's performance, saying she was "brilliant, absolutely brilliant" because she "got the spirit of her and sounded like her."
- GoofsThe movie is set in 1983 when "Private Lives" ran for 63 performance on Broadway. Yet an establishing shot early in the film shows New York's Times Square with billboards for "The Who's Tommy" and the revival of "Guys and Dolls." These shows were playing on Broadway from 1993 to 1995, 10 to 12 years after the film's setting.
- Quotes
Elizabeth Taylor: Where did my Antony go? Remember? The man who would've risked everything for me - who did! He tossed it all against the rocks so he could be with me. Where did he go, Richard? Tell me where my FUCKING Antony went!
- Crazy creditsEpilogue: "Shortly after Private Lives completed its run, Elizabeth Taylor publicly and defiantly entered the Betty Ford clinic. It was the first time a celebrity had been open about going into rehab. Richard returned to Switzerland and enjoyed one of the most contented periods of his life, married to Sally Burton. Nine months later, he died suddenly of a cerebral haemorrhage. He never played King Lear. Richard and Elizabeth spoke on the phone every few days in the months leading up to his death."
- ConnectionsFeatured in 20th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2014)
- SoundtracksLove to Love You Baby
Written by Pete Bellotte, Giorgio Moroder, and Donna Summer
Performed by Donna Summer
Courtesy of The Island Def Jam Music Group
Under license from Universal Music Enteprises
Featured review
They couldn't be together but they couldn't be apart
The DVD of this BBC film for television is yet to be released in the US so the first introduction to what is actually a very fine film was presented to the American audience in piece meal fashion on the BBC network: 7 minutes of story then 4 minutes of commercials then 7 more minutes of story, etc - for 2 hours. It grows wearisome to see two character studies so well sculpted cut up into a puzzle by commercialism's greed. The uninterrupted DVD should correct that flaw and will likely be a stunning experience. Richard Laxton directs a screenplay by William Ivory (no, not THAT Ivory family...), but the kudos for the success of this film go to Helena Bonham Carter and Dominic West who manage to reincarnate Li and Dick with consummate skill.
Elizabeth Taylor (Helena Bonham Carter) invites her ex-husband - twice married, twice divorced in one of the last century's most tempestuous and media focused couplings - Richard Burton (Dominic West) to her fiftieth birthday party where, as a recovering alcoholic, he refuses to get drunk with her. She obviously still retains her obsession and passion for him and suggests that they star in a stage revival of Noël Coward's play Private Lives that Liz is to produce. The agreement and announcement causes gossip with the press who speculate a possible romantic reconciliation. With a new girlfriend and the prospect of playing King Lear, Burton is not happy with the project, especially with Taylor's pill-popping and her lack of stage experience, which causes problems at rehearsals: Taylor has not even read the play before day 1 of the rehearsals. The play opens to a critical trashing but is extremely popular with audiences because they want to see Liz Taylor and, when she is ill, numbers dwindle and the show is put on hold. After a two-month run, with a projected tour, the curtain comes down and Taylor tells Burton she has always loved him and still does. Richard and Elizabeth go their separate ways, but they did sort out their differences and remain friends, and apparently they only communicated by telephone and letter, until his death in 1984. Taylor died in 2011.
The supporting cast, especially Lenora Crichlow as Liz' dresser Chen Sam and Stanley Townsend as the play's director Milton Katselas, is strong for the small amount of time they are on screen. The spectacle is the obsessive relationship between two very strong characters and fortunately both actors give excellent impersonations and recreations. We are allowed to see and understand their differences and frustrations.
Grady Harp
Elizabeth Taylor (Helena Bonham Carter) invites her ex-husband - twice married, twice divorced in one of the last century's most tempestuous and media focused couplings - Richard Burton (Dominic West) to her fiftieth birthday party where, as a recovering alcoholic, he refuses to get drunk with her. She obviously still retains her obsession and passion for him and suggests that they star in a stage revival of Noël Coward's play Private Lives that Liz is to produce. The agreement and announcement causes gossip with the press who speculate a possible romantic reconciliation. With a new girlfriend and the prospect of playing King Lear, Burton is not happy with the project, especially with Taylor's pill-popping and her lack of stage experience, which causes problems at rehearsals: Taylor has not even read the play before day 1 of the rehearsals. The play opens to a critical trashing but is extremely popular with audiences because they want to see Liz Taylor and, when she is ill, numbers dwindle and the show is put on hold. After a two-month run, with a projected tour, the curtain comes down and Taylor tells Burton she has always loved him and still does. Richard and Elizabeth go their separate ways, but they did sort out their differences and remain friends, and apparently they only communicated by telephone and letter, until his death in 1984. Taylor died in 2011.
The supporting cast, especially Lenora Crichlow as Liz' dresser Chen Sam and Stanley Townsend as the play's director Milton Katselas, is strong for the small amount of time they are on screen. The spectacle is the obsessive relationship between two very strong characters and fortunately both actors give excellent impersonations and recreations. We are allowed to see and understand their differences and frustrations.
Grady Harp
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Бертон и Тейлор
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 23 minutes
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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