 Elizabeth Taylor at her best!
Last week the world saw the death of a superb actress and the entertainment world lost one of its most recognized stars. Not only was she a great actress but a phenomenal part of cinema as a whole. Elizabeth Taylor is a name that needs no introduction. She entered the world of cinema as a child and as she grew up she became one of the silver screen’s most striking beauties and one of the most talented actresses. Liz Taylor, as she is fondly called, has had a monumental impact on pop culture and cinema as a whole! Not only did she rule the hearts of millions with her glamorous looks and beautiful eyes but she also ruled the box office as a phenomenal movie star. Here’s going back to her best performances to give her a little tribute from Instep.
Who’s Afraid of Virginia
Woolf – 1966
 The film revolves around the life of a childless couple living on a university campus. The husband is a history professor and the wife is the university president’s daughter. The story takes a turn when on one evening the couple invites a young professor and his young wife over for cocktails after a faculty party, where Elizabeth Taylor’s character goes on to mention her marital grievances in front of the young couple. This leads to Elizabeth and her husband ending up in a quarrel, which brings the party to the edge of violence. The two figures, played by Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, keep blaming each other for being childless as the film as a whole looks at childless couples and their lives. The most impressive part of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf is not just Elizabeth’s beauty but the way she expresses her emotions and the sadness in her heart. This film won Taylor her second best actress Oscar along with the Academy Award, New York Film Critics Circle and the British Academy Award for best actress in 1966.
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof – 1958
Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name by Tennessee Williams adapted by Richard Brooks and James Poe, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof was one of the top ten box office hits of its year. The film starred Elizabeth Taylor along with Paul Newman and Burl Ives. It is said that Taylor has never looked more beautiful on screen than she did in this movie opposite the equally good looking Paul Newman and both of them together looked marvelous on the big screen. The story of Cat on a Hot Tin is about Brick, who is an alcoholic ex-football player. He drinks all the time and stays away from his wife, Maggie’s affection. The movie goes on to show his reunion with his father, Big Daddy, who is a cancer patient in his last stages and this makes him go through several memories and revelations for both father and son. The film got Taylor the Laurel Award for top female dramatic performance along with several best actress nominations.
 A Place in the Sun – 1951
This is probably Taylor’s first performance as an adult and she made her mark with it right away! A Place in the Sun is the story of George Eastman, an enterprising young man who gets a job at his uncle’s factory where he meets Alice Tripp, a drab working girl and they end up getting very close before George falls for the rich and beautiful Angela Vickers. However, moving on isn’t as simple as it sounds in George’s case because he leaves Alice pregnant. What happens next forms the crux of the story. Taylor’s superb performance and beauty gave the movie its charge.
 National Velvet – 1944
Mi Taylor was a young traveler and opportunist whose father had given him “all the roads in the Kingdom” to travel. One of these roads, and a note in his father’s journal, led him to the quiet English countryside home of the Brown family. The youngest daughter, Velvet, has a passion for horses and when she wins the spirited steed Pie in a town lottery, Mi is encouraged to train the horse for the Grand National - England’s greatest racing event. Obviously, the young girl who plays the role of the daughter in this film is Elizabeth Taylor. It’s one of her youngest roles but the sheer freshness she brought on the screen is amazing to say the least and it is that freshness which makes this film one of her best works.
 Reflections in a Golden
Eye – 1967
This is one of the oddest films to enter the list and one that is also controversial. It might not be one that would be appreciated by the masses but there’s no denying the fact that it’s one of the Taylor’s best works and her performance stands out in the film contributing a major chunk in making the film what it is. Directed by John Huston, Reflections in a Golden Eye is about the bizarre on goings at a military base. Marlon Brando is a reserved Army major and Taylor as his nymphomaniac wife. It ought to be utterly terrible, but somehow Taylor makes you care about her ignored and discontent character.
– Hafsah Sarfra |
