Greetings again from the darkness. Not many people are famous for their entire life. Elizabeth Taylor came about as close as one can. Director Nanette Burstein uses 40 hours of recordings that resulted from journalist Richard Meryman’s 1964 interviews with 32-year-old Ms. Taylor. This was at the height of her fame and popularity.
Liz claims her infamous “violet” eyes are actually “dark blue”. She is quite forthcoming during the recordings, and we can’t even imagine a top-tier celebrity today offering this much personal insight … outside of the obvious blabbering we are subjected to on social media and talk shows. Liz became famous at 10 years old when she starred in LASSIE COME HOME (1943) and was a cinema sex-symbol at age 16 when she played the beautiful wife of Robert Taylor (12 years her senior) in CONSPIRATOR (1949). We hear Liz recall her idyllic childhood, yet also describing herself as a “terrified little girl” during those early Hollywood years.
In addition to the recordings which give the documentary a certain structure, director Burstein also includes a treasure trove of personal photos, home movies, archival interviews, and archival footage. A slew of photos of her famous dates stream by – even including football star Glenn “Mr. Outside” Davis. Liz was only 18 years old when she married Conrad “Nick” Hilton Jr, heir to the hotel magnate. She explains how she locked herself in the bathroom on her wedding night, and was so nervous, it took 3 days to consummate the marriage. Of course, Elizabeth Taylor is as famous for her marriages as she is her acting. She wed 8 times to seven different men. The most interesting of those are detailed here, including the plane crash death of true love Mike Todd, which led to Liz wooing singer Eddie Fisher from her friend Debbie Reynolds. What a scandal!
Despite the marriages, she also had close friends – some of whom were closeted homosexuals in order to protect their career and image. Roddy McDowell, Rock Hudson, Montgomery Clift, and James Dean were all close to Liz. She details the shock at Dean’s car crash death and notes she had been cruising with him in his Porsche earlier that same day.
During the interviews, Liz makes the point a few times that it was so important for her to be accepted as an actress, not just a movie star. She expresses a humble pride in being the first actor to be paid one million dollars for a role, but then things went sideways for CLEOPATRA, when Liz was hospitalized with pneumonia so serious it required a tracheotomy. Production on the film was delayed more than two years, and it was during her recovery that she won the first of her two Oscars. However, it’s surreal hearing her bash BUTTERFIELD 8 as an inferior film. When production on CLEOPATRA re-started, she met her real life Marc Antony in actor Richard Burton, thus kicking off their years-long on-again/off-again intense relationship (including two marriages).
Director Burstein flashes clip after clip to convince those who don’t already know that Elizabeth Taylor was an actor, a movie star, and a cultural icon. The film is quite a tribute, though it kind of blows through the later years of a couple of marriages, rehab, and weight gain. She does commit time to Liz’s relentless work as an AIDS activist, including her support of long-time friend Rock Hudson. So many of Liz’s memorable performances came in 1967 and earlier (some of those not mentioned above are NATIONAL VELVET (1944), FATHER OF THE BRIDE (1950), A PLACE IN THE SUN (1951), GIANT (1956), CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF (1958), and of course, WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? (1966, her second Oscar). Despite her career peaking in that era, Elizabeth Taylor remained a star until her death in 2011 at age 79. Nanette Burstein has delivered a worthy tribute.
Premieres August 3, 2024 on HBO and MAX
Movie Reviews from the Dark 
Another interesting review. I do not normally watch documentaries but this one sounds fascinating to me. I have always had an interest in the lives of celebrities that achieved stardom in Hollywood’s Golden Age. Elizabeth Taylor is one of the greatest actresses ever. She reminds me a lot of Marilyn Monroe, another actress that gained stardom at a similar time in history. I really loved the film “My Week With Marilyn”, which traces a week in the life of the famous movie-star. It offered a fascinating glimpse at the personal struggles faced by the actress. One of the most underrated movies of 2011 which didn’t get the recognition that it deserved. “Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes” appears to be a similar movie so I’ll definitely keep it on my watchlist of films to see. Thanks as always for the recommendations.
Here’s why I loved “My Week With Marilyn”:
Thanks for this review, just seen the documentary after your great post and loved it… only wish it hadn’t been rushed at the end. I could have quite happily watched another follow up starting with her second marriage to Burton.
You are so right about the ending. I did enjoy the nostalgia of going back through her career. Interesting how much she wanted to be accepted as an actor and not just a movie star. I always considered her both.
That was it’s only fault, I only wish it had been longer.
Normally that’s a compliment for a movie, but in this case, there was a bit more story to tell. Plus, I could watch her movie clips for hours!
Me too. HBO do have some great starry documentaries. Just saw one with Faye Runaway I would recommend.
As much as I love Chinatown, Network, and Bonnie & Clyde, I’m not a huge Faye fan. Guess I’ll suck it up and give it a go
There are plenty more of this ik, perhaps something else will appeal to you more.